saskatchewan's Profile

We have the lunch totes by built:
http://www.builtny.com/gourmet-getaway-lunch-tote-prod.html

The scuba material they're made of insulates and can be washed in the washing machine (they hang to dry and are ready to use again by morning). Inside we have a variety of tempered glass storage containers.

These still look brand new after two years and my kids take a lunch every day.

Relax, parents! It will be okay. It’s really nice if your visitors want to bring you food or tidy up your kitchen or whatever, but really? You’ll get the hang of this soon and it won’t be quite so overwhelming. In the meantime, try not to alienate people who clearly like you, mean well, and want to be supportive of you and your family. The last time I did this was more than a decade ago, and my memory may be a bit foggy, but I loved when people came by to visit. Adult people! Who were generally happy to hold the baby while I washed my greasy, greasy hair and were delighted to talk about new books when I got out of the shower.

This time around (two weeks left!) I have the luxury of older kids. Whom I’m putting in charge of such tasks as making snacky food (the 13 year old) and calling with the news (10 year old). Obviously, should something go wrong, we’ll need more support, but I assume this post is meant for the general, healthy, normative newborn experience. Which is humbling to be sure, but have a sense of humour about it and you’ll be okay.

This is a violation of the rules of guest behaviour. Which a lot of people have pointed out.

That said, for me, keeping things neat was about understanding that domestic life was not static -- if people move and live in a space, the organization must take that into account.

We have systems for most chores and a good routine. But we also have our spaces designed so as to make that as easy as possible. It's practical to have somewhere to sort and recycle junk mail, enough counter space to cook and stack the dishes awaiting a wash, etc.

I think those are the hardest things to learn as a young adult.

The arrangement I would suggest does depend on the condition of the back of your desk, but it will certainly divide the room into two distinct zones. Where the wide dresser is now, place the bookshelves, right into the corner where the lamp currently sits. On the other side of the bookshelf, place your nice big floor plant. In front of the bookshelves, so that you would sit facing the windows, place your desk and work chair. (This is now your workspace, tucked into the corner, behind the diagonal path that results from walking between the two doors.) I haven’t measured your furniture, so you might switch up the dressers, if that works better, but I think the couch belongs on the wall where your desk used to be, one of the dressers (the high one would be best, I think), between the two windows, the comfy chair in the corner opposite the couch, and the wider dresser beside it (as you have now). I think you need to switch for a coffee table that’s lower and larger, and possibly purchase a rug underneath it to further define this larger triangle of the room as the lounging area, but those things can be brought in as budget allows. (All of the other chairs and most of the little tables, as everyone else has suggested, are extraneous and giving your living space a furniture-store vibe.) The nice thing about the two zones here is that either can be expanded into the other as your day changes. When you’re working, you can read in the comfy chair, by the window. When you have guests over, you can clear the top of your desk and set a tray of drinks on it (with snack foods on the coffee table) to encourage your guests to move around the room throughout the evening.