So I have been in my place for 7 1/2 years now and a lot of stuff I own came with me from my previous apartment. I had my own scrapbooking business at one point so needless to say, I had a ton of stuff that I never used. Then I kept adding to it. Sure, I did a few projects but I wasn’t doing scrapbooking as a business anymore and all the product was sitting in cabinets (and on them too!). I had bins with stuff too. Each Christmas I gave a big box away to The Giving Tree. I sold some and donated to a school.
But that wasn’t all that was in the loft. My old kitchen table was great to use as a wrapping station (and occasional craft project) until it too was overrun with “stuff”. I would put my decorative pillows in bags and my seasonal bedding went into bins up there. Yard sale stuff, GoodWill piles, seasonal décor without a home…it was everywhere. Funny thing, I knew where everything was. It was out of sight, out of mind until I needed something. Then it became overwhelming. OK, time to organize but where do I start? I gathered boxes from work and trash bags and invited my daughter over one Saturday. Let’s do this!
Note: you really need to be in the mindset to throw perfectly good things away or donate them. I think of all the money invested but as my daughter kept asking, “are you going to use this in the next 6 months?” No? It goes in a bag (trash) or a box (donate). I even sold a few things on the Letgo and Close5 app. It is very cleansing. You can’t look back and think of all the stuff you got rid of; it’s holding you back. Look ahead to the peace and calm, it’s worth it.
I am going to publicly embarrass myself by posting this next photo. LOL It’s my loft after almost 8 years of throwing things up there and “shutting the door” so to speak.
Yup, I just put my blinders on and went up for what I needed (or needed to drop off) haha
At one point this was the typical white farmhouse table. I must have channeled my inner Bohemian one day and painted it green and pink. It was happy looking and I didn’t mind. I think that was the only happy thing up there. LOL
Alas, it was time to pretty it up. So I painted it one color. High gloss pink #behrpaint
So since I’m not sure how often I will really use the table as a desk, I didn’t want to invest in a chair…yet. I found the one chair that I kept that came with the table set. Ok, time to paint this too!
You will need fine sand paper and paint. And a tack cloth or I used damp paper towels to wipe down the chair after sanding.
Using painters tape, I taped the seat of the chair that I didn’t want to get paint on.
OK, I had my hair in a bun when I painted the table. I had it in a ponytail when painting the chair. Words of warning, know where the paint can is at all times. I really like pink but didn’t want my hair to have pink tips. DOH!
So I painted the legs first that way I wasn’t afraid of touching the back while tipping it and moving it around. Then I finished the back. I had to do two coats for the best coverage. (they don’t make high gloss with the primer built in) It was only one chair-no biggie.
Not bad, huh?
Below is the finished product. You like?
Rose gold pillow from Target. It was right when I walked in and it screamed my name. I had to buy it. I think it goes really well with the pink :)
The loft isn’t quite finished but almost. Notice the 4 empty bins under the table. Those were full of “stuff” before. The other bins are color coordinated for the season. It has my décor that I’m keeping and actually using. I like to switch things around occasionally and it’s nice to know where to find everything. I bought a woven clothes hamper with a lid on clearance from HomeGoods (it was crushed on one side, but usable) I store my pillow collection in there instead of store bags now. :) I hung a mirror on one wall to reflect the light from the skylights and bring more light up there. I find myself going up there a lot more, just to look at it and to see what else I need to do up there to finish it. Even though it’s out of sight mostly, just knowing how neat it is, brings a sense of calm to me. And who can’t use that?
