Organizing to Suit Your Family......and lifestyle.
Have you ever noticed that when remodeling, moving in, or reorganizing that some things that sound like a good idea end up not working out?
I loved the way our kitchen looked when everything was re-organized, but some things that look nice don't work well. The 7 quart crockpot looked great on top of the book case that I put on its side. However, my husband pointed out that some chocolate chips that I put in his cereal had melted to the side of the jar I keep it in. Ha! The crockpot was also awfully hard for me to reach and heavy for me to lift down. And when down on the counter it was awfully close to the edge. Being a grandma of eleven, many of them still little, I think of dangers to children------or adults.
So, I moved it replacing it with my 2 quart crock pot and some new soup bowls with handles.
Our pot holders I moved to a location nearer the stove top. But they are in a cabinet drawer that is a pain to bend over and get into every time I need a pot holder. There are a few other things that need to be changed, but that's okay, I guess......
Nothing will look quite as good as they did.........but then we are not living in a magazine page.
About 20 years ago, our family was visiting relatives. We were in the home of my husband's uncle and aunt. I noticed their house, though always spotlessly neat, was not exactly decorated like a home on HGTV or out of the pages of House Beautiful. The colors were turquoise and various shades of brown and there was a lot of dark red brick and brass. The furniture, though in good shape, was dated. The chairs they sat in were vinyl turquoise which TV trays sat beside and pointed at the TV. The kitchen was of no particular color that I can remember. Lots of plastic and lots of things sitting, though neatly, but out on the counters.
I had been there many times before and noticed that nothing had changed over the many years. I love interior decoration but what struck me that night was not the fashionable-ness of the home, but that they were comfortable and happy in it....and so were we, as guests! They loved to travel as much as they loved to be home and have guests. Whether they visited us here or we were guests in their home we always had a wonderfully memorable time.
I am not sure when it dawned on me but I came to realize that everything about their home was about them and their guests. They were more concerned with being hospitable, having a good time, than whether their furnishings were the latest fashion. And they lived within their means, doing the best with what they had.
Family pictures were in every vacant space on the walls and atop furniture. The newspaper folded on the table that sat between their two chairs, the afghans neatly folded over the arm or back of each chair, the coasters that sat on either side of the lamp on the table, the TV Guide, etc. was for their comfort, their lifestyle. The things on the counter in their original packagings were for their ease---they both loved to cook so things that were used often sat out, neatly, but out. I came to realize that this was what a home was truly about---the enjoyment of those in the home whether the inhabitants or those that were drawn into their home.
It made me take a second and third look at our home. The doillies that always got pushed aside, the fancy table runners that had work papers and tools set on them, the black rug that the cats and dogs always left hair on----were they worth the frustration, not to mention time spent, straightening them? Were they in the way of .....living? Was the charm of the antique coffee jar worth having to fill it twice a week? I came to see that while there is nothing inherently wrong with these things, if they made our lives less comfortable they were not worth it. I am still in the process of making the house more comfortable, more simple and useful for my husband and I. And my husband is rethinking the outside of the house making changes and plans for more changes to refocus our lives on living rather than spending all our time on upkeep.
Whenever I change something I now think about that. I don't think I have to go out and find turquoise vinyl chairs or keep our coffee can out on the counter. (I keep the antique jar filled and we use coffee out of its store container which is in a cabinet.) I work toward making our home useful to us and comfortable to guests.And except for rare occasions I keep things reasonably neat and clean.
What good is a home furnished with things that everyone is too afraid to use for fear of breaking or soiling. I think of our aunt and uncle often and strive to make our house a home, an oasis from the world, a retreat.
I still like things to be fashionable but I do think you can accomplish both with some creativity and, as always, doing the best with what you've got.
Enjoy your home!
Kathi~
I loved the way our kitchen looked when everything was re-organized, but some things that look nice don't work well. The 7 quart crockpot looked great on top of the book case that I put on its side. However, my husband pointed out that some chocolate chips that I put in his cereal had melted to the side of the jar I keep it in. Ha! The crockpot was also awfully hard for me to reach and heavy for me to lift down. And when down on the counter it was awfully close to the edge. Being a grandma of eleven, many of them still little, I think of dangers to children------or adults.
So, I moved it replacing it with my 2 quart crock pot and some new soup bowls with handles.
Our pot holders I moved to a location nearer the stove top. But they are in a cabinet drawer that is a pain to bend over and get into every time I need a pot holder. There are a few other things that need to be changed, but that's okay, I guess......
Nothing will look quite as good as they did.........but then we are not living in a magazine page.
About 20 years ago, our family was visiting relatives. We were in the home of my husband's uncle and aunt. I noticed their house, though always spotlessly neat, was not exactly decorated like a home on HGTV or out of the pages of House Beautiful. The colors were turquoise and various shades of brown and there was a lot of dark red brick and brass. The furniture, though in good shape, was dated. The chairs they sat in were vinyl turquoise which TV trays sat beside and pointed at the TV. The kitchen was of no particular color that I can remember. Lots of plastic and lots of things sitting, though neatly, but out on the counters.
I had been there many times before and noticed that nothing had changed over the many years. I love interior decoration but what struck me that night was not the fashionable-ness of the home, but that they were comfortable and happy in it....and so were we, as guests! They loved to travel as much as they loved to be home and have guests. Whether they visited us here or we were guests in their home we always had a wonderfully memorable time.
I am not sure when it dawned on me but I came to realize that everything about their home was about them and their guests. They were more concerned with being hospitable, having a good time, than whether their furnishings were the latest fashion. And they lived within their means, doing the best with what they had.
Family pictures were in every vacant space on the walls and atop furniture. The newspaper folded on the table that sat between their two chairs, the afghans neatly folded over the arm or back of each chair, the coasters that sat on either side of the lamp on the table, the TV Guide, etc. was for their comfort, their lifestyle. The things on the counter in their original packagings were for their ease---they both loved to cook so things that were used often sat out, neatly, but out. I came to realize that this was what a home was truly about---the enjoyment of those in the home whether the inhabitants or those that were drawn into their home.
It made me take a second and third look at our home. The doillies that always got pushed aside, the fancy table runners that had work papers and tools set on them, the black rug that the cats and dogs always left hair on----were they worth the frustration, not to mention time spent, straightening them? Were they in the way of .....living? Was the charm of the antique coffee jar worth having to fill it twice a week? I came to see that while there is nothing inherently wrong with these things, if they made our lives less comfortable they were not worth it. I am still in the process of making the house more comfortable, more simple and useful for my husband and I. And my husband is rethinking the outside of the house making changes and plans for more changes to refocus our lives on living rather than spending all our time on upkeep.
Whenever I change something I now think about that. I don't think I have to go out and find turquoise vinyl chairs or keep our coffee can out on the counter. (I keep the antique jar filled and we use coffee out of its store container which is in a cabinet.) I work toward making our home useful to us and comfortable to guests.And except for rare occasions I keep things reasonably neat and clean.
What good is a home furnished with things that everyone is too afraid to use for fear of breaking or soiling. I think of our aunt and uncle often and strive to make our house a home, an oasis from the world, a retreat.
I still like things to be fashionable but I do think you can accomplish both with some creativity and, as always, doing the best with what you've got.
Enjoy your home!
Kathi~
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