Erin, Author at The Sunny Side Up Blog

Home Decor

03.02.18

Guest Room Decor (progress!)

Happy Friday friends! I hope you all had a good week! Mine was ok. Truthfully a little long.. but we made it. :) It has been a while since I shared progress on our guest room decor! I thought sharing where I’m at with this space might be a good way to end our week. You think so too? Oh good! Funny how we always tend to think alike, isn’t it!

That’s why we get along so well. :)

If you remember my first post on this room, it started out as my son’s bedroom when we moved into our new house because this room is close to our master bedroom and Kole was just three when we moved in.

That was always going to be temporary and as soon as he turned seven we moved him into his “real” room next to his sisters. (Hoping to finish this space soon!)

I was left with a blank slate in the new guest room and started by adding a focal grid pattern wall. That’s just about where I left off last time.

Ready to see what it looks like today?

Ta-da! Yea! A REAL guest room! With a bed and nightstands and pillows.. oh my. :) I wanted this room to feel light and bright and airy and cozy. The cozy was easy to pull off because it’s not a big room. The white duvet cover made things feel airy and spacious and the nightstands, rug and pillows add a bright pop of color. Done done and done. :)

(affiliate links used)

Details! Here we go..

For the bed I chose this Pondicherry bed with nailheads in a soft grey fabric. I knew I loved it when I ordered it on-line, but when it arrived at my house and I saw it in person.. GAH! It’s so gorgeous! I couldn’t stop walking into this room and staring at it for several days after it came! I tend to lean towards straight lines with furniture so this bed was a bit outside of my comfort zone at first, but because the wall had so many straight lines in the grid pattern this style of bed ads some contrast and works so much better.

The bedding is this Claremore Duvet. Very similar to the white duvet cover I put in my master bedroom! I love the fun pattern on both of these white duvet covers. I thought about putting a set of larger pillows in the back, but when guests come and stay I don’t love having too many pillows for them to set aside each night. Plus I love the headboard so much I decided to keep it simple with pillows and let it be the star of the show. :)

The pillows are from Anthro. I think the larger two sold out but the mint pillow in front you can find here. I’m having a serious obsession with Anthro pillows at the moment! They have so many cute options for Spring and the texture and colors are just too much fun. You’ll see more popping up all over my home in my next post! :)

This little moment I couldn’t love more! I kind of want to move these mint nightstands into my bedroom because I love them so much. I won’t.. because they aren’t the right size or color for that room.. but oh.. they have my heart. When my mom first saw them she said they had “Erin” written all over them. :)

So do these lamps! Just like the bed, the day these were delivered was a happy day.. they are absolutely stunning in person! And aren’t the fringe tassels fun!?

I’ve had my eye on this gorgeous Malibu Chandelier for quite a while and never found anything I liked better for the guest room. It was a splurge, but is such a stunning fixture! (I shared this chandelier on IG stories once and got so many questions about similar less expensive options so I’ll link to some below!) Beaded chandeliers add so much texture to a space and really make a statement. I’m a fan!

I also love the way the whole frame of the fixture is covered in hemp clear to the top! It’s such a beautiful fixture.

This pretty flower painting was a great price and it was the perfect size for this little wall space next to the window.

Now for the other side of the bedroom! I mentioned in my first guest room decor post that my parents use this room more than anyone and my mom put in a request for a TV when we were building. She likes to stay up late watching the news in bed. :) The only space for it was in-between the closet and bathroom door.

I debated what to put below the TV and decided on this Dorsay Console Table. I had envisioned something with a marble looking top and gold legs so I told my friend/designer Tritia to see if she could find something like that for me in the right size. Major score when she landed on this beautiful piece of furniture! I love it so much but almost didn’t order it because the reviews aren’t great. I decided to try it and see for myself and seriously don’t know what people are talking about! It’s gorgeous in person and great quality. It has a matching coffee table that I would snatch up in a heartbeat if I had a place to put it!

There are drawers in the closet in this room so I didn’t need a dresser for guest’s clothes, and because of the small walk way space I wanted something that wouldn’t take up a lot of room. This console table will be a perfect place for guests to set their keys, purse, hat, etc. I was initially planning on getting a bench for the end of this bed, but because the table is the long shape of a bench I ended up ordering these X base stools instead.

I chose a good neutral fabric in case I eventually put these in a different room. Decor tends to move around often at my house. :)

This Distressed Arabesque Wool Rug was another item I had been wanting for a long time and just didn’t have a place to put it. I keep looking for rugs for this room and not loving anything and would think “I wish that navy Arabesque rug worked in this space..” Then I finally just decided it does work in this space!

Why not add a pop of navy!? It pulls the blue out of the pillows. And even more importantly.. I love it! One thing I’ve learned decorating this home.. worry less about what “works” and more about what you love. When you surround yourself with things you love, they always work together.

Plus they make you happy. Bonus. :)

I still want to do something fun on this blank wall. I have an idea! (I’m never short on ideas.. the time needed to make ideas actually happen is a different story.. can anyone relate?)

I also want a fun throw to put at the end of the bed..

and I need to accessorize the console table and nightstands with a few things.

But after those small additions this room will be done!

One more room that will be checked off the list! We’ve lived in our home 4 1/2 years now and I’m almost done decorating. Even though I’ll never really be done decorating.

You feel that way about your home too? Funny how we always tend to think alike, isn’t it!

That’s why we get along so well.

Sources and similar items are linked below!

{SOURCES}

**UPDATE

I just hung this fun gallery wall in our guest room! Snapped this quick with my phone but I’ll share better pics soon! I’ll also share pics of what I’m putting in them as soon as I figure that out.. ha. :) For those asking you can find these frames HERE. I ordered six of the 8×10 (15×19 without the mat).

xoxo, Erin

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Home Decor

02.27.18

paint colors throughout my home (free printable!)

Friends! This is such a happy day for me! And I hope for a lot of you too. :) We moved into our new home over four years ago and ever since then I have been getting so many questions about my paint colors. I wrote this post in 2016 sharing paint names of some rooms, but there were still a lot of paint questions because the main brand we used (Frazee) later joined with Sherwin Williams. That made things tricky! Some of you were having a hard time finding the exact color, some of you had questions about what sheen we used, some of you wanted info. on our white paint or our ceilings or on rooms I hadn’t fully shared on the blog at that point.

SO! Because I love you all. :) I have spent hours getting everything figured out for you! This involved a few trips to my local Sherwin Williams, several phone calls with my painter, and going back to where my mind was during building and painting our house which quite frankly is a place I didn’t really want to return to.. ha. ;) I then typed EVERYTHING up for you on a printable that you can print out and keep! This printable includes ALL of my paint colors throughout our home (exterior and interior). It also includes the brand and number that goes with each color. A few of these rooms I haven’t even shared on the blog yet! But now you’ll know the name of the paint color when I do. :)

And for my main grey paint color that I get asked about daily? I also included the exact formula and sheen we used in our home! (If you want to use that same grey paint with a different sheen, just give someone at SW my color numbers and formula and they will be able to match it for you.)

OK.. here’s another reason it took me a while to get all of this figure out for you and why I’m so excited!

I am obsessed with list making – as you all know. :) I have always typed up my own printables to help me stay organized. I have printables I use for projects like decorating a room, printables I use for organization, printables I use for blogging. I have never shared them with all of you because that involves major tech work (setting up the library and making everything accessible to you on-line). Most of you know that the tech side of blogging is not where I excel. But I finally hired some help and now have a printable library all set up that I will be able to add printables too. YEA! If you subscribe to my blog you will have instant access to this library. My paint printables and the printables I made to help with gift giving at Christmas are in the library now, but more are coming! I’m so excited to show you a few things that have helped me stay organized and on track with my projects and time management!

Sign up at the end of this post or CLICK HERE to download all of my paint colors and get access to my new printable library!

If you are already a blog subscriber (thank you!) you can just enter your name and e-mail again to get the paint printable. It won’t double your e-mail. :) If you are not signed up for my e-mails and are nervous about subscribing to my blog, don’t be! I totally understand wanting to keep your inbox clean. I will never share your e-mail address with anyone and you’ll only get a quick e-mail from me when a new post is up (on average twice a week). Plus we have a good time around here so why not join the party!? I’ve got lots of fun posts in store for you all. :)

In other random news, I’ve been decorating for Spring (so fun!) and if you want a sneak peek of a few things I bought to refresh my home (and some clothes I’m loving lately) you can check out my updated favorites page. This throw I have on the ladder in my master bedroom is so beautiful and went out of stock in most colors so quickly! They just got it back in stock if you want something fun and pretty to toss over your chair or couch for Spring!

And speaking of my master bedroom, we just got a new mattress! You guys.. I’m so excited about it! The kids and I are always on this bed hanging out – even more so the past six weeks because of my knee surgery. We got our kids all new mattresses after we moved into our house, but ours was 17 years old! Yikes. So when Mattress Firm reached out to me to collaborate and write a post on their blog I couldn’t say yes fast enough. We bought the kids’ mattresses at Mattress Firm and knew they were good quality and that they had good customer service. You can read the post I wrote about why we love king size beds and which mattress we picked out here. They are having a huge sale right now if you’ve had your mattress for 17 years too! (Please tell me I’m not the only one..)

Alright friends.. that’s it for now because it’s time for after school pick up, but I’ll be back soon! Enjoy your day! :)

xoxo, Erin

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Organization

02.18.18

My Organized Pantry!

I’m so excited about today’s post! Finally. I’m finally sharing my organized pantry with you! We’ve now lived in our new home over four years and this pantry was for the most part organized one month after we moved in. WHY haven’t I already shared this space!? I honestly have no idea! Ha. But I guess it doesn’t matter because I’m sharing it with you now. :) What I have shared multiple times is this butler’s pantry (the counter and open shelves in my kitchen that links my pantry and the formal dining room). See that door to the right? Let’s go inside!

*affiliate links used

There is no window in my pantry so I’m sorry about the lighting. A tricky spot to photograph! (Maybe that’s why I procrastinated so long on this post? I’ll be analyzing that one for a while…)

When I was working with our architect to design my pantry he kept trying to make it bigger. I kept explaining that food/cooking wasn’t really my thing and after living with my previous pantry, anything I could walk into would be plenty big and would feel like a dream!

A few things that were on my pantry wish list: regular drawers, pull out basket drawers, open shelving for food, open shelving for kitchen accessories, counter space and wall space to hang a few things. Done and done! I am so happy with how it turned out and feel grateful for this space every single day.

Even though I LOVE organization there are some spots in my home that I struggle to keep organized. My pantry isn’t one of them! For some reason food pantries have always been my easiest spot to keep neat and organized. I think it’s because I really can’t function when this space is a mess. I just can’t. I am in and out of my pantry too many times a day. I also have a long time habit of straightening things in my pantry every time I bring in new groceries which is pretty much every other day! (I absolutely had to do this with my previous pantry because we were short on space). So while other spots in my home can get out of control in no time, this pantry always stays nice and organized. Just the way I like it. :)

Now before I break things down for you I need to add a little disclaimer. I am not a food blogger. Or a nutritionist. My pantry is not full of wheat/organic/tofu/all natural whatever. I wish it was, but it’s not. You can usually count on some type of fruits and veggies cut up in my fridge, but my pantry is another story. Just throwing that out there so there’s no judging the food I have in this space. Let’s just focus on how it’s organized mkay? :)

How about these open shelves I have for storing miscellaneous kitchen items when I’m not using them? Pretty storage? Now that I do. ;)

Below these shelves I have baskets I labeled SAUCES, CHIPS, GRAINS and PASTA INGREDIENTS because those are the things I seem to be reaching for most days. The baskets are these Savannah Utility baskets – long time favorites! I have them all over my house and love them for organizing! You can see them in my master bathroom cupboards, on my tub shelves and I also have them in a few closets. I took these pantry pics quite a while ago and since then have actually switched these smaller square baskets out for the Savannah Lidded baskets because they are longer front to back so I can store more food and utilize my counter space better (I’m not using the lids.) My labels were just typed on the computer on white paper and cut to size to fit in these bin clip labels. Easy to switch out if I ever ditch the chips and add the tofu. (I don’t think those labels are getting switched out any time soon.) ;)

This is a picture of my pantry soon after we moved in. Initially I was going to keep the drawers open like this but then a few months later I decided I wanted to put drawer fronts on them. Hardware and labels please!

My carpenter made the drawer fronts and I found these label pulls at Pottery Barn. (They don’t sell them anymore which is so sad because I love them! I used them in our playroom and Kole’s room for drawers too.) I printed labels for SNACKS, FOILS, PAPER GOODS, APRONS, and COOKBOOKS.

I keep snacks for the kids in the top two drawers. This makes lunch packing and snack time a little easier.

I shouldn’t say these drawers are just for the kids. I’m the one who has always been popcorn obsessed.

I use these Dream Drawer Dividers to organize our snacks. LOVE these. Another favorite organizer I have all over my house! You can see how I use them in closets here.

This drawer holds foils and ziplock bags.

Paper goods are in the bottom left drawer and I didn’t take a picture of our aprons and cookbooks on the other side. (Those two drawers could probably use some dusting.) ;)

Moving to the left side of the pantry!

I use the top two shelves for more miscellaneous kitchen items (bowls and things I only use once in a while).

And the next two shelves for baking products and food we reach for often.

I use these Store and Pour containers for cereal and then the OXO Good Grips for everything else. I like to keep my baking supplies labeled but I don’t label the rest of the containers because you can easily tell what’s inside of them and they are easier to wash without the labels on them. And yes.. we eat a lot of pretzels and pasta at our house. :)

The counter in my pantry is one of my favorite things and has come in so handy! I often have my black tray and our beloved popcorn bowls slid to the side. Then I have a clear counter to set my grocery sacks and food on after a trip to the grocery store while I’m putting everything away.

I risked my life getting on a ladder to take some of these pics. Am I forgiven yet for taking so long to share this space? ;)

Let’s talk about the magic happening below the counter. SO nice having these open shelves for larger items. I use this Expand a Shelf in the middle to store canned goods. I love that you can adjust it to fit any space.

The bottom shelves are for any extras.

This wooden crate was a random Home Goods find and works perfectly to hold all of our oils. They can get sticky so I always like having them in some sort of tray, basket, or crate.

Then there’s my pull out baskets. I told my carpenter about these (I had seen something similar in a magazine) and it took him a while to find them but he finally did and built them into my pantry design.

They have a plastic lining on the inside so they are great to store food and wipe out. I use the top drawer for bread and the bottom two for things like onions and potatoes. And no.. we don’t usually keep this many onions and potatoes on hand! I filled them for the BHG photoshoot and then was trying to come up with creative ways to use them for quite a while. Which basically just meant lots of potatoes with onions. My culinary skills are impressive I tell ya. Ha.

I knew I wanted some wall space in my pantry so that I could hang/display my kids’ art/school work and random letters, announcements, etc. (You can find my kitchen art prints here.)

I bought these two pin boards from PB (they have similar options now I’ll link below) and have loved them. Perfect for swapping out every day life kinds of things. :)

When I bought a large chalkboard for my office I loved it so much I decided to put the same thing in my pantry.

You guys.. I had such great plans for this chalkboard! I was going to start meal planning and writing the week’s menu on this chalkboard. Every Sunday night! I was going to be planning those meals.

Guess how often that happened?

When the BHG crew was here taking pics of this space they suggested some meals I could write on the chalkboard. Some of the meals they suggested sounded so fancy and I seriously hadn’t even heard of them before! I laughed and told them there was NO way my blog readers would buy that I was cooking all that. So they said ok.. just write what your family typically eats during a week. So I wrote the menu above.

And then they laughed.

I didn’t dare tell them that this was a good cooking week for us. Baked Ziti AND Teriyaki Chicken the same week? That’s my A game.

And I haven’t touched this chalkboard since.

We may not always enjoy the finest of dinning around here, but this pantry has served us well and works great for our family.

Plus it is an organizer’s dream! And when you can have that.. who really cares what you’re eating? #priorities

;)

On a sidenote, if you are struggling with pantry organization I’m going to write a post that covers some tips I’ve learned over the years! Let me know in the comments if you have anything you want me to address in that post. All pantry sources are below! Also below that I’ve added some links to all the fun things I’m scoping out that are on sale this weekend for President’s Day. So many great deals. It’s a good weekend to shop! Or to organize your pantry! Or both! Or neither.

Whatever you do this weekend, I hope it’s a good one. :)

{PANTRY SOURCES}

{WEEKEND SALES}

xoxo, Erin

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Fashion

02.12.18

Fashion, Life Lately and Valentine’s Ideas

Sharing some recent fashion favorites today! Along with a lot of additional randomness. I’m apologizing early again for the length of this post! I guess we have some catching up to do. :)

{Zella Hoodie (on sale!)/Zella Leggings/Adidas Sneakers} *affiliate links used

I can’t tell you how good it feels to be out of bed and getting dressed these days. Of course my wardrobe has consisted of pretty much leggings and athletic wear, but I’ll take it! This knee surgery has been a little harder on me than I thought it would be and has definitely helped me appreciate all of the little things I often take for granted. I missed getting dressed in cute clothes! I missed driving. I missed being able to pick things up and carry them from one room to another. I miss checking on my kids in their bedrooms upstairs each night after they fall asleep (still can’t do that one). I even missed grocery shopping. Not the cooking of course – I was happy to take a long break from coming up with dinner each night. In fact I’m still conveniently suffering from major knee pain and needing to rest right around 5:30 each evening.. ha. We’ll see how long I can milk this thing. ;) Anyway.. happy to be among the living again and grateful that I have several pairs of these Zella high waist leggings. They have been on repeat around here! The Zella hoodie I’m wearing is so soft and warm and perfect for easing back into life. And I know.. you’re all dying to know how you can get the knee brace. It’s a hot accessory this season so I’ll link to it at the end of this post. ;)

{sweatshirt/necklace}

This sweatshirt might be my most favorite sweatshirt I’ve ever owned. Honestly. I love it so much I wore it three times last week! I’m going to order it in a different color because I just keep reaching for it. It’s so comfortable and soft! And not too heavy. Perfect for transitioning into Spring.

The material is so nice you could even dress it up. Would be so cute with these jeans and my peep toe booties. I miss wearing peep toe booties!

This Nike half zip top is so light weight and comfortable. I love having the option of using the thumb holes on athletic tops like this.

This Zella hoodie is one I’ve had for a while and love. It’s on sale and comes in coral and a darker blue that’s cute too.

I just ordered this cute half zip running top. I love the blue! It fits true to size except the arms are a bit tight so I might try it in a small. (Wearing xs in this pic)

{Camo top/AG jeans/Adidas sneakers}

I ventured into jeans twice last week but could only wear them for a couple of hours. My knee is still swollen and gets so sore and I’m moving very slowly (can’t bend my knee at all when I walk) so after a couple of hours in jeans I just wanted to be back in leggings! But I was dying to wear this camo top I ordered. I’m so in love with it! It runs BIG so order a size down (this is an xxs).

It’s long! I love it tucked in the front and hanging in the back. And I know.. this brace makes me look like I’m right out of Terminator.

A newish cute flannel plaid top! I don’t normally love pink on me but I love the pink and black together in this shirt.

K – these drawstring trooper pants. I’m so in love! Pants like these are my all time favorite and I live in them. Soft, comfy, stylish. They come in other colors and I want them in black too. Or the green! I think the pink sold out. The camo pair was a no brainer for me. :) Wearing them with this long time favorite linen tee. Pants like this you can wear casual like I am or dress them up with different shirt/shoes.

This pic was from last year with similar cargos I bought at Anthro. I love wearing cargo pants with these beloved strappy sandals. A quick shoe change and you’re ready for dinner out!

I’ve had these black similar cargos for years and have worn them out! Another look at this type of pants with cute strappy sandals. Spring we are ready for you! And speaking of gingham because I love this top.. there are so many cute new gingham things I have my eye on. Here are a few..

Remember in early January when I shared this Dyson Supersonic blowdryer that my husband gave me for Christmas? I kind of decided I didn’t love it and was going to return it. Some of you suggested learning how to use it better and I probably should have done that but I had time to do a little blow dryer research this past month :) and I decided instead to give this one a try..

{RUSK Engineering W8less Professional 2000 Watt Dryer}

I’ve been using it the past few weeks and love it! It dries my hair faster than the Dyson did, doesn’t get too hot and like the Dyson it’s really lightweight.

So since I had a little extra hair care cash after returning the Dyson.. ha :) I decided to try this T3 Twirl Trio curling iron. It just came last week and I haven’t tried it yet but I’m so excited to because I’ve been hearing rave reviews about it for a long time now. You can buy just the 1.25 barrel for less, but sometimes I like the 1 inch and I curl my girls’ hair often for events too so it will be nice to have the different sized barrels to swap out depending on the look we’re going for. Do any of you have this curling iron? Would love to hear what you think! I’ll let you know if I love it or not soon. I’ve always just used a super cheap $12 curling iron from Target but my last one broke and I’m excited to see if this is worth the extra cash!

This is random but I was looking for a new mirror on-line the other night and I stumbled on my barstools!

Well.. almost my barstools. My barstools were made custom but because so many of you have asked about them I wanted to share that you can get almost identical barstools for a great price right now on Overstock! Hope that’s helpful for some of you. :)

Random pics of life around here lately..

Bike riding with dad.

Kole does such a fun thing in his 2nd grade class.. every Friday he writes a journal entry to someone in his family and then over the weekend we write back. :) This journal will be so fun for him to keep forever full of sweet notes from his family. I love this so much and want to continue this with him next year even if he isn’t doing it in class. Thought I’d share it in case any of you want to start it with your kids too. :) You could even write the letters back and forth once a month if once a week was too much to keep up with. I love how he ended this one “I hope you are having the best day of your life.” Hmmm.. some laundry, housework, computer work and driving kids around. Definitely a top contender. ;)

Leaving Physical Therapy. Another dreadful winter day in southern California. ;)

Sisterly love.

Leaving student led parent/teacher conferences last week. I have lots of good pics of the back of Kenny and the kids lately because I’m always walking at a snail’s pace behind everyone.

What most evenings have looked like the past two months. Thanks for all the love on my master bedroom post btw! I was so happy to finally share it with all of you. :)

I gave Kole this set of Roald Dahl books for Christmas (long time favorites) and we are almost finished with them all. I’m looking for a fun new set of books to start with him. Moms of boys in Elementary school.. what have been favorites?

I seriously love life with a 7 year old. :)

{this pic was taken one week after surgery – which is more scary.. the brace or how white my other leg is? Ha.}

Ok.. this post has already gone on too long but so many have asked on Instagram what the deal is with my knees so I’m going to quickly explain the situation for those of you who are interested. If you don’t care (or if hearing medical issues makes you queasy) just skip to the Valentines ideas at the end of this post! :)

My knee caps dislocate. Both of them. Often. I could be exercising or just walking or whatever and my knee cap will pop out of place and I fall to the ground and have to put it back in place. (I told you not to read this if this stuff makes you sick!). Whenever it happens it hurts so badly (I always cry!) and then I’m usually icing my knee and limping for a week and then back to normal until it happens again. It happened the first time when I was in Elementary school and has been happening ever since. My sister has fun childhood memories of the Easter I ruined the egg hunt because my knee dislocated right when they blew the whistle to start the race and she didn’t get any eggs because she was comforting her crying sister in the grass. :) I dealt with it a lot during high school and college because I danced so much and did physical therapy to help. It happened when I was pregnant with Kole and I hit the ground so hard we had to go to the emergency room to make sure he was ok. It happened once when he was a baby and I was carrying him coming out of Target and I fell and dropped him in the parking lot. One of the saddest days ever for me! Thankfully he wasn’t hurt.

It’s genetic and the reason it happens is because of the structure of my knee. The surgery to fix it is major (it lasted 4 hours) and that’s why I’ve put it off for so long! But the past few years one of my two knees was dislocating at least once a month and I just couldn’t deal with it anymore. To fix it they had to do basically 4 surgeries in one.. break and realign the bone below my knee (I have a fun long scar on my leg from that one), add donor tendons to help keep my knee cap in place, reshape things and then clean out the joint from all of the damage done from years of my knee cap dislocating.

Isn’t that fun!? Are you all so jealous? Ha. ;) I can’t even think about doing all of this again on the other knee. I think I’ll need to wait a year or two for that.

The first two weeks were rough. A lot of pain and the meds made me so sick! My kids have been so sweet through the whole thing. The first few weeks after surgery whenever they were home they were either in bed with me or playing right next to me. The girls help me shower and pick up the house and put Kole to bed because I can’t go upstairs. Kenny has been working non stop covering his work, the kids activities and all of the other stuff I usually do. I have been so grateful for my little family through it all! Things have definitely been different with everyone taking care of mom lately.

I’m doing physical therapy once a week and feeling much better than I was.

But more than anything I’m just so grateful to be done with crutches!

My parents were in town for a week and that was a huge help. Plus I just enjoyed the company. Nice to have people to chat with when you’re spending most of the day in bed! I was glad they were here in time to see Kole’s ancestor program in school. It was so cute. :)

So! I’m through the worst of it and now just have to keep doing my exercises and wear this brace that locks my leg straight when I walk for the rest of February. It has to be so tight to stay in place that it pushes my thigh fat up at the top. Such a cute look. Can you tell how much I love it? Ha. If my X-rays look good in March I will be able to toss the brace and walk normally and I’m hoping the pain will be minimal by then.

Thank you SO much for all of your kind and encouraging words! So many of you have reached out to check on me and offer well wishes and it has meant so much. I’m sorry if I haven’t been able to get back to each of you but please know that I read every message and comment and e-mail and I’m beyond grateful for all of your love and support. I have had quite a few not so fun days during recovery and your sweet words have honestly cheered me up more times than I can count!

Because this post isn’t long enough.. ;) here are a few past Valentine pics and links for anyone looking for ideas!

{Over 10 Fun Ideas for Valentines Day}

This post is full of Valentine decorating ideas, fun Valentines for the kids and our favorite pretzel hug V-day treat.

{Our February Tradition.. Sharing the Love}

Doing this with the kids tomorrow!

{Simple Valentine Party Ideas}

{How to Make a Cupcake Valentine Box}

An easy solution if you need to help throw something together for the kids. Happy February friends! :)

{POST SOURCES}

xoxo, Erin

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Home Decor

02.04.18

Decorated Master Bedroom!

Friends! I’m sharing my decorated master bedroom today! Finally! Usually for long posts when I’ve taken WAY too many pictures I suggest you all grab a snack before we get started. Today I’d like to suggest you grab a meal. That’s right. Cheese and pretzels won’t cut it today. You’re going to need something more substantial. Ha. ;)

I tried to include as many details and sources as I could but let me know if you have other questions! This is the hallway leading to our bedroom. (French doors lead to our backyard.) Come in come in! I always love having you over. :)

I mentioned in my last post (with earlier pics of this room soon after we built our home and moved in) that I wanted this room to feel spacious and full of light, but also cozy. Mission accomplished and I’m so happy with how it turned out. I hope you all like it too!

I decided on the same pitched shiplap and beam ceiling that I sketched for our family room. It’s my favorite. :) And I’m so happy with the new paint! (You can see the original paint I had in my previous master bedroom post.)

*affiliate links used

Ok.. so many details to share in this room! Here we go…

First.. the chandelier. This room is large and to be honest I really struggled with the light fixture! It was so hard finding something big enough that fit the style I was going for. I loved and ordered this light (same fixture I have but a smaller size) and it looked so funny. Just way too small for this space. Which I kind of knew, but I wanted it to work so badly that I ordered it anyway! I returned it and then wanted this light. Too small. Same with this one and this one. Every fixture I loved and wanted for my bedroom just wasn’t big enough. Finally I found the original light I ordered in a larger size! That was a happy day. :) It has sold out now but this fixture is almost identical.

This Moroccan Trellis rug is one of the first things I ordered for my house. I had loved it for so long and almost put it in my formal living room. But then I found my living room rug and decided to put this in the bedroom. They are similar! Clearly I like cream rugs with diamond patterns. :) This rug is the absolute SOFTEST rug ever and I love that about it. BUT. It sheds like crazy. I’ve had it for a few years now and the shedding is finally slowing down. Worth it to me because I love the rug (style and softness) and vacuum this room once a week, but a warning if you are considering it too!

I love having a wooden ladder in this room to toss throws over. (I have the same ladder in my powder bathroom that holds towels.) The orange/coral throw in this pic has always looked a bit too bright to me so I recently ordered this herringbone throw in “salmon” to put there instead. But I love my new throw so much I want it in the family room too so we’ll see where it lands. I play musical home decor a lot around here. :)

Our nightstands are from Restoration Hardware. The Eva glass lamps were the second thing I bought after the rug.. love them so much! (These are the Jade color.) I don’t know what it was about these pagoda shaped mirrors but they were love at first sight also. I like how they add just a touch of glam to the space. I keep my nightstand decor pretty simple. I know a real plant or fresh flowers would look better, but I keep real flowers on a different table in this room and that’s all I can keep up with. :) My nightstand holds a small frame with a favorite pic of my three kids, my all time favorite candle and then I framed my list of 40 things my friends love about me from my last birthday party. SO special to me.

K – these chairs! I can’t even think about these spindle chairs without feeling pure JOY. Like they almost make me want to cry I love them so much. They almost made my husband cry when he saw what I spent on them.. so yeah.. lots of tears were almost shed over these beloved chairs. ;) These exact chairs aren’t available anymore but below are similar options. Similar options that are less expensive so tell your spouse I said you’re welcome. ;) I also linked to similar silver end tables (mine is also sold out). The pillows in my bedroom are all custom and so are the drapes. (I ordered them from my darling friend/designer Tritia. You can find her info. in this post.) I wasn’t going to put drapes in this room because I already had plantation shutters, but then decided on simple panels just for decor (they don’t close all the way) to soften the space. When I chose this fabric I was a little nervous about how they would look, but the second they were installed I was thrilled! I love them so much. They add a lot of softness and texture.

Fresh flowers and a favorite organizing book complete this happy sitting area. :)

My bed is the Alison bed from Ethan Allen and then I customized it by choosing the fabric. Bedding is this Pintuck Duvet cover/shams from West Elm. I love white bedding! Especially this white bedding. So clean and crisp and you can mix up your pillows and decor and bring in so many fun colors. Lots of options with white bedding! I’m a fan. :) I also have to add that we have had these sheets for over a year and I love them. SO soft.

My bench was a custom order from a company I’ve never used before and I have to say.. NOT impressed. The customer service was awful.. they took forever with my order and didn’t return calls. Huge pain to work with and even though I’m happy with how the bench turned out, I’ll never order from them again (or recommend them to you!).

I was struggling with what to put over my bed (I knew I wanted one big frame but couldn’t decide on a family picture, art or a sign.) Tritia suggested some art from Minted so I looked on-line and found this print and loved it (plus it was the colors I wanted to bring in the room!) but I wasn’t sure. For some reason art has always made me nervous! A bit out of my comfort zone. I looked around for a few more months and couldn’t find anything else I liked as much. I had the art selected with the frame I wanted in my on-line cart ready to push buy but I just couldn’t do it.. I kept going back and forth and talking myself out of it. Then literally later that same day I got an e-mail from Minted asking if I wanted to choose some art to share with all of you in a post! I seriously couldn’t believe it! I took that as a sign. This art was meant to be mine. :) It’s Minted’s Morning River and I chose the classic white frame in the largest size (54 x 40). I’m so happy with how it turned out! In fact I loved it so much that soon after I bought this Minted art for my entry way. One thing I’ve learned decorating my house – whenever I break out of my comfort zone and order something I love but that also makes me nervous.. those are often the things I end up loving the most! It’s good to break out of our comfort zones once in a while. :)

{West Elm Bedding/Custom Pillows}

I had some space on the left side of the bedroom for a desk/console table. Sometimes after we put the kids in bed Kenny and I head to the bedroom and he watches TV and I do a little work at this desk.

{lattice accent table/similar console/pinboard/frame/white vase here and here/similar silver tray/chair/large silver vase – Home Goods/faux blossoms}

I found the console at Restoration Hardware and then soon after found this one that is so similar and a lot less expensive. Never fails! I love this pinboard. Perfect to hang pictures and keepsakes from the kids. This is a happy spot in my room. :)

I shared this in my last post.. a custom linen closet I designed for this space that’s directly across from the door to our master bathroom. We keep things like sheets and extra pillows in the cupboards. I added a mirror to the front middle cupboard because I don’t have a full length mirror in my bathroom.

{necklace/madewell bag/Tory Burch bracelet/favorite jeans/peep toe booties}

It ended up becoming my Fashion Friday spot. :) Btw.. I just updated my favorites page with new fashion favorites I love and some I just ordered! I saw my surgeon Friday and was able to switch into a better knee brace. I can finally start putting a little weight on my leg and wearing some cute clothes again! I’m so excited. I’ve been in the same sweat shorts for a month and I’m over them. I’m over crutches too! Good times around here lately. ;)

When we were framing the house I noticed an open pocket of space inside the wall between my master bathroom and bedroom because of the way the wall turned. I talked to my cabinet guys and asked if it would work to add a little book shelf that went back into the wall. I drew a sketch and they said sure and it ended up working out perfectly because we use the bottom cupboards to hide all of the TV equipment for this room. I’ll share a pic of that in another post!

The Let’s Stay Home sign on this hook is another favorite spot. Because I’m all about staying home. :)

I keep favorite throws and magazines in the baskets by my fireplace.

I talked a little about these benches I designed in my previous post. I resisted my temptation to cover them in too many pillows because I’m not so great at making our bed every day and I knew they would hold all the bed pillows most of the time.

This is how they usually look holding the pillow overflow. I snapped this with my phone and shared it on IG stories last week. My every day view. I’ve been spending a lot of time in my bedroom this month!

And that’s it! My master bedroom. Finally decorated and FINALLY posted on the blog. Sorry for the delay. Did you make it through your meal? Moved on to dessert? Just happy you’re still with me. ;)

No doubt I’ll be tweaking things in this space forever but it’s always such a good feeling to have the main furniture and decor figured out. I’m so happy with how it turned out and I hope you all like it too!

I know my little contractor is happy with it. He helped me design this space five years ago.

And then helped me photograph this space five months ago.

Couldn’t have done it without him.

;)

p.s. I’ve been getting so many paint questions lately! If you enter your information in the box at the end of this post you will have access to a free printable with ALL of my paint info. Colors, numbers, sheen, etc. for all of the paint colors throughout my house! Happy painting. :)

{ALL MASTER BEDROOM SOURCES}

{RECENT FASHION COMING TO THE BLOG SOON!}

*Some of these are backordered and sizes are running out so sharing them early. :) You can see more recent home/fashion favorites on my favorites page here.

xoxo, Erin

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Home Decor

01.30.18

Master Bedroom (the beginning!)

Friends! I’m finally sharing pics of my master bedroom! Kind of. Well.. almost. :) Before I share the “for real” pics of my master bedroom all decorated I thought I’d back up a step and show you the beginning of this space because it has had a bit of a transformation!

So – back to the beginning..

Our master bedroom during the building process. My little contractor kept us right on schedule. :)

“I’m envisioning an airy, light filled room.. spacious yet cozy.. with a vaulted planked shiplap ceiling.. and perhaps a custom window seat.. wait.. make that two custom window seats.”

Kole always has the BEST ideas.

Someone found his sisters! Day job is over.

My kids loved playing in this room when we were building. It was tucked away from the busyness and the construction crew and I often found them all three together in this room riding their scooters or playing tag whenever we were at the new house. The room had good vibes from day one. :)

I did want our bedroom to feel spacious, but also cozy with lots of light. I ended up doing the same shiplap vaulted ceiling with beams that I put in our family room and loved how it turned out! What I didn’t love.. was the paint. After choosing paint colors and making so many decisions during building for every room in my house I reached a point of major burnout. I had no clue at the time what colors I would use to decorate my bedroom so I picked a grey with blue tones and called it a day. I knew the second I saw it up on the walls that I didn’t like it. Because of the light in this room the grey gave off a purple tone. It made the room feel darker and I immediately wanted to re-paint! But I just couldn’t tell my husband. We were putting out fires right and left and stressed out dealing with a lot of bigger issues (so typical when you build!) and I didn’t want to hit him with one more thing. I decided that I would just wait until I was ready to decorate this room and figure out paint then. After the stress of building was behind us. Timing is everything ladies.. ;) I also decided to wait on getting a light fixture for this space until I was decorating this room and knew what direction I was going.

We had a beautiful bedroom set in our previous house that we’d had for years. Headboard, nightstands, dresser and hutch. It wasn’t the style/look I wanted in our new master bedroom, but I had planned on moving it into this space anyway knowing that it would be a couple of years before I would get around to decorating this room. On move in day our movers brought my bedroom set out of the big truck and asked me which room to put it in and I just decided on a whim I didn’t want to bring it into the bedroom. We didn’t need the dresser because our closet was big enough to hold all of our clothes and why go to all the hassle when I knew we would be moving it all out at some point? My mother-in-law had always loved that bedroom set so I made a quick executive decision and told the movers to just leave our entire bedroom set in the garage.. we would give it to Kenny’s mom. My husband said “that’s fine.. but what do we do for furniture in our room for now?”

We moved in the mattresses and an old black side table from our last house and called it a day. We planned on at least getting box springs to lift the bed up off the floor.. but never did. Did I mention we were burned out at this point and just didn’t care? It looked like this for over a year! And we kind of liked it this way. It reminded us of our early married college days when we were too poor to even go out to dinner. Ha. :) Our friends all teased us and cracked up when we would give tours of the house and get to this room. It was such a beautiful space and then there were our mattresses on the floor with an old dated comforter, one black side table and a random ottoman that I bought for the family room and then didn’t love in the family room.

We had so many spaces to furnish and as you all know.. I’m a slow decorator. :) It was nice to just not think about this room for a while!

So I didn’t. :) Instead I decorated our family room, our kitchen, the formal living room, our dining room, my office, the girls rooms.. pretty much every room but our bedroom!

But I was excited to finally decorate this room at some point and starting pulling ideas together. When we were designing the house I drew pics of these custom benches with pull out drawers (they aren’t attached to the wall and can be moved) and I couldn’t wait to decorate them with pillows. I wanted something with simple legs that fit the style of our home. Kind of cool to draw a picture of something like that and then see it come to life.

A few more pics of this space..

This is the hallway leading to my bedroom..our master bathroom is the door on the right.

I also designed this custom linen cabinet with a mirror and had my cabinet guys build it for me when they built the benches. This mirror and our bathroom door on the opposite side might look familiar to you.

{J Crew Buffalo Plaid Shirt/Favorite Jeans (AG)/Favorite Necklace/Uggs} *affiliate links

Hello fashion Fridays. :)

The french doors in our hallway lead to our back yard.

Finally it was time to start working on the master! I picked out our bed, nightstands, bedding and pillows first. Then I knew I had to re-paint. I gently broke the fun news to my husband when he was in a particularly good mood one night. He gave me the ok but said that I better pick something I loved because we were NOT paying to paint this room a third time. Pressure! I looked at so many options. I really just wanted something softer and lighter than my original paint color. A nice light background for the colors I was decorating with. I chose “Balboa Mist” by Benjamin Moore as the winner (sample on the far left) but I was afraid it was too light so I had it darkened 20% and went with that (middle color). It was just a tad warmer.

I never know if I’m going to really love a color until it’s all over my wall (the hard part about paint!) so I’m pretty sure I held my breath this entire morning.

By this point I was in love! The room felt so much lighter and brighter!

This paint color is a perfect soft, neutral “greige” (color between beige and gray). It looks like a beige in these pics, but with my furniture/fabrics in the room it looks like more of a gray.

Which you’ll see.. in my next post. :)

xoxo, Erin

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Organization

01.26.18

Organized Built-ins for Toys

Happy Friday friends! We made it to the end of the week. And I made it through week two after knee surgery. I can’t say it has been an easy two weeks.. or a fun two weeks for that matter! But every day gets a little better so.. baby steps right? I can’t think “baby steps” without wanting to watch What About Bob. A classic in my book. :)

Talking about organized built-ins for toys today but first.. I’m happy so many of you liked my post on DVD organization! I had lots of questions.. one that kept popping up was where am I going to keep the DVDs. Oops! Forgot to take a picture of where I’m storing them.

{wood oval tray/chair/lamp/wool jute rug/favorite throw}

Right now they are in this cupboard in our family room entertainment center. I couldn’t take a picture on crutches today so you get a lovely arrow on an older picture instead. ;)

I might move them into these drawers in our theatre room when it’s finished if there is enough room OR just leave them out on this counter. I’m going to see if we are using the DVDs in this room or the family room more.

Alright.. let’s talk toy organization! Last summer when I was decorating Kole’s room I started moving his toys into the new space and quickly realized that he had too many. Something most moms realize about toys at one point or another, right? Between birthdays and Christmas and grandparent visits and trips to Target in-between, kids end up with a crazy amount of toys.

Whenever I’m purging and organizing toys I gather them up all over the house and dump them in one huge pile like the one above. A lot of times I don’t involve the kids in this (so that I can get rid of things without a struggle!) but I had a nice pep talk with Kole before we started and told him that he needed to choose some toys to give to other kids who might not have many toys to play with. He is better about purging than my girls ever were so he was on board.

We go through the pile picking up one item at a time and decide if it’s a keep or donate. If it’s a “keep” we start categorizing. I think categorizing is great skill for young kids to work on! I let Kole guide which pile something belongs in. We ended up with piles of vehicles..

stuffed animals..

dinosaurs, pretend play items..

transformers, tools, snakes and spiders, arrows and swords. We got rid of a lot of toys through the process. Not as many as if I would have done this process alone, but.. progress.

Kole was a huge help as always. ;)

Now it was time to find a happy home for everything! My favorite part. :)

You might remember when I shared Kole’s bedroom that I mentioned designing these built-ins for toys.

I used them for the largest items – all of the “guys” as Kole calls them (transformers, star wars guys, etc.) and then dinosaurs.

Then all of the vehicles go in the two drawers on the right.

I still need to add labels but so nice to have these items organized!

Easy access and easy clean-up for my little buddy too. #win

The stuffed animals went in the rustic rope bin and the smaller toys went in the top three drawers of his dresser.

I still have a few things to finish in Kole’s room (on the home project list for this year!) but it’s nice to at least have all of his toys organized.

We have other organized built-ins for toys in our playroom and I need to take a new picture of this closet because it’s half empty and doesn’t look like this anymore. Some of these toys went to Kole’s room and my girls are playing with toys less and less so we’ve sent some to goodwill. I still love this closet with built-in shelves for family games and toys we are hanging onto.

We also have these organized built-ins for toys against the wall in our playroom that hold the girls stuffed animals, etc. You can read more about them in this post. Fun options if you are building or re-modeling and thinking about built-ins for toys. In previous homes I created my own toy storage with baskets and bins and containers and shelves. The key with toy organization is purging often and making sure your storage is easy access for the kids so that when it’s time to clean up they can do it on their own. Organizing toys feels SO good doesn’t it!? Toys can take over a home and drive you crazy if you aren’t careful!

Alright friends.. signing off! But first Kenny asked me earlier this week to give him a few ideas for Valentines Day. I think he can tell I might need a little pick me up after surviving this surgery. :) So I’m sharing my wish list below! For him or in case any of you are in need of a little Valentine pick me up too and someone in your life also needs a hint.

To my sweet husband.. I would love any one of the items below!

Or any two or three of them.. ;) Love you babe.

{Kole’s Bedroom Sources}

xoxo, Erin

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Organization

01.24.18

DVD Organization (the best solution!)

Friends! This post has been a long time coming. A very L-O-N-G time coming. I am so happy to tell you all that I have finally organized my DVDs! And I feel like it’s the best solution out there. At least for us. :)

In order to really appreciate this new system I feel the need to share what a struggle DVD organization has been for me in the past. The picture above was taken about 7 years ago in our previous house. Life with three kids brought many things into our lives – one of which was a decent collection of kids’ DVDs that I organized in this drawer in our entertainment center. In alphabetical order of course. No.. I haven’t changed much. :)

This worked great. Until..

Kole was on the move. Adorable? Yes. But on a mission each day to destroy every ounce of organization in my house.

See what I mean. Never thought I’d say this but I miss those days! Not the mess.. but definitely my little terror. :)

{Organized Playroom}

When we moved into our new house I put all of the DVDs (that had grown into an even bigger collection) on my hutch in our playroom.

I know that DVDs will be phasing out eventually with Netflix, Streaming Media and all of the other options out there, but my kids still watch and love these movies. We have family movie nights and watch old favorites, we use them when we travel, the kids watch them with friends. We just aren’t ready to get rid of them yet. But keeping them out like this in the playroom was a terrible temporary solution! No matter how hard I tried I continued to struggle to find the exact movie my kids wanted to watch, to keep the correct disc in the correct case, and to keep some sort of order with these movies that my kids were constantly moving around.

{DVD Pro Dividers/DVD Pro Sleeves/DVD Pro Snap-Fit Tray} *affiliate links used

I had always planned on creating my own system to organized DVDs, but I finally realized that I’m in a phase of life with my now older busy kids where my time matters most. I just don’t have the time for a lot of DIY projects. I had seen and been debating these dividers at The Container Store for years and finally pulled the plug and bought them. I ended up buying two Pro Divider Packs, five Pro Snap-Fit Trays, and LOTS of the DVD Pro Sleeves because we have so many DVDs. It was a long time coming investment in my sanity!

I have to say that I underestimated how long this little project would take! I pulled every DVD from every room in our house and started taking the covers out of their cases.

Then I decided to organize them all alphabetically with their dividers before putting them in the cases.

{Family room sources: Fiddle Leaf Fig/Baskets/Fig Basket/Wool Jute rug/Similar Coffee Table/Similar Lamp/Accent Table}

Pretty soon this project had taken on a life of its own and before I knew it my kids were home from school and we needed our family room back!

So I moved everything into our formal dining room. And then I got busy and it all sat there. For weeks.

Until we needed to use our dining room.

So I moved everything into Kenny’s home office. And I continued to stay busy and it all sat there. For more weeks. Making my husband so happy. He just loves it when I dump my half finished projects in his office. ;)

Finally months later I had a free day to invest in this project. I pulled everything out in the family room (again!), turned on one of our DVD’s :) and got to work.

Hours later…

Ta-da! DONE. DVD Organization. Was it really happening for me!? After years of DVD chaos?

It was. Every single movie we own. In a thin DVD sleeve. With the DVD jacket in front so we can still see pics of our favorite movies.

Organized alphabetically. Oh the JOY!

What was that Kole? You want to watch Big Hero 6? Why let me just flip to the “B’s”.. and quickly pull it out!

Girls.. are you in the mood for The Sound of Music? I’m on it! In record time. :)

And if that wasn’t enough to make me giddy.. just look at all of the space I’m saving! With room to spare in two of the trays. I love how you can adjust them to fit how many DVDs you have.

It took three trays to hold all of our regular DVDs.

Then I used two separate trays to hold Christmas movies and Barbie movies (we have quite the collection my girls don’t want to part with!).

I used my trusty label maker to label the last two trays.

It was so nice to just pull out this single tray in December and have easy access to all of our Christmas movies!

I also added “Kids Performances” to the last tray. So nice to have a place to keep all of the DVDs of plays, school performances, dance recitals, etc. for the kids.

When we travel I just pull out the DVD sleeves we want and put them in a large ziplock bag. I love how it takes up NO space. This set up has been a dream!

So that’s it! DVD organization in my home. FINALLY. I wish I would have done this years ago! But instead of looking back, I will just celebrate the fact that it’s done now.

A before and after that was definitely worth waiting for. :)

{POST SOURCES}

xoxo, Erin

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Organization

01.18.18

How to Set Up a Productive Home Office

Well! It has been an eventful few days around here to say the least. Thank you so much for all of the love and well wishes about my knee surgery! It made my day to hear from so many of you on the blog/social media and truly helped get me through a not so fun week. Surgery went well and after a few days of serious pain and nausea I am doing much better! My sweet family is taking such good care of me.. my kids just piled in bed with me over the weekend :) and we are making it one day at a time. I go in for my first post op app. tomorrow and will be able to take a shower for the first time since surgery after that so counting down! It’s the little things. :) I will share more knee updates along the way but for now we are switching gears to talk about how to set up a productive home office! Why? Because productivity is a favorite topic of mine and it’s especially fun to talk about when I’m laying in bed being sick and completely unproductive. Ha. ;)

I’m always looking for ways to be more productive during my work day and one thing that really helped me last year was getting my office organized. And by organized I don’t just mean clean. I mean organized and set up in a way that helps me to be more efficient with my time.

I while ago I bought these wood and metal 2-level trays for my office. (I bought three of them to put together.)

I made labels for each one and the system I’ve set up with these trays really helps me keep my paper organized and helps me to stay on task! I use the top three bins for personal items and the bottom three are blog/work related.

The top right tray is for urgent to-do’s. These are the personal items that need my attention soon. They might have their own deadline like a form that needs to be signed for my kids’ school, or it might just be something that I want to go over soon with my husband. Anything that I need/want to address and take care of within the week goes in this bin.

Right below that is the “urgent to-do” inbox for my blog. Again it just holds things/notes/forms I need for posts and blog stuff I’m working on now.

The middle two trays hold personal and blog items that I’m “working on” which for me just means things that are coming up. Future posts and paper work that needs to be addressed at some point, but not necessarily this week.

Then the last two trays hold paperwork for blog resources (mostly notes I refer to often) and house projects that are always in the works. I love having a spot for house project odds and ends! Notes I’ve written when I have an idea for something house related, a bid from a contractor for the theatre room, a magazine inspiration page, a paint sample I picked up and love, etc.

I’ve loved these trays because when paper starts to pile up it’s so easy to go through everything and either trash it or file it here. When I sit down to work after dropping my kids off at school in the morning I always start by glancing through my “urgent to-do” trays to make sure I’m focusing on things that need to get done soon. Then I refer to my to-do list and work off of it. The urgent trays have really helped me make sure nothing slips through the cracks that needs my attention!

Soon after I bought my wood trays I started paying attention to what type of paper was piling up every day and that’s how I knew what to label everything. If you think something similar would help you organize all of the random paper that piles up in your house start thinking about what categories your paperwork would fit in. Do you have items for a project you’re working on? Stuff for the kids? Work related lists? Paint samples and magazine pages cut out like me? :) I think everyone should have some type of “urgent” or inbox tray that gets looked through daily for those items that require action. That has been the most helpful for me!

I’ve shared these white hanging file folders before. (I’ve had this for years! You can find something similar here or here.)

This is where all of my kids’ paper work goes. I took this picture last summer so the files are just holding their summer workbooks, but usually these slots are for anything my kids are currently working on (files are labeled with their names). Study guide for a test coming up, notes to review, flashcards, Kole’s weekly spelling list, etc. Current things. (I file their school/art work we are saving somewhere else! That’s a post for another day.) :)

This fun to-do board was a Home Goods find. I took this picture months ago and keep forgetting to share it! Nice to have a place to jot down random house to-do’s I can work on when a free minute pops up.

My desk drawers hold my favorite pens and highlighters. List making essentials!

And below that.. my secret stash of cute notepads. I know.. I hoard cute notepads. It’s a problem I don’t want to fix. :)

Those are just a few things I’ve done to set up a productive home office that have helped me be more efficient with my time! Now if you’ll excuse me.. I need to move from my bed to the couch which takes a great amount of effort and is the main thing I will accomplish today.

Working on a different set of to-do’s around here for the next few weeks. ;)

{OFFICE SOURCES and SIMILAR ITEMS} *affiliate links used

xoxo, Erin

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Favorite Things

01.12.18

Gratitude and Favorite Things

Friends! It has been a slow week on the blog. For good reason. I’ve been cleaning. And organizing. And running my kids all over the city. And doing laundry. And cleaning some more. So basically the usual. Ha. But even more intensely this time! Because tomorrow morning I check into the hospital to get knee surgery. Major knee surgery on my left knee to fix an issue I’ve dealt with my whole life. I’ll spare you the gory details (I’ve dealt with years of gory knee details!) and just say that I’m happy and bummed about it all at the same time. So happy to finally be fixing this issue! (On my left knee.. I’ll have to get surgery on the right knee at some point too.) So bummed about the recovery. 10 days of not being able to bend my knee or drive and then a few weeks after that of being able to bend my knee, but no weight on it. So basically a month of crutches. :( Kenny is working from home and covering the kids the first week and then my parents are coming for the week after that. Then I’ll have a couple of weeks on crutches to fend for myself.. good times around here. ;)

So my house has gone from full on Christmas.

To full on disaster.

To organized and clean once again. Knowing that I won’t be able to really clean much for a month has put me into hyper overdrive and I have seriously made my house shine from top to bottom. (Favorite cleaning supplies and tips here.) Which is ridiculous because after two days of me being down it will be a complete disaster again. But oh well. I feel better knowing it’s clean. I have so many projects to share with you all! And the good news is that I’ll have plenty of time to share them. Blogging/computer work is basically all I can do for the next month.

So get ready to get tired of me. ;)

I do have a litte bit of Christmas cheer still lingering! I displayed our Christmas cards on my shiplap display wall and then put the overflow around my office door. I usually leave my Christmas cards up through February. They make me happy. :) (They are all attached with blue painters tape.)

Remember the little closet in my mudroom? (That I affectionately call my hobbit closet.) :)

You can see how it’s organized here. I use it to store pool stuff and luggage and I use a laundry basket to corral miscellaneous bags.

I added this bin just inside the closet door to hold things I need to return. A return bin! Such a simple thing but I’m loving it! I always have returns.. clothes I ordered that didn’t fit the girls, home decor that I brought home and didn’t love, etc. Now I have a place to put them all together (out of the way) so that when I’m running errands they are all in one spot and easy to grab before I head out the door. Thought I’d share that idea in case any of you would benefit from a return bin too!

Speaking of my mudroom, after I cleaned it all out for the new year I laid down this gorgeous new rug! So pretty. I love the deep blue and the pattern. Plus it’s so soft and was on sale! Nothing like a clean space with a new rug for the new year. :) (You can see how I organize my mudroom here. My Hunter boots are also on sale!)

Couple of other recent favorites..

I love these reclaimed wood shelves and they are such a great deal. I’m trying to figure out where I can put them!

During my crazier than usual cleaning spree this past week I realized it has been way too long since I bought new dishcloths. I did a little searching on-line and found these from Williams Sonoma. So cute right!? They come in lots of fun colors. I went straight for the black and white stripes and coral. But you knew that. :)

My mom gave me and my brother and sister these beautiful glass Gratitude Jars for Christmas. They were part of Oprah’s Favorite Things on Amazon (did you all see her round-up.. so many fun things!). They sold out fast but I thought I’d share them because you can obviously use any jar to do this with your family (I’ll link to some other options). We are all writing down one thing we are grateful for each day this year. It has been such a fun family activity! Kenny and I sometimes forget and the kids remind us. :) I’ve loved reading the sweet things they write down. I’m trying to decide if we’ll share some of them together once every month.. or maybe in November around Thanksgiving it would be fun to read them together? Still figuring out the details, but for now they are helping each of us focus on something GOOD every day. Love that. BEST gift mom!

Grateful for you. ;)

I’m also grateful for my fireplace this month because is has been chilly! I know.. not so chilly to some of you (low 60’s and we are in full on winter mode around here!) but regardless, I love getting my kids off to school and then coming home and putting on my favorite cardigan and turning on the fireplace. Sometimes I sit here with my computer and work until my back is burning. :)

For Christmas Kenny and I gave each other this 10 piece Stainless-Steel cookware set.

These pots and pans are SO beautiful. And SO intimidating. Ha! Seriously though.. I don’t dare use them! They are still sitting in my cupboards just looking shiny and gorgeous! I feel like I’ll start cooking with them and let them down.

Couple of things we’ve been eating on repeat.. made with our old pots and pans. My favorite Taco Salad.

And this White Bean Chili Soup. Perfect to eat next to the fireplace until your back burns.

And on a random side note since we’re talking food.. I’m loving this new to me microwave bacon! Seriously.. genius! I love bacon once in a while with eggs for breakfast but never make it because of the mess. Not with these babies! Pop a pouch in the microwave for 3 minutes and done! Perfect crispy bacon ready to eat. NO cooking. NO mess. I’m a fan.

I’m already really missing our mellow evenings over Christmas break. I loved just being home together as a family. My husband can get stir crazy during long vacations, but not me. Having my whole family home just hanging out together is my favorite thing. Kole got a chess set for Christmas and none of us can beat him. We’ve all given up trying. :)

{family room rug/Ugg slippers/black striped pillow}

The girls and I started watching Gilmore Girls over the break and they are loving it. I am too.. even better the second time around. :) We are also loving our new Ugg slippers. SO cozy and they are 40% off! We keep trying to squeeze in an episode each night in-between activities but life is busy once again! Although I don’t think that will be a challenge for me next month.

Bring on Netflix. And another ice pack. ;)

I’ve been getting lots of hair questions lately! Mostly about what shampoo/conditioner I use. I’ve tried SO many different brands and about a year ago I landed on my favorite. (Part of my shower for those of you who have asked to see it too.) ;)

I use Moroccanoil Hydrating Shampoo and the Hydrating Conditioner. They make my hair so shiny and smooth and I love the smell! So does my husband – double win. :) I’ve always loved Moroccanoil but never thought about trying their shampoo/conditioner until the girl who does my hair recommended it. I’ve been hooked ever since!

Speaking of hair care, my sweet husband surprised me with this Dyson hair dryer for Christmas. Crazy expensive hair dryer with amazing reviews. I was so excited! I thought it was going to revolutionize my life and take my usual 20 minutes of hair drying time down to 10. But you guys.. I don’t love it! It’s VERY lightweight which is so nice, but I don’t feel like it dries my hair that much faster. And it makes my hair feel a little straw like? I’m so sad! I really wanted to love it. Do any of you have it? Wondering if it’s just me because I’ve heard nothing but good things about this hair dryer. I think I’m going to return it. :(

But so sweet of him for thinking of my hair care needs. ;) Pic from our last trip to Utah with shade over Kenny’s face but I wanted to share this favorite sweater I love and keep wearing over and over so he has to take one for the team. ;)

I was twinning with my niece. Missing that sweet baby so much right now! She’s my favorite of ALL the favorites. :)

Well! I have to go. I think I’m going to walk up and down my stairs a few times since I won’t be able to do that for a month.

I’ll be back! A little out of it with LOTS to share.

Get ready for a party.

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xoxo, Erin

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Home Decor

01.06.18

Sunny Side Up 2017 Year Review

Happy weekend friends! We have been easing back into a routine ever so slowly around here. My kids have still been out of school this week so we are enjoying a nice mix of hanging out and relaxing plus getting on top of housework. Next week I will be ready to hit 2018 head on! For now.. we remember the past. :) I’m sharing a round-up of posts from 2017! It was such a great year. I hope you enjoy the walk down memory lane and click on any post you missed or want to re-read. I didn’t share every post, but I shared a lot of them so this round-up is LONG. Grab a snack and enjoy! I looked over some of the organizing posts again and they helped motivate me to tackle some new spaces!

If you have something you’d love to see me post about this year leave it in the comments and I’ll try to include it! Thanks again for all of your love and support this past year! So looking forward to sharing more with you in 2018. :)

We kicked the year off with some organizing.. of course! I shared FIVE FAVORITE THINGS THAT KEEP ME ORGANIZED. Some of my tried and true favorites!

Then I helped my girls whip their bathroom drawers into shape. GIRLS’ BATHROOM – ORGANIZED DRAWERS. I am having them do the same thing this weekend. They have kept them much cleaner than before but bathroom drawers often need a little re-fresh!

I shared Addison’s PINK AND AQUA BLUE PRETEEN GIRL’S BEDROOM. Then I totally spaced sharing El’s bedroom.. ha! Pics are still sitting in a folder so they are coming this year for sure. ;)

We got ready for February with some SIMPLE VALENTINE PARTY IDEAS. I also shared a few other ways I’ve made Valentine’s special for my family.

Then I shared my ORGANIZED DECOR CLOSET which felt so good to check off my list. It was such a disaster!

I kicked off February by sharing my DECORATED and ORGANIZED LAUNDRY ROOM (with COLOR!).

Then we got a little personal when I shared 10 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR MARRIAGE STRONG. My husband and I are far from perfect, but after 20 years of marriage we’ve definitely learned what works for us!

Clearly last year was the year of closets for me! This post on my ORGANIZED BLANKETS AND TOWELS showed how I organized this hall linen closet and my girls’ bathroom towel closet. Happy to say those two closets are still looking good!

I shared a few KITCHEN DECOR IDEAS FOR SPRING! I’m going to re-read that post because my kitchen is a blank slate right now just waiting for a few Spring touches. :)

In March I joined some blog friends for a fun Spring tour and shared pictures of our WHITE MASTER BATHROOM (READY FOR SPRING!).

Then I took off to LA for a few days for such a memorable trip! I had a blast with friends, won the award Best Design Blog for 2017 (did NOT see that one coming), and turned 40. I shared all the detains in my post DESIGN BLOGGER CONFERENCE (WHAT I WORE) AND HELLO 40! Thank you again to everyone who voted for me for that award btw.. it meant so much to me!

I shared my powder bathroom drawers and other fun Spring touches around my house. Posts like this are often my favorite. :) ORGANIZED BATHROOM DRAWERS AND SPRING DECOR.

Then I shared my process for sorting through my kids’ art/school work in the post KID’S SCHOOL WORK (WHAT TO SAVE AND WHAT TO TOSS).

A SIMPLE EASTER TABLESCAPE brightened our dining room.

Then I ended the month with some fashion favorites and a 40th birthday part my darling friends gave me! ONE SKIRT THREE WAYS, PURSE LOVE AND A BIRTHDAY TRADITION. The gift they gave me that night is an all time favorite. I cried a lot of tears!

I kicked off April with our MIRRORED CONSOLE TABLE (ALL GROWN UP!). I just put this beautiful artwork back on this table yesterday after taking down the Christmas decor. I still love it so much!

I get so many questions about the custom items in my home so I finally wrote a post with my designer/friend’s info! She’s the best. :) CUSTOM ITEMS IN MY HOME (HOW YOU CAN GET THEM TOO!)

Finally started decorating our guest room! I’m excited to show you my recent progress soon. GUEST ROOM (THE BEGINNING!)

HOW TO ORGANIZE EVERY SPACE IN YOUR HOUSE! After almost 10 years of blogging I finally took the time to round up all of my organizing inspiration so that everything is all in one post! Great place to start if you need some ideas for whipping your home into shape this year!

Nothing like Tory! This bag is still a favoirte. :) TORY BURCH FAVORITES WITH NORDSTROM

One of my favorite posts! 5 REASONS YOU CAN’T STAY ORGANIZED (AND HOW TO FIX IT!). The reason I know why you can’t keep your home organized is because I’ve been there too! These are the stumbling blocks I’ve dealt with over the years and how I’ve learned to work around them.

I spent the end of April at the Reward Style Conference in Dallas. Good times! I was happy I finally dared to go. ;) REWARD STYLE CONFERENCE (AND WHAT I WORE)

I kicked things off in May by sharing some new decor updates! POTTERY BARN SMALL SPACE COLLECTION (DECOR UPDATES!)

Along with recent FASHION AND FAVORITES!

GARAGE AND CLOSET ORGANIZATION. Oh man.. we SO need to wrap up our garage organization this year! The post above includes updates and pics of how I organized Kole’s clothes closet.

NAUTICAL INDUSTRIAL BOY’S BEDROOM (PROGRESS!) Loved sharing Kole’s bedroom with you all this year! Finishing it up with the small details is on my project to-do list for 2018!

FASHION FRIDAY (NEW FAVORITES FOR THE KIDS!) Fun new clothes for the kids! And this twist front cozy fleece pullover is so soft and still one of my favorites! Great reviews and comes in so many colors.

ROSES, GATES, SALES AND SURVIVAL! All sorts of randomness in this post!

I shared pictures of Kole’s NAUTICAL MODERN BOY’S BATHROOM! Fun giving you the official tour. :)

Lots of everyday life posts throughout the year! I’ll just link to this LIFE LATELY post in June because this pic I quickly snapped of my boys is one of my favorties. :)

It’s not often that I share recipes on my blog but this EASY CASHEW CHICKEN is so easy to make and a hit with my crew!

My living room got a little summer re-fresh! LIVING ROOM SUMMER DECOR

Then I shared what I was packing for an upcoming trip to Maui. FASHION AND WHAT I’M PACKING FOR MAUI

Things didn’t exactly work so well the first time I organized this space so I found a better solution for our medicine cabinet! Check the post to see the after. :) ORGANIZED MEDICINE CABINET (TAKE 2!)

I shared some pics of my kitchen drawers and cupboards and a few of my best tips for keeping your kitchen clean and organized. MY ORGANIZED KITCHEN (AND HOW TO KEEP YOUR KITCHEN CLEAN AND ORGANIZED TOO!)

Then we kept organizing our way through summer with pics of my ORGANIZED MASTER BATHROOM. Nothing like clean bathroom drawers!

We did some major damage at the NORDSTROM ANNIVERSARY SALE! The sweaters and clothes I bought last July have been on heavy rotation the past few months. I love that sale. Time to start saving for next summer. ;)

What!? It’s another recipe. Well would you look at that. ;) FETA AND TOMATO DIP (So good!)

We ended July with some DECOR UPDATES WITH BARN LIGHT ELECTRIC! Lamps for Kole’s room and some new every day dishes. Still working on manners at the breakfast table. ;)

Wrapped up the sale with NORDSTROM ANNIVERSARY SALE – FINAL FAVORITES! Lots of fun clothes and home decor I’m still loving.

BRING ON FALL! Fall is my favorite time of year to shop for clothes. Lots of fun fashion in this post!

I shared my SHIPLAP DISPLAY WALL FOR SUMMER.

SAYING GOOD-BYE TO SUMMER! Always a favorite post to wrap up months of chaos. :)

I kicked off the new school year by sharing A DAY IN MY LIFE! Not so glamorous but fun to document a full day! Thinking I need to do that once a year because those are the posts that will be really fun to read in 20 years. I hope things have slowed down by then. ;)

Then I shared more of my organized master bathroom! ORGANIZED HAIR TOOL AND BATHROOM DRAWERS

FAVORITE FALL ACCESSORIES. Still in love with all things Madewell!

FRESH IDEAS FOR FALL TOUR! Remembering this post makes me wish Fall was starting all over again!

Finally finished and shared our BARN DOOR TV COVER! It adds so much to our outdoor space. Another project I was happy to see finally checked off my list.

Then it was time for my husband and I to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary with friends in Colorado. Followed by NY for the Better Homes and Gardens Event. Best trip! COLORADO TO NEW YORK (ANNIVERSARY TRIP AND WHAT I WORE!)

I gave my kitchen some SIMPLE FALL KITCHEN DECOR and geared up for pumpkin spice everything.

Shared some FASHION FRIDAY (ON A MONDAY!). :)

THEATRE ROOM WITH GREY PAINT AND APPLIANCES! It was so fun finally sharing a theatre room update with all of you! Hoping to completely finish this space in 2018. We are getting close!

Kole and I had our annual HALLOWEEN PORCH DECOR party. Best little helper. :)

Then I shared some favorite new clothes for the kids! Love Fall fashion. :) FALL FASHION FOR GIRLS and FALL FASHION FOR BOYS.

I got our hallway ready for Halloween with my SHIPLAP TRICK OR TREAT HALLOWEEN PICTURE DISPLAY!

And the mudroom. :) FALL MUDROOM DECOR AND A NEW RUG!

My husband did his first fashion post and shared some MENS FALL CLOTHES (GIFT IDEAS FOR THE MEN IN YOUR LIFE!). That was.. interesting. Ha! He’s a good sport. ;)

Then I shared our FALL LIVING ROOM DECOR to wrap up October!

I’ve wanted to make and share printables with all of you for a long time now! I was so excited to kick off November with some FREE CHRISTMAS PRINTABLES FOR ORGANIZED GIFT GIVING! I hope they were helpful to some of you! More printables to come. :)

FASHION FRIDAY! ON A SATURDAY. :) I seriously need a new title for those posts.. any ideas? ;)

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS DECOR! Man.. so bummed I had to put all of this away!

You know what was so funny? This picture above was my most liked picture on Instagram from last year. What!? Isn’t that funny!? I can’t figure out why. Is it my half decorated, messy room? The bad lighting? My stunning look in no make-up and sweats? Ha ha.. I’ll never understand social media! TAPERED COLLECTION – NEW FAVORITE TEES

OFFICE CHRISTMAS DECOR WITH THE CONTAINER STORE! One of my favorite posts this year. Because office Christmas decor is my favorite! And because anything to do with The Container Store just makes me so very happy. :)

I shared HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST! Lots of fun things I gave my family and friends this year. :)

Sharing my FROSTED CHRISTMAS TREE WITH BALSAM HILL was another highlight for 2017! Excited to finally share the rest of this room with you all. For real this year! ;)

I joined some fun bloggers to share our shortcuts when hosting. No baking? Sounds like my norm. :) This cheesecake recipe is a good one! FAKE IT, DON’T BAKE IT: STRESS FREE HOLIDAY HOSTING!

2017 FAVOITE THINGS! An annual favorite post of mine! ALL of my favorites from the year in one happy post. :)

THANKSGIVING AND CYBER SALES. Sales and pics of our time in Utah. Basically me and my new baby niece because all I did was hold her! Missing that little peanut.

My last post in November was pics of my MUDROOM DECKED FOR CHRISTMAS! Love that little tree.

Whew! I’m going to stop there and not share December posts because they are so recent (you can see them below this post on my blog!). I’m also putting the breaks on because this post has become a novel. Clearly it was a busy year! Thank you again for sharing it all with me and if you have something you’d love for me to blog about this year leave me a comment on this post! I’m so excited about a new year for Sunny Side Up. Good things in store! Always.

xoxo, Erin

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Organization

01.03.18

Favorite cleaning supplies and tips for keeping your home clean and organized in the new year!

Happy January friends! I hope you all had a nice holiday! I completely unplugged this past week (hardly touched my computer and phone) and it felt so nice! A little technology detox is good for the soul isn’t it!? :) I was able to really be present with my family and re-charge. We made a quick trip to Utah to visit grandparents and cousins after Christmas and have been in total lounge mode ever since! Favorite pj’s have been on major rotation around here. :) I started taking down my Christmas decor a couple of days ago and I have to admit.. it makes me so depressed!

We’ve gone from festive and fun..

To a complete mess of dishes, Christmas toys and half taken down holiday decor. My post Christmas funk has taken over and for me there’s only one way out of it.

To clean.

And to organize.

You knew that was coming. :) My house always looks so empty after the holidays and while it totally depresses me to take down my Christmas decor, there really is something so refreshing about a fresh start and a clean slate. I have so many fun organizing posts coming and can’t wait to get started on my 2018 to-organize list! Making that list and cleaning my house always snaps me out of my post Christmas blues.

Using cleaning supplies I love helps with this cleaning, organizing, cheering myself up process immensely! :) I’ve shared my favorite cleaning supplies with you all before, but for those of you who don’t know, I order my supplies through Grove Collaborative and love it! All of their products are affordable, non toxic and safe for the environment. Plus they are pretty and look stylish in your home. Huge bonus for me! Grove simplifies shopping for cleaning supplies by delivering everything right to your door. Instead of spending a fortune on who knows what at Target, you can come home to all of your favorite healthy, affordable products sitting on your doorstep. I seriously hardly go to Target anymore! Kinda sad.. I love that store. But I’d always go for toilet paper and laundry stain remover and come home with new planners and notepads, a fun vase for the coffee table and clothes for the kids. Raise your hand if you know that story well. Ha! For this single reason my husband loves Grove too. ;)

Now is a great time to give Grove a try if you haven’t yet, because they’re offering a free New Year, New You Set with your first order of $20 to help you create your own healthy home care routine!

If you’re already a Grove customer (I know a lot of you have joined already and love it too!), click here to get a free set of Grove walnut scrubber sponges. They are my favorite! They work so well and are pretty so I don’t mind having them out next to my sink.

You can choose the scent you want (my favorite is Lavender) and how cute is this little cleaning caddy!?

Perfect to corral supplies. I’m going to keep one upstairs in my girls’ bathroom so that they’ll have everything they need to clean that space, and then keep another one downstairs for me to use when I’m sprucing up bathrooms or my kitchen. The best part for me about Grove is that I can customize what I’m getting each month. Once I had ordered enough to build up the cleaning supplies I use every day I started just ordering basic things we always need like toilet paper, paper towels and hand soap. They get delivered each month and when I’m running low on something else I just add it to my next order! So easy and having things like toilet paper delivered is the best – one less thing I have to think about!

If you feel like you are running on empty after the holidays (I love December but I always spend January recuperating!) creating a clean, organized environment in your home can really help you relax and breathe again. When my house is a jumbled mess so is my brain! It always amazes me how much better I feel after rolling up my sleeves and whipping my house into shape. I’ve shared some of these before, but I thought this time of year might be a good time for a little re-cap of some of my best cleaning/organizing tips! I need the reminders too. :)

1 – Start the new year off right by establishing a cleaning routine that works for you and your schedule. I have set days/times I clean my house and do laundry. My cleaning schedule changes as my kids’ activities and our schedule changes, but I always have a loose schedule in place so that things never get out of control. (Also consider hiring help if needed! With our jobs and kids’ schedules there is no way I could stay on top of this house alone. I have help with my deep cleaning – sometimes every week – sometimes every other week. Even paying someone to come and deep clean once a month if it works with your budget can make a huge difference.)

2 – Constantly get rid of things! Emphasis on the CONSTANTLY! Honestly.. I can’t stress this one enough! We always have a goodwill bag or two in progress in our garage. New things are constantly coming into your home so things you aren’t loving or using need to constantly head out! It’s so much easier to stay organized when you have less stuff. This is always a work in progress for me, but I feel like the past two years I have really created a good system and have no problem saying good-bye to things that at the end of the day are just clutter. Clutter can’t be organized! Clear the clutter from your home and you will stay organized! True story. :)

3 – Create a place for things you do keep. Everything in your home needs its own home! If you’re finding certain things are constantly being left out and creating a mess maybe it’s time to re-think where/how you’re storing them. Create a system that makes sense so that you’ll be able to easily put things away where they belong.

4 – Don’t procrastinate. Put things away where they go immediately. It always starts with one thing! You can have a perfectly clean living room but as soon as one person leaves their shoes on the rug, the next person tosses their papers on the coffee table and before you know it there is stuff EVERYWHERE. The new year is a perfect time to get your whole family on board for this one! We had a little pep talk about this very thing again a few days ago. (If you fix a snack.. put the food away and bring your dishes to the sink right after you eat!) I have my kids help remind each other and that works well too. Put things away where they go! Sounds so simple doesn’t it!? If only it was. But after years of ~~harping~~ gently reminding, my kids (and husband!) are getting much better at this one. ;)

5 – When cleaning, attack one room at a time and don’t lose focus! I tend to be a distracted person at heart. :) It’s really easy for me to start cleaning the kitchen and then go to put something away in my office. Then before I know it, I’m organizing a drawer in my office or answering e-mails instead of finishing the kitchen I started! I constantly remind myself to stick to ONE room at a time. That way if I only have 20 minutes to clean I at least get one or two spaces completely done instead of 4 spaces half way done. Which feels like I have nothing to show for my work! :)

6 – Clean your kitchen each evening before bed. I hate waking up to a dirty kitchen! It just starts my day off all wrong. I’m in the habit now of making sure my kitchen is spotless and dishes are all loaded before going to bed and I always thank myself in the morning!

7 – Involve your kids in the cleaning and organizing. My husband always teases me that I’m such a “delegator” and it’s true! I’m constantly assigning my kids to do things. But we all live in this house and mess it up and I truly believe that it shouldn’t just be me cleaning it up everyday! Make chore charts, assign weekly jobs, or just write a daily list. Whatever works for you and your family! My kids know that they are going to have to pick up their rooms/bathroom every night before they go to bed so they’ve learned the magic trick. Don’t let the room get messy in the first place! Of course they are kids.. and their rooms do get messy. But they never get out of control. My kids always pick up their toys and clothes quickly so that they won’t have to do a major cleaning that evening. Making sure everything in their room is clean each evening is part of their routine just like brushing their teeth and homework are. Establish good routines and start involving your kids in the housework as young as possible! It has paid off big time for me.

8 – Make cleaning fun! It really can be. :) I know cleaning is a chore and it can be stressful trying to keep up with all of the housework (it’s truly never ending!), but I always try to make my cleaning time each day as enjoyable as I possibly can. I use products I love. I turn on some good music or listen to a podcast. I light a candle. I zone out and let my mind wander. It can be so very therapeutic! And like I mentioned above.. it’s really the only thing that lifts my spirits after the holidays because I always get in a major funk when the party is over!

Here’s to a clean, organized, beautifully decorated home that you love in 2018! I hope that my future posts will help inspire just that! It’s a new year and I have exciting things planned for Sunny Side Up.

Bring it on.

xoxo, Erin

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