Teenaged Girl's Bedroom in Scandinavian Design

It has been several months since we redesigned my teenaged daughter's bedroom for her birthday, but I wanted to share how lovely it turned out. It's difficult to get into her room and photograph these days, as she is now homeschooled and spends an enormous amount of time in her room, and more specifically on her bed! If you've been following me for any time now, you may remember that we re-did her bedroom a few years ago! She is now a full fledge teenager and has very specific design ideas and so for her 14th birthday, I told her we could redecorate her room. It has been FIVE years and she's a lot different at 14 then she was at 9 years old! Here is what her room looked like before:

Family Room Update: Counter Intuitive

Last week, I share the family room update to our fireplace. Just using paint, it made a huge difference! This week, I did more updating in there. Years ago I painted all the built in cabinetry. The fireplace sits between cabinets built by someone back in the 60s. It's great having them, and I painted them white many years ago. But, the tops of them kept getting chipped up. 

Family Room Update: Fireplace Makeover

Recently, I was looking at my family room and ready to do a few updates in there. We moved into our house over 11 years ago and it was one of the first rooms that I painted. So, I felt like it was time to do something our hideous fireplace. We fixed the fireplace about 6 or 7 years ago so that it could function. This room was turned into a Rumpus Room back in the 1960s, and later enclosed. So, the fireplace had a rotisserie in it - that I've since taken out, of course! 

Getting Organized for Fire Prevention & Giveaway

This is a sponsored post on behalf of First Alert. All opinions are my own.

October is "Fire Prevention" month and I have been preparing for disasters now even more because of how many I have been watching all around our country. I have personally had family effected by the natural disasters and it has made me more aware of how lacking our household is in terms of preparation. 

New York City - Organized!

We had such an amazing month of May and had the privilege to travel quite a bit, including a trip to New York City! I have always wanted to go there - I'm a true city girl and love to visit the hustle and bustle of cities like that. My husband has a particular conference that I travel with him each year where the location changes each year, too. This year it was in New York City - so I was very excited to get an opportunity to see NYC. The best part, now that my daughter is homeschooling online, is that she got to go with us! We got to see SO much of NYC and do so much! But, I wanted to share some tips that we used to keep organized and see as much of NYC as you can while visiting, for your future trip!

Training Little Ones to Keep a Schedule

If you have been reading OMF for long you know one of Becky's top organizing tips is to keep a schedule!  Whether its her own weekly cleaning routine, or her kids Schedule, she keeps much of her home and family running by being consistent about her schedules.  In this post I will share a few ideas for how to train your preschooler to be more independent in keeping their daily schedule.  

Organizing For A Medical Emergency: Your Personal Health Record

If you have ever had to go to an emergency room you know it can be quite stressful.  When I worked as a patient advocate in a local emergency room I got to see all sorts of personalities in all kinds of emergency situations and I’ve learned a few things that can help you be a little more organized for your next medical emergency.  Creating a personal health record for yourself and your family is the single most helpful thing you can do to be prepared for a visit to the ER.   

There is nothing more stressful than getting to the ER while applying pressure to your child's bleeding boo boo, your child  in tears and then you realize you don’t even have what you need to get registered! Being prepared will help you to focus on comforting your family member rather than fretting in the heat of the moment.     

Step 3 - Let Go of Clutter: The Mom's Guide to Getting Your House Organized and Clutter Free

Today is the day. Are you ready to start looking at things differently? In the Mom's guide to getting your house organized and clutter free, we started by simply getting into the habit of sitting down each evening and planning out our schedule and routine each week. Second, we started meal planning. Those two things are vital habits to form in your home in order to get your whole life/home organized and clutter free. And, did you start these habits? How are you feeling about them? Is it making a difference?  Today, I want you to start looking at your stuff differently.

6 Ways to Conquer Letting Go of Meaningful Things

“But,  What If I need It Someday?”

This is a common thought we have when we want to declutter and get organized.  I would bet that if you have a small (or large) problem in your home with clutter that you (or someone in your home) has used that phrase once or twice. This thought can sometimes even paralyze our ability to get rid of anything.   

My grandmother was born to a poor family in 1930 and spent her childhood playing with bits and pieces of scraps and junk in the yard rather than the playhouses, swing-sets and electric ride-on cars that her great grandchildren enjoy. Unlike many of her generation, who struggle with hoarding, she kept an immaculate home all of her life.  

Making the Most of "Leftovers"

Do you like leftovers?  If not then you probably haven't made the most of them!  I used to think that the best way to handle leftovers is to pack them up and send them to work with my hubby, but now I've actually started cooking extra on purpose so that I can use the leftovers for another meal all together.  

Christmas in the New Kitchen

Now that we've got a new kitchen, I figured it would be important for me to get some new decor in there for Christmas, of course! I wanted to share how I decorated in there and maybe give you some ideas for your own home, too!

Welcome to my Organized, Colorful Home

I haven't updated my home tour in awhile so I thought it would be fun to share how my house looks right now, since doing my new kitchen and a few other areas this year. So, I'm going to walk you through the house! If you want to now specifics about that room, just click on the link I provide for each room. 

Welcome to our home!

Our front yard got overhauled last year and is now completely drought tolerant and all native. Go HERE to read more about it. 

How to Make 10 (Pressure Cooker) Freezer Meals In A Day

So you've seen those pressure cookers and instant pot recipes and heard all the hype but you're not sure if you're ready to take the plunge.  After all, you're just a "normal Mom,"  do you really have time to cook for hours, bag and then freeze it all just to save a little time?  Are you longing for an honest opinion about just how doable this "power cooking" actually its?  I was wondering the exact same thing so I tried it, and I'm going to share the whole truth with you today.  

How to Organize Cords Easily

Living in the 21st century means we have cords, lots and lots of cords. Cords are messy, very messy! You know there are cords by the couch, next to the bed, in the kitchen, in the office, behind the TV - you know, everywhere! So, I consider myself somewhat of an expert in this area now, especially having a husband in the IT field - yes, cords and more cords. My husband also runs the sound system at our church and he's become quite meticulous about how to keep cords out of the way and from view, so I've learned things from him too. I'm going to give you my solutions and some of the basic things you need to keep around your house to keep up with the web of cords - cause I like them hidden!

Kitchen Renovation: Buying Large Appliances and Getting Bids

Our kitchen has been going through some changes! With my husband's upcoming busy schedule, we've decided to demo the kitchen a little each week! It seems weird, but it's actually working out quite well! So, the total demo is not quite done but nearly done! It's a mess though!

Getting Back to School and July 2016 wrap up

I can't believe how quickly summer has sped by!  This month we have been busy with our kitchen remodel and I can't wait to show you how we are coming along in the coming months.  We've been designing, shopping and even starting a little of the demo process and my living room is FULL of all the beautiful new cabinets and appliances just waiting to be installed.  If you've missed any of my recent post's you'll want to check them out here. 

In light of school starting early in August I am sure you would also like to check out all the Back-to-School info you can get your hands on about now.  

The BEST RV {and Camping} Organizing Products

Last year, when we bought our used RV, we planned on using it for multiple family get aways - and we have! We go away as many holiday weekends as we can, and we love every minute of RVing. We just got back from a wonderful trip this past weekend and I wanted to share some of the best products that we use while we're RVing. Many of these products are also great for camping, as well. So, be sure to share this with your camping friends! If you want to see more good stuff that we do while RVing, go to my Instagram #OMFRVmakeover hashtag and you'll get to see all kinds of fun stuff I post about it. 

Let Them Struggle a Bit

Yesterday was SIX years since I first started this blog. On May 26, 2010, I decided to give it a try. I'm somewhat amazed at what it's turned into! 

Today we're going to chat a little bit about parenting and organizing. Why? I have just noticed something going on whenever I read online - what is it? Parents who are afraid to let their kids struggle, to feel pain, to have disappointing days, to get out and experience things. Now, this is mostly my observations and opinions so you may completely disagree with me here, but I grew up experiencing disappointment, having to struggle, earn my way, and feeling pain. Some children, sadly, experience far more than others and I'm not talking about those. I'm dealing with organizing - yep, organizing, of course!

11 Ways to Organize Your Pet

If you are a pet lover, like we are, you'll want to stay tuned for this! It's just as important to keep your pet organized as the rest of the family! My dog Rusty, is my constant companion during the day. He's sweet and kind. But, we have rules and ways to keep him organized and all his stuff that comes with him, too!

So, whether you have a few pet things or a lot, I've got great ideas for you!

Adorable, Organized Home Office in a Small Rental Home

I just love the start of the year don't you?  After the busy holidays I am always eager to put away the decorations, clean house and get organized.  I love filling out my calendar and sorting through last year's papers to get rid of everything I don't need and I especially love how much more time I have to work on these things in the month of January. Today I'm going to show you my adorable, organized home office in my rental home. 

This is a post by my assistant, Tiffany, who is sharing her home office she made in her rental home! Come see the rest - it's SO cute!