Where's the couch...or the bed?

This post is less about what's going on with activities and more with what's going on in the house. It probably will bore some of you, and will probably make some of you think I'm selfish or greedy. But I'm typing it anyways because I like to document stuff that I want to remember one day.

Also, in trying to catch up but have things organized, I have put up 5 posts today! If you missed any of the others, keep scrolling down or click one of these links:
Venus Family Fun Day
First Family Camping Trip
All Gideon All the Time
Mommy To Do It (This one is also on the side bar at the time of posting.)

We used to have a blog that Rob ran called "Where's the Couch" because we rearranged so often, we'd post pictures. It was mostly the den of our first "real" house. We like to rearrange; it keeps everything fresh and gives us the chance to purge and clean. When I start rearranging every few months, it's less fresh and more frustrating.

Nothing seems to work anymore.

Last year we tried the playroom downstairs (so Gideon stayed down all day). Two upstairs bedrooms held Seth and Gideon (1) and a pair of girls (2). The other pair of girls had the room over the garage ("FROG") that used to be the playroom (3). It kind of worked, but was hard to regular temperature, and has no closet.

Over the summer we tried not having a playroom. We moved Carolyn downstairs (alone), and the room finally looks nice and is usually clean. Natalie moved in to the FROG with Kaitlyn, so the twins shared that room. Alee moved into the other upstairs room that Seth wasn't using, and we moved Gideon in with Alee.

 (We also painted the room gray.)

 The room still didn't have a real closet, and the ceiling height and attic access doors made it hard to arrange furniture.

 Seth's room has stayed neater. And Gideon doesn't wake up with Seth anymore. Yea!

I really like Seth's room and Carolyn's room. I sort of liked Alee and Gideon's room and they got along great and slept well in the same room. The twins got along fine, but the room never looked good (even with me trying to organize it).

I can't remember all the arrangements we've tried in the last 5 years, but Natalie and Carolyn have been in every bedroom, and Natalie has also slept in the playroom as a bedroom. Here are some fun flashback pics:

So, we tried again at the end of the summer.
We moved Kaitlyn in with Alee (shoving Gideon to what's called the "bonus room" on floor plans), and leaving Natalie in the FROG for a while.

Before & After bonus room:

 Before and After (Alee/Gideon room before, Kaitlyn/Alee room after)

 We eventually put the bed back on legs and moved Natalie into here and Alee moved to the FROG alone. And it was a playroom again. With Alee sleeping in it. Her dresser and closet were moved to laundry room. Still there, but she's not liking the playroom alone, so she's been sleeping in Carolyn's room. (She also slept in Seth's room and the twins room. We haven't tried the laundry room yet because I couldn't fit the mattress.)

This was at the beginning of the school year. I'm about to change this again.

And then because I couldn't figure out the bedroom arrangements, I started purging the kitchen instead! I emptied out all the main cabinets onto counters and tables. Yikes!

Then I purged things I could live without and kept the things I use for sure....

It took a lot longer to make it all fit back (even though I had less to fit); odd the way that happens when you reorganize.

I like neat cabinets. These are my baking cabinets.

This one used to hold ingredients for baking.

 So those had to go in the ONE pantry.

And everything that didn't fit, plus everything I bought shopping on Friday (this is mostly just food for the next two weeks) is on the table waiting on me to put back the "storeroom."

So, the computer desk is getting kicked back out of the space that used to be extra pantry. I need that space back for food. Eight people eat a lot in 1-2 weeks.
I'm not sure where the computer is going? That rearranging will distract me from the kids' bedrooms a little longer, I guess.

It used to be easier to fit 2-3 in a room when they were younger. (We even had four in a bedroom once when they were little.) I keep purging, but we just seem to be always rearranging and never having all the rooms work simultaneously. Our house is so big; why can't I make everyone and every purpose fit? I'm going to figure it out...before Thanksgiving.

A few weeks ago, this conversation took place in the van on the way home from church:

Alee: "We should put the house on the market right now today."

us: We can't; it's Sunday. And we need a realtor.

Alee: "Let's go buy a realtor"

(We did explain what a realtor is and that you don't buy one. We really loved our last realtor and plan to use her again forever for our moves here.)