1. Clean kitchen, buy water filter, cook one meal at home. Thanks to my involvement in Veggie Meal-Maker and our limited budget, I cook nearly every meal at home. We replaced the filter in our current water pitcher--I forgot how quickly water is supposed to filter! But, my biggest accomplishment: our pantry and cupboards make sense!
First, the inspiration:
Now, my grainy (yet beloved) before and after:
2. Be a responsible shopper. It's generally a good idea to hold out for the higher quality items. But you gotta start somewhere, right? As affordable as the IKEA containers from my wish list are, I still can't quite afford them. Meanwhile, my flour, sugar and cornmeal sat free game for any tiny crawlers that wanted them (yes, a gross Florida truth). So, I bought the cheapies and am loving the organization!
3. Prepare an "outbox." It's called "our spare bedroom." Anything stored there is on the waiting list for the next shipment to Goodwill. I did get rid of a box for week 2--yay! My favorite question that Apartment Therapy suggests asking: Is this item relevant to the life I have right now? (Just a hint: the answer is usually "no.")
4. Define your style. I took the Home Goods quiz and found that my style is "earthy casual." I could've told you that without a quiz, but exactly what that means for my own style, I'm not sure. So here's my short explanation of how I want my home to feel:
Low-key, comfortable, echoing my favorite aspects of God's creation, welcoming, creative, resourceful, eclectic, and balanced.
5. Play with a single room's floor plan. This happens all the time when Daniel's not around, but I got him involved this time. We moved the couch around ever so slightly and found we do have the space for that reading nook I've fantasized about. Someday...
