January Organization... Starting A New Year Off Right.

We moved into our farmhouse over the summer and for the longest time everything was NEW. Nothing needed any deep cleaning, the baseboards were freshly painted, the light fixtures were just hung, the showers were just grouted. It was all just as it should be.....
Fast forward six months after living here, just taking Christmas stuff down, and now my sweet dog Molly is more of an inside dog than originally anticipated and my house needs a good ol fashioned deep cleaning.

What more perfect time of the year to do that than in the dreary month of January. For the next month I will be following this schedule until my house and closets and drawers and woodwork get a little more back to normal.

I'm a list maker, I'm a scheduler. I do better when I have goals that I know I need to get done.

JANUARY'S ORGANIZATIONAL MONTH

 

 

Week of January 3rd:

 

• All bedrooms and closets   

Week of January 10th:

• Bathrooms

Week of January 17th:

• The Kitchen and pantry

Week of January 24th:

• Laundry Room and Craft Closet

Week of January 31st:

• Garage

This is my January goal. Obviously some weeks are easier than others. I am getting my stamina up for the kitchen week. All of those cabinets needs a pretty good wipe down. I've seen everything from some dripped coffee to spaghetti sauce on them.

I'll keep you posted and let you know how it goes week by week. I am almost done with my first week of closets and bedrooms. Let's face it - that was pretty easy. I'll also share a few tips on how I stay organized. So far baskets, baskets, more baskets.

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Christmas in the Country Gift Exchange..... The Gift REVEAL!

The Christmas decorations are down and my house looks bare. I usually dread this time of the year but for some reason this year I am embracing it. It's been another great Christmas but I am ready for 2016 and all that it has to offer. 

One of the the things that filled my December, in addition to Christmas parties and cookie baking was the Christmas in the Country Gift Exchange. It was fun to receive a package in the mail. A package that I didn't have to explain to my farmer as to what it was. :) Just something that someone picked out all for me based on knowledge that she gained from my social media. This year I was blessed to have been matched up to Kellie Gregorich from www.kellieforag.com be sure and check out her awesome blog. She is one of my favorite follows these days. So Kellie - if you are reading this - thank you thank you thank you. 

Such a fun festive PO box and cute bag inside. 

As soon as I opened the box I smelled something so amazing. It was clean and fresh and just so very fragrant. It's currently burning in my laundry room, because as Kellie said in her sweet sweet letter, sometimes farm clothes just stink. :)

Please excuse the not so great photography. I am taking a class this weekend so I hope to learn more about my camera. 

 I love reading the letters that people send. Just so thoughtful and sweet. Kellie even told me to let her know when my bulb burns out our of burner and she would send me a new one. That's just the kind of "good people" that are a part of this exchange. People that you found yourself wishing you lived down the dirt road from, the kind you can share a bottle of wine with or sitting on the front porch and drink glass of tea with. I am certain that if Kellie lived on the next farm over - we would be instant friends.

Twigs and Berries..... It smells like just that.

I am a huge lover of Christmas Ornaments. Every year I love to find the perfect ones to add to the Christmas Tree.  So when I received one from Kellie I was even more excited. She even wrote on the back of it. 

This is a little hanging air freshener. I currently have it on my car. My sweet Golden Retriever Molly rides to work with me everyday.... So to say that my car sometimes needs an air freshener is an understatement. 






As fun as it was to go through and use the gifts I received from Kellie. It was just as much fun getting to know Mindy Young and finding the perfect gifts for her. Monday is a blogger at www.farmfitliving.com. You have to check out her blog, she is such an inspiration. She is pregnant with her second child and completely dedicated to healthy living and fitness. Her Facebook and Instagram posts motivate me daily. SO when I read that Mindy doesn't drink coffee (how can someone not drink coffee) but that she does love hot chocolate. I knew I had to get her the best hot chocolate I could find. Where better than William Sonoma Hot Chocolate. I am sure her and her little girl enjoyed some cups this past Holiday Season. While I was at William Sonoma I came across the best Winter Fir candle. It just smells like Christmas. To see everything I sent her be sure to check out her page. 

I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas and that everyone enjoyed the Exchange. It was so much fun to help co host this year. The relationships that I have made and strengthened this year in the exchange again are just so very rewarding.

Be sure to link up your blog profiles here. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy 2016 Everyone!

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A Very Farmhouse Christmas

I still can not believe that it is January 2016. December was such a blur and while we had alot of really great festivities with friends and family,  it went by entirely too fast.

Last year when we were building this house I pictured Christmas. Where would I put my Christmas tree(s), how would the stockings look hung on the mantel, how would the staircase look drenches in garland, the house outlined in classic white lights and Christmas cards lining doorways. It was every bit of fun decorating the house for Christmas as it was imagining it. 

Take a look at our Farmhouse this Christmas.



Nothing says Christmas like a pair of red Hunter Boots. 



I love this wispy garland.

The tree in my farmers office.

Love Love Love ALL of our Christmas Cards.

I could decorate my whole home with boxwood wreathes and a red satin ribbon. 

This hutch in my kitchen was the best thing to decorate... next to the 4 trees and my staircase. :)

I got these little gingerbread houses at William Sonoma and little bottle brush trees at target. both very inexpensive but looked so sweet together.

My grandma gave me these Christmas dishes last year. I love the gold rim.

I love ornaments. We get one every vacation we take and this ornament is from our vacation last year in Seaside, Florida. Here are some of my faves. 

From our trip to Sunday Night Football at Cowboys Stadium in 2013. 

A tape measure in honor of building our new home. 

If something has a golden retriever on it - I have to get it. 

Mexico. 

While I am definitely ready to get my house back to normal and deep clean my house this winter, I am going to miss the nighttime glow of this Christmas Tree. 

Upstairs in the playroom I took our last remaining tree and drenched it in colored lights. There isn't a single ornament on it, mainly because after decorating the other three trees I didn't have any left over, but I liked it best "naked". White lights are my staple, very classic and simple, but something about colored lights just make it feel like Christmas.  

I hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. There are aloft of very exciting thing stop come in 2016 and I can't wait to share them with you all. 

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