9 Tips for Styling Your Home

I finished reading Joanna Gaines' 'Home Body' a couple days ago and I'm itching to get my hands on more projects around the house. I have plans to lay brick on the floor in our mudroom...shiplap a couple of random walls in the dining room...and hang an antique sliding door on a metal track between our bedroom/master bathroom.

But because it's winter and the shiplap I want to use is currently attached to the walls in our long garage...I'm stuck waiting until spring and I don't even know what to do with this new dose of February motivation. I've found myself wandering around the house in search of the next project to tackle.

So I've been styling and re-styling and swapping and editing basically every surface of our house because it's something I can do without spending any (more) money and without ever leaving the house. It all started with this antique hutch that sweet Josh Boersma let me purchase last week from JB Knacker (can I get some #praisehands for a husband who likes old stuff?!)...that combined with finishing Joanna's book, and it's kind of spiraled out of control from there. The whole time I was reading I just kept nodding along, 'yes, yes, yes...this is what I do! YES!' and I felt like a few of my little tips deserved a post.

In the past year, the styling process hasn't been an easy one for me...being in a new house with different (larger) spaces and new furniture to work with has been fun but also kind of frustrating at times. I still don't like how the top of the piano looks and I'm tempted to employ Rule #4 and dump everything on the floor and start again after I finish writing this.

First...keep it simple. Aside from Christmas, we keep things very simple in all rooms of our house. Nothing cluttering up the table (not even a centerpiece!), the counters, the buffet...nothing on end tables except lamps. This way, the focal points in the space really get their moment to shine and rooms don't feel 'overdone.' Filling every inch of wall space and every nook to the brim with decor is super overwhelming visually.

Second...let things evolve over time. The styling process is never really 'done' for me. I'm constantly moving and adjusting and playing with everything until I'm sure I love it and then in a few months I change it all again (part of this is due to my love for seasonal decor). Sometimes I just need to live with the mantle for a couple days before I can decide if I love it or hate it.

Third...don't be afraid to take risks. It's your house so you can do whatever you want, regardless of what you see in books or magazines. Those places are great for finding inspiration, but then walk away and find your own creativity. I've never once decorated a space in our house while staring at a picture on Instagram or Pinterest. I might reference a picture if I'm stuck, but even that is rare.

Fourth...if you're struggling, clear everything away and start over. Even if you really like one shelf out of the four on the bookcase, I always have way more luck when I start with a 'blank canvas.' It allows for different combinations of things and when it's all laid out I can see everything I have to work with. It's hard to keep the creative momentum going when half the stuff is decorated on a shelf and only the 'rejects'  are left on the floor.

Fifth...filling your space with more stuff shouldn't be the goal. You don't want your house to feel like you went and just bought the whole store. Any time a shelf or a mantle starts to feel too full and cluttery, I know I need to pull back and edit some things out. I'm sure my level of 'clutter' is very different from others'...for me it means I'm always walking that line between creating warm, cozy, inviting spaces, and overwhelming rooms filled with too-much-decor.

Sixth...take your time. I look at decorating and styling as more of a process that involves a lot of collecting and thoughtful purchases...all done a little at a time. Going to the store to buy the matching rug/couch/end tables/coffee table/lamps all laid out for you is easy, but it won't give you the cozy character you're looking for. I've been at this now for ten years and all of our BIG ticket items have been very slowly collected 1. Because things cost money and 2. Because it's given me more time to think-through our needs, figure out what I like, and build the look and style of our home a little at a time.

Seventh...start loving the layered look. If you're looking for cozy, I promise you layers are the way to go. Try and use lots of different finishes and textures...some old stuff you've collected and some new stuff you've snagged at the One Spot. Throw in old books or take the dust jackets off your favorite books and start stacking. Add some candles, family pictures, seasonal greenery or flowers and my favorite, antique mirrors and frames. This gives shelves, mantels and walls so much more depth than just hanging a centered picture and walking away. It's not right for every surface (seeing this on all four walls in a room would be TOO MUCH) but it can add so much unique character to a space when it's done well.

Eighth...collect items that reflect your family's personality. For us, this means mixing vintage platters with whiskey bottles on the shelf above our kitchen cabinets. Or displaying old farm accounting and record books alongside interior design textbooks. In our basement I'm hanging old black and white pictures of our hometowns and also our favorite places to visit (Waco, Galena, and Twin Lakes are the three that make the list). I hung the top of a galvanized silo straight on to the wall in our basement...because I could. Combining the unique interests of every family member and translating that into home decor is a challenge but I really think that's what makes a house a home. 

It's also a great conversation-starter when you get it right ('What's that big thing on your wall?' 'It's the top of some kind of silo/bin thing I found in the garage outside, hosed off, drilled holes, and hung on the wall.')

Ninth...loosely pay attention to trends. When the stores told me blush was going to be in style full force, I decided to love it as clothing, not as an ottoman. I try not to get too swept up in what's new on Instagram or the shelves at Target because that's exactly what they want. Figure out what you TRULY LOVE before buying into trend after trend after trend. I love gray. I love how it's warm but also neutral. I love that gray furniture hides literally everything. I love the way 50 shades of gray can somehow match each other without even trying. I know what I love, therefore I don't need anyone to tell me what's in and what's out.

Phew. That was long but I hope it was helpful to someone in some way. It's ANOTHER snow day, so I'm off to cuddle up on the couch with a book and my coffee. Also probably some cookie dough.

MmB

Overnight Guests.

I thought I'd post a crash-course for how I handle such frequent overnight guests. We tend to end up with overnight guests at random, often, and at times overlapping one another. Parents one night, out-of-town friends the next...

To me it rarely feels burdensome...if ever. Because the thing is, I PREFER my people wake up under my roof. Something about it feels homier, cozier and just...right. It's how friends become family and how family becomes TIGHT. In the early days of dating and being married to Josh, I loved staying up unreasonably late with his siblings and then stumbling out to the kitchen together in the morning, searching for coffee and breakfast...lounging and 'waking up' together until we'd all lounged for too long and it was a mad dash to get ready for and race to church.

Of course there are times when I've stacked too many things back-to-back, and I request my dad's help making all the beds in the house and my mom's help loading the dishwasher, but sometimes being the host is all about asking for help and delegating tasks...which is something I seem to do pretty well, as my sister can attest.

Here are a few of the ways I adapted to make hosting overnight guests simple and fun...this way I'm always ready for a drop-in (or six, as was the case on Friday night).

I keep our house consistently, 'generally' clean. I have a clean 'standard,' and what I mean by that is our house is more 'picked up' than it is clean. I haven't seen the top of my fridge in a year, so I can't say that each corner is perfectly CLEAN, but when people drop by, they aren't looking at the top of my fridge...they walk in and see clutter-free countertops, a clean dining room table, and coats hung on hooks...to me this instantly makes our home inviting and naturally encourages pulling up a chair to the island and hanging out for an hour or four (as was also the case on Friday, prior to the aforementioned six extra house guests).

I make sure bed linens and guest towels are conveniently located and are always washed and replenished following an overnight stay. We own at least two sheet-sets per bed (more like three because each bed needs a set of Christmas/winter sheets, obvi) and sheets and towels are stored in our biggest guest bedroom closet in the basement. This is also where I keep tons of extra blankets; six extra pillows for use on the sleeper sofa, sectional, and for when cousins need to sleep on the floor; and Mav's Baby Bjorn Travel Crib usually stays set up inside this large closet so our littlest guests can sleep near their parents but still have their own 'room.' If guests offer, my answer is always a 'yes' to stripping the bed. Another 'YES PLEASE' if they offer to bring their towels and sheets upstairs to the laundry room. No need to be a hero.

I pay attention to the details. People who aren't here often usually need to ask for the wifi password, so I keep it written on a small chalkboard in the guest bedroom. People tend to forget things like toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other toiletries like deodorant or face wash...I make sure I have a big jar loaded with a variety of male and female-scented/style travel-size toiletries for guests to help themselves to. I also make sure there are full bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash (again, boy/girl scents) in both bathrooms for people to use because honestly, those are the things I typically forget when traveling. I keep a pretty tray tucked on a shelf inside that big guest bedroom closet, ready to pull out when we're expecting overnight guests...it has six bottles of water, some of my favorite books, snacks like Gardetto's, Cliff bars, and that big jar of toiletries.

I had gotten that tray out when we hosted 13 people for Boersma family Christmas and one of Josh's brothers asked if he was 'allowed' to eat one of the Cliff bars...when I replied, 'yes, that's what it's there for dingus,' he exclaimed, 'I love it at your house, you have the best snacks!' And right there, mission accomplished. I want everyone to feel welcome, to feel loved, but I also want it to be convenient because with that many people under our roof, ease is a priority. In this case, it was buying a box of Cliff bars in bulk from Sam's Club.

When I think about 'going home' to Manson, I usually throw sweats in a bag and skip most toiletries, except my makeup...because it's home. I know my mom will have the bathroom and kitchen stocked and there's something effortless about being at home. I want my house to feel the same way, but for everyone who walks through the door, not just our parents and siblings.

I shamelessly utilize paper products and frozen pizzas. There is a time and a place for real plates and fancy china, both of which I love to use! But that place is Christmas dinner and Easter brunch and dinner parties...not a casual Friday night with cousins ponied up to the island. One weekend this summer we had all of Josh's family here for a 36 hour bender that just kept lasting, until everyone was standing in the kitchen on Sunday at 9pm devouring leftovers from the weekend. When I opened the cupboard Monday morning, I realized we'd eaten our way through more than FIFTY PAPER PLATES. In one weekend. That is way more dishes than I care to stand at the counter and wash, missing out on everything else that's happening in the meantime. From that point on, I've made sure to keep plastic cups, plastic spoons + forks, paper plates, bowls, and napkins, all bought in bulk and stored in an easy-to-access location.

Prep meals in advance as much as humanly possible. This is partly because I don't like people to watch how awkward I am in the kitchen, and partly because I don't like standing over the stove frantically cooking as people are walking in the door. It's always my goal to be standing by our island with drinks and apps ready, greeting people as they come in, instead of rushing around Martha-style. My go-to meals for large amounts of people/overnight guests are:

Any kind of soup in a crock-pot
Lasagna
Sweet potato hash
Spaghetti
Taco bar
Egg bake
Scrambled eggs + bacon

I've found these kinds of meals avoid that frantic rushing. If you're better in the kitchen than I am and you like actively cooking and ALSO actively entertaining while toddlers are running around and husbands are hauling their guns up from the basement to show to your guests...then great. I am not.

I'm always thinking of creative ways to use the space we have and make things more comfy for our people. I got really good at doing this in our old (much smaller house) and some of the same challenges still exist here...though I have a lot more room to work with. I have plans to add another queen bed to our basement this spring. I'll throw another package of gray washcloths in my cart the next time they're on sale because it always seems like we're running out. I'm going to buy a bunch of cheap flip-flops when they hit the shelves at Wal-Mart this spring to keep by our downstairs door to the hot tub, because even when people remember to bring their suit, they almost always forget flip-flops and having a bunch handy seems like something guests would appreciate and enjoy.

I noticed people have silently insisted on standing in the kitchen, no matter how many other spaces we have for hanging out, so I bought a rustic bench and placed it underneath the window to embrace and encourage what was already happening. I'm finally learning that there's just something about a kitchen...the same thing was true at our old house. Hours would slip by and pretty soon people would be pulling extra chairs around the tiny island, sitting atop counters, and sitting on the floors leaning up against the cupboards...not the most comfortable place (in my opinion) but I love that friends, family, random guests have always felt comfortable DOING this. Some of my best memories happened in the kitchen at our old house, long before it was 'pretty.' Golden cupboards, mauve, stained carpet, and awkward lighting didn't stop people from hanging out and I LOVE THAT. And over time it's sort of become my life's work.

Last fall we hosted a group of four Pastor's who were here for a conference at Cornerstone and it was like my Olympics for hosting. Not that I was obsessed with 'impressing' because they were a bunch of dudes...but having family and friends here is easy. Having strangers sleep and eat under our roof, as the Bible specifically explains, is the real definition of hospitality...and it was something that had me really excited to practice. I carefully made the beds to perfection...each sleeping area was outfitted with two towels, the wifi password, reading material, and a Salt Co. mug for each pastor to take as a little token of their trip to Ames, Iowa. I borrowed my mother-in-law's Keurig and set up the table at the bottom of our stairs with tons of options for K-Cups, breakfast bars, fruit...stuff that was easy for them to grab-and-go.I made sure they had everything they needed in the basement so they didn't feel awkward about coming upstairs to ask for water or snacks...and guess what. Once I picked them up at church both nights at 9pm...we all spent the next 2+ hours IN THE KITCHEN.

So those are my best tips for hosting overnight guests and making it as easy on myself as possible. Don't get me wrong, there is a considerable amount of extra work that naturally goes along with doing 2-5 extra loads of laundry each week due to weekend guests, but it's sort of just become a rhythm for this house. Maverick wakes up most mornings and asks, 'who's comin' over today, mom?' and I love that.

There's always a group to prep an egg bake for or a party to clean the bathrooms for or a playdate to make a full pot of coffee for...and I absolutely love that this is how I get to spend my life, extra loads of laundry and all.

MmB

Soup Recipe for Snow Day #831: White Chicken Chili

I started reading Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist yesterday and it put me in the mood for some (air quote this) 'cooking.' By that I mean I was weirdly in the mood to prep supper for tonight and tomorrow night, which is not a feeling I ever have.

Snow days either make me SUPER productive or SUPER lazy. There is no in between. Turns out today is a productive snow day.

Even though Shauna would probably DIE at me saying her book spurred me on to open some cans to throw in a crock pot for soup on this cozy snow day...it's just what happened. 

I started at 10:30 and finished cooking + all the clean-up at 1:30 and THAT IS WHY I DON'T COOK REAL THINGS IN THE KITCHEN. Goodness. It did, however, help me avoid showering...which as you may notice based on the fact that I'm currently writing this blog post...I am still putting that off.

Side note: Making this white chicken chili did NOT take me three hours. Prepping sweet potato hash for tomorrow night, making the chili, and then cutting up the rest of the chicken breasts in the package to be bagged and thrown in the freezer is what took three hours total. This chili should take 30 minutes or less to throw together.

I double the recipe every time I make this, and it does a good job filling the crock pot...so that's how I'll write it here...plus, leftovers. And honestly, this stuff is better on Day 2.

2 packages of cream cheese (use light if you want to feel less bad)

2 cans of corn (drained)

2 cans of black beans (drain one, keep one)

1 can of Rotel 

1 can of diced tomatoes
1/2 onion

Package of taco seasoning

Package of ranch seasoning

3 decent-sized chicken breasts, cubed

Jamie told me I did this out of order, but I'll tell you something, it all ends up the same...so I do what's easiest.

Open everything and start dumping.

That's it. 

You can cube the cream cheese so it will melt easier, but because mine was going to be crock-potting for most of the day, I just threw both blocks in and locked the lid. I also found an awkward, mostly-empty, bottle of ranch in the fridge and dumped that in too. Why are there always three half-empty bottles of ranch in my fridge?!

Add chili powder if you'd like more of a kick! I prefer to set out a few different heat-levels of chili powder so people can shake what they want into their own bowl. This way everyone wins and no one is complaining it's too spicy.

If I'm making it in the morning, the medium setting on the crock pot seems to work just fine. If I'm nervous about the chicken cooking in time for 6:00 supper because I haven't gotten it together early enough, I use the high setting.

Tonight I'll serve with guac + 'hint of lime' tortilla chips. Probably also a marg. It's Mexican food in super-easy soup form...if you don't support this, we can't be friends.

MmB

Interview with Maverick 3.0

Well I officially registered our PRESCHOOLER for 5-days-a-week preschool in the fall and I can't believe how big our buddy is getting. He knows so much stuff. He tells me about the stuff he knows all. day. long. It's become abundantly clear in the past 2-3 months that he is going to be READY FOR SCHOOL. I appreciate that it's so obvious with him. He is tired of me all day every day, and while he's always been an excellent independent-player, he's gotten super restless and crotchety and irrigated that I don't spend every day playing WITH him lately (which has never been the way we roll in this house). He'd go to preschool tomorrow if I'd let him because all he talks about is his red school and going to preschool to play with trains and see animals. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be a fairly seamless transition.

So every once in awhile during breakfast I take some time to "interview" him and record his answers for the fun of it. And to help me document and remember everything about this toddler-stage. I need to get better questions...he answers them faster than I can think of what to ask next! But we're working on names, where everyone lives, and details about where Mav lives.

He told me yesterday he misses his townhouse and that he'd like to go back there and I told him we couldn't because new friends live there...so we looked at pictures of our townhouse together and I wanted to cry a little. He's so smart and I can't believe everything he remembers!


What's your favorite toy?
McQueen Truck.

What's your favorite food?
Crunchies and granola bar and bandit and McQueen and cups.

What street do you live on?
Thiessen's Street.

What town do you live in?
Ankeny, Iowa? Glory to God!

What town does Nana live in?
Ankeny stoop.

Where do we take our cars to be fixed?
To Schaffer's.

Where do we go to church?
Get donuts?

Where does G'ma and G'pa Manson live?
Manson! And G'pa lives in his work too and so does G'ma.
My house is close to my friends' house! Close to Beckett's house!

What is your favorite show?
Paw Patrol.

What's your favorite place to go?
The nail place. And turn on Paw Patrol.

What do you like to do outside?
Eat snow!

What's your favorite song to sing?
Bob Tomato song and Polar Express song.

I'm so excited to see all the new things he learns and accomplishes and tries this year!

MmB

On how I was 'Marie Kondo-ing' before Marie Kondo was

Are you as obsessed with this tiny adorable Asian lady as much as I am? I binge-watched her first season on Netflix in about three afternoons, and then I forced it on Jamie and Josh. Her tips are brilliant, and even though the 'greeting the house' stuff and 'thanking your items' before getting rid of them is a little wacky, she's a straight-up genius when it comes to organizing literal mountains of clutter.

But I feel like I need to say a thing.

I was posting about all of her tips YEARS AGO. 

I'm not bitter about it, because she's helping an entire nation declutter the crap they don't need. In fact I am cheering her on. But as I was using her tips and enthusiasm for myself at the beginning of 2019, I felt compelled to re-write some of my greatest organizing tips, which seem to be a healthy mixture of Marie-Kondo and Emily Ley.

Marie Kondo  + Emily Ley = Mollie Boersma

So here they are:

Tackle one room at a time, one drawer at a time, working systematically through the entire house. It's so easy to get side-tracked when organizing...you realize there are batteries mixed in with cotton balls in the same drawer in the bathroom, and suddenly you're in the kitchen organizing the junk drawer because you were returning the batteries to their rightful place. Fight this urge. It means there will be a monumental mess for a few days while you're working, but it makes everything so much easier in the long run. As you make your way through the house, you arrive at the next room/drawer/closet, ready to work because you've been collecting things to organize once you reach that place. 

Make multiple, detailed lists as you work through each space. Keep your phone or notebook with you so you can be adding random items to your Wal-Mart/Target list; making a list of things you need from Lowe's; or adding unfinished projects to your goals for the year. By the end of my week I had a full cart in my Wal-Mart Pickup app...things like Chlorox Wipes, Command Strips, hand soap, diaper wipes, printer paper, and pens. Stuff that tends to be forgotten week after week, but stuff you actually really need. It felt so good to start the year off this way.

Don't try and deep clean + declutter at the same time. This will just set you up for complete failure. Instead, as you're organizing, make a deep cleaning list to revisit in the spring when you've designated a week (or weeks) to your Amazing Spring Cleaning Week of 2019. I like to get hyped and buy special cleaning gloves and make detailed lists of every single little thing I plan to clean (ie: sweep floors, dust floors, mop floors...lots of things mean lots of checking off, which equal lots of motivation!). I keep the week's schedule empty, grab extra-fun snacks for Mav, and plan on a lot of TV time if that's what's necessary to accomplish a good spring cleaning. I do one room at a time, one day at a time and it involves things like taking a Q-tip to the tiny crevices on the stovetop. Make sure you have a good book on Audible and your fave podcasts locked and loaded. 

When the organizing mood hits, take full advantage of it...even if it's midnight on a Wednesday. For me, this always happens in the first few weeks of the new year. I'm stuck in limbo between wanting to keep Christmas up and the new toys out while we laze-our days away...vs. snap into organizing and cleaning and list-making to ring in the new year. This year I opted for a mixture of the two. I felt better about taking Christmas down when our drawers and closets were in order and all the new toys had found a home. It actually went so much faster this way...and I did it when I was in the mood, even though I didn't wake up planning to start the organizing overhaul. When it hits, go with it.

Just suck it up and do it all. Organize the apps on your phone, delete unnecessary stuff, clear your homescreen. Make the pile to donate and then PUT THE BAG IN YOUR CAR AND TAKE IT THERE RIGHT AWAY. Go through the disgusting stuff at the bottom of your purse. That thing you've been putting off because it's annoying and gross and not fun (for me this was hauling old light fixture boxes from our renovation that we'd saved, outside and then to the burn pile), do it all and you will FEEL SO GOOD IT'S DONE.

Don't buy any totes/tools/bins/baskets until you've organized everything and taken an inventory of what you might actually need. This is a cardinal rule for Emily Ley, and it's one of the hardest for me...because I'm no rookie to the decluttering scene. I generally know when I need another tote or two for storing Mav's clothes or to corral the stuff I added to my Christmas collection...part of me likes to START the project with everything I need to accomplish it. BUT it's good to dive in, get the momentum started instead of blindly going to the store and buying cute drawer dividers and totes without knowing what you need.

Final rule: NEED, USE, LOVE. If it doesn't fall into one of those categories, it's SELL, TRASH, DONATE.

And in case you find yourself needing more motivation, for your reading pleasure from the archives:

Declutter: Need, Use, Love

How I Keep Maverick (and all of his crap) Organized

House Organization: A Love Story

12 Organizing Commandments

It's not like there's anything else to do when it's this cold outside so we might as well have clean and organized houses, since this is where we will be trapped for another month.

MmB