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Spring Cleaning & Recent Home Purchases

Thursday, March 8, 2018

It's amazing how different I begin to feel when it warms up! I really don't feel like myself when it's cold. The warm sun makes me feel alive! One way I know that's true, is that at the first sign of spring I start to feel the need to spring clean. Our spring started really early this year! It was downright hot the second weekend in February. (Although the temperatures seemed to level out again, and we are back down to the 70s/40s.) 

Since my BIG declutter in 2016 I really don't have a ton of stuff anymore. In fact, I hadn't really purchased anything decor wise for our house in a long time. When I got my new letterboard I did swap a few things around to give it a perfect home. That also inspired me to swap out our living room throw pillows for the ones in our office. Just that simple act of rearranging a few things made our house feel fresher! (And I ended up finding a trunk load more of things to donate!) 

Let's Stay Home
When we were in Lowes last month, I couldn't resist this adorable "Let's Stay Home" sign. It's meant to look like painted wood, and I've had a few guests think it was something I whipped up myself. I can't seem to find it on Lowe's website, but if you love the sentiment as much as I do, Amazon has some great options

Let's Stay Home Sign // Pugs & Pearls Blog

The Shed
So, we have an abnormally huge shed. It's really more of a workshop, but it also houses our laundry room and has plenty of room for our ping pong table. Yeah, it's that big. When Blake bought the house, there was actually a kitchenette and bed out there-someone was living in it! 

The shed has sort of been neglected. When I started moving in, we spent a whole weekend gutting it and cleaning it out because I had the grand idea of making it an art studio. It needed the clean out, but I quickly realized we should be spending our energy and money on the inside of the house first! Since then it's been a catch all. We did drywall and finish the laundry room/ping pong table half, so that looks decent. The other half houses all of our tools, yard equipment and odds and ends. I would show pictures, but you know-robbers. 

For our anniversary, Blake's gift from me was a new tool box he had been eyeing for months. It's actually beautiful in person, and he had a blast sorting his tool collection. It sort of inspired a complete declutter/organization of the whole shed. It turned out SO nice. It's still a shed, but I don't get the heebie-jeebies out there anymore. 

We found some RANDOM stuff in the shed. Including a box of Blake's childhood stuff. Trophies, pez dispensers, and legos just to name a few. My niece and nephews loved seeing some new stuff in their toy bin here at our house. A lot of the stuff had to be tossed, but most of it came clean enough to have a new life. 

This nail organizer was such a game changer! We have quite the collection because of DIY projects. Now it's all sorted out and we are ready for our next project. 

Garage Organization // Pugs & Pearls Blog

Garage Organization // Pugs & Pearls Blog

My New Garden
If you would have told me 10 years ago that I'd be growing a garden, I'd laugh. I was raised in the city, so when I first moved here and all the people I met had gardens I felt left out! I had a pretty successful garden the first year we were married. It was just a rectangle, with 2x4s as the frame. There were lots of problems with that garden, namely that it was too shallow and that it got in the way of mowing the yard. 

This time we were going to do it right! We followed this tutorial, which we actually found very confusing. They say "I'm making two tables so you won't need this many [boards]" but then proceed to give us the correct amount of boards. Anyways, we managed! 

This thing is SOLID. It isn't going anywhere, especially now that it's filled with dirt. I'm growing tomatoes, bell peppers, lettuce, and some herbs. We will see how it goes! I'm out of practice. 

It's killing me that the rest of the yard needs attention. We have 2 large oak trees on one side of our house that drop leaves every spring. It's absolutely pointless to do anything until that's over with. I hate when everything is brown! I can't wait for everything to come back. 

Raised Garden Bed // Pugs & Pearls Blog

Raised Garden Bed // Pugs & Pearls Blog

Color Printer and Paper Cutter
Alright, you know how excited I get about office supplies! I'm not sure how we made it this long without a color printer. I'm obsessed! We also bought some photo paper, and I've really enjoyed printing out some new photos to hang up around the house. (Again, it's those little things that refresh a space!) 

I replaced the prints in the frames on the shelves in the guest room with some photos from the beach trip we took in 2014. That was one of my favorite trips! It was a close tie with some pictures from  our Jamaican honeymoon, but that's the cool part, I can easily do that if I want to later on.  

 Canon Color Printer // Pugs & Pearls Blog

Guest Room // Pugs & Pearls Blog

So, I've also been dabbling in invitations. I made the invitations for my sister's baby shower, and I also just made one for our congregation fish fry. It's been SO fun to do. But, a paper cutter is essential!! I don't know how I lived without one. 

Invitation Inspiration // Pugs & Pearls Blog

Car Diffuser
I kind of felt silly buying this, but I love it so much I'm glad I did. Groupon has this great diffuser that fits perfectly in your car's cup holder. I love diffusing peppermint in the car because it helps keep me awake and headache free. This one also comes with a regular power cord so you can plug it in inside. I brought it into the kitchen when I accidentally burned (or is it burnt?) something!

Essential Oil Car Diffuser // Pugs & Pearls Blog

Roomba!
I may have never wanted anything more in my entire life! My parents, grandparents and siblings all went in to buy us a Roomba for our anniversary! With 3 pugs, you do a lot of floor maintenance. I was sweeping basically every day. I pride myself in having a home that doesn't look or smell like dogs live there. 

This could not be more perfect. Roomba has a schedule, and our floors are always cleaned before we get home. It's legitimately life changing. Bailey and Delly don't really pay attention to it, but Winston still barks at it occasionally. He's a mess. 

By the way, everyone I know who has one of these gives it a name. We went with DJ Roomba because of Parks & Rec. :)

Roomba // Pugs & Pearls Blog

Roomba // Pugs & Pearls Blog

Props to you if you stayed until the end! I am obviously long winded when it comes to cleaning and organizing. It's something that I'm actually passionate about. Hopefully as it warms up some more, we can get some stuff done in the yard and I can continue minimizing our home!

Leave a comment below if you are as crazy as me and actually love spring cleaning! Let me know what projects you've got in the works!
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20 comments

  1. You are inspiring me so much with all your spring cleaning! With all my traveling my house is a wreck and I need some of your motivation!

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    1. Aw! That's a main reason I share this kind of thing. It always motivates me when I see others getting stuff done!

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  2. I can't wait for the weather to warm up! And I would love to get a roomba...but I think our dog would be terrified of it!

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    1. It definitely took a few days, maybe even a week, for one of our dogs to quit barking at it. It's funny how a lot of dogs hate the vacuum!

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  3. I'm SO happy you're saying something about the Roomba! We have a black lab that sheds CONSTANTLY but I've often wondered if it's worth buying. Does it go over rugs easily? Have you had any issues? Would love to know more!

    Katherine | www.oneswainkycouple.com

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    1. I can't say enough good things about it! Our transitions from carpet, rugs and our hard floors really easily. It does get stuck under the bench in our bedroom-but it comes with a pretty neat laser device that you can place anywhere which will stop the Roomba from going any further. It is awesome for dog hair. You still need to do you typical weekly cleaning, because it obviously can't get behind the toilet, or in other corners, but it absolutely makes a huge difference day to day. Let me know if you have other questions!

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  4. My mom has a roomba and it doesn't work well AT ALL. But I've heard good thing about them recently. (Hers is very old.) I've been curious about them since we have two dogs, lol.
    I LOVE your elevated garden!! I need something like that. I told K I was starting a garden at this house and I was thinking just a raised bed... but that table garden is AWESOME!! Now I need to convince him to build me this...
    I love that sign for your living room!

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    1. I think they've made huge strides in the last few years! We've had a really great experience so far, and so have the people we know who have them. (I asked!) It's so helpful for keeping up with the dog hair!
      And thank you so much! This table is so much better than a raised bed. It hits at about my waist, so zero strain! Let me know if you make one! I'd love to see.

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  5. That sign you got from Lowe's is so cute. I need to get that nail organizer for my husband asap! We have a Roomba too and it has helped out so much! Mine doesn't have the app or the timer but it gets the job done. I also love how your invitations have turned out! Sierra~Beautifully Candid

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    1. Thank you Sierra! Sounds like you need a trip to Lowes! We spend a pretty decent amount of money there, haha.
      So glad to you hear you love your Roomba too! It seems like a lot of people are curious about them.

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  6. Wow you've been busy! I love your Let's Stay Home sign, that statement is so true to me! And your shed space looks so useful. I can't wait to get a big house with a shed so my fiancé could have some space for his tools. Your invitations are so pretty! Well done!

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    1. It is very useful! Huge, but great for storage and it's a nice workspace too if it's raining outside. Homeownership has its perks! Thanks for reading Kim!

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  7. I just love a spring clean post! I am super impressed how organised your shed is - WOW. Love the Let's Stay Home sign - we are proper home birds too so I relate to the sentiment (also the one about office supplies - I got excited with Leslie in P&R when she got a highlighter that was several colours in one - ha!). I LOVE the Roomba! Had never heard of that before - what a life saver that must be (our house is a pet hair haven too) - got look into that more - it could revolutionise my life thanks to you! Your invites are really great BTW! Hoping your weather is staying good and you are having a super week-end - J x

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    1. Thank you as always! You made me smile so big when you said I could revolutionise your life! That's exactly why I started a blog. I wanted to share tips and cool stuff that has improved my life-and I thought maybe it could help others too! You're the best!

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  8. Love that shed space it sounds amazing. Makes me wish we weren't in a condo and could have a extra space like that. Everyone has been getting a roomba lately. I'm becoming more and more interested the more I hear about them.

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    1. Thank you Betsy! I agree, I think a lot of people have jumped on the Roomba bandwagon recently. But for totally good reason! I love mine so much!

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  9. So jealous! I have SO much spring cleaning I have to do, but I've had zero motivation. I have a Roomba but just a heads up, the battery life sucks in them. My mom purchased mine (which I inherited) in 2012 and there's been a cumulative total of 10 battery purchases (at $100 each) and a complete replacement due to an issue with the battery. However, I must admit, they're fantastic with animal hair!

    Felicity | http://oliverandmoose.com

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  10. Clearly I am behind in blog reading, but I LOVED this post. I have always had pack rat tendencies, but in the last few years, all my "stuff" has been overwhelming and stressing me so I started the process of purging. I have not gotten far, but I love organizing and getting rid of stuff now. I have a long way to go, but you're inspiring!
    My house definitely looks like dogs live in it and it drives me nuts. The dog hair all over the house... UGH! Maybe I should invest in a Roomba!

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  11. I love that "let's stay home" sign! I relate on a spiritual level. And I am so jealous that you have a Roomba!

    ​xx katie // a touch of teal

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  12. I want to grow more herbs and spices (cilantro is top of my list) and that raised garden would be PERFECT for next to my porch!!! Also. Our yard is soooo neglected too, and I feel like we'll never grow grass thanks to our huge dog :(

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Hello!

Hi friends! I'm Kristen, and this is the Life and Style of an early 30's Floridian living the Best Life Ever, with her husband and three pugs. Runner | Avid Reader | Small Shop Owner

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