I came. I decluttered. I organized.

I haven't been posting much because things have been a zoo at my house.  More than the usual craziness that comes from having two young, active boys. 

My husband and I have made an unofficial New Year's resolution to take back our house.  We haven't been able to do any type of freshening up or maintenance in about five years.  So we decided it was time.  And we have started with our bedroom and the kitchen.

This weekend my wonderful husband spent Saturday and Sunday painting our bedroom.  And today I thought I'd share some information about our project.  Some lessons learned and things we've found that work for us. First, if you or your spouse go to Lowe's and you need calk, be sure to check to see if you have the white paintable caulk and not clear.  Poor dh found out that he'd bought the clear after he had tried to fill cracks.  He wasn't planning on painting our ceiling, but had to after that because of course the clear caulk leaves a sheen.  But it all worked out and we were glad we got the ceiling painted. 

And speaking of paint, we have found that the Valspar paint sold at Lowe's is our favorite.  About 5+ years ago when we last painted, the paint was called American Traditions.  We have had a wonderful experience with this paint.  I have two boys that put finger prints and marks on our walls and the paint has held up.

Something else I learned over the weekend about the Valspar paint is that they sell a ceiling paint that goes on purple, but it dries white.  I didn't buy it because I thought it might send dh over the edge after the clear caulk incident, but I spoke with my sister on the phone and she and my brother in law recently used the paint and she raved about it.  She said if you have an open foyer, or a space where the ceiling is challenging, the purple tint helps you know where you've painted.  She had a great experience with it. I will note that when I spoke to the sales lady at Lowe's about it, she said there was one person who used the purple tinted ceiling paint when it was humid outside, it and took a long time to dry.  So if you think you want to give it a try you might want to keep that in mind.

It has been freezing cold, in the forties here in Virginia and it is a pain to paint when it is cold, but I think we are finding for us it is the best time.  Our area has a lot of precipitation/humidity and we've had trouble with painting drying quickly if the weather conditions don't cooperate. 

We are really excited to start taking our house back and enjoying being in our little family nest.  I hope to get some more posts up to share some of the other organizational finds I've been incorporating. I'm hoping that a decluttered, better organized house will bring tranquility.  I'm taking this in small chunks so I don't get overwhelmed.  Rome wasn't built in a day, so I can't expect to snap my fingers over night.  But I think it would be nice to be like Samantha Stevens from Bewitched and wrinkle my nose so that all the housework would be finished. 

And if trying to get our house straight wasn't enough, I'm in the throws of potty training.  I'll be blogging about that later.

So that is what is going on in my world, I hope you are having a great day in your neck of the woods!