Tidy Brown Wren, bringing order to your nest

  How did your dining room function for you for the Thanksgiving holiday? Does it need to be organized before Christmas? For the month of December we'll check out how to organize and spruce up the dining room. This week we'll do some brain storming about the purpose of the room Next week we'll get our hands dirty with purging and rearranging. The following week we'll look at storage solutions. Our last week will cover decorating and inspirational ideas. Source: architecturaldigest.com via Jennifer on Pinterest So, let's do some brainstorming by asking some questions. . . 1.   Is this room used daily or occasionally? 2 .  How many people use the room? 3.   What activities take place in this room?  (eating, homework, crafts, home office?) 4.   What items need to be stored in this room? (dishes, linens, school/office supplies?) 5.   How well does the lighting function?  Does e...

Wishing you and your family a very blessed and thankful Thanksgiving. Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow.    Praise Him All Creatures Here Below. Praise Him Above Ye Heavenly Host.    Praise Father, Son, And Holy Ghost.   Amen.

When does aesthetics give up it's rights and give in to practicality?  That is a question I have had to mull over in my little brain lately. You see, I just couldn't leave my canning jars be canning jars.  I had to "cutify" my home canned relish, salsa, and tomatoes by adding tags and burlap toppers.  It was fun while it lasted, but something had to go.  I had neglected to remember that burlap sheds.  Badly. After several weeks of opening my pantry to find burlap dust on the shelves, I knew it was time to take action.  I removed the burlap covers and left the hairbands and labels attached.  Function over form.  I knew better - I really did - I just wanted to try something different. The new hair bands and labels by themselves are working great.  Now my shelves are clean and tidy again.  All better, now.

I'm so glad I don't have to use this old washing machine for what it was originally made for.  I much prefer to plant flowers in it and set it on my back porch. It's one of those chores that you either love or hate - doing the laundry .  Dirty laundry can quickly take over your home and cause you great consternation every morning when you try to get your family dressed for the day. Every family will have different laundry needs and it's important to develop a schedule and routine that works for you instead of following what someone else does.  For some families it works better to finish all of the laundry in 1 or 2 days.  For others, it works better to run a load every day or every other day.   As your family grows, shrinks, and changes, you'll find that you will need to reevaluate your routine and adapt as necessary.   Right now, as empty nesters, we (and when I say we - I mean me) wash 3 loads a week.  I don't use chlorine bleach,...

My first step in making over the guestroom on my third floor was to paint the bed I want to use in there. I bought the bed at a junk sale over 20 years ago for $20.00 (my birthday money).  See the bed frame leaning up against the back wall?  I decided to paint it black to showcase the linens I plan on using.  This shows the before (on the left) and the after in my official spraypainting area (a tarp thrown over my portable composter).  I used Krylon black spray paint in a satin finish.   In this photo, the paint is still shiny wet, but it dries to a nice satiny finish. I can't wait to see how great it looks in the new room.

With the weather cooperating for a few more days, I decided to tackle the third floor bedroom.  It had been my son's bedroom until last fall when he moved to the apartment over the detached garage.  Now that it's been vacated, my brain has been dreaming about how to make it into a nice guest bedroom.  It has an adorable full bath attached, which makes it perfect.  Here's what it looked like this morning - basically a storage room with extra furniture, linens, rugs, and pillows.  It also holds a gun cabinet which will be moved promptly.  Guests won't feel very "guesty" while staring at a bunch of rifles.  Another nice feature of this room, besides the abundant sunshine, is the window seat.  The floor is solid wood except the raised area (where the bed will go) which is carpeted.  This room was originally a sun porch until the previous owner converted it into a bedroom.  Because of that, the ceiling is pretty low.   I go...

I had a great time collecting ideas about laundry room storage to share with you.  There are a lot of creative people out there and their projects are amazing. This first photo is one I have a paper copy of, stored in my file cabinet.  I have always loved the creative way this homeowner disguised their washer and dryer in their kitchen.  I think this came from Southern Living many years ago.  When the cabinets are closed, the counter can be used as a buffet.  When doing laundry, the homeowner can use the surface to fold laundry.  Brilliant! This next photo is evidently one of my favorites because I pinned it several times on Pinterest  before I realized I had duplicates.  It looks like this laundry area is in a bathroom - maybe in a basement.  I love the baskets and the pull-out counter top.  Notice that the whole laundry area can be concealed with a Roman shade. Martha Stewart Jennifer gives the details about how she ...

Some of you have inquired about my hit or miss blog posts lately.  First, let me say, "I'm very, very sorry". Secondly, let me say, "Tah Dah"! It's done! Hubs remodeled my studio for my Christmas present *cough* two years *cough* ago.  The only thing he didn't do was finish the birch top and paint the drawer unit.  I am "The Painter" in our home and I wanted to finish it myself.  First I had to decide how I wanted to finish it (paint or stain?) and then I had to wait for weather that was neither too hot, too cold, nor too humid.  Well, there was also a gallbladder removal and  kidney transplant thrown in there sometime as well. Well, I finally got my break in the weather and I had the renewed health to get to it.  I am sooooo happy it is finally done. I love how the middle piece of the counter folds up so that I have extra work space but it can be folded down to make more room for when I want to work on the floor (I have a bad habit...

Whenever the cool breezes of fall start blowing, my tummy starts yearning for apple cake.   My mother-in-law always made this cake and it is definitely a family favorite. It takes a little bit of time to put together, but it's surely worth every bit of effort. First, I peel and slice about 6 large apples.  I like to use a crisp, pie-making apple.  You can also use an crank-style apple peeler to make the work go quickly.  I also juice an orange and zest the rind. I add cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar to the apple slices and let them sit while I make the batter.  I also grease and flour a bundt pan or angel food cake pan.  Alternate the apple slices and batter in the pan, ending with the apples.  Here's where I should be showing you the beautiful, finished cake, but this is what happens in our house:  And yes, the family voted it delicious while it lasted.  Here's the recipe: Nana's Apple Cake 6 large apples or 8 small ones, peel...

Last April, I posted about my laundry room mini redo here and here .  The redo held up well and  the laundry room has been easy to work in.  I've rearranged my cabinets a few times - once in canning season to accommodate all of my canning paraphernalia and once during the holidays to accommodate my extra holiday supplies.   Supplies that aren't needed are moved to the "party pantry" temporarily. Here's what my laundry room looked like before: And then after: Before: And after: There are two views because there are two doors in the tiny room (I know, what was the builder thinking!)  One door is from the hallway and one is from the kitchen.  The best part is that it is very convenient to the kitchen. If you are planning to clear out your laundry room and organize it, here are some ideas to get you headed in the right direction: 1 .  Remove any clean laundry sitting around.  If it is ready to be put away, then do that...

I sure did enjoy all of my zinnias this summer.  I bought 2 packs of seeds in the spring and planted them at the edge of my veggie garden. As the flowers faded, I collected the flower heads and dried them inside. After enjoying them in my star shaped dish, I plan to keep the seeds from the flower heads and plant them next spring - free flowers!

I've chosen November as the month to cover the topic of organizing the laundry room. source This first week we'll talk about how to decide what purpose your laundry room will serve. Next week we'll cover how to purge unnecessary items and organize what you want to keep. The third we'll look at storage options and appliances. Lastly, we'll talk about laundry chores and fun ways to decorate the room. So, this week is all about deciding what you'll use your laundry room for.  Here are some questions you'll want to ask yourself: 1.   How many people use this room? 2.   What types of laundry are handled in this room? (whites, lights, darks, linens, delicates, dry cleaning, diapers) 3.   Do you hand wash any laundry? 4.   Do you hang laundry up to dry? 5.   How many loads do you do in a week? 6.   What types of laundry products do you need to store? 7.   Do you need space to hold dirty laundry until it is washed? 8. ...