Spring Clean Up and Clean Out.

Potentially my favorite thing about Pinterest is cleaning tips and tricks.  Since buying my condo a few years back I've loved 'playing house'.  I actually enjoy keeping it clean and organized and always ready for last minute company.  As we move into pool season in Tampa, this is extra important for me as I love that my close friends feel like they can text me and invite themselves over for Sunday afternoons of laying out and fellow shipping.  I determined I would always be the kind of homeowner that didn't let their mess get in the way of sharing what they have and I've done a pretty good job of this, if I do say so myself.

May brought with it my being an empty nester again. A friend had lived with me for a year while she adjusted to life in Tampa and now has a place of her own and I will now put together my guest bedroom in time to have a summer of company!  As the paint is being rolled, the counter tops replaced, and new things being bought for the walls and guest bedroom, what better time to deep clean and get organized than now?

I've worked a lot of extra hours lately so when I returned from Haiti (where I spent less than $50 all week) I felt like it was time to splurge on a few things on my 'to buy' list.  The first of which was a new trash can.  My old, white one, always looked dirty and I was tired of that...

 Old.

New.

The new trash can is more adult, I feel like.  It was on sale at Target so I figured seize the day, upgrade the trash can.

I wanted more organization in my garage where my laundry is (this was not the best idea ever, dear builders as garages in Tampa are hot and the laundry is on the first floor while the bedrooms are on the 3rd...I digress).  But now when I'm out there briefly sweating my butt of doing laundry I have an organized laundry area to work with.

I built that little shelf for some of my cleaning supplies/laundry things. I actually have a whole other stash of things I haven't added to the shelves yet but you get the idea.  I also got a drying rack which as you can see is housing some of my Haiti laundry now but really will primarily by for my pool towels because I do not like to retrieve them when they fall off the balcony.

I also bought and built this my first day back from Haiti.  This is a laundry sorter (is that obvious?) and is now at home in front of my washer/drier where I can dump things in white, darks, and sheets/towels until they can be cleaned (or while they are being cleaned).  Laundry is one of my least favorite tasks so I'm hoping to get a better system so they get washed, dried, folded, and put away in a more timely manner, every week.  I call this method self bribery.

One project I'd pinned on Pinterest and have been working on is decorating above my kitchen cabinets.  The previous owners of my home (whom I have some choice words for, should we ever meet) had fake flower arrangements above theirs.  Can I be real?  I hate fake flowers ESPECIALLY in kitchens.  I don't really have a reason for this, just hate it on principle. 

I'm not sure I've got mine the way I want them yet but here's the start...

 Before - totally empty space.

After.  Having used mostly decor I already had - with the addition of the Paris plate and the 'Cafe' sign.  I may modify this at some point but I wanted you to see how it's coming along.

I didn't take picture to illustrate this BUT I did use pinterest tutorials to clean both my dishwasher AND my coffee pot last week....first time I've ever cleaned either of those.  Is that wrong?  I never really thought about it until Pinterest. 

Here's a few clean house pics too, just for fun:

Don't worry, there's many more photos to come as the paint goes up, the counters go in, and the spring cleaning continues!

Love,
B