When Sherry’s mom was here a couple of weekends ago for Clara’s birthday party she clocked more than her fair share of hours helping us clean the house in preparation. Perhaps her most miraculous accomplish was in the future playroom / second kids bedroom (aka: current junkroom) which looked like this when she arrived (no kidding):
Since our junk basically screamed “I Will Topple Over On Your Baby!” we were just planning to close and lock the door during the party to keep all of the littler guests away from certain death. That plan went to pot when we realized that we couldn’t physically close the door anymore (mainly due to the poorly timed delivery of a large box full of replacement parts for our recalled outdoor grill, which came the day before the party).
So before one might consider us candidates for an episode of Hoarders, my mother-in-law took it upon herself to get things organized. Ahhhhh……
Now the door closes, which was definitely necessary for the party (let me paint you a picture: kids everywhere). Surprisingly, Diana didn’t actually throw that much away – except maybe a few boxes that we had been hanging on to (like the one for Sherry’s sewing machine in case she and Oh Brother didn’t survive their first few rocky weeks together). So this really is just a result of sorting and putting things in some semblance of order (pillows with pillows, baskets nested inside of each other or stacked, etc).
Now it’s almost like this entire room is our mega “decor store” from which to pull frames, accessories and pillows when we need ’em elsewhere in the house. At least that’s what we tell ourselves when we feel super slothy for having a room full of not-sure-where-it’ll-land-yet stuff after five months of living here.
Oh, and notice that vintage kids chair? That was a birthday gift from Sherry’s mom. It’s the actual chair that she and her six siblings used when they were growing up to eat meals. Cool, right? I mean, in that totally-not-up-to-current-safety-standards way. But nonetheless, it’s fun to have in our possession (imagining my mother-in-law as a baby eating mushed up bananas is always a trip). We’ve got big plans for it as Clara’s big girl chair after she’s past her highchair days. In fact Sherry’s already googling around to make sure we can safely fix it up (making sure there aren’t any lead/formaldehyde issues since those were used in old furnishings). That’s my slightly neurotic girl.
As happy as it made us to have the room walkable again, it’s obviously still miles away from being a usable playroom. Luckily there’s no rush to get started (since the living room, office, sunroom, nursery, and kitchen are all playrooms for the bean these days). But Clara and I did take a few moments to enjoy the fact that we could actually see the floor again. The fact that all 6 feet of me can now lay down in there is nothing short of a miracle.
Thanks Nonna! We promise to (do our best not to) mess it up again.
My kind of woman….an organizer!!! I think we could be BFF’s.
I love that you have a “collecting” room. And now you have an organized one! I wish I could say that! I bet you guys feel so much better now!
Holy Cow that Awsome! If only she could come and do my garage….
Awww that is very sweet, and Clara looks to be having fun in the new space lol.
A Girl’s Next Best Friend
Nice. I just did that for a whole house for my friend… took 4.5 days working 8 hours before it was done
Holy cow, that must feel great (once it’s done).
xo,
s
such a big change (and I’m sure it makes you both feel better to know that chaos doesn’t lurk behind a closed (or open) door.
also? to further the progress, i totally recommend the Space Bags for the pillows and whatnot…they really work well, and make things “storeable” if you haven’t already given them a go :)
I L.O.V.E. the vintage “high” chair! I am totally on the lookout for one to use once our daughter outgrows her current one! My mother-in-law has one that has seen tons of use from my niece and nephew…they are just so cool!
Love organizing! And where did you get that day bed??
It’s from West Elm a while back.
xo,
s
My aunt has the same type of vintage chair. It was always a fight to see which kid would get to sit on it. Looks great!
We have 2 vintage high chairs. Many other children survived in them. My grand-kids surely will.
I think me and Sherry’s mom would get along. You should see what I did to our office’s storage closet.
We have one of those highchairs – my MIL found it either at a garage sale or somewhere but my kids fight over who will sit in it (they are 5 & 2). We didn’t put any safety straps on it since it slides under the table fine & my 2 yr old is pretty good about staying seated until she is done.
I was just wondering this weekend if you have a new decor store…. (Here’s mine — one of my favorite ideas I’ve stolen from you guys.)
Love it!
xo,
s
Can Nona be bribed with other cute babies??? I have a 8.5 month old! :)
Haha, probably. Just make sure she doesn’t try to sneak off with yours (she wants to pack Clara up in her suitcase every time she comes).
xo,
s
Right, check all suitcases for stowaway adorable babies :)
I meant to tell you, I am SO STOKED that I finished all our boxes just in time for our one-year anniversary of being in this house! Are you guys going to do anything fun & awesome for your one year?
I think we’d love to celebrate somehow. John is a sucker for commemorating things (I forget what we were doing “this time last year” but he always remembers).
xo,
s
I noticed the dark wooden shelf in the middle of the room in the ‘messy picture’ looks a lot like the now-painted-green-looking-one in the far left corner of the cleaned version picture. Did you guys sneak a quick paint in there?
Haha, good eye! We actually have two of them! One was painted green years ago (see here) and one is still brown.
xo,
s
I had those shelves in college too. In fact, years later they still reside in our house (currently as bedside tables in our guest room). We plan to give them the young house treatment and give them new life in our daughter’s big kid room. Now to choose a paint color – that green may fit the bill!
It’s really amazing what a little organization from someone else will do! My mom is the same way, and I admit when I know she’s coming I may leave things a bit less tidy since she does a better job of cleaning up then I do! Ha!
I love the vintage high chair! It looks so cute! Speaking of mother-in-laws – I recently spied how mine pulled a vintage changing table from my husbands babyhood to the front of their basement! Sneaky but I noticed the change. Kids are still a few years away for us but shhsss don’t tell her that yet!
They really are! I can’t tell you how happy I am to be reminded that you have a “junk” room and that you still haven’t got to it! We moved a week ago and I feel like we live in a sea of boxes and stuff that I don’t know where to put. Here is a short video clip I took last weekend to share with our fam…both Mom’s called us and asked why it was so messy. Ha! http://youtu.be/TD_klMltk3g
Oh my gosh, that actually looks good for moving just a week ago! Our house was crazy for a good 3-4 weeks!
xo,
s
Ohmygosh, no way, everyone must have a vintage high chair, because when I had my daughter, my grandmother found the one that my dad used, and brought it out for us. My daughter still thinks it’s hilarious that “Pops” used to sit in it. Although, the one she uses now is my old high chair, which fortunately, is a great swedish-design piece. Sturdy and modern-but not too modern. The vintage chair is really just a prop in our dining room. :)
Not that I’d ever let her catch me saying it (again) but did you really just use the terms “mother in law” and “best” in the same title without a adverb of negation? Lucky you!!!
Also, we have a vintage high chair that we use at said mother in law’s house…it’s held up quite well now that our daughter is a bit older. When she was in wiggle mode, my mother in law has been known to tie her into the chair with a long scarf…I kid you not! Children are surprisingly resilient.
Seeing “Oh Brother” in this post made me remember a dream I had last night about y’all. I went to check you first post of the day and it was titled “Oh Brother & Sister!!”. And the picture was of two little baby footprints (one pink, one blue) like this http://pinterest.com/pin/31458078/
I know you aren’t prego, but it was adorable nontheless.
That’s so funny, because the post where we announced that I was prego with Clara was called Oh Brother (Or Sister). Crazy!
xo,
s
Hi John and Sherry,
Exactly how many West Elm day beds do you guys have? I seem to see them everywhere!
xo,
Tammy
Haha, we have two. One in the sunroom and one in the playroom (they used to both live in the larger sunroom in our first house). The one in the playroom will someday be Clara’s big girl bed!
xo,
s
mom’s are the best when it comes to that kind of stuff :)
Whoa! Thats not typical mother-in-law behaivor. Lucky lucky!
This is not a snarky question at all, but what concerns do you have about the high chair? As another commenter pointed out, other generations have “survived” them :) Promise I’m not being judgmental, I’m just genuinely curious about what parents should be on the look out for when inherited furniture like that. Thanks!
I think just lead or other chemicals in the treated wood (some of the old chemicals to “cure” wood have formaldehyde in it, which is now a recognized cancer-causer). Just wanna do the best by Clara that we can!
xo,
s
So if you wanted to be super-careful, could you do whatever minor sanding/restaining it calls for and then put a coat or two of super-safe varnish (I forget what you call the product you like?) over it?
Yup, I think we’ll be fine as long as we don’t sand it (bad new for releasing lead and chemicals) and just prime and paint it and then seal it with Safecoat (which is meant to lock in things like lead or formaldehyde).
xo,
s
I am jealous you have such a great mother in law! Mine is the opposite of helpful and extreme high maintenance when she visits.
I love that ‘decor store’ reference. I’m moving soon to my first house (!) and I will have a decor store of my own :)
Great job on the room! So organized! Great pic with Clara! On a side note..I loved her birthday video and was wondering what songs were used from Ben Drake? I’d love to use those songs in a slideshow of my own!
John remembers them bring from an album that he thinks was called Music Explosion (they were the first few tracks). You can find the site by following the url at the end of the video. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I am wondering if you could please help me. I am wanting to use some of this music for my wedding, I have located all of the songs used in the video except for the last one. I can’t find it on Ben Drake’s album. I have searched! Are you able to click into your video and just see what the title of the final song used was? Thank you.
It was called “Good Morning” and it’s from a different album. Here’s the link: http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/141492/good-morning?sid=playlist-p105967#
-John
Thanks so much John! That’s great. I really appreciate this (I know how busy you guys are!). Cheers! :-)
We have, and use (!) that same child’s chair for our super petite 4, almost 5 year old daughter. She loves it! Truth be told, we even squeeze our less than petite backsides in that comfy little chair from time to time! I’m amazed at how sturdy it is.
You might try this as as solution for the high chair. Super easy to make and great for home or on-the-go:
http://thismamamakesstuff.com/tutorial-this-mamas-fab-travel-chair/
No way- I just pinned this tutorial on Pinterest a few days ago! Love it!!
xo,
s
We just cleaned our garage and it felt amazing afterwards! Yea for spring/ really feeling more like summer…cleaning :)
I have learned time and time again that I can’t paint anything without getting it all over myself. I have a rockin pair of elastic waist tapered sweatpants and oversized t-shirt that I use as my painting/drywall attire.
oops that comment was meant for your other post
Mothers-in-law definitely are the best! She did a great job. She’s welcome at my house too :)
I was just going to comment about that. The correct spelling is “Mothers-in-law”, not “Mother-in-laws”. And I agree. They are great!
Jennifer
I’m totally weird, but an organized room or space is like heaven to me! Wish I could borrow Sherry’s mom to help with our garage :)
I love organizing! I just organized my bathroom sink cabinet and it is glorious! I feel so much better now whenever I go to grab a q-tip or whatever. My biggest thing is boxes. Everything looks better in a box, it’s like instant organization. Or a tray, just line it up and BAM organized. It amazed me what a few simple changes could do to clean everything up. Here’s my box love : http://thefirstapartment.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-to-organize-under-sink.html
Stacking also works wonders, but I suppose that can be a whole other rant.
~Blair
Wow! Looks so much better! I’m amazed that all that stuff could take up such a smaller amount of space once it’s organized.
5 months, that’s nothing. We will have lived in our apt for 4 years in a few weeks and I still have an extra room like that. First it was boxes from moving, then presents from my wedding shower, then wedding stuff, now still a mix of all of that plus more! I need a MIL like yours!!!
We have that same kiddie chair… got it at a yard sale last year, I just spray painted the heck out of it…it is white now…My kids LOVE IT!
Wow, looks great! Send her this way next please? Our garage is a bit like the “before” pictures there, full of unopened boxes from last year’s move and several mid-stream home and furniture projects. My husband just announced that fixing up the garage is the first task he’s tackling when he gets home from Afghanistan. I knew I married the right man!
Five months? That’s nothing. My husband and I lived in our first apartment for 18 months. I finally finished unpacking when it was time to pack again. We’ve been in our first house for a month short of four years, and we still have things that haven’t quite landed yet. Fortunately, we’ve managed to at least relegate them to the attic or a closet in an extra room, though.
Kind of jealous that your MIL so great!! I practically have to take a week off of work in preparation for when mine visits…
I’ve been itching to re-finish some wood pieces. We got some great unfinished pieces at this place called “Good Wood” (it recently closed near Short Pump… bummmer). Anyway, everything we did originally was wrong, and needs to be re-done. Live and learn! Can’t wait to see what you guys do with that great chair. :)
Wow, Please may I borrow her in London, My boyfriend just moved into my flat and it is a complete mess, i’m sure she could organise the whole thing. Help!
She’d love to come to London! Stand by for her arrival (who likes how I just dispatched my mom across the globe?).
xo,
s
hey, once sje’s done at your place, could you send her over here in italy? ;)
Ooh she’d love a visit back home!
xo,
s
I am sorry for being a grammar nerd: shouldn’t the title be “Aren’t Mothers-In-Law The Best?”
Personally, my answer would be “heck no” but Sherry’s mom is awesome!! :)
Yup, you’re totally right. Mothers-In-Law is right but it just sounds so strange to me. Hah.
xo,
s
Oh, thank god, I wasn’t the only one dying to point that out.
We’ve got the same level of disorganization in our second bedroom/office/guest room. I wish I could have Nona come clear it out for us.
Are you sure it wasn’t my mom who got a hold of your room?! LoL That is something my mom would SO do…well actually has…
Haha, maybe we have the same mom…
xo,
s
Mother-in-laws and Mothers themselves are the BEST!!! I actually just helped my mom clean up her craft room this past holiday weekend, what a nice daughter am I??? 11 years of being a demonstrator for a stamping company sure makes for a room of craft-hording!!! Needless to say she has more than enough stuff for her yard sale at the end of the month:) LOL!! Your room looks great!!
One, that is awesome. Two, I just have to tell you that I absolutely adore this blog, to the extent that after I found it two months ago, I have actually gone back to the very beginning and read every single post. Yep. I finished last night (hooray summer!), but waited for today’s posts to tell you. And now I feel super creepy for knowing a TON of stuff about you, but oh man, you are SUCH an inspiration to me. I actually just finished re-doing my parents’ old patio furniture because of you (and now it looks awesome). So I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate all the crazy amounts of work you guys have done, on both your house and blog, and how much fun it was to go read through everything from the beginning. Thanks so much for sharing everything!!! I know it will be so handy once the boy and I move to DC in the next month or so, because we will have such good references on how to do everything (modified rental-style, of course). So THANK YOU so much!!
Thank YOU Maria! It’s amazing to hear that you read back years into our archives and lived to tell the tale. What a crazy ride it has been!
xo,
s
I actually found this blog about 6 months ago and did the same thing! I was so bummed when I finally caught up, now I have to wait for a new post each day instead of having hours of reading at my fingertips! : ) Amazing blog, amazing family!
Ah, the power of some good ol’ fashioned elbow grease :]
The “before” picture makes me feel slightly better about the current state of my home office.
The “after” picture… Well let’s just say it’s inspired me to organize the crap out of my office as soon as I get home from my day job! ;-)
Also, that last picture is freaking adorable. :-)