Crud, Sweat and Tears – Worth It?

So a week and a half after Ms. Passion helped me start on room number one…  The Family Room/Library/Music Room… well I’m proud to report that it is 99% done.  Remember the beginning of our room?

It involved a lot of Crud removal, Some good old-fashioned elbow grease, and I’m proud to say I bawled like a baby nearly every day.

Saying good-bye to bad habits is painful, but worth it.  Remember this wasn’t my worst room but a very packed room.  

Out of this room went three bookcases full of books, a piano, 6 bags of trash, and probably another 10 boxes of thrift items.

And after that it looked a whole lot like this…

And this… with the couches taking up the majority of the center of the room.

Do ya like all the electronic cables hanging around?

Ms. Passion is a genius – I might add.  Before she became a professional organizer she was a home stager.  You know, someone who goes into homes and stages it for a quick sale.  She knows her stuff.  So not only was she helping me organize but she also is staging my home so that it is not only functional but beautiful.  We spent around $55 on paint, electrical parts so my husband could rewire the entertainment center, and a art piece and lamp from the thrift store.

Ready for the reveal…

Introducing our ‘Family Room’!

We moved the entertainment center to a different wall.  Then Ms Passion found a way to make some of my more treasured stuff and arrange it in a way to make my husband say, ‘Wow.’ at least 5 times when he finally saw the room put together.  Wow is right.

The best part was she involved the whole family.  Everyone had homework.   From sanding…

 

To painting the trim white (which I’ve always wanted to do).

To rewiring…

Washing…

And a ton of dusting and cleaning and re-dusting, and re-cleaning.  The whole process was messy.  

 

But so rewarding… 

I cheated early on, and tried to do some of the kids homework for them.  Cause I could just envision the trim paint slapped all over the walls, etc.  However Ms. Passion chewed me out good about that one and she was right.  The kids need to invest part of themselves into making this room functional and beautiful.   They are more likely to take care of items they worked so hard to make that way.

Ms. Passion even found some fabric in my stash that complimented the couches.  So we turned that swatch into some curtains.

The only homework we have left?  Well, we are going to repurpose some left-over small matching cubbies into a desk for this corner.  And that’s going to allow us to pull the computer out of the dining room and put it here where the whole family can use it.

So that’s it – One room Done!  Guess which room everyone wants to spend time in now?  We all love it and can’t wait to see the magic Ms. Passion works on the rest of our home.  And the rest of the house, – well it’s desperate for the same treatment.

So for those who want to follow along I thought I’d post the steps I’m going through to overcome this Hoarding Addiction as well as Ms. Passions lessons that she’s giving me. 

*  Step 1:  First you have to ACKNOWLEDGE YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.  Yes, I know I’m a hoarder and I’m SO ready to be in the recovery phase of that illness.  Then  HAVE A DESIRE TO MAKE A CHANGE and have the courage to realize that you need to ask others for help.  Without the Acknowledgement or the Desire you are basically stuck on step one. 

*  Step 2:   ENLIST THOSE WILLING TO HELP ~ family, friends, counselors, organizers, blog buddies, etc.  Make sure they are committed, and will hold you accountable if you flub-up.

*  Step 3: EVERY ROOM HAS A PURPOSE!  If some item is in the room that doesn’t fit the room’s purpose it needs to leave.  You wouldn’t cook your food in a bathroom, or do your laundry in the front room.  Bring the Purpose back to your rooms.  What is the Vision for your home?  Both in looks, and how it makes you feel.

Clutter never feels good.

Ms. Passion helped us clear everything out of our family room except items that fit a basic vision for it’s purpose.  A room where our family could view movies, play board games, study scriptures, and have fun. 

All the extra stuff is temporarily being housed in my last room – the front room.

We are going to hit every room this way.  One room at a time.  Eliminate everything that doesn’t fit the room’s purpose.  I suspect that the hardest part will be seeing all the left over stuff I’ve accumulated in a embarrassingly large mountain of a pile.  That and after the last room is completed; knowing I will most likely have to part with that pile will be excruciatingly painful – but I suspect the beauty of having  a home where everything has a place and is in it’s place.   Well, I’m convinced that-soon-to-be place of peace and beauty will give me the courage to make those hard choices.  I’m ready to keep going.

Quick Reminder…

From this…

To This. 

And This…

To This.

It feels more Peaceful already.