Room Swap

We had one giant project to complete during the kids’ fall break, move the older girls into their new bedroom upstairs.  They are getting older and need/want more privacy.  Sharing that big room with their little sister was leading to lots of arguing and yelling.  Also, it took longer for them to get ready for bed because they were refusing to get undressed in front of each other. It was a definite problem.  The only solution?  Give up my craft room and divide it into two rooms for the girls.

Of course, this meant that first I had to clean up my craft room. ha!  I also took this opportunity to do a bit of purging.  There was all kinds of stuff that I was saving for a project I might do “someday”, that I just didn’t have room for in my new space downstairs.  So out it went.  I also got rid of one of my big work tables, which makes it less convenient to have friends over to craft, but it was definitely necessary.

We also had to find a new home for the gaming computer and the kids’ treasure boxes.  It was quite a logistical puzzle. And of course, you have to clear out one room before you can move the new stuff into it.  But what do you do with all the stuff you cleared out?  Shove it into the play area, of course.

The girls’ beds came up first, as they were the biggest pieces of furntiure. They also got my Expedit bookshelf to use as a room divider.  We also put their dressers back to back on the end, and it makes a pretty good fake wall!  It was looking pretty empty in the girls’ old room, with just Alexandra’s little bed in there.  The downstairs hallway, however, was like a scene out of Hoarder’s. It probably wouldn’t have bugged me so much, except it stayed like that for a few days.  There was just too much stuff for us to do it all in one day.  It kind of reminded me of the hallway in Grandma Allphin’s house, with a walkway between all the stacks of boxes.  Which was a good incentive to get going and find a home for everything quickly.

One of the big problems proved to be the gaming computer.  It could only go where there was access to enough power cables, but had to be enough out of the way that a gaming marathon didn’t interrupt every one else.  This was where we had it for about a week, until we came up with a better solution.Not ideal at all, plus they kept stealing my crafting chair! 🙂

Chris was also worried that we now didn’t have a room exclusively for guests.  First, we rarely get guests.  Two, I don’t think it’s fair for our family to live squished together all year to please others a couple of weeks a year.  Three, if guests do come, we can just kick Alexandra out of her room for while they are here.  It’s what my parents always did to me when relatives came to visit, and I am not scarred in any way. 🙂  She loves a good sleepover anyway, and will be thrilled to get to stay in the girls’ room again.  So that settled that.

There was a slight adjustment period, where the big girls got used to sleeping in the “creepy upstairs”.  And for a couple of weeks I had to stay with Alexandra until she was asleep, because she didn’t like being all alone.  But all the strangeness rubbed off quickly, and now they are all thrilled with the new arrangement.  Whew!

The computer went where the Barbie house had been.  It does require a long extension cord across the stairs to function, but we just unplug it when it’s not being used.  We technically could plug it into the outlet in Chris’ office, but then we couldn’t close the door all the way.  And the kids like to turn up the volume, so there it is.

Sarah loves having her own space.  We are still in the process of decorating it, but she is very happy and likes that she only has to clean up her own mess, no one else’s!

Sophie has her half arranged slightly differently, with her desk up against the wall.  And yes, there are still a few miscellaneous things that need to be cleared out of there, but that will happen during Christmas vacation when Chris and I tackle the cellar together.

My craft area is awesome.  Honestly, I love it even more now than when it was upstairs.  Most things are within arm’s reach, and it was put together with a plan, rather than just cobbled together over time. 

And I really love the hidden storage! 🙂  My plan is to eventually remove all my stamps from their wooden blocks and store them in DVD cases on the revolving tower next to my table.  But that is a very long term project! 

Alexandra loves all the open space she has for playing now.  It is so much more fun to have friends over, and she takes great pride in tidying it up most nights. Plus there is room for her to grow into bigger furniture. 🙂

It was a huge change, but I think it was necessary. We can now happily stay in this apartment for much longer without feeling cramped.