Home Resolutions Even I Kept

Happy New Year!

Back in 2013 I posted this blog about Home-related Resolutions. Did I stick to them? Some of them for sure. It might've taken me to 2014 though. Stop judging. ;)

I wanted to take a look at my resolutions and see what needed tweaking and what's been accomplished. The fact is, I gave good advice. None of it is particularly difficult to do, given the time (and a desire). I think I did pretty good accomplishing it (better than my yearly diets), but I did make some tweaks to it.

So I present to you my 2015 list of Home Resolutions!

Home Resolution #1 - Pick one (or a few) task/s a month to keep my home safe and in good shape
I wrote that this one is not fun and exciting to do. It's also completely forgettable because it's not fun or exciting. So, the resolution is to pick one or a few things to accomplish each month, fill out some dates on your calendar each month to do them and set reminders. Lots of reminders!! Reminders are key. Without those reminders it's easy to forget or ignore these things that are rather important. So remember.... REMINDERS!

Borrowed this checklist from dspInspections.com

Home Resolution #2 - Resolve to bring home only those things that I truly love
I have accomplished this. (I'm actually working on this for my closet, but that's another list.)  Every time I go anywhere, I ask myself over and over while I'm walking around the store or barn sale, etc. with my hands or shopping cart full - DO I REALLY LOVE THIS? DO I REALLY NEED THIS? 9 out of 10 times I don't. I don't! 9 out of 10 times!!! Do you know how much stuff, not to mention $$$, I saved by asking myself that and being completely honest? My husband will say not enough, but I think it must be millions. Well maybe not millions -- but definitely hundreds! 

One way I have reduced this is by "shopping" online and pinning the things I like on Pinterest. Please tell me you have joined Pinterest?! If you haven't - it's a must! Apart from being a potentially gigantic time-suck, it's actually one of my favorite design/shopping tools. The thing is, when I find things I like (for myself or a client) I pin them. This way, I can go back through and determine what I really like and what's not going to work etc. So now, when I find something I love, I pin it. If I can't stop thinking about it then I know that I must have it - and hope that I can afford it. 

I need a table for my Living Room. I'm currently eyeing this beauty from Wisteria.

Home Resolution #3 - Don't rush it - decorating takes time
This goes hand-in-hand with Resolution #2. You can't just buy stuff to fill a room. You have to be considerate in your decisions. Do you agree? Having said that, eventually you have to make a decision. You can't just be thinking about a space forever. And if you can't make a decision you need to call me. I'm serious. I make great decisions all the time for my clients. In the meantime, though, as you're pondering what you would like, do the Pinterest thing. But don't just pin the stuff and never look back. I bet if you look at them again, you'll realize there are a few things that really stand out. Then go from there...

Visit my Pinterest. I have loads of great stuff pinned and organized. And don't forget to follow me.

Home Resolution #4 - Eliminate clutter and get organized
I have a confession. It's pretty bad. Sometimes I don't know what to do with something, or I'm too lazy to deal with it, so I put it in a designated pile. Then when I clean up areas, instead of actually organizing the stuff and throwing out what I really don't need, I put the piles of stuff in bags. Yup. I'm a bag lady. I have had to get help in this area in the past (Irene Zaso from OASIS - thanks again. I might be calling you soon!) 

Getting help is one way to get started. But really, you have to just stay on it as much as possible and allocate time. (Calendar. Reminders. 'nough said.) I worked on this one throughout the year by tossing out as much as I could. I've gotten really good about most things. Even my beloved magazines. Now, I only keep the home ones. And of those I only keep one years worth. And I have them in magazine organizers and I go through them regularly. Now I need to do that with my kids' stuff... 

These are my very neat, almost always organized, office shelves.

Want to do it yourself? One of my favorite blogs is A Bowl Full of Lemons. If you take a look she's on week one of her "14 Week Organizing Challenge". My kitchen is fairly well organized (thanks to a past sitter), but I just purged a bunch of stuff in my kitchen desk area. That's the other thing - invest in some heavy duty trash bags and in a large recycling container (I have a full-sized trash can). And if you need containers to help you organize go to The Container Store, IKEA, Walmart, etc. The Container Store is actually one of my favorite places. I could spend hours in there. And yes, the irony is not lost on me.

I always feel so much better when I just remove stuff from my house. And OMG there is a lot of stuff the gets accumulated!

One of my favorite places to shop - The Container Store.

Home Resolution #5 - Don't let a $0 to small budget prevent the decorating of a space
There are many budget-friendly decorative solutions for almost any decorating dilemma. For me it often means moving things around and trying to find new places for things that are hiding in closets or in other rooms. For relatively few dollars you can paint, slipcover (I can't sew, but if you can this is a great option), or reinvent furniture from garage sales, thrift stores or relatives' attics. If you need a spruce up, but have no money to spend how about do a home decorating exchange with your friends? They probably have pillows, artwork, even paint that can be exchanged. It's a fun way of getting rid of the things that no longer fit in your home and replace it with something you like from a friend.

And if you aren't sure what to do, I can help. I can't tell you how many times I go into client's homes and by moving a few things around they have completely different spaces. 

This is a great website with information for using what you have to redecorate your home.

Home Resolution #6 - Make the kids take ownership of their things and their spaces
This is a new one. Back in 2013, my girls were 8 and 5. Old enough to help, certainly, but too young to do it very well. So I had them do what they could which was minimal. This year is different. This year they are 10 1/2 and 7 1/2 (the 1/2 is very important) so they are both very capable of doing their part. The biggest issue with this is the constant reminding and the constant reminding and the constant reminding. I'm sorry. Did I repeat myself? Sorry. I do that a lot. Some days go better than others, but the fact is they are FINALLY cleaning up after themselves most of the time - and that is HUGE. So this year I resolve to keep REMINDing them until I don't have to anymore. Maybe they will have learned before they have their own places. One can dream.

So that's it. Those are my resolutions - at least for my house. Do you have any?

Have any tales to tell or any other home resolutions that you would like to share? Would love to hear from you.

xo, CM

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Copyright 2015, Cristina Mullins Interiors