Doing it for Me...(and them...)

Selling a home or not: Ideas for refreshing your living space

I remember someone once remarked that sometimes we only update things in our homes when we are about to let them go. Why wait to make things great in my home if I don't have time to enjoy it myself? So whether or not you are thinking of selling your home, here are some quick ideas to freshen your home for yourself! (or a potential buyer)

First things first: De-clutter.

Simplicity. It gives peace of mind and truly relieves stress. Think of reducing those filled spaces in your home by half. Half-empty closets and cabinets will give the feeling of openness with lots of storage. This applies to furniture as well. Remove extra side tables and wall hangings. Less, as they say, is more.

Light it up!

Replace your light bulbs with higher wattage, and replace lampshades with new, clean and lighter ones. Clean drapes or consider removing them altogether and replacing them with white or pale colors. Trim outside bushes that are shading the windows.

Paint!

Paint is probably the cheapest and most effective way to improve the look of your home. Eyes are unconsciously drawn to imperfections. It's simple to touch up scuffed areas and putty up those little dings and holes in the walls and trim. Choose neutral colors that appeal to everyone. A simple touch-up over those worn areas can make them feel brand new.

Floors:

Clean the carpets. You may be considering recarpeting, but that can be expensive. Rather, add a rug to update a room or change the look.

Kitchen:

We spend most of our lives in the kitchen. Truly, homeowners tend to focus on this area. If your drawer pulls and handles are outdated, consider choosing new hardware. If your countertops are out of date, for just a few thousand, you can increase the value of your home by two to three times that amount. Consider painting the cabinets and replacing any broken or cracked tiles. This alone will be worth your time and effort. Clean the grout and de-grease the hood over the stove. It's these little details that you will feel, without necessarily noticing!

Make a good first impression: the outside

The “curb appeal” of your home is essential. A dirty and unswept porch sends a message before you enter a home. Plant new flowers and trim the bushes. Add new mulch for a fresh and clean look. Paint the front door and put a beautifully simple wreath to invite your guests. A little on the outside goes a long way long before anyone steps foot inside.

If you are selling, take yourself out of it:

If getting your home ready to sell, consider removing family portraits and pictures. The less a potential buyer sees of “you” in the home, the more they visualize making it “theirs.”

Showing:

Stage whenever possible. Keep a set of new white towels in the cabinet for the bathroom that is simply for show. Keep “decorations” in a tray in the closet that can easily be set out, and put away again for functional living. Keep an empty basket nearby to gather clutter quickly and take in the event of a short-notice showing. Turn on lights, open window coverings, and light a scented candle. Make sure everything is perfectly clean before you leave!

Update

Well, I guess I've fallen off of the "blogosphere" for a while, and for that, I apologize. But it's not that we've been bored by any means, or that there wasn't anything to report! Crazy! Since my last post, we've traveled to Alaska, put the kids back in school, traveled to Canada and the New England Coast, had Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, a trip to Israel and Jordan, Valentine's, many birthdays in between...It's been a busy life.

But today, I'll pretend like you and I are just picking up where we left off, like we've chatted on the phone every day between then and now. Today, rather than posting a bunch of pictures and trying to recapture my life for the last nine months, I'll just sit down and type what's up TODAY.

And...that's really nothing. My two little ones are sitting together ON the kitchen table, sharing a bowl of milk (yes, you read that right). The Honey-nut Cheerios are all gone, and now they are taking turns drinking what's left in the bottom of the bowl. We got about 6" of snow last night, so the glow from the whiteness outside is making the whole house a little bit lighter. There are dishes to be done, laundry to fold, carpets to vacuum, and trash to take out. Maybe I'm stalling, but I prefer to call it blogging. (Not that I'm really saying anything...)

So, there it is. I'm back. For right now. I hope it's not too long before I post again.

Vacation!!!

Four days after John was sustained as Bishop, we took off for two weeks for a cruise that had been planned for over a year! I think it was hard for John to be away for so long with his new calling weighing heavily, but thanks to amazingly capable counselors and their equally amazing and supportive wives, we had a wonderfully care-free vacation to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, and Russia.

There's no WAY to put it all here, so I'll just post some of the highlights:

The "original" Christus from which the Christus at Temple Square was modeled.

The Copenhagen Denmark Temple


Statue of one of my favorite childhood storytellers, Hans Christian Andersen

The original statue of the Little Mermaid is on display in China for the World's Fair, so they had this live video feed of her in her original place in Denmark.

You may recognize "Kristina", a statue dedicated to the many Mormon immigrants who came from Denmark.

The "gold room" where the Nobel Prize Dinner is held In Stockholm, Sweden

One Place Setting for the Nobel Dinner (now WHICH cup do I use first???)

The AMAZING Vasa Museum with a full-sized ship. Pictures don't do justice.

Typical Swedish architecture


FINLAND
The greatest little town called "Porvoo" near Helsinki. Loved this quaint little place with it's old Churches and cobblestone streets and fun shopping!


The Helsinki Temple

The "Rock Church" in Helsinki, literally carved out of the rock

Typical Finnish Architecture


RUSSIA
St. Petersberg
This was literally the first site we saw off of the ship: Government housing. This typified much of the "regular" parts of housing...dull and frankly, depressing

Contrasted with the AMAZING palaces and rich gardens of the royalty here at "Peterhoff"



The most visibly famous "onion top" church "The Church of the Spilt Blood."


St. Isaac's Cathedral



Entrance to St. Catherine's Palace

It was so unbelievably ornate, it made me think, "is it any WONDER there was a revolution here?" Crazy. This woman had something like 15,000 dresses in her possession.




John and Stalin...do you see any resemblance? hee hee!

We had lunch in this Beautiful Russian woman's home. Three small bedrooms, a tiny kitchen, a miniscule bathroom, and she lived there as a child during communist rule with THREE other families...one FAMILY per tiny 8x12 room. AMAZING.


ESTONIA
This was my favorite place. It was the quaintest little quiet place straight off of a postcard. Loved it! The people there were in traditional "time period" dress that added to the charm.






POLAND, Gydansk
Typical Polish architecture

This clock was made by a man, who, as soon as he was finished, had his eyes put out by the Church who commissioned the clock so that he could never make another. Thanks.

Old Medieval Castle. It is the largest BRICK castle in the world (not stone, etc.)

You could still see the bullet holes in the brick from World War II

Our Cruise ship passed underneath the bridge that connects Sweden and Denmark? I forget... ;)


On board the Ship at dinner

I had to throw this picture in of Mike and Margo Homer. We came to adore this man and his wife. Honestly, he reminded me of my brother-in-law, Tim Johnson, so much. This is what Tim will be like in a 40 or more years! ;)


It's almost embarrassing to admit that this is what I ordered for dessert one night. I couldn't decide, so I had them bring all three, then the waiter knew that I loved blackberries, so he just brought me a bowl for fun. I was stuffed to say the least! ;)


NORWAY
A most interesting park in Norway, with dozens if not hundreds of statues of people all in different and complex positions. Vigeland sculpture park in Oslo.



Uh, NOT ON SALE, apparently.

A Statue from Easter Island

Old Viking Ship


These represent such a tiny portion of the wonderful and interesting things we saw. I can't begin to tell you how grateful we feel to see the other parts of the world that make it so amazing and diverse. What a blessing in our lives.

It was such an amazing trip, and we are so grateful to CruiseLady for taking us on such an adventure! We NEVER could have done it without the help of my parents and other family members who kept our children, watched our cat, and minded things back home while we were away. Also, thanks again to John's amazing counselors who had to play "Bishop" in John's absence!

The trip was such a fun getaway for us and we enjoyed every minute together. We are so blessed!