When I tell people what I do for a living, I’m often asked “So is your house perfect?” The answer is no, it’s not. Far from it. My husband is a… well… let’s just say he has an inclination to save things (more on that later …). I have two little kids, and all the stuff that goes along with them. I myself, while committed to keeping my possessions limited and in the “useful/necessary” or “sparks joy” categories, am not a minimalist. And, life happens. Things get messy. Stuff gets put back in the wrong place. Systems that once worked sometimes fail and need to be reevaluated and revamped. Our circumstances and needs change, so our space needs to change along with them.
For me, one of those moments is fast approaching. And it’s not making space for the new toys from Christmas or figuring out a better system for incoming paperwork. It’s getting my house ready for two more babies. Yup, as it turns out, twin boys are going to arrive in June and this changes, well, pretty much everything about my space.
I live in a modest 1,700 square foot Cape with three bedrooms, a partially finished basement, a two-car garage, and two small bathrooms. It’s not a big house, but has felt plenty roomy for my family thus far. We even have a guest room, since my four- and two-year-old boys share and we like to have space for grandmothers when they visit to help with childcare. I’ve had the luxury of overflowing my own things into the guest room closet since my own is quite small, and also using it as a linen closet since there isn’t one in our hallway. Well, come June (or sooner!), bye-bye guest room! Every corner of my house, every aspect of how my family functions and what we need and use on a day-to-day basis is about to change.
From the challenge of linens with no linen closet to transforming my basement from a man-town/office to a guest room/play room to making space for another car (minivan, here I come!), there are almost no corners, closets, or nooks and crannies in my house that will go untouched. And even though I do this for a living, I will admit that working in one’s own space is different. As an organizer, looking at someone’s space with a fresh set of eyes is one of our biggest luxuries. It’s harder to see alternatives and solutions in space that you use day-in and day-out. That said, I am going to have to put on my professional hat and start, room-by-room and closet-by-closet, to make real changes that will allow for two more little people to join my household. It’s going to be overwhelming and it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be rewarding too, but most importantly, it’s going to be a learning opportunity. I fully expect that along the way I’ll pick up some new tricks and tips and be able to get myself into the minds of my clients a little bit more. So stay tuned! I’ll be chronicling this adventure in the weeks and months to come. I hope you’ll read along as my ever-growing belly (better do the heavy lifting early on) and I get a little crazy here at 247 Main Street!