Not long ago, I waned to spend all of my time out and about – shopping, visiting friends’ homes, and attending playdates with my son. I think Zack and I spent more of our day away from home than we did actually being at home.

Much has changed in the last few months. I have started decorating our home with a purpose, instead of buying random home decor items on a whim. I feel like my home is on its way to being welcoming and beautiful instead of piecemeal, and now I have to have a really good excuse to spend all day running around town. I want to be here. I want to enjoy the warm sunlight streaming through our windows. I want to just sit and enjoy this home, this life, my family has created.

Tom gets credit for this photo of the amazing sunset from our backyard.

Other than the decorating, there are a few little changes I’ve made in my life that have helped me get to this point. I decided that it would be no fun to have a beautiful, well decorated home if it was constantly in disarray. I always felt like I had too much laundry to put away, too many toys to pick up, and too many rooms that needed to be cleaned. I have a new routine at home now, and it has definitely made a tremendous difference in my life.

I’ll let you in on a few little secrets, because I like you.

First, there are some easy things I do every single morning:

1. Give Zack his juice (aka 8 oz of water with a splash of juice) and cheerios;
2. Start a pot of coffee for Tom and myself;
3. Put a load of laundry in the washing machine;
4. Empty the dishwasher than ran the night before;
5. Open the blinds and curtains; and
6. Make the beds.

It seems simple, but it gets my day started and helps me to keep on top of the “homemaking” aspect of my life. Plus, since I get up and get moving, I get a lot more accomplished in my day than I used to accomplish.

The other secret is my chart. In order to keep from getting overwhelmed with everything else there is to do in our home, I simply set up a chore chart for myself. All of my tasks are broken down in easy to manage segments, so I don’t feel like I’m doing housework all day.

Click on the above chart to be taken to the full-size version.

Above is my little chart. Each day, I try my hardest to accomplish each task I have assigned myself. I’ll admit that there are days I don’t get it all completed, but I just relax and move those tasks to the next day. Everything eventually gets cleaned and I don’t have to dedicate an entire day cleaning or an entire day to laundry.

It may seem crazy and a little OCD (Hello! Have you ever read my blog before?), but it keeps me calm. I am a much better mother, wife, and Lindsay when I’m calm and relaxed. Plus, there aren’t a zillion mountains of laundry and piles of dust bunnies waiting to attack me as soon as I walk in the door. See why I don’t mind being at home now?

I challenge you to make your own little chart (or use mine) and try this process for two weeks. Start it on Monday – that gives you all weekend to prepare. You know, do your pre-dusting stretches and the like.

Let me know if you accept my challenge. Even if you have a cleaning service (who will never clean your home as well as you do, but that’s a whole different blog post), you can do the daily picking up, kitchen cleaning, and laundry tasks. I’ll be checking in mid-week to see how everyone is doing. You can do it and lead a more beautiful life in the process!

Check out one of my favorite blogs, The Inspired Room, to join in the weekly celebration of living a beautiful life!

Tassels, fringe, and gimp. People, they can change your lives.

Okay, maybe that’s an overstatement. Perhaps they aren’t life changing. They are, however, room changing. If it’s true that the smallest details can make the biggest difference, then luxurious trims can certainly pack a big bang.

Want some examples? Check out this little valence. It’s one of the no-sew window mistreatments hanging in my breakfast room. I originally hung them up without the trim, but they were a little boring. I sewed on some cheap fringe trim and it totally dressed them up.

Here’s a closeup:

Trims can take a simple window treatment from ho-hum to fancy schmancy. Here’s one from my living room:

The close-up will reveal something really special I did with the trim on this panel…so special that my favorite fabric store stole my idea after I showed them what I was doing. 😉 I added a simple fringe trim to the top layer and then sewed a beaded trim on top of that. The panels would have looked nice with just one trim or the other, but the combination of the two really dials them up a notch.

Do you have really boring curtain panels hanging in your home? Maybe beige? Maybe some sort of tab top monstrosity from Target? Am I maybe describing the curtains I had in my old house? ::shudder:: Yeah, I am.

Target

Slap some fringe on the inside edges of those babies for a brand-new look! You don’t even need a sewing machine. You can literally use a hot glue gun to add the fringe (The Nester did it here if you need a visual). It’ll take you 15 minutes tops, and you’ll wonder why you hadn’t done that sooner. I wonder why *I* didn’t do that when we lived in the old house.

It really is that easy! All you have to do is add to the treatments you already have in your home. A little trim will go a long way in making your room feel special again.

Want to search from tassels and trims online? Try Fabric.com, M&JTrimming;, or Ebay. Just don’t use just the search term “tassels” on Ebay…you’ll find a different sort of tassel than what you are looking for – the type that comes in pairs and have sticky backs, if you know what I’m sayin’. 😉

Trims make me happy. Trims make me smile. I’ve been working on the window treatments in my bedroom this week, and there is tassel trim AND gimp on those bad boys. I get all giddy just thinking about them. It’s the little things that help you to live a more beautiful life. Check out the way others are living a more beautiful life by visiting The Inspired Room and reading how others have been inspired this week.