Okay if you have been following me here on the blog or on socials you know how excited I am to pull literally everything out of each space, clean up the space, simplify it, or prepare for a little remodeling. If you haven’t been keeping up with the latest adventures here at White Cottage Farm, we have some bigger remodels scheduled and we are going to do it them mostly ourselves, take you on the full journey, from dream to design to final look. But first, in the heighten ambition of New Year’s Resolution or organization and a little eagerness for spring cleaning, we are pulling a lot of stuff out for the spaces that we had to install new shelving in our basement to temporarily hold our decor until we are ready to bring it back or decide to part ways. I have started around the house a bit, but to really kick off operation clean out, I started in my favorite space in the entire home, our kitchen. Here is what I did today…
After The Clean out [see the whole video on my Instagram of me cleaning it]:
The kitchen was such a beautiful full vignette of little moments, collections of pretty and useful items. I started the clean out knowing I was going to pull everything but as I pulled each item off the shelf (and counter) I placed it in to separate little totes of stay, undecided, and sell. Eclectic Cottage Core and Collections are a true passion and hobby, I absolutely love my collections. As I am refining myself as a person, a mother, and entrepreneur, I’m trying to make big life changes to get things flowing a little smoother over here. One thing I realized as a designer, is I love having stuff stored and ready to be used for various looks and designs. So in the next few weeks I will share my journey as I store more of my decor, clean out each room of our home, & how I go through that process. I will admit, I have done pretty good with this over the years. I have stayed true to my more thrifty and affordable approach to designing, especially in a fixer upper. But sometimes those items have had their moments in various looks or on the storage shelves and you just need to part ways. This year I have already come to terms with saying goodbye to some of my collections. The journey of collecting unique finds is more fun than having the collection, and these pieces are head to The Found Cottage to hopefully find a new home. I am partying ways is my little copper collection, and some stoneware and plateware.
Once I had everything off, we did some very much needed dusting and wiping of the shelves and counter tops. I always have encouraged those that change out their decor each season, to do a full deep clean of the spaces before you start decorating, it’ll make you feel so much better! The shelves were not too bad considering they are open shelves. Seeing the kitchen so naked it really shows off our new-ish painted kitchen cabinets. We carried the same color from our Library cabinets. You can read more about those and find the paint color information on our post, Neutral Winter Library (link).
When I went to start putting things back, I start with my greens. They are a must for me this time of year was we hunker down the last brutal weeks of winter. I brought in all real fresh greens since this room gets so much great natural light. Honestly with the visual weight of the copper pots gone, this space is so fresh as it stands. The upper shelves I kept minimal with a few visually lighter items, bringing in the light earth tones of wicker… really preparing the space for spring.
I really tried to be very conscience of what I was bringing back into this space, while making those items useful for daily needs. Spring is right around the corner is a simplified look helps combat that somewhat cabin fever-like feeling you have when it may seem like all you do in the winter is live in your house. A fresh and light new look may help make the space brighter and more airy to get your brain on the right track again. I recorded a Timelapse and shared me taking everything off the shelves and counters. You can go see that on my Instagram (link here). Spring cleaning can start anytime of the year, I hope seeing me take everything out of the kitchen and bring back a simpler look, helps inspire you to get your spaces ready for the next season of life. Thank you so much for stopping by the blog today, it truly means the world to us. And serious go check out the time-lapse I recorded on Instagram, it is so satisfying to watch. Let us know what spaces you are ready to clean out on Instagram or Facebook! Thank you!
xxLizMarie
Around The Blog
If you see something in my kitchen that you like, check out these blog posts!
