Sunday, January 2, 2011

Making our home 'just right'

I was poking around on the internet, collecting pictures for my 'inspiration gallery' on a website (which had issues uploading the actual photos, go figure :-P). Of course I'm browsing Pottery barn et al, day dreaming about being able to afford a $1200 bed frame and a $800 dresser, not to mention a sleeper sofa... oh and don't forget the dining set! This went on for a while, then I thought of our bedroom, trying to get out of 'consumer  mode' and think "well, what can I do with what we have especially since I can't paint". Then I noticed... I love our room, of course there will always be things I want to tweak, that's just my personality, but we have some great, comfy pieces that work together, for the most part. The most important thing for us was to have a comfortable bed, which we do, insanely so which makes Monday mornings so hard to face but bedtime a moment of bliss.

What's my point? The reason I've been avoiding our room lately is that it's become my dumping ground for the mess that I don't have time/energy to deal with (that and our den, that's a whole 'nother story). It's hard for me to relax and enjoy the space because there are baskets of needing-folding and random stuff I haven't found a place for, fluff balls on the floor and more often than I care to, the bed is a pile of blankets and sheets. Making our home, my home, a place of peace and rest is so much more than having 'nice' furniture or being able to paint. It's about the day to day life, making the bed, keeping spaces clear of clutter and maybe even breaking out the vacuum from time to time.

I'm balancing my wants for our home with the lack of energy of being sick for a couple weeks but even taking ten minutes to clear off the table can make a huge difference in the atmosphere of our home.
It's easy for me to feel overwhelmed and just not even start (apply this practically all areas of my life) but so much of this life, I'm finding, isn't the big stuff, but daily putting one foot in front of the other and some days are going to just have less 'steps' than some. But learning from and letting go of the days before and moving forward is an accomplishment in itself. Here's to a year of taking each day as it comes and making the best of where we're at now.