My DIY Blog

Hi! I’m so glad you are here!

If you love doing things yourself or are in need of some inspiration to organize, decorate, and make your home truly yours, you have stopped in the right place.

You know how you wish you had more time? 

Time to do the projects you really want to do, not the ones you have to do.

How about that dream you have of updating your home to fit your personality and creating a space that speaks to you?

I can hear it now. The collective sigh as your mind drifts and you think about the what ifs.

Then reality hits.

You look at the pile of laundry, the endless yardwork, the screaming kids, the overall chaos, and you think, this can never happen.

But I want to encourage you and tell you that it can!

I’m Erin and I’m so glad you came to my blog! Whatever it is that brought you here, I’m excited to get to know you!

I suppose the way to start is to introduce myself and let you know a couple of things about me. So here goes.

  • I’m a mother of 4 beautiful and energetic children, two of which are twins.
  • I am the wife of a handsome construction worker who spends his spare time masterminding and implementing all of our home construction projects too. I like to tease that he is the brawn and I’m the brains, but it’s so not true. Without his creativity and skill this blog and our home projects would be a sad failure.
  • I am very much in love with all things coffee and the quickest way to get me out of bed in the morning is with the promise of a steaming cup of java.
  • The most important thing is that I am an imperfect daughter of God who tries to live each day with purpose.

Now that you know a little about me here’s what you need to know about our latest project:

We recently purchased a large colonial fixer upper that was built in the late 1890’s and are working on fixing it up, one room at a time (or multiple rooms at a time… whatever strikes our fancy.) Do you want to know what convinced me to move?

It was the realtor’s promise of a 35 foot long, 16 foot wide, 10 foot deep indoor pool. Needless to say, it was a little bit of a disappointment. 

Broken indoor pool of our fixer upper

Sad, right?… Yet crazily, we still purchased the house!

There is a TON of work to do on this house! So let the demo begin!

Lady sitting in a bobcat smiling

OK! Disclaimer here! So I couldn’t keep a straight face for this picture, because I am totally NOT a large equipment operator sort of gal. I am all over letting my husband handle that. Maybe some day I will stretch myself and will get the courage to try out a Bobcat, but not this time.

I am pretty good with an electric sander though. Ha ha!

Lady sanding a board with an electric sander

This is the second house we have fixed up since we were married. As a result, I have learned a few lessons about organizing in tight spaces, living through remodels, and the ups and downs of doing things yourself, all while having small babies and toddlers underfoot. This has resulted in a love for organizing and making things beautiful, while staying on a small budget and keeping things kid friendly.

No matter where you are living, investing time in making your home creatively yours is WORTH IT.

I know what you are thinking.

Someday, when my house is clean, or my life is more organized, or (fill in the blank) I will get to doing some projects around the house.

Okay. Here is some tough love.

There will never be an ideal time to work on those things you love to do, unless you make that time.

Looking back at the lessons I have learned from living in a constant state of chaos (i.e. small children and fixer uppers) I have drawn this conclusion.

I am a better person when I take care of my house. When I organize, design, and create an area that is my ideal, I am more relaxed and happier. I am also more motivated to keep things clean.

Don’t you hate it when you spend hours looking for something that should have been easy to find, but you don’t have a place for it and so you can’t find it and…. Aaah! I digress!

The point is: 

We are able to invest more fully in others when we take the time to fully invest in ourselves.

It is my hope that as you explore this blog, you will find things that will inspire you to create, learn, decorate, organize, and DIY.

About me image for practical whimsy designs
Creatively Yours, Erin