Opening the Back Storage Room Door

I’ve been talking about this “back storage room” a lot lately, and today I wanted to take you all back there. It’s the part of my house that’s the most unorganized and cluttered. When I told you I had to move piles and step over other piles, I wasn’t kidding. I’ll be honest, It’d be easy to spend all my time taking the pretty pictures and posting about the fun projects we’re completing. But it’s important to me to share the ugly part of my space too. We do have plans of building more shelves and being more organized in this space, but during this season, that’s not happening. Our life is a little busy with a 3-year-old, 2-year-old and an adoption journey underway. So, for right now, it’s a hot mess in there.

I don’t want you to see anything that I have completed or decorated and not see the mess I just threw off to the side. It’s an unrealistic expectation to have a home that’s as beautiful as Pinterest and Instagram ALL the time. Do I want those photos to inspire, encourage, and challenge you? Absolutely! They do those things for me too. But what I don’t want, is for you to spend all kinds of time and energy creating the perfect looking home at the expense of the things that matter most.

The reason my blog is called Open Door and the tagline is Open Doors Open Hearts is because I believe as we open our physical doors to those around us amazing things will happen. Just a few of the benefits I’ve personally received since I began intentionally opening my door are:

1. I loved others and was loved in return
2. I helped others heal and simultaneously received healing
3. I felt less alone
4. I realized I had more in common with others than differences
5. I grew as a mother, a friend, and a wife

Before I started decorating my home and completing projects I didn’t want people to come to my house. I knew my house didn’t look like HGTV and I didn’t want anyone else to know. Seriously! For instance, I refused certain coffee dates and gatherings at my house. By doing this I was refusing to grow to a new depth in relationships. I was afraid people would judge me based on my house, and the truth is, some people did. Some people said hurtful things TO. MY. FACE! Those comments made me feel so small. I still hear these words playing in my head sometimes.

Since I personally understand theses thoughts and feelings, I don’t want anyone else to feel that way. If by showing you a few pretty pictures, I can inspire and challenge you, then I’m gonna do it. If by showing you what’s behind the camera I encourage you and offer you grace during the tough seasons, then I’m gonna do it. I’ll show you all the mess my house has to offer if it helps you. (As we discussed earlier, I have small children, so my house has a lot of mess to offer.) I want you to feel grace for the hard times. But I also want you to realize your home doesn’t have to be perfect to invite someone over for dinner or coffee.

So here I go. I’m opening this door.

Ohhh buddy! I wasn’t kidding was I? Now, a portion of this mess is because we’re adopting. We have a great community of friends and family and they’re extremely supportive of us. The big pile of stuff in the middle we refer to as “The Adoption Pile” because its a pile of items our friends and family have donated to us to help us through our adoption journey. This summer we are going to organize a garage sale with these items and more. (Some people have asked to donate but are still housing their contributions; and looking at these pictures, I’m grateful for that!)

Some of the other items are the girls’ summer toys, and clothes. The majority of the clothes and toys are hand-me-downs. Like I said, we have a great tribe and they definitely deliver in the area of hand-me-downs. Then we have my project pieces and my decoration shelves. I’d like to keep this more organized, but currently it’s a mix of items I brought home from stores, the family farm, flea markets and garage sales. Guys, we haven’t even scratched the surface here…paint supplies, workout equipment, lawn and garden tools, totes of the girls’ toys, (I rotate toys in and out of circulation about 2 times a year to keep them fresh), tools that belong in the garage, seasonal decorative items, and EMPTY storage totes! Are you kidding me?! Why?! I even have a bathroom sink in there!

I hope that seeing my mess encourages you in your mess. I’ll keep you updated as the space is emptied to set up for the garage sale. After the adoption pile is gone, I plan to get a few more shelves built, because even when the adoption pile is gone, we clearly have a lot that needs a home.

I challenge you to open a door to someone around you this week. Maybe it’s the front door to a neighbor for dinner, or maybe it’s a closet door in the basement to a best friend. But whatever door you decide to open, know that I’ll be praying for you! The first step is the hardest and I know you can do it. As always, thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate your support.

Before you leave, please let me know in the comment section what month you enjoy going to garage sales most. I’m thinking June, but I don’t actually know the best time to have a garage sale. Also, if you have items you’d like to donate please reach out. Thanks in advance for your wisdom and insight! Love you!