When it comes to your home, what is your style? Mine: I love my home to be clean with everything in its place.
But I quickly realized after kids that things like soft beige accent chairs would just not survive in this new environment.
That being said, what I did was adjust my style instead of adjusting all of my expectations. Full disclosure…my house is never perfectly clean {after all I have two young kiddos} but it is functional for a family.
When your house is functional for your lifestyle, then it will naturally end up looking less cluttered. It will also be less overwhelming.
Dining Room Style: Making the Area Work for our Family
Let’s start with the dreaded mountain of toys that seems to only grow bigger and bigger. I finally gave my kids our dining room. Yes, our dining room! Why, you ask? Because hiding those toys in the basement only meant they migrated slowly upstairs anyway and never had a place. I have added several storage solutions in this new dining room-turned-toy-room space. I’ve accepted this space will never be perfectly organized but that doesn’t mean it’s always a disaster either. Tidying up this space is the nightly chore my 6-year-old is currently tasked with.
Let’s be honest, most houses are not designed for a modern, busy family with kids – and toys aren’t our only problem. That’s why my husband and I have taken on projects to make our home more functional.
Entryway Style: Tackling the Back Door Closet Clutter
Do you know that closet at the back door that is overflowing with junk? Get rid of it. This was our solution.
We still have far too many shoes at the back door. But – at least now – I’m not tripping over them on my way in and out of the house. And I have somewhere to dump the 10 bags I’m always carrying when I walk in the door.
Laundry Room Style: Eliminating the Junk Piles
Do you know that laundry room with cupboards everywhere that we just pile junk in? And then you have nowhere to fold the mountain of clothes you wash every week and nowhere to hang things that can’t go in the dryer? This was our solution.
The laundry bins may still be full but at least I have those bins neatly tucked in their place and I have a spot to fold that mountain of laundry when I find that sliver of time to toss it in the wash.
Color Scheme Style: Hide The Mess
Now back to my beige accent chairs. Those won’t be returning anytime soon. But I’ve opted for another color scheme. A style that hides the messes a bit better.
I refuse to give up on my goal of keeping a neat and mostly clean house. And because of that persistence, my children are learning things should have their place. They are learning this is something we do as a family. They know keeping our home nice means all of us do our part. I have also realized I am much happier and a much better mother when our home isn’t overwhelming me.
Instead of accepting my house has to be a disaster, I’ve instead opted to find style solutions to the problems so my type-A neatness can coexist with toddler mayhem.
None of this is meant to insinuate we should stop living so we can have perfect homes at every moment of the day that are fit for magazines. But I am saying it is possible to have a style somewhere in between disaster and perfection. And at this stage of life, that is where I strive to be.
