Homemaking Tip: Demolish the Catch-All!

If you're coming here from The Nesting Place, an amazing site, by the way, please accept my apologies for misreading the carnival rules. I was too bleary-eyed at one in the morning to do a good job of comprehending them, and I thought I was supposed to post on ways to improve our space! So, I did that instead of actually using "mistreatments". Unfortunately, there are no mistreatments of any kind here. Now, if you want to keep reading, be my guest. If not, hit the back button and read some of the other amazing posts! You guys all have some GREAT ideas!

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The first time I lived in a house with an island in the kitchen was when I was 32 years old. I was excited beyond belief that I would have this new plethora of counter space in which to experience all manner of culinary creativity. I expressed this to my then husband and his response was, "It's just going to become a place where you pile everything you don't know what to do with." Of course, he was wrong, and I would prove it! Never, from that day forth, did I EVER put anything there that didn't belong. In fact, I made a cute little plaid runner to put in the middle of the island, and on that set a large colorful bowl filled with tempting fruits of the season. I freely admit, that had he not said what he did, my island would have, indeed, become a catch-all!

Do you have places like this in your home? I do...and so does my mother. In case you haven't figured it out, I have been staying with my mother for an extended period this summer. It started out for just two weeks, but as I realized the merits of having her hands as another pair to carry, bathe, clothe, sooth, pat, burp, bounce, and hug the twins, I just kept staying and staying....and staying. I kept thinking I should go home, but then I thought...why? I was happy, she was happy, Joseph and Hyrum were happy, so I am still here. I'm not sure she's still happy, but that is not my problem. Why do I tell you this? Because she has a place where things collect, too. Her place is an antique hutch right inside the entrance to her house. All manner of items collect here, such as: Off bug spray, keys, mail, Tylenol, outlet covers, Coke cans, pens, trash, items that need to be taken to the car or that have been brought in from the car, extension cords, pork rinds.....the list could go on and on.

The problem was that this is the first place anyone saw upon entering her home and it was always an eyesore, so we came up with this solution:

This classy sign my mother created serves as a reminder to all that this is NOT a place to drop your things when you come in. I found myself CONSTANTLY going to put something on the hutch, then catching a glimpse of the sign and quickly jerking away the hand that was holding the offending item. Other family members found themselves doing the same thing. As a result, for FOUR WHOLE DAYS, the hutch has stayed looking like this...


Please excuse the small amount of dust on the top shelf. We've had a rough week, okay?

Hopefully, we will be able to remove the sign, but since they say it takes 21 days to form a new habit, perhaps it will occupy the premises for 17 days more.

Let me know what results you have with this technique!