The spring fling is in the morning, I'm excited. I know I'm new to the forum and to starting my own gardens but I'm still excited about the gathering and getting to meet so many new people. I haven't really introduced myself, so I'll give a small bio. My name is Rachel,I'm 23 years old and I live NE OK, near Tulsa. I'm originally from CA but my father was in the army when I was younger, and well...this is where we ended up. I've been with the same wonderful man for the last five years and we plan to get married. We bought a house, a fixer upper, this past fall and the front and back yards are in desperate need of plants, lol. I grew up with a wonderful mother, who loves plants and gardening, so Im really excited about fixing up my yards. Also, I work at a Lowes, in the outside lawn and garden, so I spend just about everyday taking care of plants and helping people select the right plants. I was going to bring a painting and a stuffed owl for door prizes, but my friend really wanted the painting so I'll try to find something else. Also, I found the seeds that I collected from my mothers garden, from this past fall. I'll bring them incase someone wants some. That way I'll have something to trade, and won't feel like such a mooch if someone gives me something. : ) I hope everyone sleeps good tonight and I can't wait to meet all of you. -Rachel

How has this been going for you? A slow start here as I slept in later than usual. How many things do I want to hang on the walls or stick on shelves again to dust? Mmmmmm. I don't mind dusting but I abhor it when things are cluttered. I can so relate, and much prefer decorating items that are hung, over 'stuff' that has to be moved to dust...One is in the way and the other is out of the way when one dusts. I know I like to use my travel mugs a lot in the summer months in the garden - but how many do I need? Good question, that I need to ask myself...some are bigger for ice water in the summer, and others are at least a bit smaller and will fit the cup holder in the Jeep...hmmm...now, what to keep? Replacing an item instead of adding an item is another employed strategy to avoid growing collections. The handle recently came off of a 30 year old stainless steel sauce pan. I'll be looking for a nice replacement...(notice, I said replacement) and once I find it will send the old one to the scap metal collector. Interesting that you should mention the mugs, and letting them go. I have an afghan my neighbor's mother (now deceased) made and gave me years ago. It is really too good for me to use for everyday, so has just been stored. Yesterday I asked my neighbor if she might like to have it to pass on to daughters, or grandchildren, and she was thrilled. I think today I will pare down things in the bed linen closet. I know I can part with 2 afghans, a homemade rag rug, and probably numerous sheets and pillowcases. Food for thought:Just how many spare sheet sets are needed for a 2 bed home, when the 2nd bed is probably used 6 or so times a year? I know the answer is a 'lot' fewer than what I have been 'storing' for a long time. Sue

Judith! LOVE seeing you post (someone let me know you had a post here!) I KNOW that area, having lived on the Peninsula for 11 yrs. Virginia Beach (on the other side of the Bridges) IS a very different place! I also remember that the 'decorators' they use there are mostly 'builder's wives' and daughters and it is ALL about price-points! Builders have a different mind-set. The builder that DH worked for on the Peninsula always would get upset and say 'that destroys the price points'! He had to spend the least amount to build so he could profit, BUT his wife 'the decorator' would love to SPEND. Weird combination, but the houses always LOOK LIKE they are pieced together with different what they deem will 'SELL' features. Very different thinking than Custom home building with Architect drawn plans. They have a certain amount of house styles they can purchase such as the 'Southern Living' homes collection, etc. And because the street they are built on is a collection of all different builders, they have to be cohesive in some way or the houses will just not ever look like they belong that 'close' to one another. I was surprised with all the reactions of your photos of some that do not even know the area, nor the people who live in this area. My DH worked on the Port Warwick (Virginia) project and that was built on former C*ra*ck town (bad connotation for it but reality) and DH had to chase dr*ug peddlers on bikes out of the development as they tried to talk to the workers while they were building! His experience with being a Drill Instructor in the Marines really came in handy! He built a lot of homes there in a set back small town layout with housing above the shops and professional offices in the center. But the AREA in that lower part of town (South NN on the Peninsula) perked up with all new positive projects and people and a new shopping small town environment set back off the road was built across the street even. We spent a couple of years going in and out of that development and went to all the events there, what a transformation! The world and LIFE is about constant change and adapting. New replaces old, new becomes old and gets run down... the economy for builders devastated that area a few years ago and that is why we left the area and decided it was time to find our 'retirement, forever house'. I am glad to see that the builders are doing a 'come back' in the area! I love Chesapeake with its country setting and trees. We lived there when we first moved to the state, then we ventured up to the Peninsula when DH started working for a large builder in that area. I am so HAPPY to see you posting and out and about! I really MISS seeing your posts and photos! I also miss hooking up with you for events such as POH and Homaramas there in your area. :( Go to your blog... check out...you have almost 100,000 hits! One word about the 'advertising' in the show houses, kind of a PITN to view but I know they are necessary. I also noticed the plastic covering the rug, but the house was sold. I remember DH having a bad time (with all the rain and cloudy days they had to work in and the MUD on construction sites with that RED clay!!!) He would have to stand guard to make sure no one came in! One time he was called to another house, a worker stepped into the house, and left a spot on a few places on the carpet in TWO rooms! The carpet was cleaned, BUT, the builder cannot sell the house with a 'NEW' carpet once it has been cleaned! Some new buyers will accept and sign off on a 'spot' clean, but most will say 'I WANT NEW' as on the contract. Of course Model homes are always walked through but that is understood at time of sale. We had purchased a model home in one of the first developments DH built with 38 homes. The white (upgrade) Berber carpet was clean... but we were told it was cleaned and not new. No big deal for me since it was flawless. We knew we would replace it with hardwood flooring anyway (which we did do). We are all spoiled by Pinterest, the photos are wonderful, but you and I know that a photo is set up and IRL the furniture might not be in those exact places that the set up for the photo was taken with. Styling and staging is different than decorating and walking through the spaces. Thank you so much for posting these photos, I saved the ones from the last time you posted photos and review them now and then. In this collection, I love the shallow Coffered ceiling molding in one of the rooms. I appreciate the angle you took the photos at so I could see the detail! I remember when I moved up to that area about 14 yrs ago, and NO ONE was building with lots of trim so as not to show that the house came that way! I mean you could order it as special and paid dearly for trim work. And Parade of Homes houses were just an example of what the builder could do or was capable of, they do not represent the whole of the builder houses in the area. And the price of a POH reflects all the 'trim packages and upgrades' in place and the amount of detail to also reflect the level the other houses built on that little neighborhood street they get built on. Thank you again for taking the time to POST these PHOTOS for us to see and experience what is going on in another part of the country from where we live and how markets are so different depending on where we live. :) GREAT to see you posting!!!

I too decided this was the year to "get it together". I've let it slide far too long :( When I had my second son almost 6 years ago, life seemed to turn upside down. He had a double hernia operation at 4 months old so not sure if it contributed but he was extremely miserable for the first 4 months of life and he grew into a toddler with a very difficult personality (he's SO much better now). My personality wasn't able to cope very well with it. At some point during the difficult toddler years, we finished our basement. Everything that was down there had to come upstairs very quickly. Some of them boxes that hadn't been opened since we moved here several years prior. I'm sure I fell into some kind of depression. What I learned from Hoarders is that I think we do develop a sort of "clutter blindness". It's how we can survive living with stuff everywhere. I'm certainly not a level "5" or anything but I had stuff piled up in places and I was able to just live around it (like it didn't exsist). I also came to realize I hadn't thrown anything away in my many years. I still had stuff from when I was a teenager. I used to work in the beauty business and had SO much stuff I had acquired for free that wasn't being used. We started a couple years ago with a huge garage sale (sold $1,000). I had another one last spring (sold $500) but I still had stuff everywhere in certain spots. I'm keeping only certain things from my kids for the future. Who even knows if they'll need them? I kept a few special books and some special toys (like Playmobil) and that's it. I've stored them properly away and we'll see what happens with them. We save artwork for a year and then we go through it and pick only a special few pieces which I then store in special boxes I created for them. Like this one: http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2010/11/school-paperwork-storage.html My Mom and I made a pact that this year we were going to get organized and help each other achieve it. That's been the best decision ever! It's so much better doing these projects with help. An outside eye that can help you make decisions and move forward. We tackled my lower landing which had become a catch all for stuff and my basement laundry room. My laundry room was new as part of our basement refinish and it's very large. It has a huge table in the middle on castors (ala Martha Stewart) and the kids and I can do crafts here, I wrap gifts here and fold laundry. It too had "caught" stuff and wasn't being utilized as I had intended. Anywho ... two full days of purging and cleaning ... one car load of stuff taken away to charity ... and they both look wonderful! I still have a few items in the laundry room that have significant value so I'm taking them to consignment this week and I have some laundry to work through. When we built the room, I had it wired for a wall mount tv so I'm finally going to get that set up. I'm excited about the possibilities now! I lie in bed at night thinking of what the next project will be. I have hope that finally this house will get in order. I think I may take your advice and hire a cleaning lady to keep things clean while I focus on getting things in order. Even if I just do it for this year, I think it would help a lot. I'm excited for my kids. I want them to grow up in organization and know how to do it for themselves when the time comes. I really think for some (like me) it's a skill you need to learn. It doesn't come naturally. I'll keep checking in to see how you're doing as I keep forging forward myself. My next project is at my mom's house. We are tackling her kitchen. She's already been out and bought some Oxo containers for her pantry and some other handy organizing pieces. We're going to whip her kitchen into shape! Best of luck! Looking forward to hearing how you accomplish your goals.