Red Lips,
Mom Hips
& Coffee Sips

I remember sitting in my doctor's office with my son, talking to her about how I was pretty sure he has ADHD and I had some concerns about how this would affect his upcoming school year as he was about to start Junior Kindergarten. I really wanted to advocate for him to be sure that he would get the help and resources that would benefit him at school and not just allow him to be labeled as "the bad kid". As I bounced from one sentence to the next, my doctor's face was doing things, sort of like she was processing a thought that had just come to her. She asked me if I had ever considered that I might have ADHD. I was a little confused. The picture of ADHD was always in my head as a little kid bouncing off the walls, with so much energy to burn and nowhere to put it. Kids with behaviour issues, not a successful and independent middle aged woman! So I sort of stammered "Well...No....I mean, I don't have crazy amounts of energy and I certainly don't bounce off the walls like kids with ADHD!"

She said that ADHD presents itself much differently in women. She asked if I would be ok to answer a quick questionnaire to get a better understanding of where I might be on the ADHD scale. Let me just say that as the questions started coming at me and I began to answer them, my mind was going a mile a minute and I started to feel as though everything about my brain and my hobbies and my business and my home and my LIFE began to make sense. Ok. So I am a middle aged woman who just found out that she most definitely has ADHD. Now what? While I wanted to gain some control over the overwhelming feelings of chaos, I didn't want to entirely change my brain or the way I am. I actually think my busy soul is quite adorable. This visit to the doctor did give me a lot to think on and research and also the opportunity to give myself a little bit of grace.

I used to get so angry at myself at how I would let corners of my house or rooms get messy and out of control or piles of stuff grow and grow until I didn't even know what was in the pile anymore and I sure as shit wasn't going to clean it. My house wasn't dirty. It was just chaotic with stuff. I was famous for deciding to tackle a room, pull everything out of the drawers and cupboards and then get tired of the whole situation and move onto another project. I fully understand now that it was my ADHD infused brain just sending indicators to myself that what I was doing and how I was doing it, just wasn't working. I knew my own house had "Doom Piles" but I didn't know this was an actual THING...I realized I had to figure out a way to get these "Doom Piles" under control, because living in my home was going to feel so much calmer once I did.

Armed with this new information on my beautiful mess of a brain, I decided to tackle my house in a different way and I wasn't going to do it on my own. I needed a very special type of person to help me, room by room, to work alongside me and to keep me on the path of "if we start a room, we are going to finish that room." I posted on one of my favourite local Mom groups on Facebook, and outlined what it was that I was hoping to accomplish around my house and to see if there were any Mamas that had that organized brain that perhaps I was lacking, the ability and patience to work with me and while we were at the organizing, I also wanted to do some deep cleaning of the rooms we were in. One big thing I wanted was that I did not want to be the person to take charge of the task at hand or babysit them and tell them what I wanted done. I wanted them to be the person to guide the project and just know what needed to be done. I wanted someone that could give me some ideas on certain baskets or bins or space saving tools that maybe I had not tried myself. This person had to be able to look at the bigger picture and be able to point out things that may work better, rather than just tidy the systems I already had in place, because let's be real, they weren't working. And last but not least, I wanted someone that I could become friends with and make these lackluster cleaning projects fun!

Well, wouldn't you know, there were about fifteen responses to my post! One of them came from somebody I already knew and was friends with! We didn't know each other super well, but I already knew her, liked her, and I also knew that she didn't shy away from big organization jobs in her own house. Oh. And did I mention, her brain and mine work very similar, so it was just a good fit from the start. She asked if she could come to the house and take a look around to better get an idea of what the rooms looked like. I was scared she would take one look and tell me to lose her number!  She laughed and ensured me that seeing the rooms ahead of time would give her a few days to organize her own thoughts as far as what might work for the organization and storage needed. After a quick walk through, we decided on the room we were going to tackle first. The New Room!

My relaxing seating area by the fireplace...not exactly relaxing!

This is my area for stuff I was getting rid of or had for sale on Marketplace.

The biggest and most hectic room was my New Room. These photos are embarassing to share I will admit! Ten years ago, I renovated my front porch into a four season sunroom and at the time, we just started calling it the "new room" and that name has stuck. I originally wanted to close in my porch because when people would come to the front door, they were right in my main hallway and usually invited right into whatever mess or noise was happening. I wanted there to be a bit of space for people coming to the door and not being right in the thick of the house. The New Room has been an amazing addition to our living space on the main floor. It is bright and colourful, with cozy furniture and a TV and fireplace. It is also where I keep my never ending pile of Marketplace items and Scentsy orders for customers to pick up. Because it is such a multi-functional space, it really has the opportunity to get messy quickly. If I don't know where to put something, I just got into the habit of sticking it in the New Room. It went from a room I really enjoyed being in to one I couldn't stand to be in for even five minutes. Once upon a time, it was perfect for relaxing on the couch and watching a show with the fireplace on, practicing my guitar or having a coffee with a friend. But, it had just become a total catch all and I had literally no idea where to start to get it back to its former lounging glory.

My super hero friend came with a plan and we went to work. We just started in one area of the room and hammered away. My Marketplace pile was my gift to her because I didn't know how to make any sense of it and she started to organize the outgrown clothing by size and season and put them in some labeled bags. I went to work on the other side of the room and started organizing my Scentsy stash and dealing with paper piles and putting together an "Office in a Box" a much needed item for someone who works from home. We moved and dusted furniture, vacuumed the carpets (and many cobwebs!), cleaned windowsills and mopped the floor. We arranged the mantle and displayed pictures of my sweet kids. I decided that I needed a slim little side table to put a cup of coffee beside the chair and I squealed with delight when I realized I had the perfect little piece in my bedroom. After about three solid hours of us working non-stop (with some talking mixed in of course), the New Room was back to exactly what it was always meant to be. I felt a sense of calm come over my body when I looked around and a big sense of pride as well. This room that I had once loved, had originally dreamed up, designed, put together with an eclectic bunch of stuff that just somehow just fit together (and then completely let go and destroyed with crap), was back.

My office in a box stuff is tucked away nearly in the corner under my guitar.

Having fun with my "Red Lip" decor in this room! My daughter made this in woodshop class.
My best friend looks on from Heaven above.

Stumbled upon this "Lippy" print and mugs during a shopping day.

This is much more the space I envisioned for a relaxing place to hang out!

The perfect little coffee holding table I was so happy to realize would go perfectly here.

My Marketplace corner is looking much better. Now to sell it all and have this area empty!?

This room is never expected to be immaculate. It is a constant cycle of items coming into the house, and leaving the house. It is a room that I will use as my "home office" when I start the planning of the upcoming Hanover Home & Lifestyle Show (thus the importance of my "Office in a Box") It is where my computer will typically be and the room that most of my writing will take place. It is a room that inspires me. There is no better place in my house to sit alone with my thoughts and share them with you through this blog. My beautiful mess of a head, that has thoughts running through it at lightning speed, literally all the time! Now that the New Room is put together and looking sweet, it can become the "Red Lips, Mom Hips" Headquarters and I am so happy to share it with you. The first room but definitely not the last to be featured in this series "Slay-D-H-D and My Organized Home!"

Brooke