declutter and reorganising

You know when things have gone to seed and there is clutter everywhere and stuff half finished and you can't seem to get your head around where to start?
Well that's how it has been at our house recently.
I think it started when I had the flu and didn't get lots of things finished in the holidays and then school started back and we have had a really busy term with soccer, gymnastics and swimming lessons so everyday I am running around and with soccer and B1's refereeing taking up Saturdays, a good proper house clean wasn't getting done.
A couple of weeks of rain and I start to see how disgusting things really were.
Thinking that soccer would be off on Saturday I started planning a major clean up with everyone home to help.
However things didn't go to plan, soccer was back on at the last minute so they all went off in the morning with VCH while I stayed home and thought I may as well start.
I started by cleaning up my sewing table which tends to be the dumping ground for all things in the dining room, and decluttering the picture book rails.

While I was at it I found some silver spray paint and was inspired to finally paint my letters.

I think I might paint the sides black one day so they stand out- should have thought of this before though!
When they came home from soccer we started in on the house clean, putting away, dusting, decluttering etc. until I had to take B1 back in to ref a 3pm match and took B4 shoe shopping.
B2 and B3 worked really hard while I was gone and finished vacuumimg and mopped the kitchen, dining room, lounge room and study-reading room floors.
They did such a good job!

The cleaning up and decluttering has continued this week. 

I was motivated to do the entry by the front door- not that any one usually comes in that way because we mainly use the door near kitchen now.

I washed down the walls, cleaned the drawers out of the wash stand ( I found birthday cards from B4s 2nd birthday so they obviously haven't been cleaned in a while) and placed my mum's dolls on top. 

I am not really into porcelain dolls, but as I have no where to store these safely they may as well be displayed somewhere- so off my chest of drawers in the bedroom and into the hall they went.
VCH was pleased that we will no longer have things staring at us while we sleep.

 I also managed to move the phone from here to here.

The little lamp was also my mum's and has been hanging around the veranda for months with no place to go, so it is nice to finally give it a home- I was actually going to op shop it. 

The kids love it because you just have to touch the base to turn it on and off.

And now that brings me to the veranda, these shelves were in the reading room and study. 

One was moved some time ago to make way for the craft drawers and the other landed here on the weekend when VCH put together a bookcase that we bought for extra shelves for our bedroom bookcases but only used two shelves.

The little shelf was exploding with readers and so I swapped it for this- so much neater.
I need to get some extra shelves next time we take a trip to IKEA.
Unfortunately in doing so I had to sacrifice some of my picture book shelves pictured here against the pink wall. 
I am thinking that I might get a magazine rack that goes with the bookshelf to use for our theme books(Billy Bookshelf IKEA)

Placed under the servery on the veranda they make a perfect spot for gum boots and hats and the odd sock basket that all used to reside under the wash stand.

Still a few areas to go- the knitting baskets under the TV are next- time they were taken out and dusted off for some winter knitting.

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