May. 2, 2008 Organizing our books
I never did finish organizing our book collection when we moved into this house, and we have been living with disorderly bookcases since then. Not to mention all the ratty cardboard boxes of books left unpacked. So this week I decided enough was enough and something NEEDS to be done! The first thing I did was buy some nice boxes - 18-gallon Sterlite totes. So far I only have 2, in red and blue. I need to find one of each in green and yellow.
Why the colors? Because Tapestry of Grace is organized by colors. Red is for year 1, yellow for year 2, green for year 3, and blue for year 4. I organized all of our history and historical fiction books into each of the 4 boxes (just using cardboard boxes for year 2 & year 3 for now) and stacked them in the corner. Besides being organized per year, they are also out of reach of little babies who will be crawling in a few short months!
We also study science in 4 year cycles (at least until 7th or 8th grade) as suggested by The Well Trained Mind so I also sorted our science books into 4 milk crates that we already owned - red, yellow, green, and blue! So our year 1 science books (life sciences) are in the red crate, our year 2 science books (earth & space science) are in the yellow crate, etc. It works out perfectly.
We had probably 30 different children's Bibles and Bible storybooks, too, and those are in the boxes to give/sell as well. WHY would I get rid of those? Because I have come to the conclusion that children do not need dumbed down Bible stories or easy to read Bibles. They need the real thing! And they are capable of understanding the real thing if you take time to talk about it.
So now I have 2 big boxes of books and curriculum to sell or give away. Of course the easy thing to do would be to drop everything off at Goodwill or the library. But I would really like to make some money to try to finance at least a small part of next school year's curriculum. I have an eBay account and have sold stuff there before, but it's such a hassle to list everything and then pack it up and mail it. It makes me tired just thinking about it. So I'm thinking about dropping it off at one of those places that sells your stuff for you on eBay. Only I would lose some of my profit ... but it might be worth it! |
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Oct. 26, 2007 Parade of Homes Tour Through my "Broken" House
First of all, my apologies to anybody using dial-up! There are a LOT of pictures in this post!
As you tour my house, you will see why I say it is "broken"  !!!
Candy @ Keeping the Home posted a tour of her home and many other ladies are doing the same. We are getting ready to move so things don't look "normal" in my pictures. After we move (we are doing a *serious* downsize) I will post a tour of our new home.
The house we are now living in is actually the 2nd house we have owned. The first was 1515 sq ft w/ a 1-car garage. It had 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. We loved that house and the neighborhood it was in, and would have kept it if it had just one more bedroom. Between having my BIL live with us on and off for a couple years and having nieces and nephews living with us temporarily, and then having Emily, we really needed another bedroom or two. So we had this big house built and nobody has come to stay with us the whole time we've lived here. =(
This house is 2818 sq ft plus a 2-car garage. We have 4 bedrooms & 2.5 baths. We have way too much space. I'm looking forward to downsizing because keeping up with the kids and the cleaning here has been overwhelming.
I didn't get a picture of the house from outside and it is dark now so that will have to wait.
When you walk in our front door, you enter into a large foyer w/ a 2-story ceiling. To your left you see our "coat closet." Here is Broken Thing #1 ~ the closet's bi-fold door. Inside the closet there is the standard shelf (which needs to be decluttered), plus I added 4 sets of utility hooks from Home Depot for hanging my purse, our keys, hats, jackets, sunglasses, etc. I need to get something to keep the shoes organized. Broken Thing #2 is the light fixture that is supposed to be there in the little hallway you see. Bill broke it with a football when we first moved in, and we never replaced it because every time one of the kids gets too much water on the floor from their bath or shower, the excess water leaks downstairs through that light fixture. We had someone come look at it but they didn't see anything wrong structurally.
I hung this sign so people would know where the restroom is located, but everybody still asks anyway ~
That door is for the half bath; it's very bright ~
Opposite the half bath is the door to the garage. I only got it 3/4 of the way painted before it was a mess and then I gave up. I've been meaning to finish it. I'm going to get the boys to clean the garage this week so we can have a garage sale next weekend.
Just past the half-bath and the garage doors we have what's supposed to be the formal living room. Billy decided when we were having the house built that he wanted to use it for a TV room. So that's what it was until the over-grown, under-trained dog (which we no longer own, thank God!) messed it up one too many times. Besides destroying the carpet, he also tore up the nice new blinds on the windows trying to find a way to escape. Bill tore out the nasty carpet, I scraped the popcorn ceilings flat so could re-surface them, Billy and Bill knocked out part of a wall so they could build in a door, I re-painted the walls, and then suddenly everything got really messy for us financially. We never did replace the carpet (so it's just a bare concrete floor), re-surface the ceiling, or finish the walls and door. The door is there, but it's crooked and doesn't close right. So those are Broken Things #3-7 (carpet, walls, ceiling, door, and blinds). Right now this room is full of empty moving boxes, half-packed boxes, and some misc. furniture. The picture turned out really dark ~
Turning back around, we see what's supposed to be our formal dining room. This is really the first room you see when you walk in the door. The dog also destroyed the carpet in this room (but why wall-to-wall carpet in the dining room is a standard feature in new homes is beyond me!!!) so this is another room with just a bare cement floor. The dog also tore the cord to the blinds in this room, and Emily - when she was a toddler - tore out the plastic window grid things that are supposed to make the window appear to have real window panes. And the top of the cheap builder-installed chandelier keeps falling down from the ceiling. So there you have Broken Things # 8-11 (carpet, blinds, grids, and chandelier). Right now the dining room holds all of our boxes that are ready to go to storage or to our new place, plus my bedroom furniture and our mini-fridge and mini-freezer. And of course in the picture you can see Sarah hiding among the boxes.
Just past the dining room you see the laundry room to your left. The door frame is cracked from someone shutting the door too hard, so that's Broken Thing #12 ~
And the staircase to your right where you encounter Broken Thing #13 - the stair rail is loose from one of the brackets breaking off the wall ~
I don't know why these photos turned out so blurry. Under the stairs we have a closet where I keep my vacuum cleaner, broom, mop, etc.
Then through an archway and we are in the breakfast room. We have a big table and we bought it with 8 chairs. You only see 6 chairs because 2 of our children managed to break 2 of our chairs. Broken Things #14 & 15. I don't know why the picture turned out so dark when all the lights were on ~
To the left is the family room, where the carpet is very badly stained and the cords to the blinds are broken. Broken Things # 16 & 17. This time it was not the dog's fault. I think the cords of these blinds were just too flimsy for the weight of the blinds. Probably half the blinds in our house have broken cords. Plus one of the doors to the cabinet the TV is on broken off - Broken Thing #18.
On the other side of the breakfast room is the kitchen.
Here is my food prep area, where you can see Sarah is trying to help me prepare lunch. I did not realize she had a knife until after I snapped the picture ~
Moving counter-clockwise, you see one of my pantries, the range, and built-in microwave.
Then you see my other pantry, the sink, and the dishwasher. The baby doll is on the counter so she can dry out (she was in the tub) before I pack her.
We have a 2nd sink in the island, which is very convenient ~
The top drawer holds our flatware - most of which has mysteriously vanished, along with several other kitchen items ~
The middle drawer is handy for sippy cups and other kid-safe drinkware and dinnerware. I keep the toaster in the bottom drawer. I hate having anything on the counters so I make good use of the cabinets, drawers, and pantries! Overhead, we have a pot rack. We love it. We *will* be taking it with us when we move ~
You see the refrigerator back there ... the ice/water does not work and *somebody* knocked out the cover to the ice tray and chipped it so it doesn't fit anymore - Broken Things #19 & 20.
Okay, let's leave the kitchen and walk back towards the stairs. We see the foyer and front door ~
Up the stairs and the other handrail is completely broken off the wall. Broken Thing #21. The first room on the right is the girls' room. They have their own linen closet, which I used for organizing hand-me-downs ~
Emily has the mattress on the floor and Sarah has the toddler bed. But they usually sleep in my room. Their closet's bi-fold door does not close properly - Broken Thing #22. My SIL said the girls' room is like "an explosion of pink" - "explosion" is right ~
Next is Bill's room. His door has a dent in it from one of his brothers banging on it too hard - Broken Thing #23. This is what you see when you walk in ~
He has a nice loft bed but he already took it apart for moving. It's stacked up against the wall ~
Then there is Dylan & Jesse's room. Another messy bedroom. Dylan plopped down on his bed the other day and his box spring broke - Broken Thing #24. I don't know why their beds are arranged like this; it's not how they are supposed to be set up ~
The cord on their blinds is Broken Thing #25, and their closets' bi-fold doors don't shut properly, so they are Broken Things #26 & 27. And the carpet needs to be replaced from all the vomiting when they woke up in the middle of the night with the flu (it's been cleaned, but you know how stains re-appear after cleaning), and knocked over drinks. Broken Thing #28. I don't know why these pix look so blurry; they don't look like that on my camera ~
Next is the boys' linen closet, in which I store hand-me-downs for Jesse, and the upstairs vacuum cleaner (though it is not there in this picture).
Next is the boys' bathroom. The girls use my bathroom. In here we have the tub faucet which somehow came loose and won't go back on all the way, and a permanently stained toilet seat which *really* needs to be replaced, a hole in the wall where somebody kicked it, and one of the towel rods is loose. Oh, and I can't find the toilet paper roll holder, and the shower curtain rod has an area where the design tore off. And the vinyl floor is nasty. We should've gone ahead and had ceramic tile installed in the upstairs bathrooms when we had the house built. Oh well, lesson learned! So that's Broken Things # 29-35, if I've counted correctly. I'm starting to lose track!
Moving right along ... here is the upstairs to our foyer. You can see the walls have been touched up and are awaiting painting. Until then, the walls are Broken Thing #36. The door you see is for the upstairs A/C. Having 2 A/C units actually keeps our electric bill down from what you would expect in such a big house. The laundry room is right down there below the palm trees, and we just throw the laundry straight into the laundry room from upstairs! Just look out for people down below!
Next is the loft. This is where I keep the computer and the bookcases. It's usually decorated nicely but just about everything from this room is already packed. The desk is not real wood and it is not sturdy enough to move, so it will stay here. It's so big anyway, we won't have room for it in the new place. So I will need to buy a new computer desk. The carpet in here is *very* badly stained from kids being sneaky and bringing food and drinks up here when we used to have the TV up here. I guess that's Broken Thing #37. And the whole room needs the paint touched up - Broken Thing #38.
OK I know some of these things aren't really "broken" but they are in need of repair or replacement, so humor me here, will ya?
The loft has a little hall that leads to my bedroom. More blinds with broken cords. Broken Thing #39. I say the manufacturer is to blame ~
All of my bedroom furniture is in the dining room waiting to move, so we just have the mattress on the floor. I have a bamboo/metal tray on the floor next to my side of the bed for my cell phone (which I use as an alarm clock), my glasses, and a glass of water every night. I already talked about how our box springs were broken from the kids wrestling on the bed - Broken Thing # 40. Now there is a hole in the wall from one of them wrestling with their dad! Broken Thing #41 ~
Our bedroom is HUGE! Way too much wasted space. On the opposite side of the room is the little futon where Emily usually sleeps (and 2 laundry baskets waiting for their contents to be put away) ~
The master bath has his-and-her walk-in closets, which is really nice but totally unnecessary. In mine (the one painted pink!) you can see an antique chest of drawers that belongs to my little brother. He left it behind when he moved to Tennessee. I haven't decided where I will use it once we move. In my closet I also have a cedar hope chest from my grandparents. After my grandpa died earlier this year, my grandma moved into an ALF so she no longer needed a lot of household items. I have some of them in the hope chest to pass along to my children when they get married ... pots and pans that are over 60yo and still in great condition, my great-grandmother's Oneida flatware set, and my Grandpa's Bible are just a few of the items in there.
The sink/vanity ~
The tub (I didn't realize this picture was so off-center until just now) ~
And the shower/toilet room ~
And that is my house! The good, the bad, and the ugly. It just goes to show that a new house is no better than an old house (unless you can have a top-of-the-line custom home built) and a big house is no easier to clean and keep organized than a small house!
I just wish the pix all came out clearer. I don't understand whythey look so blurry on here but were clear on my camera.
When I do this again after we move, there will be less pictures because there will be less rooms and less space. Unless l do more of a "how to organize a small home with a big family" type of post.
And here is my little helper who tried to get into as many pictures as possible ~
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