Hope to see you there!

Regards, Nicone (Connie)

url: http://versatilearchitect.com

Whether you’re in a slightly large family of six or part of the nineteen-child Duggar household, you’ve probably noticed that larger families have a harder time staying organized. Needless to say, the more people you have living in your house, the more stuff they are going to bring with them. This article will provide you with seven tips to help you de-clutter and make your large-family household as tidy as can be.

1. Organize Clean-Up Times

Set aside fifteen to thirty minutes a day to do a quick pick up of your house. If presented as a game, even younger children may enjoy seeing how many of their toys they can put away before the alarm sounds. Teenagers and tweens can be asked to do chores such as sweeping the floor or dusting the furniture during the clean-up time.

2. The “Go Up” Basket

Put a basket or storage tote at the bottom of the stairs. When you find toys, games, and books lying around downstairs, put them in the basket. At the end of each day, designate one child to carry the basket upstairs and then put all items that are in it where they belong. Editors note: This suggestion is my personal favourite and I promptly designated our very own “go up” basket. Tonight it is filled with sleepy teddybears.

3. Organize Your Entry Way

School lets out and children come rushing in, slinging backpacks, coats, jackets, and shoes across the floor. Rather than be left with the job of picking up five pairs of boots, organize your entry way so that children can put things up themselves. If you don’t have a closet nearby, install low hooks on your walls so that kids can hang up their own coats and book bags. Shoes can be put in a plastic store tote that sits beside the door. While this may not be the best plan, it definitely beats the “toss and run” routine.

4. Keep the Machines Going

Large families mean large amounts of dirty dishes and dirty clothes. To keep your house in top-shape, always have the machines going as long as there is something to wash. When you run out of dirty stuff, empty the drier and washers so that they will be ready to go again when you need them. Clothes should be folded and put away the minute they leave the drier, and dishes should be dried and put where they belong.

5. One Thing at a Time

If you have children in your house, then it’s a good guess that you have messy bedrooms, toy-strewn floors, and over-flowing closets. While it’s important to hit these target areas and get them cleaned up, don’t let the idea over-whelm you. Write out a plan of action and then take one thing at a time. Have toys on the floor? Why not invest in some storage totes and then spend the afternoon organizing favorite or well-loved toys while throwing odds and ends away.

6. Throw Things Away!

Clutter mounts up on us in the blink of an eye and, if you’re like most people, you probably want to hang onto it. Don’t. If you don’t need it right now, don’t keep it. Constantly sort through clothes, toys, and belongings, throwing out what is no longer wanted or used. Older children should be encouraged to do this with their own items, taking some of the strain off of you. Having a yard sale can be a good way to get kids to part with clutter; what you don’t sell can be donated to a charity.

7. Keep Trying

If you are dissatisfied when your house doesn’t look like a picture out of a Better Homes & Gardens magazine, you will probably continue to be dissatisfied until your children are grown and have moved out. As long as you have a large family, there will always be a crayon hidden under the couch cushion and an occasional jacket tossed to the floor. While it may not be possible to keep your house spotless, don’t stop trying to make it the best that it can be. You can succeed and beat the clutter!

John works for an online store and the job comes with great perks, as he never runs out of office stationery and gets to try out the best office furniture around.

A dynamic home changes and evolves along with its inhabitants. The inhabitants usually constitute a family, which grows; as new members come along; and then decreases in size, as the children grow up and move out.

What then? The house becomes too big for the middle aged couple (or widow/ widower) with grown up kids, unless they live somewhere it’s natural for the young people to take over the house, or all the generations to live together. So perhaps they rent out part of the house, or keep part of it empty for the visiting children and grandchildren.

The last two years both my husband and I have lost our childhood homes – one because of the death of the last living inhabitant, and the other due to the wish for a more practical apartment. The sense of loss (which in no way compares to the loss of a relative) is definitely there. In a way our homes become like family members too, much like our pets, or even cars do. We tend to get attached to the people, animals, plants and things that populate our lives. And just like getting attached is part of human nature, so is letting go a natural part of life. We let go of our childhood homes when we move out of them, but the last emotional strings break when the house is sold to strangers and goes out of the family’s possession for good.

In my opinion it is the memories of times spent together with loved ones that contains the most value. The house triggers these treasured memories – such as the children’s names that are still on the towel pegs in the bathroom, even though it’s been more than 20 years since any of them actually lived there.

What to keep?
Then there are all the things that are accumulated over a lifetime. They leave you with the difficult question of what to keep, and merge with your own home, and what to let go of… You need to consider everything carefully and weigh them against the same list of criteria that holds true for all the things you possess.

For each single item the question arises; does it hold sentimental, economical, aesthetic or functional value? For anything to be considered a keeper it should satisfy at least two of these criteria, preferably more. If it holds high economical value, but none of the others, sell it! If it holds great sentimental value, but looks hideous and isn’t usable for anything, chuck it! If it is undeniably beautiful, but unusable and holds no sentimental value, give it to someone who cares! And if it is functional, but that is all it is, you should probably get rid of it. In this last category, however, there are some exceptions; such as tools you can keep in the shed and take out only when you need them.

As I’ve said several times before it is a good habit to purge your possessions regularly. Read more about it here.

In our situation, we find ourselves with a load of keepers even after going through this list of criteria. We need to consider replacing some of the things we already have, to make room for the new (or in this case, old…)

Let me show you some of the keepers:

And some of the things we’re trying to sell:

Still there’s lots of stuff we need to get rid of somehow. A lot of it will be given to charity and a couple of containers full will be taken to the junkyard.

In their current situation they have a double carport/ garage at the side of the house, which they consider repurposing into rooms for living in.

A close up of the situation between the house and the carport, to the left. As you see the roofs are nearly overlapping each other, and the carport is two steps down from the main house. The inhabitants also wish to transform their house so it gets a more modern expression, and tone down the huge fascia boards. The neighbour’s house, which you see on the picture above, was pointed out as an example of what they like.

The solution

Instead of using the old garage, I suggest tearing it down and replacing it with a two story building structure. The extension is separate from the main house, but connected with a sort of passage on the first floor – as shown on the illustrations to the right. The existing building (illustration below) is simplified by removing the window lattice and the fascia boards are made less dominant by having all the panel vertical.

The roof is slanted away from the main house and the fascia board are kept to a minimum to give a more modern expression, without making too great a contrast.

The original floor plan is on the drawing underneath. The new ground floor plan, with the one-bedroom apartment is to the right.

The kitchen, laundry room and bathroom are all made a little larger. The small apartment on the ground floor will get its own entrance away from the main entrance. These rooms might be incorporated into the main house if the family needs more space at a later time (when their children become teenagers or young adults). For instance; the small bedroom, in the upper right corner, can be included in the main house as an extra bedroom or a larger laundry room. Or, the whole apartment can be used by a member of the household instead of being rented out. The doors that support this flexible usage must be fire-resistant and sound proof according to the building regulations.

By building the extra apartment on the ground floor instead of squeezing it into the basement – where the ceiling is too low and there isn’t sufficient daylight – they get a much more attractive place to rent out. They also get a better solution for the new master bedroom, which is on the first floor near the children bedrooms, instead of on the ground floor where they would have to walk across the entrance area or laundry room to enter their room.

The original first floor plan is shown below. Later there’s been added another bedroom in the lower right corner. The small toilet was never built. The new first floor plan is to the right.

Instead of the little toilet I suggest a sort of passage connecting the main house with the rest of the extension. The inhabitants are anxious to avoid the impression of a corridor, so I suggest the space be furnished as a well lit library with a workspace/ home office, as illustrated in the drawing above. The master bedroom is big enough for a walk-in closet, or, if they prefer, a nursery, in the inner part of the room.

I’ve designated a so called dynamic room on both main floors, which can be made suitable for one or more of the following functions; guest-room, gym, playroom, computer-room for the older children, or storage.

The family wanted to shield the garden at the western part of their site. Therefore the extension is adjusted to the perimeter of the site to the north, as shown on this illustration. The lighter color indicates the new building structures. To replace the garage I suggest a single carport or garage where there’s a “C” on the map. This solution is dependent on getting acceptance from the neighbours, since it is closer to the border than 4 meters.

If the neigbours should refuse there’s still a chance to get it accepted by the municipality. Because the existing double garage is actually on top of the borderline, the chances are fairly good.

The levels of Home Improvement

Home Improvement can be divided into five levels of complexity (click here for a table, illustrating these conventions). At the lowest level is the most extensive task; rebuilding, which includes building an extension to your house or a completely new one. This is both expensive and usually a once-in-a-lifetime undertaking. Then there’s renovation, where you alter the existing building structure, removing walls, opening ceilings, renewing the bathroom or kitchen, etc. When you’re remodelling, you simply refresh the walls, floors and ceilings, with fresh paint, new tiling, or some other surface treatments. Reorganizing your belongings is required once and again, to keep up with an evolving family. Last but not least, redecorating gives the finishing touches to your home, including curtains, tablecloths, furniture and such. This is the simplest level of home improvement, and it also includes decluttering and cleaning, which brings us back to the cobwebs…

Springtime is a good time for all kinds of home improvement projects, and particularly for cleaning and decluttering. The return of the sun makes the cobwebs stand out for everyone to see, and it also gives a welcoming energy boost. Thorough cleaning, clearing, moving the furniture around, and fixing what is broken needs to be done once in a while to help keep a household well-functioning. When you itch to get the window-wash gear out of the closet, then that’s a good time to do it!

Why is Spring Cleaning an important Home Improvement ritual?

The ritual of Spring Cleaning dates way back and is more significant in the parts of the world where the winters are long and dark. When the summer season is on its way, you need to shake the gloom of winter off, and prepare for the brighter season. It has both a physical and psychological bearing. In a health perspective you need to clear out the dust and dirt to avoid sicknesses, such as asthma and allergies. Naturally you need to clean during the winter season as well, for the same reason, but it is easy to overlook the dirt when it is dark and you’re drowsy. Psychologically the winter gloom represents stagnated energy and things undone. Springtime is the time for new beginnings; physically you let go of useless stuff, clean, and open up the house for the air and the light; psychologically you make room for new ideas and projects.

Like the Chinese proverb says:
Make your whole year’s plans in the spring, and your day’s plans early in the morning.

How to do it?

You might do well to make a plan for your spring cleaning. Determine what should be done and who should do it (try getting the whole family engaged). Write a detailed to-do-list – divided into general chores (like washing the windows) and a room by room plan. Make it a point to reach areas of the house that has been untouched by soap and water for some time.

Then it’s time to make a schedule, with deadlines and estimated time consumption per point on the list. Try and be as realistic as possible when making the schedule. How much time can you spare from your regular activities? Perhaps an hour a day for a period of time, a couple of weekends, or one whole week? Choose whatever suits you and your family, but remember that it takes time, and keep the reward of a sparkling clean home in mind.

What to do

Start with going through the house and getting rid of useless things; such as clothing, magazines, papers, books and broken stuff. Put the remaining things in their right spot. Wash curtains and furniture, clean the oven, fridge and freezer, wash walls and windows, declutter and clean junk drawers, closets, pantry etc. You should also check on the outdoor areas, clear away debris from the winter season, remove dead leaves from your gutter, and clean your car. The complete list is as individual as your family and home is!

Open the house and let in air and light as you tidy and clean your house. When you’re done cleaning, bring home pieces of nature to celebrate it, such as fresh flowers, plants, a decorative branch, or some stones you’ve found at the beach. I’ve decided to do a little spring cleaning on this web-site too, while I’m at it… (once you start noticing those cobwebs…) See you on the other side!

First you consider which functions might fit into your Dynamic room. For instance:

• Part-time bedroom – a dungeon for your teenager who comes for visits every now and then.

• Guestroom – somewhere to offer your guests a bed to sleep in.

• Home office – a corner for your computer and other work equipment.

• Playroom – a place where the children might do quiet or noisy activities with their friends.

• Computer-room – access to a pc for the youngsters of the household.

• TV-room – somewhere to arrange movie-night for the whole family or just for the kids and their friends.

• Music-room – a well insulated room in which to listen to music or play an instrument.

• Storage – for example a closet for the linen, collectors’ items, unused toys or off season gear.

• Internal traffic zone – corridor with passage to other rooms, stairway, etc.

Next you need to find a combination of functions to put into your available soon to be Dynamic room(s):

• Traditional combinations like guest room/ home office/ and linen closet, or an office-desk under the stairway are a tad boring but known to work.

• Why not combine quiet playroom (for artistic activities), computer-room, storage of toys and traffic zone, like we’ve done in “the Hobby-room”?

• Or the combination of part-time bedroom, guestroom, home cinema and noisy playroom, like we’ve done in the den in the basement? (read this post for the story about our den)

• Pick your own unique combination motivated by the pulse of your Dynamic Family.

Once you know which functions you want to combine you need to find Dynamic Furniture to furnish the room(s):

• Any item suitable for storage qualifies as Dynamic Furniture because it is easily adjusted to the specific purposes of your room. A shelf might be used to store your cd-collection, dvds, books, family games, magazines, office supplies, etc. Alas it is a piece of furniture suitable for several of the functions from the list above. It is also adjustable to new functions as the needs of your family change over time and can easily be moved around to other rooms. Items for storage are: pegs, shelves, closets, cupboards, baskets.

• A favorite of mine among Dynamic Furniture is simply a table. It serves any situation involving a gathering of people of all ages, doing things like eating, drinking, homework, artistic activities, playing board games, etc.

• To go with the table you must have chairs which are easily moved around to serve different functions; such as a way to reach the top shelves in your kitchen cupboards, making a chair-and-carpet cabin, gathering people around a table, or in front of the television, etc. Some extra chairs that are easily stored in a closet will definitely come in handy in a Dynamic Family when the kids bring home their friends for dinner, or you get visits from other Dynamic Families, etc.

• The classic among Dynamic Furniture is the sleeping couch, which is made for combining multiple functions. It is perfect for combining a TV-room, youth room, guest room and part-time bedroom. You should beware that some sleeping couches are uncomfortable to sleep in, others might be uncomfortable to sit in, or some even both, so try it out before making an investment you might regret.

• Furniture which combine different functions such as storage in drawers under your table, a hollow room under the sleeping couch for extra bed-ware, or some other combination are definitely Dynamic. However it’s a good idea to make sure the main function isn’t compromised. For instance; if you’re considering to buy a table with drawers underneath make sure there’s plenty of room left for your legs.

• The most Dynamic Furniture of any room is the open space of your floor! Having some open space left in a room makes for a multitude of possibilities. You might put in extra mattresses and arrange a sleepover for your kids, use the space for building, drawing, tumbling around, make a huge puzzle together, arrange a private theater performance starring your own creative kids, have somewhere to build a chair-and-carpet cabin, etc. The point is; don’t over-furnish!

Now you should have a starting point for developing brand new Dynamic Rooms in your home, tweaked to suit your family. Best of luck!

BTW, this post has been published before on DFH.

Well, today I’m happy to say “we’ve done it!”

We’ve painted part of the walls, the window sills and a mirror; bought and put up new shelves, a clothes rack, lighting, curtains, carpet and a new chair; and rearranged the furniture. The cost has been kept at a reasonable minimum.

In the previous post I talked about how important it is to get a project completed, and so we have! At this point I also realize that in a dynamic household the people who live there are ever changing, and, as a reflection of this, a healthy home is ever changing as well.

But for now I’ll try to be quiet and let the pictures speak for themselves…

Details of jewellery on display and her desk for doing schoolwork

Overview of the workspace solution

Details of the overlap between the workspace and recreational area

Overview of the area for resting and entertaining

Sweet dreams…

Wardrobe solution and mirror details

Where to put my earrings…?

Overview of the wardrobe solution

Our Unfinished Business
So, I’ve taken a walk around the house looking for little bits of unfinished business, waiting for the occasion when the excuses no longer are valid (not that they ever were) and the time finally is right (now). Motto for the search: nothing is too small… and the older the better!

Here is what I found:

1. The number sign of our house is still not put up – 3 ½ years since we moved in here
2. The light-bulb above the entrance has been out for ages… – I’m guessing 1 year
3. The spice rack, which resurfaced during the reorganizing of the basement, is still not up –  3 weeks
4. The linen cupboard is still without proper handles – a little over 3 years (*blushing*)
5. There’s a pile of junk waiting to be driven off to the junkyard – 3 weeks since we finished the basement

Finishing our business
Let’s see what can be accomplished in one day – starting at the top of the list, working my way down.

No. 1 – putting up the number sign on our house.

It looked like it was going to be a breeze until the screws started breaking! (And here I thought screws were tough as nails…) I considered going to the store and confront them, but I just muttered something not fit to be repeated and went to fetch our arsenal of screws. We had no black ones, so I improvised and put some black shoe-polish on the heads of the screws as a finishing touch, to prevent them from standing out too much.

Time consumption: approximately 1 ½ hours

No. 2 – replace the light bulb above the entrance

It looks a lot more inviting, if you ask me. Time consumption: approximately 1 ½ minutes

No. 3 – putting up the spice rack in the kitchen

Before – and after. Still need to put the spices in the glasses, but this part took about 15 minutes

No. 4 – putting handles on the linen-cupboard

The handles were bought at the same time as the cupboard, but somehow we never got around to putting them on. They’ve been lying in this drawer, which has been unusable due to the lack of a handle! Well, here goes…

  
Before – and after. Wow, it feels so good to get things finished! The best of all is now the bedclothes and towels are accessible for everyone, and we don’t need to keep weird, flat objects lying around to help opening those doors.

Time consumption: approximately 2 hours

No. 5 – drive the pile of junk off to the junkyard

Symptomatically enough the last point on the list didn’t get done. I must admit I’m quite happy to say it wasn’t my fault as our trailer is currently in use by our neighbour and co-owner. I’ll post an update as soon as it gets done. This is actually one of the reasons I started this blog – to get a little push getting things done around the house. So thank you, my precious reader, I’d love it if you left a comment as well.

1. A place for concentrated work with school assignments; which is inviting and inspiring, well lit, clean and tidy, and has a spot for utensils, books, computer, etc
2. A place for rest and recreation. Her daybed, round coffee table and cozy chair goes here. And, finally:
3. (This would probably be her no.1 ) A place to keep and display her clothes, shoes and accessories.

Here are the sketches for the workplace, which we will steer by in the next phase (doing the job).

Below is the new layout of the room

The three main functions are arranged in clearly defined areas (well, except the jewelery on the wall by her desk). The work area is in one corner, the area for relaxation in another, and the clothes and shoes in the third. The furniture is simply rearranged, which is a good thing since we’re trying to keep the budget as low as possible. Still, we need to make a few investments: For the work area we need shelves (perhaps we can use some we already have), a new chair, and some paint.

For defining the area for relaxation we need a new carpet, and a few cushions from the chosen color palette.

For the wardrobe area we need a shoe-shelf (which we already have), a rod for hanging the on-display-clothes, and some paint.

This picture shows what colors we will use: The grayish-brown in the background is the color of the wall, the grayish-pink to the right will be used over the desk, and the grayish-blue to the left will be used for painting letters/ words on the white wall. The fabric is there to indicate the material of the curtains, carpet and baskets.

The patch of white illustrates the color of the other walls and most of the furniture, and the cord represents the black curtain rods, among other things.

This concludes the planning phase of the makeover. There will certainly be made adjustments in the next phase as well, but we’ve got a reasonably well thought out plan now.

Phase 3: doing the job
What is great about this kind of process is the flow of inspiration that comes with it. Last Saturday we went to Panduro, a shop which holds all kinds of hobby-articles, to buy stencils for the words that are going on the wall. Resulting in this shopping spree and creative outburst on my daughter’s part:

It is a book for writing and drawing ideas, poems, etc. Great, eh? (I’ve ordered one for myself!)

The phases of a home improvement project goes hand in hand quite naturally. While we’re planning the layout and the details, we’re also doing some work! This joyful sight made me think of a song-lyric to a tune by the Beatles. (Can you guess which one?) Bye bye red, Hello grayish-brown… Welcome back soon to see how it turns out!

When we moved into our house 3 ½ years ago, my daughter and I were both involved in picking out the colors and style, layout and furniture for her room. Together we chose the colors red, purple and white to be predominant, and were quite happy with the results at the time. Since then her interests and tastes have changed a lot. She is no longer comfortable with the bright red wall and the purple curtains. Also the layout of the room isn’t quite functioning for her. She has moved the furniture around a few times, but never really found the right solution.

Clothes, shoes and accessories, as well as hair and makeup, play a much larger role today than it did before. She displays her outfits of choice, but as the pictures illustrate this is not really working well with how the room is planned. Her shoes are on display up on the bookshelf and the clothes and jewelery hang wherever it’s possible. As she pursues this interest in clothes and accessories she’s getting more conscious of her likes and dislikes. She often finds her taste in clothes clash with the red, so changing the color of this wall is a priority for her!

An even bigger problem (according to her mother) is her desk, which is overflowing with little boxes, perfumes, makeup, etc. She prefers to be alone when doing her homework assignments, whereas earlier she easily did her homework in the living room, with the rest of the family surrounding her. Alas, these days she does her homework sitting on her bed; obviously not a sustainable solution!

Her room has a door in the corner, and two windows on the opposite walls. The furniture, consisting of a bed/sofa, desk, two chairs, a small table, drawers, wardrobe and shelf is presently placed as illustrated in this sketch.

Phase 2: plan the solution
We thought a nice place to start looking for solutions for this makeover was by choosing a few pictures to illustrate her desired style.

As you can see from these pictures (all taken by her, though I did the selection), the taste goes in the direction of romantic in shades of pink and beige, not “run of the mill”, but a tad more special.

The next task is figuring out how the new room will complement this style nicely.

From my sketchbook.