Believe me, there is plenty of improvement needed.  I have two overall goals…be better organized (this applies to all aspects of my life) and no more getting behind on the daily things I should be doing, especially the laundry…a load a day keeps the mountain away.

On to the more fun goals…still work to be done, but much more fun than the laundry.  I have four major projects I would like to accomplish this year.  I have not decided the order for these yet…perhaps they will get done quarterly (see, I’m already sounding more organized)…of course, that would also require me to complete one project before moving on to the next…I really don’t see that happening.  In no particular order here they are…

Window (mis)treatments for the kitchen and family rooms.  I have a 16 foot wall that has 1 door, one big window, and another window about the width of the door (fairly symmetrical).  I really want one super long curtain rod that spans all of the windows…I’m thinking copper pipe.  There is one more window perpendicular in the kitchen area.  The family room has a set of french doors that are the same height as the kitchen windows, you can see all of them except the perpendicular window here:

I have the living room fabric already, I got it for $3/yard and I really like it.  The rod in the living room will be lower than in the kitchen, in the kitchen I am going to mount it just beneath the crown molding…in the living room more like 6-8 inches above the door frame because the celing in the living room is probably 16 feet high, but more like 9 feet in the kitchen.  The plates above the big window in the kitchen will be moved down and the curtain rod will be above them, I really love the plates there and I don’t anticipate the curtains being drawn very often.  The floral will be in the living room.

The sofa.  When we moved in 18 months ago we needed a new sofa.  Our sofa and chair did not jive with our new living room and was not enough for the space…not to mention it was 11 years old and had been through 4 kids.  Those pieces found a new home in our basement.  It has held up remarkably well considering what we paid for it and what it has been through.  The new sofa in the living room, not so much.  It was pretty cheap as far as furniture goes (I know you get what you pay for, but we had to buy appliances, a TV, and flooring for our basement…couldn’t drop big dollars on the sofa).  We got it at the RTG outlet, which meant no warranty (that wasn’t an advertised point, we learned the hard way).

Pardon the creative mess.  This sofa is the perfect size for the space and we love the shape.  It is falling apart…completely.  The ‘leather’ is flaking, splitting, and ripping…everywhere :(.  There is no repairing this.

I wish this were the only gaping hole.  We have 3 options at this point.  Replace, Reupholster, or slipcover.  Reupholstering is more than the sofa originally cost, but it is the perfect size and the shape we love.  Replacing means we will have to settle for something we probably don’t love and will still spend quite a bit.  Our current budget really doesn’t allow for either of these options right now (not to mention my vacuum cleaner just died).  The final, very budget friendly, solution is slipcovering, like I did the wing chair…it is in the picture that I used to show the windows above.  I really like the way that chair turned out AND it is totally machine washable (yes, I have washed it & it did great!).  My major concern is that the bottom sofa cushions are fixed…not removable.  For the slipcover to look good, I will have to cut those off.  I don’t know if that will impact the reupholster-ability of the sofa…do any of you know???

Next on the list is a drop zone.  Currently my kids drop everything right where they walk in.  It is the entrance from the garage, the one we use the most, and right where my pantry is.  It does not make me happy to trip over shoes, backpacks and coats to get to the pantry.  I am so desperate for a drop zone that I was willing to sacrifice upper and lower cabinets AND counterspace in my laundry room to have one.  Then it dawned on me…convert the coat closet right outside the laundry room (and just around the corner from the garage entry) into a drop zone.  This is where I try to get the kids to keep their shoes…and we have a few coats & jackets hanging here.

Shameful!  This is why my overall goal is organization.  We have a lot of shoes.  Even with all of these in the closet, I am constantly tripping over others.  I haven’t decided if the doors will stay, it would be nice to be able to close this…but if they were gone, it might open up the area nicely and encourage the kids to use the space properly (am I dreaming here?).  This project will require darling husband’s assistance and weilding of power tools.  He likes these kind of projects.

My final project, and probably the biggest, is Emma’s room.  I broke down the crib and banished it to the attic.  Now I have no more excuses.  I have fabric, the ideas, and Christmas is all put away…gotta get started.

Her bed is probably my favorite piece of furniture in this house.  I have called it ‘the princess bed’ since I purchased it 13 years ago.  I need sheets (pink to replace the blue that we used for Ethan forever ago) and I plan on covering the box spring in the same fabric I am using for the window and accent pillows.

This is the makeshift window mistreatment.  It is just a piece of the fabric wrapped around a tension curtain rod.  It serves the purpose, but it ain’t pretty.  I am going to make a faux roman shade…maybe tomorrow.  I also want an airy pink, possibly ruffle-y full length curtain, perhaps single sided and pulled back?  I have lofty expectations for this room.  I REALLY want to paint it a super soft, non pepto bismal-y shade of pink.  I want her to have the room of my, I mean her, dreams.

Linking up with the Nester’s Home Goals Party!

Today’s secret revealed…I wish I were more self disciplined.  I did so awesome for about 2 weeks, doing a load of laundry a day…folding it AND putting it away right out of the dryer (this is an amazing change for me, just so you know).  I skipped 1 measly day and it was so hard to get back into the groove…but all back on track now :).