When we moved into our home nearly two years ago, it was easy for us to designate each room and space purpose, and we made a conscious effort not to fill up a space with furniture and stuff just for the sake of filling it up.

During move-ins I always remind my clients that it can be helpful to live in the space a bit before settling on a plan. In some cases you’ll need to wait to identify how you are using the space rather than forcing a purpose on it. In our home, we had an extra area in our basement that sat purpose-less for a year and a half before it became clear how we should transform it.

And just like *that* a decade has gone by. I’m sharing my thoughts on it all below, and trust me when I say that I tried to be brief. Stick around to the end of this post because there’s something in it for you!

What a week! I finished the last client walkthroughs of 2017 and the team is gearing up for a big move-in project next week (follow along for behind the scenes over on Instagram). Needless to say, it’s been a bit busy around here but I am so grateful and excited for what’s on the horizon. 

Raise your hand if you’ve gone to wrap a present and have had to untangle the ribbon or flatten out the gift wrap that got creased from where it was being stored. Or maybe you don’t even get this far. Maybe you know that at one point you bought a roll of wrapping paper and some tissue paper but couldn’t begin to tell you which closet you shoved it in a few months ago. Gift wrap is one of the categories that always seems to surprise people because they truly do not realize the amount that they have until we start pulling it from multiple areas in the house.

When Monday mornings roll around I rely heavily on my family’s morning routine to get us up and out the door. After a fun weekend full of plans I know that I have to account for an extra slow pace to get my twins to school and to get my workday started. As I tell my clients and have shared on the blog before, successful organization relies on creating systems that work for YOU.

Years ago when my identical twins were in preschool I remember them coming home from school with a gift for me around Thanksgiving. Their teachers had helped the students turn their handprints into little turkeys, which they dried out and then framed for each of the parents. To me, it was the most thoughtful gift that I could have received (#proudparent). The art of their tiny hands immediately made me feel proud to be their mom and brought me joy, which is something that I try to keep in mind while choosing holiday gifts for everyone on my list.

During this time of year I’m always amazed at how many commitments are in the queue and how little time there is to do it all. I rely on my family’s calendar to make sure everyone (including myself) knows what to do, where to be, and what’s to come.

Have you started your holiday shopping? If you’re like me, you take advantage of some of the crazy sales that started last week with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Of course, it’s no surprise that nearly every sale has been extended (seriously, there is no reason to pay full price these days) and I have a few more things I’d like to grab for people on my list. I find gift guides to be helpful because it’s easy to fall in a rut when it comes to gift giving, especially for picky people like your kids or for specific occasions like holiday parties when you don’t want to go empty handed but want an alternative to a bottle of wine.

I hope that you all have a great Thanksgiving! I’ll be spending today eating leftovers for lunch (they are the best, right?) and am looking forward to a longer than normal weekend with family. Before I hop offline I’m going to snag a couple of items that are on serious Black Friday sale right now.

I wanted to keep it quick since I’m sure you’ve only got a handful of minutes to spare today while preparing for the day’s festivities. If I’m being honest, I struggled with what to say today because I don’t want to come off as self-centered or braggy when listing out what I’m thankful for. The thing is, I couldn’t ignore the urge to reflect on everything that has brought me gratitude this year, and what better time to share it than on Thanksgiving?