"40 bags in 40 days" update

While I'm continually spring-cleaning my house, the tally of my "40 bags in 40 days" challenge reached between 30-35 bags.  It felt good to purge, reorganize and repurpose a lot of things.  Here are a few before/after photos:

I received a great comment from a reader suggesting I get a shelf to replace the stand.  What a difference that made!  We've also moved a bulk of the toys to the finished basement where it's easier to shut the door and hide the kids' daily tornado of toys.

In the kids' room, there is a little step up area we call their "library" which includes a ton of shelves my dad built.  The shelving for the room is great...but only when in use:

Of course, no matter how much you pick up the house to make it nice, there's a kid who'll still insist on resting in the dog's bed.