home, hearth and (mental) health

I've come to realize that my mental health is directly tied to order (or DISORDER, in my case).

A stupid, whiny, First-World problem.

Me and my healthy family have so much stuff and clean clothes and dishes on which we ate delicious food that when it all surrounds me, I have a hard time resisting the urge to lie in bed underneath the covers.

Makes me want to smack myself upside the head, but there it is.

Order in my head is directly tied to order in my home.

And being the sole Director of Order for six people is more than a full-time job. When I can't keep up (which is most of the time), I tend to GIVE UP.

I've been working hard on this. I've been trying to keep on top of things. Laundry. Toys. Clutter.

In the past few weeks, I've bagged up garbage bags full of toys and clothes to be donated, things to be put in the attic, plain ole trash. I implemented a new laundry system to keep myself from being surrounded by baskets and baskets of clean, wrinkled, unfolded laundry.

And I feel so much better.

But nature abhors a vacuum. And my kids abhor a coffee table that is neatly stacked with a pile of magazines.

Despite hauling at least 10 garbage bags out of our main living areas, we still have overstuffed dressers, toys on every surface, and piles of crap that need a home.

I'm thinking a trip to IKEA is in order. Where I can get myself a coffee and go sit in one of their styled rooms on the showroom floor and pretend I live there. (Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this.)


from Hooked on Houses, which, if you don't read, you REALLY should!


I wish I had taken a picture of my favorite one ever before it got dismantled. It was my Happy Place.

I've always been addicted to shelter magazines and now home design blogs. I'm finding myself drawn for the first time ever to more modern designs with clean lines and minimalist decor. It feels soothing to me.


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I'm also feeling pulled to more urban living. My neighborhood is a good mix of urban and suburban. We have a yard big enough for the kids to run around, but small enough to mow in about 15 minutes. We can walk to the subway, but you get there through a woodsy bike path.

For some reason, an exposed brick wall has become my latest obsession. My life would have the modern urban minimalist aesthetic I crave if I JUST had an exposed brick wall. Don't you agree?


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These last two are from an MLS listing for a new urban infill rowhouse development JUST DOWN THE ROAD from me! It's bigger than my house but alas, no backyards. Not right for us currently, but wow. Look at the windows, the brick, the cozy yet modern interior.

I haven't tackled a big house project in awhile. My schedule this year doesn't leave me with much free time. But feathering my nest most definitely feeds my soul.

So we do have an interior brick wall that is covered up with drywall...

I'm finding it VERRRRRY HARD to resist the temptation to just start picking away at it... (it's safe for now only by the fact that Laundry Dad would have a FIT because I can EXPOSE the brick wall, but making it look good would be HIS job...)

But first, I'm going to accomplish (somehow) a few projects I've already been dreaming about.

First up, I'm painting a chalkboard wall in my kitchen, inspired by this one.


from My Sweet Savannah

I bought all the supplies last week. I just need to get started.

What about you? Can you live among chaos? How do you keep it under control?