An Organized Home is An Elusive Creature

We are currently in the throws of packing for a cross country move. It has been a death by 1,000 moves. While attempting to navigate Covid, both of us 'essential workers', our thoughts of retirement began to crystallize into a formal plan. In the space of 5 months we purchased 25 acres, found a builder, sold our house, moved into an apartment and started shuffling our belongings from Oregon to Iowa one pick-up truck load at a time. Now in the final few weeks, work is winding down, farewell parties are happening as we wait for our #3 to graduate from high school and the majority of our things are in the completed house over 1400 miles away.

As I continue to go through every little thing, I found a previously written (apparently 8 or so years ago) but until now unpublished observation so here we go!

We have a large entry way. I really like it. It's open with lots of room, high ceilings and hardwood floors. the problem seems to be we cannot decide what to do with the space.

Currently there is a LARGE bookshelf/filing drawer combination sitting there. It is functional and fits well in the space. It looks nice enough, but it is not my favorite piece of furniture and it's the first thing you see when you enter the house.

I would like one of those nice multi purpose units. You know it has a shelf with small cubbies and hooks on the top portion and then a bench with larger cubbies and baskets to hide things away on the bottom. They are usually prominently featured and obscenely over priced in every Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel catalog you receive in the mail. Apparently if you order one thing from either of these stores they assume you need to order weekly! -- That is a whole other story.

I do have valid reasons for desiring this storage monstrosity. They are #1, the oldest affectionately know as 'the senator', #2 the girl and #3 I-forgot-my-sharing.

These three people are waging a daily battle with my husband and I to take over and invade all the available spaces in the household. They are like alligators or some invasive plant species that continue to expand to fill all areas of their surroundings. No matter how many times you 'organize' their rooms with containers and shelves, no matter how many 'cubbies' or spaces they have in the shared closets of the house, no matter how you try to streamline the homework area, their STUFF is ever expanding, growing and filling every. square. inch. of. the. house.

The Pottery Barn/Crate and Barrel piece is PERFECT, I think. A row of hooks for coats, some storage in the top for small items and those great big baskets in the bench on the bottom. If you are a mom you know what I want to put in those baskets. SHOES! They are everywhere!

Currently this is how it goes. When we get home I say, 'Don't drop your stuff in the entryway or Dad's head will explode when he gets home". I continue on into the house to start the pre-dinner, someone needs to go to sports practice, homework has to be done, check e-mail, start a quick load of laundry routine.

They proceed to drop their stuff in the entry, mostly the girl. #1 usually makes it to his room to drop his things. Mr. I-forgot-my-sharing doesn't have much stuff yet. As #2 drops her sports bag full of large smelly basketball shoes and her gigantic horn, the baritone in the entryway she then moves to the kitchen where she drops her colossally over stuffed backpack near the table to start her homework.

So you can see how those cool baskets might come in handy for last minute clean ups of the afore mentioned shoes, pencils, hair ties, legos, baseball cards and a endless list of detritus that seem to be escaping from the children's rooms and their baggage.

Plot twist; my husband is adamantly apposed because he has a problem with baskets. He seems to have been traumatized by some sort of wicker or rattan in the 1970s.

I blame his sisters. He has 4, three of which were getting married in the late 60s and early 70s and decorating houses in the full blown 70s. You know their wedding pictures have big velvet bow ties and matching ruffled shirts. I won't even go in to the dresses. 

I'm sure at least one of them had one of those big rattan chairs and possibly a shelf or bedside table, not to mention the all purpose trunk that acted as a coffee table which leaves me married to Mr. I-Hate-Baskets.

Don't get me wrong, we do have some baskets in the house. I slip them into cupboards and closets. They are The Best way to make a messy storage situation look tidy.

In the bathrooms I went with those metal baskets. The ones you used to put your belongings in at the public pool when you were a kid and they give you a giant safety pin with a number tag on it. Some how these are nostalgic and manly enough to be tolerated. 

So, as it stands no cool Pottery Barn/Crate and Barrel/IKEA piece of organizing, coat hanging, basket storage for me in the entry. 

I will persevere. Whenever we get one of those catalogues in the mail I leave it in the basket in the bathroom. He's sure to see it there, maybe I'll wear him down.

Story update: the new house has just such a thing! It only took 11 years, a house build and a cross country move.