The thing about blogging these days is, it's SO easy to compare yourself to other bloggers and their oh-so-shiny sites. Social media, with all it's stunning imagery, entices us creatives to visualize their latest holiday craft project, furniture DIY, room makeover, or entire house tour, copy and pasted right into our own homes!
All these fashion, lifestyle, and shelter sites, and their perfectly layered, fluffed, and staged images, can begin to take their toll on our own self image and how we believe we measure up. Although I don't pretend to live in a manicured model home-esque house (Hello! Three kids, two cats, and a dog!), I do have visions of a immaculately set dining table free of Play-Doh and school papers, dust and wrinkle free window treatments, a fabulously tufted sofa without sticky stains or cat hair, a mudroom and entry with a lovely wool runner and fancy lamps instead of piles of muddy boots and a bag of clothes to return because I was shopping with a baby and three year old and couldn't try anything on...
...I can't be the only one.
And while I LOVE my children, and pets, and hubby, and house, and wouldn't trade them for anything, ever...I do sometimes (ok, nearly every day) have to remind myself that this stage of life is temporary. That I will not always have chocolate milk and strawberry jam stains over every surface three feet high and lower. That someday, in the not too distant future, I will miss the pitter patter of those muddy boots.
The point is, I can't help but feel like I can't share my home in photos (won't that already pinned Pinterest image look better, anyway?) because it's in a constant state of flux and clutter. I'm (mostly) normal, and I'm usually justified in the way my house looks at any given time, but I never feel like it's worthy of posting on the web. Why would anyone care that I hung new art in my kids' bathroom today when there's toothpaste stuck to the counter? Who cares that I bought a new rug, or swapped some furniture around when there are piles of junk mail and laundry on the floor?
Sure, people might care if the room already looks BHG-worthy. Why not see an updated version of perfection? But when a room is no where near ready for a photo feature, why would anyone but my family (Hi, Mom!) really care to see?
Well, I'm hoping you do.
Why? Because I think we're all REAL people. Even those amazing bloggers who seem to have it ALL together regularly admit to the photo magic that goes on behind the scenes to get that headlining shot. And while their homes are certainly enviable, I am (finally) beginning to truly believe that there's a place in this world, on this webnet, in this blog, for the average person; that it doesn't have to be "pin worthy" to inspire; that although I still have mismatched chairs that desperately need to be reupholstered, and my floors haven't been mopped in weeks (keeping it real), and my beautiful dining table is a huge monstrosity that needs to be swapped for something smaller (any buyers out there?), I believe that there are some people out there that might be relieved to see a decent looking dining room that doesn't make them feel insecure. That my budget friendly, kid friendly updates are totally doable, and in no way intimidating (you can do it, too!). That maybe you can take a look at my kids bathroom update and think, "Hey, that looks nice! Maybe some new art would look totally cute in my bathroom!" or "Hey, I have one of those Ikea plants. Maybe I should move some stuff around and see how it looks in the bathroom." Or even, "Hey, that's cute. That's easy. I can afford that. I could totally do something like that."
Because we're REAL. We're NORMAL. We don't have unlimited disposable funds to decorate. We have kids, and jobs, and LIVES, and can't spend every weekend in DIY bliss (ha!).
So, from here on out, I'm going to show you the nitty gritty. The normalcy of daily life. Don't worry, I'm not going to be showcasing my dirty laundry (or maybe I will!), or dishes, or cat boxes...ewww. But I am totally going to be keeping it real!
I am going to take you on a journey: declutter-ation, simplification, organization, beautification, and finally, relaxation!
Since y'all have been asking me for some house updates, we're beginning with a simple bathroom update. Nothing fancy. Just making our house a home. Next up will be our loft updates (yay built-ins!). After that, it's going to get scary. My first step will be to declutter, dejunk, decrapify my house, basement, garage, and (*gulp*) storage units. Yes, I said "units", with an "S". As in plural units. Ugh.
I'll be candid and show you what's really going on behind the scenes. Sure, there will be features and pretty pics, don't you worry. But, I wouldn't be true to myself, to you, or to why I write if I didn't also show you what's really going on. Maybe it will help. Maybe you won't feel so left out or alone in your struggles.
Because we ALL have skeletons in our closet. Sometimes they look like depression. Sometimes it's hoarding tendencies. Maybe it just looks like parenting and feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes you really have, like, thirteen Halloween skeletons in your closet (do you really need thirteen?).
Inspired to "make things happen" this year, I'm done shifting stuff around from room to room. Done whirling around in a anxious cleaning frenzy before company comes over. Done not posting updates and projects because I've got too much clutter around to take a "pin-worthy" photo.
We're going to declutter: Our homes and our attitudes. I'm going to be showing you my darkest secrets. Get ready! It's gonna be good (or thirteen skeletons creepy)!
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Q: I want to know what you think! Are you intimidated by all the perfection circling around on the web and in magazines? Do you just view it as eye candy and don't sweat it? Is your home ready for a photo shoot at any given time (can you come clean my house?). Do you hoard holiday decor?