The Queen of Organization

I would love to be organized.  To walk into my kitchen and not see a stack of junk mail, bills, and other statements sitting in a pile would make my heart deliriously happy.  To sit next to my computer and not have to constantly restack the pile of junk that keeps falling over onto my keyboard would make me more productive.  I look at everything around me and wonder "Am I ADD or ADHD?".  And then I remember "No, I'm just lazy.".



The original paint color in my office/guest room

I can organize just about anyone else's closet, office, kitchen, etc..  When it comes to my own piles of stuff everywhere, it just makes me want to put on blinders and go hide in a hole.  The amount of "stuff" is overwhelming and the fact that I have to think about whether to keep it or toss it makes my brain bleed.



Desk Disarray



We moved into our current home 3 years ago.  3 years and I still have unopened boxes in my formal dining room.  3 years of not being able to figure out, or really care to figure out, how to organize this home.  3 years of looking at such ugly colored walls inside the house that I haven't cared whether it's straightened up or not.

Just a few things in the middle of the floor

And then something changed inside of me.  Something so powerful that I have spent the last several months putting things in some semblance of order.  What could be that powerful?

House guests.

Yes, there are few things that will spur me into a frenzied blur of action like the looming threat of having someone stay in my home and see all of my junk lying around.

For the last 7 months, I have been shopping on Craigslist for "new" furniture for my office/guest room.  I have been perusing Pinterest and Houzz for decorating inspiration and tips, thumbing through beautiful home magazines in search of the perfect decorating and organizational tools.

Through Craigslist I have found a new daybed, table lamp, and bookshelf.  On the website Houzz, I was able to find a lovely photo of a room which served as my inspiration room and helped keep me focused.  A room which could serve the dual purpose of both guest room and home office.

The hardest part for me was picking the paint color for the walls in the room.  I'm tired of being Neutral Nellie, Boring Betty-Beige, or Tedious Tammy-Taupe.  Those colors are great for my living areas where the area needs to appeal to a wider audience..... like my husband...... but I wanted something that reflected me.

After all, this isn't the living room or the family room.  This is going to be my haven.  My place to relax or to wax creative when the mood strikes.  I wanted an inviting and yet calming color on the walls.

It took the better part of a week and pulling just about every paint chip color every paint store had on display.  After the very exhaustive search, I finally found "the one".  The winning color is "River Mist" by Martha Stewart.  I about keeled over in a dead faint when I discovered that I'd picked something from "The Queen" of not only organization, but decorating and crafting.

This had to bode well for my room!  The fact that the color came from someone so renowned for her creativity and beautiful organizational designs had to mean something.

With great hope, and a little bit of uncertainty, I painted a color on the walls which was going on a bit darker than what I'd anticipated.  Knowing from experience one cannot judge a color by one swipe of the paint brush alone, I worked hard to get a wall completely painted.  When I finished that wall, I stepped back, looked at the color as a whole, and knew I'd struck gold.

Oh yes, it was the perfect color.  For me, it is a breathtakingly beautiful color.  As I cleared the plastic drop cloths and moved the clutter of junk out of the room via the trash can and Goodwill, the room began to open up like a beautiful butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

Finally!  The room I have had pictured in my head for the better part of a year has started coming to life.  And I'll be danged if it isn't in my house.  It's my room, my haven, and my retreat from the outside world.  Yes, like a 2 year old, it's all mine, mine, mine!

Now all that's left is to clear the clutter from the beautiful desk I bought earlier this year, which actually spawned this whole transformation, hang some pictures on the walls, and I will finally be able to reveal my woman-cave.  If a man can have a man-cave, then I can certainly have a woman-cave.  And boy do I love it!

So stay tuned because this Thursday will be the great reveal!  I am so excited and can't wait to use this room.  But, of course, I will have to wait because first it will have to serve as a calming retreat for our guests.  But, you will get to see it before they do...........

Written by Christie Bielss