I always write my Art of Homemaking Posts on Friday nights after everyone has fallen asleep in the family room (remember, our insane weekly camp outs?). I like writing then. Everyone is snuggled around me, I’m happy, the house is quiet…it’s the perfect time to think about my home and family.
But last night Simon and I stayed up way too late watching a million episodes of “Natures Deadliest” on Netflix. (He loves any show about dangerous animals or natural disasters and we’ve just about run out of shows to watch.) Anyways I ended up falling asleep somewhere around the time they were talking about the painful spines on a Stone Fish and didn’t put in the post.
Then this morning, while I was eating my breakfast of leftover spaghetti and cold garlic bread (a favorite breakfast) my internet was not working and remained unavailable until the time I needed to leave for the day.
So here I am back home (eating another piece of cold garlic bread) typing while I should be folding the laundry but there are a few things I wanted to say—-
#1. Back in the day Mrs. Hoole wrote in her “The Art of Homemaking” book that each room should “fulfill it’s function” and that we need to identify what that function is and organize appropriately. It’s good advice.
This week I was reading a book by Peter Walsh (He’s that guy from that TLC show “Clean Sweep”) and in it he says,
“While it may seem that getting organized is the answer to clutter, in reality the first step has nothing to do with “the stuff”. We start by first asking you to clarify what you want form your home and the life you live in it. Answering those key questions will get you started on making your home a true reflection of your vision ideals, and values.”
…Clarifying what you want from you home and making each room fulfill it’s function…are really just the same ideas…and it made me think that sound advice is sound advice no matter if it was written 2 years ago or 60 years ago. (And if it has been sound for this long…maybe I should listen to it.)
#2. I said I was going to finish helping the kids rooms to fulfill their functions this week—-NOT EVEN CLOSE. In fact, right now they look like a bomb has gone off. There are tubs of clothes everywhere, drawers are half empty, toys are spread all over the floor…it’s a disaster. But we’ve started and this week we will finish (or I will go crazy).
#3. I’ve thought a lot this week about the various functions that I think each room in my house should follow and fully planned on sharing them with you but then I remember that it’s my house, not your house and that we all have different ideas and ways to live so I’m going to end this post by saying that I really do think that by consciously sitting down and thinking about what you want to have happen and what needs to happen in each room will help you to better organize and maintain the space.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I’m off to finish the laundry and a Father’s Day gift!
-liZ
OH! PS:
***Here are some questions from Peter Walsh’s book to ask yourself about each room as you are working on defining it’s purpose. I thought they were useful.***
*What do you like most about this room?
*What stresses you out most about this room?
*What do you see in this room?
*What would you like to see?
*Who uses this room?
*Who should be using this room?
*What should this room contain?
*What has to go?
*What do you need from this space?
*What do you wish that someone else in the family would fix in this room?
*What do you think you should fix in this room?
this post really made me think about the function of my kids rooms. I have them set up for sleeping, but they play in them so much – that perhaps I should think about their function as a playroom more. Set up some more areas for them to accommodate this. You have given me much to think about!!! Love it!
so true! i have finally stopped working against what i wanted the room to function as and just go with it. we have some items stored in areas of the house that most people wouldnt do, but it works for us. im still struggling with the laundry issue but its getting better. now that it is warm out i hang out all of our clothes. so now i have to fold when they are dry, not a timed period. and now with it being summer i have so many more added areas to clean and take care of. but i am doing good on finishing those unfinished projects and getting things organized. it is starting to feel really good. and you know the more organized my house is getting the more clean it stays. funny how that works:) hope you had a great fathers day. we split and stacked wood all weekend. its what daddy wanted:)