It’s a phenomenon spreading through homes across the world! It starts out with that one pile on the kitchen counter top.  It’s just one pile… it will stop there.  But then company is coming and you quickly move part of the pile to the office and the other part up to your bedroom.  Night falls.  The pile in the office is out of sight out of mind.  The pile on the bed needs to get out of your way so that you can sleep so it moves either to the bench at the foot of your bed or on the bathroom counter.

There’s no ill intent with this pile.  There is a positivity that it will get taken care of any minute now.  But the truth is harsh.  That pile is added to day after day and before you know it, the counters, the benches, the office, the secret two drawers in your kitchen, even the cabinets under your sinks… yeah.  And at some point it’s just easier to ignore, until that one day.  That one day when you realize that you have no idea what is even in the pile and you start looking and the horror and discovery sends you down a rabbit hole.

After I got out of the fetal position, I decided to formulate a realistic plan.  Because let’s face it, this happened because there are 8 million other things going on around me, so it wasn’t going to get better if I spent all day fixing it all because then it would result in chaos in every other part of the house.  Funny how that happens so quickly.  Actually it’s really not funny.

So let’s just start with 5 Degrees of the Clutter.  Last week I picked 5 frightening spots in my home to organize and declutter.  None of which are huge and would only maybe take an hour each to do.

1.  Kitchen counters and junk drawers
2.  Chair in the Master Bedroom
3.  Under the bathroom sinks
4.  The pile of bills in the office
5.  My dresser.  This may not sound like much but as a whole it is a task.

I know you all are just chomping at the bit to see the before pictures.  Wondering if I am the fraud who says my house is a mess but there is one single cup on the counter… no my friends… I am no fraud.  In fact my honesty usually gets me in trouble… just ask my school and the PTA! I show lots of pretty pictures here because let’s face it, that’s really what you want to see the majority of the time, but this is going to give you the satisfaction of some nice before and after shots.

Before:  Kitchen counters and Junk Drawer(s)

Kitchen Make-Over Here

Basic instructions:  Take everything out of them and place on the floor.  Look at it all in disgust.  Throw out all obvious trash.  Throw out everything you didn’t even know was in there anymore, like the 4 cute planners that you never used, the 45 chapsticks you were looking for, the hair clips because you know you have 400 others, and the copies of recipes you saved which you can now google in two seconds.  Now divide and conquer.  What goes where and before you go buy all the cute little organizers that would make this project fun, actually see what you need.  (That was hard for me because I reeaaalllly love buying organizing stuff.)

Ummm… here’s a back scratcher…

And After: (the boys insisted we keep the back scratcher)

That is a glorious cleaned off counter!

Before: Master Bedroom Chair

Let’s all just fess up.  Everyone has that chair or bench in their room that is not used for it’s intended purpose.  It would probably be extremely helpful to just not have it so you wouldn’t put things on them! But they are cute and we have them so let’s just get on with it.  All of my kid’s laundry?  Put away.  All of my husband’s laundry?  Hung up neatly.  My laundry? Dirty and clean ends up here.  Also paperwork that I intend to go through after I hide it (read first paragraph) and other odds and ends that are in my hands and I set down when I get distracted by said kids and husband.  All here.

This is pretty simple, but it actually has to be done.  Put clean clothes away, wash dirty clothes and actually put those away, file or trash paperwork, put toys in appropriate places, and put caution tape across the chair to try and avoid this same scenario the next day.

And After:

Restored! You can find the DIY fabric and painted chair tutorial here.

Before Bathroom Cabinets

I’m not proud of this one.   It’s been awhile for all of them.  Old product, old cleaner, old hair tools (have to keep the crimper though because people need to borrow for 80’s parties all the time).

And because under your bathroom sink is the only place to keep space ice cream…

It’s time to get real.  If you haven’t looked for it in at least a year, it’s out.  Now I can actually see what I have and what I need when it’s running out.  Amazing concept but when you run a household these are the places that come last.

After Cabinets:

Before: Bills in the Office

I hate mail clutter.  Why don’t you just pay them all online and go paperless you ask? Because I tried that and for whatever reason I didn’t see the emails or my brain doesn’t work so then I paid bills late.  You want money from me? I need notice in my hand.  So my plan is usually keep the last 6 months and shred the rest.  Sounds good and attainable but as noted about every other situation in my house, life happens.  This is a dirty job and an annoying one and just has to get done.  Separate by bills and then file or shred.

Side note: The best part about making these little tasks each day is that they kind of naturally lead to a general tidying around the areas.  Did I need to have spray paint in my office… ummm no.

After:  Bills

To see the office make-over head here (yes this 70’s file cabinet is going to get a make-over soon)

Before: My Dresser

Ugh.  A dumping ground.  I appreciate all of you that don’t let these things happen but in my world, it just happens.  The kid’s masterpieces need to be displayed, I leave my jewelry out, 5 legos that I found and could possibly be needed, the bandaids that were brought up in an emergency play room situation, bug bite cream, and the glass of water I meant to drink.   And the cords that still need to be hidden from getting a new TV.

After: Dresser

Master Bedroom Make-Over

It’s not all about picture perfect on my dresser and I like it that way.  I love seeing my pictures and trinkets that may seem like clutter to some, but are actually momentos from very special people in my life that have gone before me.

So 5 days and 5 areas.  Is my house now clean and amazing?  No.  But at least a new beginning in some places.  Kind of how I look at a new year.  Making a huge resolution seems like a big way to disappoint yourself.  Maybe set your bar a little lower and just focus on being better at what you can one day at a time.  Who knows?  Maybe I will not put things on my chair in my bedroom! I mean that is definitely not going to happen, but maybe I will make myself put my laundry away when I make the boy’s do there’s.  Sometimes the little things add up to a bigger thing.

Organization and life don’t actually go hand in hand.  Be easy on yourselves and know that all the pretty pictures in the magazines and the ones you even see here are just that… pretty pictures.

But organizing a post like this did help me motivate.  So maybe shorter lists is the key to greater accomplishments!

Want to see how some of my amazing friends are organizing there way into this new year?! I do! Secretly I also love some messy before and glorious after shots!  Check out these awesome ladies below!

| Domestic Charm | 11 Magnolia Lane | Evolution of Style | Just a Girl and Her Blog |

| Southern State of Mind | Redhead Can Decorate | Chaotically Creative |

| Robb Restyle | Ciburbanity | Windgate Lane | Suburban B’s |

| My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia | This is our Bliss |

xoxo,

B

The post Five Degrees of Clutter appeared first on Windgate Lane.

That does depend on how much you have to clean though- we have tile throughout the whole first floor so it’s a big undertaking.  But no judgement on the current state of the grout.  I saw this method on Pinterest a million years ago and then saw the Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner (affiliate) on sale, 2 for $10, so I decided to give it a shot.

It has the perfect spout to pour into the grout lines and I would stick with the less is more because you will scrub it in soon enough.

Let it sit for about 5 minutes and then take a brush and scrub it in- I didn’t scrub very hard- just did it quickly to make sure it was worked in.

Let that sit for another 5 minutes.  Then find some old rags or towels and start wiping it up!

Tips and Tricks:

1.  Wear old clothing

2.  Wear a face mask so you aren’t breathing in the bleach fumes the whole time

3.  Have the kids out of the house so they don’t have to breath it in either!

4.  Do small sections at a time so that you aren’t hopping from tile to tile:)

Now I am not here to tell you that this is the Green way to clean grout- but after having tried multiple methods- this is the only one that restored it to it’s glory and now I am going to go buy a sealant to hopefully keep it clean for a bit longer!

And now you will see the gratifying AFTER!

I mean… that’s pretty impressive to me!! After I had wiped off all of the bleach and let it be for awhile, I got out my steam mop and put in some of my Young Living Oils Thieves Cleaner into the water and steam cleaned the whole floor.  I wanted to do this so that we weren’t all walking on harsh chemicals, not to mention it got rid of the bleach smell.

Here is a section that had been done next to one that had not… I think you can tell which is which!

And yes, I am a Young Living user and distributor, so if you are interested in the all natural cleaners and products please feel free to ask because while I’m not a salesman at heart, I can’t say enough about these oils and what they have done for our family!

So pin it, share it, shout it to the world! A grout cleaner that seriously works!

I hope y’all are having a wonderful day!

xoxo

B

The post Cleaning Grout Fast! appeared first on Windgate Lane.

I used to dread hanging a new picture on the wall.  First because I knew I would probably have to patch a hole in the wall and second because I was afraid of hanging it incorrectly.  A drill? Anchors? What? Nevermind!

But now I got this down and I wanted to share my very simple tutorial with you all- and I even made a little video that you can watch to see every single step!

I have had these very sad hooks in my laundry room for waaaay to long- and they were prior to my knowing how to hang something correctly so they had basically broken or pulled out of the wall… so not too functional.

I spotted these hooks at Target one day and decided they would be perfect for the space!  How long did they sit on the floor in my laundry room before I actually hung them? Don’t ask.

The following video will show you step by step how I patched the wall and then hung the new hooks! I will include some sources and steps below- now get to hanging your stuff without fear!

So- now that you have watched the video tutorial- here’s a list of what you need to gather before you start!

1.  An Anchor Pack with Bits- similar to this one

2.  Spackling

3.  Hammer

4.  Drill

5.  Level

6.  Screwdriver Driver

TUTORIAL:

1.  Spackle

2.  Paint

3.  Mark new holes

4.  Drill starter holes with new drill bit

5.  Lightly hammer in wall anchor

6.  Screw your screws into place

7.  Step back in awe of your amazingness!

Pin Here to find this tutorial later!

Hope you are having a wonderful week!

xoxo

B

The post Patching a Wall and Tutorial for Hanging with Anchors appeared first on Windgate Lane.

A leak in our powder room forced my hand in finally doing away with the wallpaper in there.  But I really didn’t feel like taking it off- been there, done that, not in the mood. (see previous posts here on light fixture and wall patch)

And the bland, neutral Before…

So I decided to paint over it- the method I used was to paint first with an oil based primer (stinks, wear a mask, especially in small spaces)- then I painted the room Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter- same as in our family room and I had it left over:)

Once it was done, I was pretty pleased- but it was a bit bland and yes, yes… I can never leave well enough alone- so I decided I would try my hand at stenciling.  I finally decided on a Royal Design Studio Stencil called Contempo Trellis.  I loved it, but didn’t want it too be overpowering in such a small space, so I decided to trace it.  First with a pencil, then with a white, Water-based Sharpie.  It wasn’t going to look perfect, but I prefer interest over perfection;)

There were sections that I used only parts of the stencil on because I wanted it to fit the awkward wall spaces more uniformly and it added even more character to the room!

Because I always like to mix the old in with the new, I added some of my antique paint by numbers paintings- and I love the wood tones mixed in with the cool gray of the walls.

In a boy house, it is vital to have toilet paper at the ready, and since there is zero storage in our home, I decided, why hide what we all need?!  This pretty, antique milk pail makes the toilet paper fancy;)

and a better detail shot…

Yes- this was picture overload! I will share a source list later this week!

Hope your day was wonderful!

xoxo

B

Linking To:

Share It Sunday 

Make It Pretty Monday

The Dedicated House

The post Drawing on the Wall |Powder Room Redo| appeared first on Windgate Lane.

After attempting to ignore it for awhile, I couldn’t take it anymore and my husband told me to find someone to fix it and just get it done.  Awww… how easy that would have been… too easy some might say.

Being the mastermind that I am, I decided that if I could fix it myself, that I could then use the money saved to do a little powder room redo!  But this was a big hole… so the small hole filler wasn’t really going to cut it.  But my question was, do I have to buy a huge thing of drywall just to cut the piece I need?

The answer… No!  Home Depot sells  2×2 pieces of drywall for just such situations- yay!

I snatched it and some drywall tape, spray patch, and spray texture and headed back with with more confidence that I should have!

Now this would have been easier had it not been in a small powder room and above the toilet- because getting a ladder in there close was impossible and having long arms was helpful- but still not great.  I will go ahead and just give the rest of the  steps in a tutorial- with pictures following.

*Wear a protective mask and eye protection- the drywall dust goes everywhere!*

1.  Measure hole

2.  Trace the size on your drywall piece and then score with a box cutter- it should just pop off at that point

3.  With dry wall screws, screw into the studs- it will not be perfect and that’s ok- that’s what the tape and patch fill are for

4.  Place drywall tape around the patch

5.  Apply either fill or in my case I used a spray foam that dries as fill and this was easier with the space I was working in.  Then sand it all down so that it’s as even as possible.

6.  Tape off surrounding areas and then spray the wall texture lightly and apply more if deemed necessary.  If the texture looks too raised, you can lightly knock it down by dragging a trowel or other tool over it.

7. Wait for it to dry and paint over! Done!

Seems a bit overwhelming, and if you are in a small, awkward space, it’s not easy peasy- but also not impossible at all!  Sorry for the lame after photo, but I don’t want to give away the big reveal for next week:)

Can’t wait to show you the next step in my Powder Room make-over- but if you missed it- you can check out how to change out a light fixture here!

xoxo

B

The post Repairing a Hole in the Wall appeared first on Windgate Lane.

Cause I would have done this about 6 years ago had I known.   And the cost? forget it! done!

Here is what I was working with… not great…

My trip to Lowes was obviously for something else and I just on a whim decided to get a new light fixture because this is the ridiculous way my mind works.  I wasn’t loving any of the ones up on the wall though and didn’t love the prices either and was thinking- if I could just buy the wall mount and pick my own glass shades, that would be awesome!

Well what do you know? I am not the first person to wish for this and had I walked down about 5 more feet I would have realized that was an option! yay! I pick my simple wall mount- $24.99- and then picked my two simple glass covers- $5 each.

I was excited and nervous when I got home because I knew that to keep this affordable, I had to install myself and I wanted to surprise the Hubs with it (meaning I didn’t want to let him know that this was the start of a powder room overhaul).

Tutorial:

Safety First!!

Turn your Power Off and double check that it is off.

Next unscrew the little nuts that are on the wall plate.  I chose not to take off my glass shades because well… they wouldn’t come off- but if yours do, that would make it all easier.

Once you can pull the wall plate away from the wall a bit, pull off the little caps that are connecting the two sets of wires and you should be able to take it down!

Now you are ready to install the new one- connect your wires- same colors to same colors- white to white and black to black- by twisting them together and then putting the little caps on them.  I also put electrical tape around the caps to ensure they stay in place.

I then wrapped the little copper wire around the small green screw on the mounting plate- this is the grounding wire and keeps you from ever looking like Elvira and getting electrocuted.

Then screw on your caps and you have a new light fixture! Add bulbs and the glass shades and do a dance being careful not to hurt yourself because you are in a small powder room

Seriously easy and such an update!

This was the first part of my powder room redo and I can’t wait to show you the progress- here’s a hint- that wallpaper is Gonzo!!

xoxo

B

The post Light Installation Tutorial- Powder Room appeared first on Windgate Lane.

When Tide contacted me to participate in a challenge, they didn’t have to ask twice! Tide Oxi is a regular staple in my house… boys… remember?

I already use it regularly for stains and in my laundry.  It is the only thing that has taken out red dirt stains from my son’s white baseball pants.   I simply make a little paste on the spot and let it sit and then throw it in the washer.  And just so you know, his first season of baseball he slid into every single base… just because.

I wanted to put it to the test in a different way though, so I picked some up at Home Depot and decided to take it outside! Our patio umbrella has seen better days.  It was thrown down in a storm last spring and hasn’t really moved off of laying on the patio since then, which equals dirt, mold, and exposure to all the elements.  It’s hard to see- but it was covered with a nice layer of crud.

I didn’t want to buy a new one, so I decided to see what I could do to freshen up the old one.

First I brought it out to the middle of the yard and carefully opened it.

And by carefully, I mean, I opened it and then ran screaming as bugs crawled out of it!

After I confirmed that I was not actually attacked by bugs, I proceeded to sprinkle Tide Oxi all over it.  I then took the hose and started spraying it down so that the Tide Oxi foamed up and then I just let it sit for awhile.

(Some of you smarties will notice that I made an erroneous mistake and put the product I chose not to use in the original post- after trying several things- Tide Oxi was the winner of the Cleaning Challenge!)

I came back out about 20 minutes later and was pleasantly surprised! It was already looking so much cleaner! So I finished spraying it off completely and then let it dry… which took about 5 minutes since it was 100 degrees.

Now that the umbrella was all shiny and clean, it inspired me to spruce it up even more! You see, in TX, we don’t spend much time outback in the summer, it’s just too hot, but fall is when we can sit out and enjoy the weather while the boys play.  So I wanted it to be a nice place for us to sit, eat dinner and relax.

So with a clean pallet- I was able to spray paint it! and trust me, if it wasn’t clean, the paint wouldn’t have adhered.   I knew that spray painting on fabric was not going to ever look perfect- so I went for an abstract, aztec design that I kind of just went off the cuff with.  I already had blues (big surprise) and blacks on my deck so I just grabbed some spray paint and went to town!

Now I get it- some of you are gonna say- ummm… why?  Well, because it still works- it’s gonna get faded again- and it looked worse before… So I say… Why not?!  Some blue, black, and white spray paint just gave me a fun new accessory out back:)

I am pretty excited for some cooler weather and some fun backyard dinners and listening to my boys play whatever sport is currently on their minds!

Shoot, I even think it looks pretty down!

Do you use Tide Oxi? Share your favorite use in the comments section- I would love to hear them! and if you want to check out some more great uses, you can check out Jonathan Scott, from HGTV’s Property Brother’s, Ideas Here!

I hope you are all having an amazing week!

xoxo

B

*Windgate Lane was provided with product for this post but all opinions and ideas are my own*

The post Tide Oxi Challenge appeared first on Windgate Lane.

I had just completed my 5 Days/ 5 Rooms Challenge and was ready to sleep for the next 10 Days in One Room!

And then this past weekend I attended an amazing conference in Atlanta, called Haven, which I will give all the details about soon:) Awesome time- awesome peeps, awesome tools, learned a ton that I can’t wait to share with y’all!

But today I want to recap the projects and let you in on some more details.

Day 1 was the Gallery Wall in my Playroom.

This looks simple enough- but involved painting the wall (Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter) and then hanging these blasted Ikea frames.  Such a love/ hate relationship with them- LOVE the price and look, HATE hanging them with their wires across the back.

Yes, I have seen different tutorials on making it easier, but I just decided to wing it and then tighten or loosen the wires to make sure they were all even.

Day 2 was the Gallery Wall around my tv in my master bedroom.

Keep in mind that most of these projects involved hanging things… if you are a psychologist you might read into that and think that I put off things that have to be hung on walls… you would be right!

I will have a DIY horse graphic up for you later this week~

Due to the walls in our house being made from cottage cheese and also as level as well… something really not level, it is a drive you to drink job!

But I always remind myself that worst case scenario is having to fill a little hole in the wall- and to bring down my stress a bit- I had my 3M filler and paint ready to go incase that happened.  and it may have happened… twice.

Day 3 was my oldest son’s new shelves over his dresser.

By utilizing more of the vertical space- we were able to remove his bookshelves on the other wall and now he has so much more space in there! Which, let’s face it- boy’s just want space to run!

Day 4 moved into my little boy’s room and was a closet clean up and organization and then a new DIY valance.

This shoe holder turned daily clothes planner is really more useful for me during school- but he loves it already and is getting us in a good habit.

This valance- which I will be sharing a tutorial on later this week- was so simple and replaced one that was thrown together too quickly and just kept falling down all the time!

Day 5 was making our family room look a bit more summery! I have been collecting these vases sporadically and finally got enough to have two pretty groupings on top of our entertainment center.

I love all of the blue and green tones in them- makes me long for the ocean!

And then a summer wreath for our front door completed the 5 Days of Chaos!

I already had this drift wood wreath from Hobby Lobby and when I saw this ribbon there- I knew the two together would be awesome, yet simple.

I hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for another organizational challenge coming up soon!
xoxo
B

The post 5 Days/ 5 Rooms Challenge Recap! appeared first on Windgate Lane.

Big week here at Windgate Lane!

I need this house to come back under my control… easier said than done.  But continuing to look at the ‘hills’ I need to climb to get it where I want is not going to get it done- but action will!

Want to join me?

Now I realize you may have more than five rooms in your house and technically so do I- but I am focusing on the big living spaces and bedrooms- So follow along or join along- just don’t tell me about the cold drink and fun movie you are watching on TV? mmmkaaay? thanks!

Monday: Playroom (silent tear coming down my cheek) (click here for Day 1 Update!)

Tuesday: Master Bedroom (Day 2 Completed Project)

Wednesday: Big Boy #1 Room (Completed Project, click here)

Thusday:  Big Boy #2 Room (click for update here)

Friday:  Family Room (click for update here)

Now this isn’t just a tidy up kinda thing- it is a finish any planned projects and purge and then clean kinda thing! Patch holes in walls- paint walls- make this ninja turtle stop staring at me! for real.

Don’t worry- there won’t be any live shots of me while working due to this being a shower optional kinda week… I kid, I kid… maybe every other day…

So- let’s get to work and follow along with WindgateLane on Instagram for sneak peeks and also on Facebook.
I will be posting everyday this week on what I accomplished and then linking back to this post as I go so all rooms will be in one place:)

Playroom is today- check back later to see pics of my completed/clean room!

xoxo
B

The post Five Rooms/Five Days: Cleaning Up our Home! appeared first on Windgate Lane.

The following was one of my very first posts- so many of you will not have ever seen it- unless you are a true, loyal follower and you have read every single one of my amazing posts…
so yeah, most of you haven’t see it it, so here is a flashback to my biggest hit blogpost! Enjoy the ceiling fan excitement!!

Ok- so how many of you have this….

Go ahead… just admit it! It’s Brassy and it’s just eating at you every time you look up at it! OK, maybe that is just me- but it has been bugging me for the last four years we have lived in this house- but it works… so the moola to replace it was hard to justify.
Sooooo…. what to do? take a baseball bat to it Paint it! Why not? ok, what paint… well how about some craft paint and some spray paint and whatever else I feel like using because why the heck not?! can’t look worse in my mind.
So I started by getting up there to see what that fan was all about- it’s not that hard people- it is just a couple screws holding each blade on- so- off the blades came! and then a couple more screws and off the metal brackets off of the blades came!
Took those pieces outside and found my fave spray paint… Rust-oleum’s ORB (Oil Rubbed Bronze) and a glossy white I had to touch up the blades

a couple quick coats…

The post Flashback… Ceiling Fan Make-Over! appeared first on Windgate Lane.