Column 13 – Decorating on the FLY by The FlyLady, Marla Cilley

Did you ever glance at those well-lite pictures in a magazine and wish for a room that looked as inviting as the images in their pages. We want the feel of those pictures but we have no clue where to start to accomplish it. Don’t feel bad because I can help you get started on your dream home and it can be done in babysteps.

 Our biggest problem is that we don’t know where to start! We see the beautifully put together rooms and we get overwhelmed. Then we put the magazine down and give up before we ever get started.

I was scared to death to remodel our home. When Robert and I married in 1996; I had a houseful of clutter and so did he. We put our clutter together and then went to estate auctions to buy more. We called ourselves upgrading the furniture that we already had. Oh we got some great deals but it is so hard to see what you have when your home is filled with clutter.

It was only when we started to get rid of our clutter that we could selectively know what we needed to purchase. It took us about nine months to slowly eliminate our clutter. I like to think of it as giving birth to a new me. As the clutter disappeared I could see in my mind’s eye what I wanted for our home and not the piles of stuff that clouded my vision. I began to feel the peace that I had always searched for and it was hiding underneath my hot spots.

Slowly our home became clutter free and peaceful. It still was not decorated as those pictures in the magazines, but it hugged us when we walked in the door. Even with the green shag carpet from the seventies our home was inviting and my routines were helping me to keep our home company ready just for us. This was a blessing but it also created another level of fear in me.

With the clutter gone we could see that our home needed updating. Every room in our home needed help. We could actually see the forest for the first time. We looked closely at each room. I took a note pad and put on a different set of eyes to examine our home. Just imagine that you are a real estate agent and you are going to help your client get their home ready to sell. Grab a clipboard and your pen. I am going to walk you through your home.

We started with our one butt kitchen and our coppertone appliances. I began to jot down everything that I felt made our home outdated. Then we looked at the outside of our home, our bathrooms, living room, bedrooms and back deck. We examined our heating unit and our side porch.

Then we went to dinner to discuss what to do first. This was so frightening to me. I was afraid of allowing the clutter and CHAOS to invade our home again. Once I realized that I could do this by taking babysteps and by taking care of me during this process; I was willing to take the next step.

You can do this too with your routines in place to guide you and by flinging your clutter so that you have a clean palette to start with. You will be surprised at how much better your home will feel when you love yourself enough to take babysteps. I will be telling you more about this in the future. Many people have this same problem and we want to help you all have the confidence to make your home feel comfortable.

The best compliment I have ever received is that our home looks just like us. This is because we only have things in our home that make us smile. Are you ready to FLY into building your dream home one babystep at a time?

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