this wasn't in the plan |but life is still pretty good

Today I took the boys to a Valentine's Day party at a lady's house that is in my MOMS Club. I had never been to her house before and I loved it. The floor plan was perfect, it was wonderfully decorated and everything seemed to have its place. It was almost enough to make me abandon all my attempts to save money and go out and buy neat things for my house, or at least get sad that spending on our house isn't really part of our current plan. Instead, I tried to focus on how I could improve my house without spending every last penny of that tax refund that should be in my bank account any day now.

I loved how everything had a place, so I thought of the areas in my house where everything doesn't have a place. That would be the computer desk. I really need to try and keep it cleared off and designate a place for everything (and not forget that the trash can is always an option). And as I was working on that tonight, I realized everything pretty much does have a place, I just rarely put it there.

Her kitchen was amazing, there was so much counter space! So, how can I create some more space? I'm going to try and move the microwave. It's currently right by the stove, and I often find myself wishing I had more space right there. So I'll move it to another spot and see if that helps.

She clearly had some kid free zones. She has twin boys (who are 18 months old) and used gates to keep them in the play areas. At first I thought maybe this was just to keep all the kids in one spot while she had company, but then I noticed a low bookshelf full of books in one of the kid-free areas. From what I know about these little boys, there's no way they'd keep them there if they were allowed to play in that room. Awhile ago, I started a rule about no toys in the living room. It works as long as I enforce it and I've become quite lax about that.

So to summarize, in lieu of buying out Target and ordering a bunch of new furniture, I'll work with what I've got - a fabulous house - and keep my computer desk organized and clean, move my microwave to create an illusion of more counter space and enforce the no toys in the living room rule so I can have a neat front room to make a great first impression to others and myself. I know these things will help me feel better about my house and curb my case of House Envy.

Photo from everystockphoto.com