What I Did On My Blogging Break
I got so much accomplished around the house last week while I was not spending time online. (Gee, could there be a correlation?) Here are the things that I finally got to cross off of my to do list:
- Clean/organize garage.
- Clean/organize storage room.
- Organize kitchen office.
- Donate household items and clothing to Goodwill.
- Organize linen closets.
- Reupholster dining chairs.
- Organize office. (Almost done.)
- Organize art studio. (Almost done.)
I also got the guest rooms set up before Christmas. So this means every room in the house is finally cleaned and purged of unnecessary stuff. Now comes the fun part of organizing and decorating. I’ve been dying to get to the point where I could say that ever since we moved in!
Here are the dining chairs before:
and after:
Nothing too drastic. I just wanted to give them an update and I also didn’t want to mess with the wood. I really love the bold black stripe of this fabric (found at Fabric & Fringe, a fab store that Julie has been telling me about for months).
I know it’s sick but in all honesty, this is exactly what I wanted to do over the holiday break. How did you spend your holidays?
(iphone photos: From the Right Bank)
The chair stripes – right down my alley, yes mam.
Terry’s last post…Tiny- wonderful Va-Hi garden with pink pigs
Most of my holidays are like that, and I love them that way. I HAVE to have them that way. Work is so all-consuming, sometimes I have to let things go for weeks at a time. So I totally get your decluttering holiday and will congratulate you on a job well done! xx
The chairs look amazing ~ simply fabulous!
Melissa’s last post…Granola Bars
wow, you accomplished a lot. my main goal was to rest and relax and that is what i did and a lot of it! love the chairs. pam
pam’s last post…back to reality
You did exactly what I should have been doing!!
Xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Karena’s last post…Celebrate 2011 and a Grand Toast to the Giveaway Winner!
LOVE your upholstered chairs, Ally! Very chic.
Will’s last post…Home Tour- Dabitos Downtown LA Loft
eek. You put me to shame! x
Tracey’s last post…3 is the new 2
I had all these great ideas of getting organized, but did nothing. Instead, I spent my time having fun. It was so needed. Happy New Year!
J’s last post…Week-End Finds
I did much of the same as you – my husband and I gave ourselves until the 27th, then we cleaned out the attic (14 years of accumulated ‘stuff’, including all of the ‘stuff’ that my in laws off loaded on us when they downsized), cleaned out the garage, starting packing stuff away in preparation for putting the house on the market in a month or so. Every year I get a feeling of ‘too much stuff’ after Christmas – there have been Christmases when I have been dying to go to WalMart and get storage boxes – so it was a great time to work on cleaning up the clutter.
I made 4 trips to Goodwill, 3 trips to our new storage unit, and countless trips to the curb to put trash bags out there! It is amazing how much ‘stuff’ we accumulate in life.
PS – I have also been going through my mountains and mountains of old magazines. I decided that almost all of the Traditional Homes and Architectural Digests over the past 10 years can be tossed. I feel very sentimental about my Southern Accents magazines, and House Beautiful and Veranda are treasures too. After all, I am ‘upsizing’ not downsizing – I need to keep some of my magazines!
Things That Inspire’s last post…Marble countertops would love input!
I did some of the same things
Design Elements’s last post…Interview with Campion Platt
I’m organizing my office today, there is so much stuff to eliminate, I’m already tired.
I wish you a happy and blessed year.
Hugs.
Tereza
Tereza’s last post…LOFTS
It’s wonderful when I can organize and purge of things that you don’t need. You feel like a new person.
Tonia’s last post…Happy Birthday and a Giveaway
Wow – that’s great Ally. I had big plans to do a lot but only managed to work on the office.
Vanessa@Decor Happy’s last post…Favourite Posts from 2010
so creative break! love organising.
happy new year!
http://anmarkdesign.blogspot.com/
Annie Markantonatou’s last post…Happy New Year!
Look at you! How many hours did you spend at F & F? Anisa spent 3 her last visit. I LOVE that fabric…so you. So maybe that is how I organzie, close this thing?
…and don’t you feel great after getting organized? and now you can feel that much more settled as you get back into blogging…I think mini vacations from blogging is a great idea..blogging is fun but A LOT of work…so breaks are necessary…maureen
maureen lynne’s last post…beautiful ceiling ideas for your home or castle
I’m so jealous that you’ve gotten so organized…trying to do it now! Wishing you all the best in 2011!!
mydesignchic’s last post…Things We Love- Settees
Nice- I’m jealous of how much you got done! I’m just starting the to do list- have 3 checked off so far but lots more to go:)
christine {bijouandboheme}’s last post…Resolution Job 3Chairs
Pam and J: That was my other option!
Tracey: Not at all. It was long overdue over here!
Things that Inspire: The same thing happened when my parents downsized!
Good luck w/ your move and by all means hold on to those magazines! I threw all mine out 2 moves ago and have regretted it ever since!
Milk & Honey: About an hour but I could have spent a lot more! Thanks for the tip!
If it had not been for my damn flu, this is how I would have spent the holidays too! Yesterday I was back at work and spent the day fantasizing about reorganizing my closets. This weekend, I swear!
Jane Flanagan’s last post…Three of a kind
Nice! Nothing like a clean modern pattern to update the chairs. It looks like it has a nice feel to it too.
I didn’t get much a break and the time I had off was mostly spent boozing and eating. Sigh. I guess January will be spent cleaning… and perhaps hitting the gym
Naomi@DesignManifest’s last post…three things that made me happy today
I love love love the chairs. They remind me of ours. I bought two of them for $6.99 a piece at Goodwill on two separate occasions!
I covered them in a brown floral frabric that reminds me of my Grandma.
Wonderful accomplishments to you!!!
Rhonda’s last post…A Proven Fact
Wow, what a find! Mine were hand-me-down’s from my parents so even better!
What a feeling of accomplishment! I have to admit I actually took a break over the holidays. Beached it, sipped it, unplugged it. Now, I’m back where it’s cold….and plugged in. It’s good to be back!!
xo Elizabeth
Pretty Pink Tulips’s last post…Just What the Doctor Ordered
They look great! It’s so nice to check things off the to-do list… have a great new year!!!
Wow that is quite a list! We just vegetated (much needed though) so we have that type of list going on now.
Love that fabric too! Like you said nothing crazy but its just enough and perfect!
Lissa@AfterAdornment’s last post…Must Have
New fabric can be so refreshing! I need to catch this productivity bug, too!
WOW, that is a lot of stuff you got done! I have a lot of organizing that I need to do. I plan on starting all that now that my husband is off to basic training! I hate clutter and feeling disorganized!! Your dining room chairs look great!
Jessie’s last post…I Love My Airman
Chairs look great. What is better than a stripe?
sherry hart’s last post…A little fluffing for the party
What did I do over the holidays? I cleaned up the wine cellar! For real – you can now walk in there without being consumed by spider webs… Feels good to clean up and get organized.
But unfortunately, my neighbor flooded my San Francisco flat, so I need to choose some new paint colors to overcome my distress at having to repaint.
Wish you were nearby to help me!