We've taken back our living room!

Before we had our daughter Avery, Travis and I used to talk about how when we had children, we wouldn't let their toys overtake our home hahahahaha! It seems easy in theory (and in magazines) but it's not as easy in reality. First of all, a baby needs all sorts of equipment, like a swing, pack and play, bouncer, playmat, etc. Then you move on to the exersaucer, and push toys. Around the first birthday, the toys start to take over, but you still believe you can keep control. Add in a few Christmases and the 2nd birthday, and toys were definitely taking over our living room. I had them organized, but even when they were put away, it was definitely obvious to anyone in our home that we have a toddler running around.

We talked about moving most of Avery's toys to her room, and I still plan on keeping some there, but I don't want all of her toys there because we spend most of our days downstairs. We decided to give in and create a separate play room for Avery and the baby. We used the space in our home that could technically be used as a formal dining room, or office - which is what we were previously using it for. Travis works out of our home, but he has a laptop and iPad, and he's in outside sales traveling most of the day, so it's not totally necessary for him to sit at his desk very often. We also have a morning room which is where we have our table, and it's closer to the kitchen anyway. 

Yesterday was the big day. I spent most of the day packing up the office and moving things to the basement. I also figured this would be a good time to clean our carpets with our carpet scrubber, so I moved all of Avery's toys from the living room to the dining room table, in an effort to basically move everything out of the living room and new playroom except for the large furniture pieces (I mean, I am almost 22 weeks pregnant.) My in-laws came over after work to help and watch Avery. Travis's mom took Ranger and Avery outside, while Clyde (Travis's stepfather), Travis, and I moved furniture around and cleaned carpets! I was cleaning so much yesterday that Travis was calling me Cinderellie haha. It was nice to get our carpets so clean, and it makes me feel like the whole house is cleaner! Since the carpets needed to dry overnight, we moved all the furniture into the designated areas this morning. By the time Avery woke up, she had a new playroom! She loves it already! We spent a good few hours in there before going outside to play a little bit. A few times she did get confused and ran into the living room where her toys used to be, but quickly realized they weren't there.

Office to Playroom

Living room - toy free!!

We actually kept the bookshelf that was being used in the office and decided to keep it in the playroom. It has both open shelving and drawers, and it looks cute with a few baskets and toys.

Right now our living room and playroom actually seem a bit bare, but I'm still working on some decor ideas for both - like maybe adding a rug in the playroom, and a coffee table back to the living room. I honestly don't want to do too much right now because I know now that when the new baby arrives, my house will easily become baby/kid central once again. I'm going to enjoy the clutter-free rooms while I can!