Making Our Living Space More Livable: Organization

I'm getting so excited seeing my house transform.  It's amazing!  Yesterday I was debating on whether to declutter the kitchen or the living room.  I decided to go with the living room because that's where everyone was mostly hanging out and I didn't want anything to get drug around the house that I wanted to get rid of.

While I was doing all the work in the other rooms, the living room was where we brought everything to sort.  So, I had lots of miscellaneous stuff in there.  Then my son Ryan decided to move the couch from where it was before because he wanted everyone to have more play room.  It originally faced the window.  At first I wasn't for it but I figured since we had to move the couch to clean under it, it was fine.  Well, it ended up staying because everyone was big fans of the new space.  So we uncluttered the piano and took the big plant off of it.  Then took the 2 big trees out to the front to wash down and spray.  Cleaned under the couch.  Oh my gosh, stuff majorly got pushed under there over time.  Oh, does any of my bloggy friends recognize something different in my living room?  No game system or monitor!  Right in front of the window used to be our Xbox 360 kinect.  Boom, it's gone.  Not just in another room.  Alllll the game systems are GONE.  Even the Wii out of the boys room.   -->  :)  <--

I cleaned out the black armoir.  There was an old computer that was no good so we tossed it and the old printer.  Took the nice printer off the top of the armoir and put inside. The only stuff I have in there is my review things for my blog.  I threw away tons of paperwork that was just shoved in there over time.  Do you see that wall with the curtain in the second picture?  That's our patio and all it needs is one wall put up and it's our fifth bedroom.  We'll be doing that soon and making that the homeschool room so baby Juliet can have her own room.  They designed the patio that way so it was an optional bedroom.  It's just awesome.  Actually, homeschooling the kids will be easier since the kitchen would be directly across it.

Anyway, today is the one room I've been dreading.  The kitchen.  I have to drag out everything under the cupboards and sort through it. Plus clean behind things that have to be pulled out to do a better job.  I can't wait till this is all over with since it's been my 8th straight day working on this all hours of the day.  Sigh.  Have to keep going.  I forgot to tell you that I am 20 weeks pregnant!  I'm half way there!!!  Whoo hoo!  To be honest though, I'm not in a huge rush.  I've learned to enjoy every stage (except maybe the heaving first trimester).  I want to enjoy every bit of my kids without rushing the years by.  I don't understand it when people say, "Oh, you just wait, it'll get easier when they get older."  I'm in no rush at all for them to grow up and I don't really think the teen years are easy.  :D  I remember my teens.  Whoooey.  Lord, have mercy on me even though I gave my parents none.