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Cleaning up - before and after

Don't you love before-and-after shots?  I do.  Doesn't seem to matter much what the subject is...home decor, personal make-overs, building demolition, whatever.  I like seeing the  transformation.  So today I took before and after shots as I was cleaning the kids' room.



When I was in the hospital getting my gallbladder out, my in-laws stayed here with the kids.  The house was spotless when I came home.  You know how some things are a blessing in disguise?  Well, (sadly) this turned out to be a curse in disguise.  Everything was put away out of sight, but nothing was where it belongs.  (Which is very sad because my in-laws lived with us for 9 months and it's not like I keep stuff in different places from when they lived here.)  I got the kitchen in order pretty quickly out of necessity.  Where on earth did she stash that colander?  Aw man! I can't put the pitcher away until I put the pan where it belongs...oh, the bowls are where the pan goes!  But the toys have just been shoved in any ol' where and still needed to be sorted and put into their proper places.  It's not so hard to keep things basically neat when everything has a place (and not everything is allowed to be gotten out at the same time)!



Yes, I stashed the baby in a box while I worked.  He was quite content to just "read" a book and wriggle as long as he could still see me.  That and gnaw on his fingers -- his new favorite pastime.  When hubby came home I made him let me vacuum while I could still see the floor!  I really need to finish the wall hanging I have cut out and get it up over Miss M's bed.  If only the weather would warm up (and stay dry!), I'd paint her peg shelf and get it up too.



Tada!  It's the best room in the house!

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