A Whole Newer World

Have you ever had that feeling like you wanted to accomplish something - like a big project - but you didn't know how to find the motivation to start? I'm the type of person who likes organization. Clutter is fine with me as long as it is organized chaos (some of you know exactly what I mean) - but even then there will be a time when enough is enough - a major cleaning is in order!

Just like our bodies, our spaces need cleaning too. It's amazing for the mind, body and spirit! If you don't believe me, ask any woman who has had her significant other (or anyone, let's be honest) clean their home. Heck, clean my kitchen and I'm swooning!

I found it very deflating when I would have a list of things to do a million miles long, and I go into that one room that should be fine, but I see a mess and voila - the entire 'Empire' collapses because I can't handle one more thing on my list.

These days, I never let the list get that.....out of control.

So when our daughter voiced her excitement about attending summer camp, the thought processes started spinning and the gears started to turn. Her bedroom had not been renovated since she first moved into it six years ago. It is need of fresh paint and a huge dash of her sprite-like personality. The room just didn't 'fit' her anymore.

It was getting bad. The rug was beyond explanation and the walls.....well.....you might not believe me if I told you. We sort of decided to just close the door.

I'm serious. Here's proof:

We gave her full creative control of the walls for a very long time. There is history here. Our daughter took paint, her hands - and decorated her room in random places......a lot. Her giggles as her eyes lit up at the realization of what she was doing....priceless. She doused the walls in colors, neon ones sometimes and her door was splattered with markers and pen stick people.

She glued (yes, glued) glittery stars all over the place and designed a world she understood and we could really only observe. We bought 'secret pens' that write with invisible ink. The ink only shows up with a special 'magic' light at the end of the pen itself.

We spent hours creating messages and drawing our daydreams on these walls.......

These memories will remain forever - but it was definitely time for a change! She is growing up so fast - and she needs a spiffy new room.

Five days. $160 budget and two amazingly creative minds. We literally made magic!

While we removed all of her things from her room, we were very careful about what we tossed. OK, not really - but she may read this one day and I had to say it.

No, really.....we were careful.

The thing about children and their toys - they can't seem to throw anything away. They become emotionally attached to 'things.' I waded through each little thing she owned and tossed out the broken items and things she no longer uses.

She wants to be an archeologist - so her room is filled with rocks. I half expect the house to fall over onto that side any day now, but we created shelving for her collection of fossils and displayed them for her. Her eyes light up the same way when she discovers a 'new fossil.'

So - after five long days and five even longer evenings, our vision for her new space came to be.

Her bunk bed will be like sleeping on a cloud!

A kid can think in this room!

We added little personal touches - like three framed photos of her dad and I being silly.
The three photos have us spell out "We Love You." We do things like this to make each other feel special!  It brightens moods, fills us with joy and puts smiles on faces that refuses to be removed.




The colors we chose were ones she has hinted at awhile. We observe things she says, pay attention to her 'daydreaming and wish making" and then surprise her when the time is right. We loved these colors - something that seemed to emerge straight from a Tinkerbell movie.

We added accents, framed her photos and dusted the room with sparkles. Every fairy on each wall has a sparkle trail behind them! I chose so many little details to add that it will be awhile before she actually sees them all. There are surprises all over the room!

Her closet was one open space - so we created shelves for both her huge book collection and her fossils. We managed to keep the bulky furniture out of her room with shelves too - so double bonus!

Lining the inside of her closet with decorative blue lights, she can have them on whenever she likes.

A pink curtain covers the closet perfectly - and all of the other details really bring this room together!

She also collects seashells - she has some beautiful ones friends gave her! They are all displayed on her windowsill - to keep them safe.

Having our space fit who we are is a huge part of how we feel. When our room is messy, it creates a feeling in us. When it is clean, sorted and put together - another feeling is there. We have a wavelength....an energy - and if 'stuff' keeps getting in the way of that flow, things get negative very quickly. We can't think.

Usually, we wouldn't take on a project like this in such a short amount of time - but it really got us moving, thinking and doing. What we accomplished in 5 days was outstanding to us! We worked our tails off, but it is amazing what you can accomplish when you set yourself to task. Mind over matter!

Hubby and I were talking about how great it was that we were so efficient - so 'work together' and dedicated to task. We had exhausted ourselves and had a blast together the entire time.

We planned and executed the greatest surprise on our daughter to date (we will top this, no doubts)........and then it happened.

My parents came over to see the new room. We had tea. We chatted.

They told us that 'back when we (as in my 3 siblings and I) went to camp' - they renovated four rooms and painted all of our furniture before we arrived home only five days later. I was floored......so proud of them.....and learned something new about my life yet again. Perspective is still everything. Hubby and I looked at each other and took it as a challenge for next time.

Our daughter arrives home this afternoon and we'll be unveiling her new room to her later today! My intention is to get her reaction on video. It should be priceless!

Rock your day!