More Pockets

Here are a few pockets I finally got around to photographing and uploading:

This is an antique washstand and washbowl and pitcher that are currently next to the bed on my side. At least four generations of babies in my family have been bathed in that washbowl. The washstand was my great-grandmother's.You can tell this isn't a magazine picture because there is actually an alarm clock and phone on there. LOL The picture of the lilacs was painted by Princess. Isn't she talented? The porcelain box in front was a gift from Horsecrazy.

This is my chest of drawers. The hatboxes and gold book were gifts from Spitfire. The gold book has the Ten Commandments in both Korean and English. The candles and picture I've had sitting around the house waiting to be used. I know you're wondering, so I'll tell you. There's currently nothing in the hatboxes. I think I've figured out what I want to put in one of them and maybe in another. I want to use them for things I want close by, but don't necessarily have to be accessed every day.

This is my computer that I blogged about before. Notice the nice clean desktop and keyboard.  I just looked and it's not that clean now, but it's close. I think I'm going to make that a regular monthly task.

This needs to be tackled every week. It's amazing how fast receipts and mint wrappers and things accumulate. I already need to reorganize this because I've added an eyeglasses case to the mix and now the purse is full again. Maybe I need a bigger bag.

The Pocket Challenge ends tomorrow. I need to take and upload a few more pictures as I wind down the challenge. If you've been playing along, be sure to get your pics put on your blog and leave me a comment so everyone can come take a peek.

A Pocket Full of Fun

Most of my pockets so far have been either primarily functional or primarily aesthetic. My latest pocket, however, is all about fun. First, we had this empty corner in the den where we moved out a piece of furniture to make room for our Christmas tree. When the Christmas tree was gone, we decided we didn't want the piece of furniture moved back, so it's been sitting like this:

 

Pretty boring, huh? I sit caddy-corner from this area and every day I look at it and think there must be some better use for it than collecting dust bunnies. Then one night it hit me. After hearing someone tell my youngest children to sit or duck down because they were building things on the coffee table and blocking the viewers sight of the Olympics on the television, I got an idea.

I took a rug that was still folded up in its package, a laundry basket from my workroom, a little plastic basket from the same place and the bead and wire toy we never have a good place to put and created a kids' corner.

This is the 'after ' picture with Sweetpea enjoying the new kids' corner. This has been a huge hit with her as well as Ribbit and Ladybug. They a loving having all the Duplos available and having a place to play with them that they don't have to move out of someone's way. It's a win-win proposition.

Finally, Some Pocket Pictures

Okay, I finally got some pictures uploaded to show the pockets I've been working on. There are many areas I have to work on because my house had had so much added to it in the course of the last year. When my mom passed away last year, I inherited a lot of stuff that I am still trying to sort through.

My first project is a good example. This is the library table that's been passed down in my family. It was brought into the house and promptly stacked with other stuff being brought in.

 

Yes, there's actually a table under there!

 

 Oh, look. There it is!

 It's a well-known fact that in any busy household, any flat surface, left unattended, will immediately pile up. This is apparently not limited to height either. Hence Exhibits A and B.

 

Exhibit A

 

Exhibit B

Now they are emptier, but a little boring. I'm still looking around for things to go with the greenery.

 

New and improved Exhibit A

 

New and improved Exhibit B

Coming soon, pictures of my two mini-projects I've done.

Rethinking Pockets

I started the Pocket Challenge with certain types of pockets in mind. I even started going around the house and taking "before" pics of several candidates for makeover. But I began to think a bit outside the box. After all, pockets come in a lot of sizes. Just on clothing, you can find tiny coin pockets and jumbo cargo pockets.

Then, last Tuesday, on Home Sanctuary, Rachel Anne challenged us to do something with cotton swabs. So I sat with slightly damp cotton swabs and cleaned every nook and cranny of my laptop keyboard, which was in pretty desperate need. And then it hit me, this could be a pocket.

I set to work and cleaned the screen and the outside too. When I was finished with that I went to work on cleaning my computer's desktop, which was littered with files and documents. Lastly, to add beauty, I changed my desktop picture to a lovely photo I took of a snow-covered wooded area and creek.

Why shouldn't something I use every day be beautiful and orderly as well? Hmm. My purse is looking pretty sad right now. I see another mini-pocket coming on.

Getting Started on The Pocket Challenge

I've been going around my house looking at potential pockets. I have taken pics of some likely candidates, yet I know it will be just like when I'm cleaning. When I started really cleaning and scrubbing, it seems as soon as I get one area clean, another area I hadn't even noticed suddenly catches my attention. Even if it isn't as bad as the first area, when the first area is suddenly sparkling, it's like shining a spotlight on the secondary area.

While I have found several areas that need a good dose of beauty and order, I know others will arise when those are completed. Therefore I am committing to at least 20 pockets. That works out to about 3 per week, which seems doable even with my crazy schedule. I don't have that many selected yet, but I'm sure the rest will appear as I go along.

Have you found any potential pocket areas yet? Don't forget to take pictures of them. Even if you don't feel comfortable posting the "before" pictures, you will want a record of your progress to look back on. Are you setting a specific goal or just taking it as it comes? I really recommend setting a goal so you have something to work towards and keep you on track. Don't be afraid to stretch yourself a little to keep it interesting. Most of all, have fun with it.

The Pocket Challenge

What started out on a whim is taking on a life of its own. The Pocket Challenge started off as something I was doing to get myself working on projects around the house. Not huge tear-the-house-apart sized projects. Small, easy, quick, fits-into-an-already-busy-schedule sized projects.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find those little nooks and crannies and corners that need a little something. Maybe they need decluttering. Or maybe they just need a little cleaning to spruce them up. Or maybe the area in question is clean and decluttered, but a little, let's say, boring.

Some areas to consider are tops of shelves or the shelves themselves, entry tables, desks, bedside tables, bathroom counters, mantles, etc. You get the idea. Try to keep the projects small enough to manage within and hour or two to half a day at most.

Since my decorating/organizing budget is next to zip, just to keep things interesting, let's do this with items and materials we already have or can obtain at low cost. Don't be afraid to use something you have in a completely new way.

Look around and see what possibilities you see. Figure out how many projects you plan to do between February 15th and March 31st. Feel free to jump in any time!

Be sure to grab the cool button brought to you courtesy of my daughter, Bookaddict.

Post to your blog about the challenge and your goals and add the link to your post to Mr. Linky below. If you don't have a blog, just leave your goals in the comment section. Be sure to share your favorite projects on your blog and don't forget the pictures! Come join the fun!

Creating Pockets of Beauty and Order

I have a new challenge, but it's one of my own creation. I have seen the difference that small changes in my home make on the overall atmosphere. Home Sanctuary's Small Things and Flylady's Baby Steps have taught me that. But now I'm taking off on a challenge inspired by several books I've read and presentations I've heard recently. I'm calling it The Pocket Challenge.

The Pocket Challenge is all about creating pockets of order and beauty. I'm challenging myself to create one pocket of order and beauty per day for the rest of February. Pockets of order and beauty are simply those little areas, currently ranging from "blah" to "eyesore" that need something. Maybe they need cleaning or decluttering or maybe they just need a spot of color.

Since I have next to no budget for this, most, if now all of these will be using what I already have. I know I have a few pretty things tucked away here and there that could be put to better use and of course, cleaning and decluttering is free.

Anyone else interested in joining me in this challenge?

I'm giving a special shout-out to all the Company Girls visiting from the Home Sanctuary Company Girl Coffee link up. Welcome!