Closet to Mudroom

**Disclaimer:  when I am showing pics of my house I have worked my tushy off to have them look "picture perfect."  My house normally does not look like this.  I have three kids and while I try and keep it tidy, I can never seem to have it clean all at once.  I need  bloggers hosting challenges to motivate me to organize my home.  I just don't want to give the false impression that my home looks like this on a daily basis.  I am a stay at home mom....my house and my kids are pretty much my life, so when I have spent my time and worked hard on something, taking a picture of it makes me feel good inside. **

 Several months ago, right in the middle of winter, I knew  I had to do something about our current mudroom situation.  We had a fairly good sized room to walk in from the garage, but the sliding closet doors were hard for the kids to manage and everything ended up on the floor in a mess.  I bought hooks to place on the opposite side of the closet just for the kiddos stuff, but it felt cramped and messy to me.

 I wanted a custom built "mudroom" style cabinets built in place of this closet, but we had an estimate and it would cost about $1000 dollars.  Now, my husband is very supportive of any house project I take on, however in his mind that was a unnecessary project, since we already had a perfectly good closet.  So I  started thinking about what I could do on my own.  I hated the doors, I really wanted those gone!  When we moved in this home I was not a fan of the Maple woodwork and cabinets and there is a lot of it.  I wanted it all painted white, but quickly found out that would cost about $6000 to have it done professionally and that dream quickly slipped out the window.   So, I was all about getting rid of big chunk of the wood and the doors were my first victim.

My hubby removed the doors and we saw what a nice sized space this was.  I took everything out of the closet and moved all but what we were currently using daily to an unused closet in the front hall.   We removed the hanging rod and started painting the stripes on the wall.  Then, I purchased the crates at Micheal's and painted them red and added light switch covers spray painted with chalkboard paint and tied them to the crates.  Then I brought the Pottery Barn bench we had in my daughters room down and added bins from Target.  I labeled  them with each of the kids names, these hold shoes.  The rug I purchased online and  is an outdoor rug, so it can easily be cleaned by rinsing it with a hose. 

Then my hubby cut a piece of plywood and I added some foam and used this leftover faux leather fabric I had from recovering stools in our kitchen.  I was very happy using this fabric because it wipes clean.  I bought the wooden letters from Hobby Lobby and painted them red to match the crates and placed them over the hooks.  Now everyone knows where their stuff goes!

 I placed a clear shelf by my hook to hold my planner and household binder.  I have an extra bin on the floor to hold  store returns and library books.  On my hubby's side I add a docking station for his wallet, keys and cell phone.  I drilled a hole in it to accommodate his cell phone charger.
Here are the before and after photos.

              

I am often asked what I do in the winter.  This is what the space looks like in the winter.  Boots and one pair of gloves and a hat are in baskets in bench.  All extras and scarfs are in a red bin.  All extra coats are in another closet, along with out of season shoes. 

I couldn't be happier with this mudroom.  It is much more ascetically pleasing and the kids have no question where their "stuff " belongs. I figured this new "mudroom" cost me about $300.

 What about you, have you ever had to think outside the box to get a home project done that was out of your price range?

**Update**  This space was featured on my favorite blog, I Heart Organizing!!  Check out the link here.

Typical Saturday

Saturday is my favorite day.  We usually have no set plans and I don't feel guilty for letting the kids watch cartoons all morning, because its "cartoon day."  Most summer Saturday's follow along these lines, leisurely morning, farmers market, house project, grill out, bedtime.  Here is what I did hour for hour Saturday. 

*i will be referring to my children as number 1, 2 and 3.  I am a bit leery of using their real names  for any creepy creepers.

7:00am- tip toe like a mouse to the coffee pot, where I  am disappointed I did not fill it and preset it the night before (I get very lazy at night and the smallest task seems daunting.) Then, I sit in bliss while drinking hot coffee and read blogs.  When I find a new blog I love, I can lost in it for hours, I also want to start at the beginning and read it like a book.  My husband does not get this.  Am I alone here?

7:15am- Hear "mommy" being yelled by 3.....tip toe upstairs to get her and tell her not to talk, so she doesn't wake anyone else up.  Get her a sippy of milk and turn on Disney Jr.  I go back to blog reading bliss.

7:30am- 1 gets up-(he slept late, he is usually up at six) he joins sis on couch.

7:45am-Hubby and 2 come down....everyone is up, computer time over.

8:00am-  Hubby and I talk about what we want to do for the day, I have set a loose plan in my head, hubby does not.  I tell hubby we need to rent a power washer to get old paint off the deck so we can restain it next weekend.  I have already done all the research about the best way to do it and where to rent the machine.  He agrees to have that be our project for the day.

9:00am- weekends I am not real good about fixing breakfast for my kids today they wanted graham crackers, I let them,  thinking they are probably not any worse then eating sugar cereal.  

9:30am-now I get everyone moving, I don't know about you, but if I did not suggest for everyone to get dressed I think they would sit in front of the TV in there jammies ALL day long.

10:00am- I take 1 and 3 to the Farmers Market, hubby takes 2 to Wallyworld to pick out a b-day present for a friend and pick up some necessities, then to get power washer.

12:00pm-everyone home and I lay out all my farmers market goodies and start salivating for a delicious, fresh from the farm meal.  Hubby and kids are outside getting the power washer fixed up.

12:30pm- I create this delish meal....free-range eggs, green chile polenta and sauteed Swiss chard.  Hubby and kids are not interested in eating yet, so I sit in peace and quiet eating and reading Real Simple. (kids did end up coming in and wanting a bit of my meal....1 and 3 approved 2 gagged.)

1:00pm- I made a "snacky" lunch for the kids, pretzels and peanut butter, purple carrots from the market, sliced peaches and lemonade.  Ice cream for dessert.  They ate it on the front porch since back porch was being power washed. Maggie, the dog, watched from the door, hoping they would make lots of crumbs. 

1:30pm-I power washed for a bit, then put 3 down for a nap, made a salad  and a cherry pie for dinner, cleaned the kitchen ( I am a very messy cook, I DO NOT clean as I go, I know I should, its hard to teach an old dog new tricks. )

4:30pm-1 and 2 are outside playing, hubby is STILL power washing...the deck is done, now he is doing the house, gutters and cars.  I steal a few moments on the computer.

5:30pm-3 gets up, I start prepping for dinner.  On the menu; grilled pork chops, garlic roasted potatoes, cabbage salad, sauteed beet greens and cherry crumb pie.  Kids are out riding bikes. 2 keeps sneaking in to get snacks...he is STARVING.  1 keeps telling me he needs to taste the pie.  3 keeps coming in crying because ants and flies are outside.

6:00pm- 2 comes in crying because 1 hit him with a baseball bat (it was foam, no mark was left, 1 insisted 2 had a bee on his back) 2 gets a hug, 1 gets dessert taken away.  I pour a glass of wine.

6:30pm- we sit outside for dinner, it is yummy, the pie is yummier.

7:00pm- 3 pushes her babydoll in a swing, 1 and 2 play baseball and soccer with hubby.  I cleanup.

8:00pm- kids get showers, then watch a short flick.

8:30pm-3 goes to bed.  I decide I need a facial, so I whip up a recipe via Pinterest (if you have never tried the Pore Cleansing Mask try it, it makes your face baby soft.  I put it on my whole face, careful of the eyebrows and hairline.  It hurts to remove, but in a good way.  Hubby and the kids want to try it too.  Yes, we know how to have a good time!

9:00pm- with my fresh face I tell 2 and 3 to go to bed.  Hubs and I sit to watch some TV.

9:10pm- I hear giggling from our door and tell boys to stop playing "secret spies" and go to bed.

9:20pm-giggling again, I nicely tell the boys what a fun day we have had, but now it is "mommy and daddytime," and they need to go to bed.  They are not fazed at all by my plead. 

9:25pm- getting highly irritated, boys are wilder then ever, hubby gets involved and they finally listen.

9:30pm- finally peace and quiet in the house, hubby and I have a healthy discussion about a summer camp I would like to send our kids too. I went growing up for many years and I feel it had a wonderful influence in my upbringing.  He thinks it's overpriced and to far away.  We agree to disagree.

10:30pm-We end up flipping between sports center and HGTV.   I drift off to la-la land.

Do you love Saturday's as much as I do?

Green Thumb

Today I did a little gardening, it was totally impromptu.  I couldn't resist the 75% off plant sale.  The plants all looked a little wilted and droopy, but I thought with a little TLC they could become something beautiful we would enjoy for many years.

Now, in the past four homes we have owned I have never taken much interest in gardening.  We have always moved about every 2-3 years and I never saw the point, or had the time for that matter.  But, things are different now.  My husband is at the corporate headquarters for his company, so hopefully that means we are settled, no more moves!  I am much more interested in making this home, our home.  Being more thoughtful about how things are done. So when I saw the $4 hydrangeas I quickly picked up 11!  I LOVE hydrangeas.  They were in my wedding bouquet and they are in my parent's yard in my hometown.  I wanted to splash them all over my yard, so I would see them at every angle.

 You see, we live away from our family, it has always been that way.  It has always just been us, wherever we go, no grandmas to babysit, no cousins to play with, just us.  Every time we move, we start over, new friends, new church, new everything, nothing familiar.  But now, we are home.  This is where our kids will graduate from high school, this is where it will say Brooke is from in her wedding announcement one day.  This is home.  I always loved the hydrangeas in my parents yard.  In fact, I just took pictures of them when I was home a few weeks ago.

 So, when I saw some for sale I scooped them up.  I wanted that little reminder of home all around me.  I guess no matter how grown up we become, we still love things that remind us of home.

Just a little bit 'bout me

Hi, I'm Kate.  Welcome to my blog!  I started reading blogs in 2012 after finding so many through Pinterest.  I loved them!  I was so inspired by these talented ladies, cooking, cleaning, homeschooling, decorating, crafting you name it.....they made an art out of staying at home!

 Still Room To Grow is snippets from my past and present that have molded me into the women I am now and will continue to become.  I believe in keeping it real, I am not perfect, my house does not look perfect.  Chances are if my laundry is caught up and put away, then my kitchen is a wreck and if my house is clean then I have a mountain of laundry.  I am a wanna be baker, crafter and decorator who is learning as I go.  

  I have been married 11 years to my high school sweetheart.  He is funny, charming, a wonderful dad and a great help around the house.  We have moved 7 times in the past 11 years, moving to different states for my husbands job, (he works for a cheese company).  We have 3 beautiful children.   We live in the Midwest.

Since becoming a mother I have learned that despite graduating from college,  the real education is just beginning.  I have grown so much in the past 8 years and am realizing that there is always.....Still Room To Grow!

Thanks so much for stopping by!