new years resolutions for your home and garden

{here is the mobile bay monthly post, as promised! click on pictures for original sources}

here we are.
another new year started and already resolutions are breaking left and right.

sure, resolutions like no more sweets and stop nagging my husband/wife are admirable and all, {and in fact, i actually do encourage any type of "resolution" to better oneself...we are all ongoing projects :)}  
but lets be honest folks.
most of us tend to make resolutions based on dreams of ideal behavior/life and really arent that attainable {as in visible results} in day-to-day life.  which is why, i think, new years resolutions have become a sort of "joke" to many people {and therefore not made}.

dont you think we would all be more likely to make resolutions {and continue making them} if we could see results?

here are five easy, practical, perhaps more attainable resolutions for your home and garden for 2010:

1. only bring things into your home that you love

this is huge.  i wish i could explain to you how huge.
im sure many of us are living in what happens when you dont abide by this "rule."  and then you are stuck with too much "stuff" you dont really love that prevents you from turning your home into your own personal oasis. {which is what we all wish it to be}
i tell my clients this all the time:  if you LOVE it, then it cant be "wrong"
its your house.  your home should be filled with things that make you happy...that evoke pleasant feelings/emotions/memories.  there are endless forms of self expression that can be emulated by your home.  i love and appreciate so many different styles and "flavors" of design, but there are only a few i could actually live in.
it takes all different types to make this world interesting, and that is what makes this world interesting.
so "resolve" not to spend money hastily bc you "have to have something on that wall".  instead, take your time to find what you love and, when you find it, dont question yourself.  i even encourage you to {within limits} buy something you love even if you dont have a definite place for it at the time.  its your home, and your home was meant to be loved by you.  {and if you happen to need help materializing these loves, well, thats where people like me come in :)}

2. organize.  organize.  organize.

this sounds like something so simple but, if you are like me, it is something that takes WAY longer and involves MUCH more energy than it sounds.  here are some tips to keeping your home a little more organized as you go {keywords being "as you go"}:

• go through mail right when you get it.  use baskets or drawers to divide different types of mail into their different categories. 

• bring clorox wipes into the shower with you for a quick wipe-down {of the shower that is}. i love these things and use them all the time

• make up your bed right after you get out of it in the morning.  its amazing what a made-up bed can do to the overall look of your bedroom. 
  
• place dirty dishes directly into the empty dishwasher instead of the sink.  this saves a step and keeps your sinks empty for other uses. {if your dishwasher is full of clean dishes....*sigh*....i guess you have to unload it first.  i feel your pain :)}
  
• use hidden storage like ottomans that open, skirted tables, and {again} baskets and bins to quickly and easily {and conveniently} hide and store magazines, blankets, toys, etc.

  {tutorial for a DIY skirted table found HERE.  you can also make a simple skirted table with nothing more than fabric, a staple gun and/or fabric tape and an existing bookshelf}

we recently turned the empty-for-three-years formal living room in the front of our house into my office. the previous owners installed a gas log fireplace in the room, creating two niche's on either side.  after measuring one niche, i realized it was almost exactly the dimensions of a typical 24" door.  i used all my existing "storage stuff" from college and miscellaneous closets to provide support for the door {that i painted white}, bought some discount fabric from HERE, made a quick and easy skirt over a tension rod from wal-mart, and voila:

there was just enough left over fabric to make cord covers, another cheap n' easy clean up solution:

• clean out your hall closets.  you know, the "coat closets" no coat would ever fit in.  the ones that uncannily remind you of monica's messy closet on "Friends".  and when you clean out these closets, throw the stuff away that you havent seen/used in years.  if you havent used it, chances are YOU WONT USE IT.  and hey, while youre at it, put things in baskets/bins to separate and streamline. {catching a theme here?}

a fresh example from Lauren of www.purestylehome.blogspot.com:

 before:

and after a quick coat of leftover paint, homemade shelves for shoes, an over-the-door shoe hanger, and {yep} some baskets and bins, the after:

{you can read more about this quick and easy "resolution" by clicking HERE}

• use the space under your bed to store out-of-season clothes in streamlined bins
  
• if you have the room for it, keep cleaning supplies in each room {bathrooms, kitchen, etc} in smaller formats.  purchase large "family size" cleaners and divide into smaller jars/bottles, each with their own rags/wipes.  this will make it much easier to wipe down a counter/dust a mirror in more frequent intervals; and we all know that we are much more likely to do something if its "easy."  this idea also works well for things like tools, paint, and chapstick.  {chapstick? maybe thats just me.  i may or may not be addicted.  i have about ten dispersed throughout my house on any given day}

3. breathe new life into something old 

all you need is a can {or spray can} of paint.

really.
{and possibly some fabric}

hall bath when we bought our house.  see silver mirror on wall.

we redid this bathroom and changed out the mirror.  

i liked the silver mirror OK, but it just wasnt doing it for me and didnt really have a spot in our house.

mirror, meet $4 spray can of white paint:

welcome home.  

and, now that i mention it, the sconces were also a temporary quick-fix with a can of spray paint and tiny white shades a-la Lowes {until we purchase new ones}.

more examples:

{for some more before::after inspirations, click HERE}

4. start planning your summer garden NOW

i learned the hard way last year that we deep-southerners cant exactly follow the "plant by ____" labels on the back of seed packets.  if they say "plant after the last frost," that usually means those seeds better be snug and cozy under some soil some time during february if you really even hope to get a crop before the stifling heat of Alabama's august hits.

if you havent ever had your own garden, dont be intimidated.  it really isnt that difficult {if i can do it, you can definitely do it}, it saves you money, you will have beautiful produce whenever you wish, and you dont have to have a huge plot of land to do so.  use small pots arranged on a table outside or on a windowsill to grow herbs like basil, chives, mint, and cilantro.

hanging baskets also work nicely.

one tomato or bell pepper plant will grow beautifully in a large pot on the ground.  things like cucmbers and zuchinni/squash might need more room to "roam" so if you dont have the horizontal space, try planting one plant in a large pot with a tomato cage around it and make sure to "direct" to the stray shoots regularly
{there are plenty of resources on the web for novice's or for green-thumb-wannabes.  Better Homes and Gardens is a helpful start}




5.  use more fresh flowers; inside AND out
fresh flowers make everything better.  green things, alive things, awaken your house. {"fresh" and "alive" are key here.  im not the biggest fan of fake flowers/ferns/stuff}
"resolve" to plant more seasonal flowers outside, in pots, planters, baskets, and flowerbeds.

but dont forget to bring some of the life inside to enjoy - whether its from your own garden, local flower stand/store or picked up at the grocery store:

proof even "yucky" baby's breath can be pretty :)

here's to a new year - and making attainable resolutions!