Operation: Organization Back to School with The Heathered Nest

 

Hi everyone! Today’s guest is a blogger you are just going to love.  Heather has faithfully shared her gorgeous home at our Pretty Preppy Party and we immediately loved her blog The Heathered Nest. It got even better when we met her in person last month at The Haven Conference.  We know you’ll enjoy her ‘keeping it real’ post, and her laundry room is to die for! Here’s Heather…

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There’s a lot of talent taking part in 11 Magnolia Lane’s “Operation: Organization” series. And I was asked to take part as well, NOT because I have ANY talent in this arena at all. In fact, quite the opposite is true. I have NO talent in the organizational realm, whatsoever. I am here to provide you with a study in contrast. And perhaps, to make you feel a little better about yourself. After seeing this, you can give yourself that little pat on the back and say, “you know what? I may not have it all together, but at least I’m better off than her!”

Seriously. I’m happy I can help. Want some proof of my lack of organizational prowess? Come to my kitchen. Now pick a drawer, any drawer…here’s what you’ll get:

 

BOOM…look at that organizational GENIUS. You see what I did there?? I piled ALL THE THINGS into the same drawer, so that when I need something, I simply have to OPEN the drawer, and commence a 10 minute search to find the desired object.

How about this example…my children’s activity drawer…

You may be able to tell that there have been some half-hearted organizational “attempts” in this space. See the tupperware? The ziploc bags?? I do make a bit of an effort, but it never really pans out for me.

Like here. Our lego/train apocalyptic disaster. I tried, guys! I bought bins…multiple bins. And that’s where the brainchild died.

When Christy and Amy approached me to be a part of this collective series, I told them, “Guys, me and organization don’t play nicely.” They, in their sweet, charming, southern way said “Heather, you’re being too hard on yourself.” So, I agreed to take part, and I begun to think maybe they were right. I mean, it’s tempting to think we’re better at something than we actually are, right? Maybe I’m not SO bad at organizing, I mused. Then, I opened my eyes, took one look around my house and had to face reality. ZERO organizational inclination is what I have. No false modesty here…you’ve seen proof.

That being said, there is one small nook in my home that I do try to keep mostly, kinda sorta organized. My mudroom.

The mudoom is our landing strip, our drop zone. It’s highly trafficked and people fly on through here with lots of stuff…stuff that needs a home rather than in the dead center of the floor. When we moved into the home, this was what this room looked like…

Dated. With cabinets that look like they had gotten shrunk in the washing machine which sat below them. No bueño. We had almost no budget for this space, but we removed those cabs, and repurposed them into the garage where we needed extra storage. Then we bought some larger, un-assembled, unfinished cabinets online which I painted in Annie Sloan’s Old White. Cabinet shopping tip…you can save about 50-70% on cabinets if you purchase them unfinished and un-assembled.

The larger cabinets are super helpful to have in here. I lined the back of the cabs with fabric, which I thought would be fun and fancy and bring some more color and pattern into the space…

Me and my great ideas. I was forgetting that my organizational skills, as we’ve now discovered, are AWFUL. So clear glass + fancy fabric + TONS AND TONS of cleaning JUNK in said cabinets = unsightly mess. You live, you learn. And now, I’ll be installing privacy film on these guys at some point…just like we did on a pocket door in our kids bathroom, seen below:

But, despite my foibles, I have made some organizational strides here. We have a fun hodge-podge of random hooks we’ve accumulated hanging near the door to our garage to hang keys on. Listen, I know this is no-new-organizational-news, but this simple hook on a wall near the garage technique ACTUALLY WORKS here! I (almost never) lose my keys!

Similarly, the numbered hooks on the wall are really useful too! I love inexpensive options. Putting some beadboard and trim up in this room, and adding hooks was super cost effective. We didn’t have the budget (or the space) for something fancy and built-in, so this is what we did to add some function with at least a little fun form.

And in different seasons, we use the hooks different ways. In the summer, they house the beach towels. In the fall, this is where the kids hang their backpacks after school.

And in the winter, they are a catch all for our coats, scarves, and snow gear. Now I realize that hooks are a simple, inexpensive, entry-level DIY and organizational trick. And entry-level/remedial is about the best I have to offer in the organizational world. Enjoy the rest of the 11 Magnolia Lane series, guys! I’m sure you’ll find a lot of inspiration and ideas (in the other posts). And I hope my post has helped you to feel a little better about the organization (or lack thereof) you have going on in your own home…as you can see, it could always be worse.

Cheers!

 

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Love it 🙂 Thanks for sharing Heather! Be sure to visit her over at The Heathered Nest to see more about their home.

See all of the previous posts in our Operation: Organization series {here} and follow the Pinterest board {here}.

Operation: Organization {Back to School Edition} 2015 Schedule:

8/17: Sunny Side Up

8/18: Bless’er House

8/19: Sunny Side Up

8/20: Monthly Sunny Side Up

8/21: The Heathered Nest

8/22: The Creativity Exchange

8/23: Just a Girl and Her Blog

8/24: This is Happiness

8/25: Dixie Delights

8/26: Organizing Made Fun

8/27: Pretty Preppy Party Features

8/28: Simply Organized

 

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While you’re here– check out our new line of organizational products HERE, these weekly calendars are the perfect tool to help you get organized for back to school!

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!