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The next few days will be the last we spend in our home. As I’ve been packing boxes and emptying rooms, I’ve felt waves of nostalgia wash over me. We’ve only lived here for two and a half years, but in that time we’ve made many memories, and our family of five has grown to seven!
A home is so much more than walls and floors, furniture and light fixtures. As someone who loves design, those things are important to me. But in the past few years, I have learned a few lessons about what makes a home, and the role I play as a homemaker and mother. I try to make our house a place that brings joy to everyone who lives here.
Before we move out, I thought you might like to see some of the rooms in our home that I’ve never blogged about! I will take you on a short tour of our home, and share some of the things that help me to make it a beautiful place. First up, the dining room!
This dining table has been a great addition to our home, as a place where we gather for meals, do homework and play games. With five kids living here, you can imagine that this table is one of the places that gets the messiest. I wipe down the dining table at least four times a day, and the kitchen counters even more! I like to keep my countertop spray cleaner within reach throughout the day so I can clean up the messes as we go.
I’ve tried several different multipurpose cleaners over the years, but my all time favorite is Mrs. Meyers Clean Day® Multi-Surface Everyday Cleaner. If you haven’t ever used Mrs. Meyers Clean Day® products, you are missing out on a fun (and great smelling) experience! I’ve realized that cleaning doesn’t always need to be a chore. The simplest, most mundane tasks can become more fun when you have fresh aromas to enjoy!
Next up on our tour… the kitchen:
I think the reason I’ve never shown pictures of this room is because I was hoping to make some updates that never quite happened! I wanted to paint the cabinets white, get new hardware, and install a subway tile backsplash. For almost a year, these light fixtures sat in boxes, waiting to be installed until I had the “perfect” kitchen to go with them. But you know what? I decided that things don’t have to be perfect before you can enjoy them. It’s the journey along the way that matters, and even though I never got to the end result I was picturing in my head, I finally hung up the glass pendants and I’ve truly enjoyed the sparkle they add to our kitchen space.
Sometimes the same feelings of unworthiness creep in as I evaluate myself as a mother, wife, and homemaker. I am constantly comparing myself to others, striving for a “perfect” outcome, instead of stopping to enjoy the small moments that make life sparkle.
I may not be able to have a clean house every night before going to bed, and that’s okay. Some days I choose to play restaurant with my daughters, listen to my son’s latest accomplishment in Minecraft, or just have some quiet time to myself to watch Netflix. It’s okay to take time for ourselves! Instead of feeling overwhelmed with a long list of the things I didn’t accomplish during the day, I choose to finish a few simple tasks before bedtime, and remember that tomorrow is another day! One of the things that helps me to have a better start in the morning is to get the dishes done and kitchen cleaned up before I go to bed.
I use Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day® Basil Dish Soap… this is one of my favorite scents. It’s so relaxing and fresh, not too strong but just perfect. I know this sounds crazy, but the smell of this dish soap and multi-surface cleaner really helps me to unwind and enjoy cleaning up at night. I also enjoy the Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day® Lemon Verbana Dish Soap. It is amazing at making grease disappear! The lemon scent leaves our kitchen smelling clean, and it lingers all day, which I love. The best thing about Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day® products is that they are all made with natural essential oils, are phosphate-free, and not tested on animals. So I know they are good for our family’s environment and the earth too!
I generally shop for my Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day® products at Fred Meyer, but if you are not familiar with the store, they can be a little tricky to locate. They will either be in the household cleaner/detergent aisle or over in the Naturals section, by the organic foods. In my store, it is in the Naturals section just past the fresh produce section. You will find all of the Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day® line here:
For hand washing, I love to use the Lavender scent Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day® Hand Soap:
It lathers up amazingly, and contains aloe vera and essential oils that make my hands soft instead of drying them out. I really need that in the Idaho winters! Something else my family needs for the long winters here is a place to hang out and keep warm… we love our bonus family room:
This is the space where we hang out as a family, make art projects, study, play games and watch movies. This is definitely a place we will miss when we move! One last room I haven’t shown you much of in our house is the master bedroom:
I’ve tried to add personal touches to my bedroom with DIY furniture like this wood shim dresser and the headboard I reupholstered. It makes me feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in being a woman who gives myself permission to work on my own talents and passions. Creating a home we love is about loving ourselves too, and letting that be reflected in the space we live.
The last room on the tour is our new baby’s room. I shared it a few years ago when I decorated it for our baby girl:
Our baby boy was born just a few months ago, in the midst of trying to sell our home, buy a new one, and move! So I haven’t really done much in the way of decorating his room yet. But I did want to share something I just made for his nursery… I really love how it turned out!
I created my own version of a vintage letterboard, with an inspiring message… dream big! I hope my kids will always remember the things in our home that inspire them or just make them smile. I love being their mom, and even though we are moving on to a new adventure and new house, being with them will always be home to me.
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Love the family activity from set -up!