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Spring Cleaning My Home In 2019

It’s that time of year again… time to start spring cleaning my home. Actually, I did a poll on Instagram recently and am realizing that I am one of the minority of people who actually leave these “extra” cleaning chores until the spring. But, it works for our family.

Recently I started to tackle my spring cleaning and have documented the process on YouTube along the way. Watching someone else spring clean is soothing, motivational and helps remind you of areas in your home that need a little TLC. It’s still a work in progress and most likely will turn into “summer cleaning,” but I am feeling good about what I have tackled so far.

I washed all of our Ikea Ektorp sofa slipcovers in our new washing machine.

nesting story spring cleaning my home wash couch covers
nesting story garage clean up

I’ve replaced broken glasses, a broken utensil tray and chipped mugs in my kitchen.

nesting story declutter and organize kitchen

I also wiped down shelves as I went.

nesting story spring cleaning the kitchen cupboards

We replaced our impractical and gross garbage can with a much more functional one.

nesting story replacing broken items

I decluttered and organized our craft and puzzle cupboards.

nesting story organization tips
nesting story declutter kids stuff

Then we did a BIG garage cleanup.

nesting story spring cleaning the whole home

While spring cleaning my home I’m trying to concentrate on areas that might be otherwise missed.

Watch it all unfold…

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Updating Your Home? Get the Most Bang for Your Buck!

I love spring because it brings new life to my family and our home as I finally step outside after a Canadian winter hibernation. All of a sudden everywhere I look there are new home projects that I want to take on, but I have limited time and budget to do them all. The other problem is we are not certain that this is our forever home (we have some soul searching to do before the mortgage renewal is up). That doesn’t mean I don’t want to put any love into this space. I still want to be proud of my home and have confidence to entertain, but it does mean I need to be smart about our choices financially. Whatever we do to our home until we know our future plans must have a strong ROI (return on investment). 

So whether you are staying put for the foreseeable future or looking to list your house this spring, if you’re thinking about updating your home it doesn’t hurt to know where you will get a better bang for your buck.

Exterior

All too often the exterior of a house gets overlooked. But keep in mind this is the first thing anyone sees and makes a huge difference on the sale of a home. Start to boost a houses curb appeal by simply taking care of the landscape, reviewing the walkway patio stones and painting out the door (and brick if applicable). And don’t forget to include a nice seated area for yourself so you can enjoy the outdoors when the weather is nice!

Home exterior - before
Exterior – before
when updating your home, don't forget the exterior - Lara Young for Nesting Story
Exterior – after

Flooring

Thinking of replacing your flooring with hardwood throughout sounds like a big expensive project, but it truly makes a world of a difference to the overall look of your home. Not only will you be able to reap the benefits of a beautiful new floor but your home listing reading “hardwood floors throughout” can make a big difference to the sale of a home. 

Don’t forget to consider the finish of the hardwood. If you have dogs, babies, kids (or all of the above), and you choose a flooring with a smooth finish you will see every scratch and crumb. Do yourself a favor and price out a hand scraped finish which will last a lifetime in your home. 

Dining Room
Dining Room

Kitchen and Bath

Surely you have heard many times that the kitchen and bathroom are the best places to put money into your house, but that’s because it hasn’t stopped being true. Of course you are looking for a beautiful kitchen or bathroom in a home, and so is any buyer. When updating your home putting money into these spaces (within reason) is a win win. No buyer wants to walk in and see a huge renovation project. So make those spaces appealing now, so you can really enjoy them. Then when you are looking to sell, that past renovation will be a major selling feature.

bathroom before
bathroom – before
bathroom inspiration for updating your home - Lara Young for nesting story
bathroom – after

Declutter

Purge, neutralize and Konmari your space!  Whatever you want to call it don’t wait till you list your home to stage it in a way that will make you happy to live in a clear space. Take a step back and look at your home and ask yourself, “if I was listing to sell, what clutter areas would I be clearing out first?” then make that your project! All too often people wait to list their home to purge, only to wish they had done it sooner. 

When updating your home, the same goes for paint and décor. Buy the throw pillows and the plants now so you can actually enjoy them. You can easily choose a paint color that will be appealing to the masses while still making your house feel homey now without having to repaint down the line.

family room declutter
Family room declutter

I don’t know what the next ten years holds, but I do hope to achieve a balance in my home that suite whatever path my family and I go down.

Lara Young is the Principal of Lara Young Design, and also a new mom. Like many of us Lara is trying to find that quintessential work/life balance. Being her own boss is bringing Lara one-step closer to her dream. You can read Lara’s full bio, or contact her to help with your next design project here.

A Day In The Life with Four Kids

It’s been a while since I shared a “day in the life” video with you, but I am so glad I took the time to film one this week. I began creating these types of videos way back when I first started dabbling in YouTube as a way to give you a fly-on-the-wall look into our busy life and how I do things with four kids, including twins.

Although our twins aren’t crawling around and in diapers like when I first began creating these day in the life videos, today with all four kids in school I face new challenges. So grab a cup of coffee, put your feet up, or… let’s be real, pop your AirPods in and watch while you do the dishes, or put it on for your kids too. Regardless of how you watch it, I hope you enjoy!

Don’t forget to subscribe to Nesting Story’s YouTube channel. I put new videos out every Monday and Wednesday!

3 Simple Ways to Add Colour to Your Spring Makeup

Adding colours in your makeup routine doesn’t have to be scary by Elyse Morency and Nesting Story

Spring Makeup tips from Elyse Morency and Nesting Story

I don’t know about you, but I am SO glad we are finally starting to see some spring weather. The winter always feels like it goes on for so long, and the gloomy and dark days can seriously cramp my motivation to do anything.

Now that the sun is shining and the weather is warming up, it’s time to start bringing some light back into the days and my favourite way to do that is by adding some colour into my spring makeup routine!

Most of us feel like running and hiding when we think of using bright colours in our makeup routine. I personally find myself flashing back to my early high school days of powder blue eyeshadow and bright red blush on my cheeks… yikes. That is the opposite of what we are going for today!

If you want to learn how to brighten up your days by adding colour to your spring makeup, then read on, friend!

Using bright blush to brighten up - Elyse Morency and Nesting Story

Bright Blush

Blush is a great way to bring some life to your face without having to step too far out of your comfort zone. During the spring time I like to use blushes with more pink and orange tones to them because they still feel natural but you can build it up for a brighter look. My go to blush in the spring is Mac Cosmetics Pinch O’ Peach!

Bold lipstick is important for Spring - Elyse Morency and Nesting Story

Bold Lipstick

My favourite way to add colour to my makeup look for spring is by wearing bright lipstick! For a bold colour that will last you all day, opt for a liquid lipstick. This ensures you won’t have to touch up very often during the day. If you’re new to wearing bright lipstick and want to start off slow, you can use a regular lipstick and blend it out with your finger for a sheer wash of colour which looks more like a tint, rather than a bright statement colour. A great versatile lipstick is Mac Cosmetics Impassioned Lipstick. It’s a great pop of colour but blended out can be a great starter colour.

Using coloured eyeliner in your spring makeup - Elyse Morency and Nesting Story

Coloured Eyeliner

One way to add colour into your makeup during the spring is by switching your regular brown and black liner for something with more colour to it! Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Rockstar, while different than your everyday colour, is still tame enough that you could wear it out to work and not have to worry about everyone staring at you. For a bolder look, opt for a liquid liner. For something a little more subtle, use a pencil liner and smudge into your lashes so it has a softer look to it.

Adding colours in your makeup routine doesn’t have to be scary. By incorporating small amounts of colour in the right spots, you can easily refresh your makeup and get it ready for the spring! These 3 ways to add colour are my go-to looks since they can make a big impact with a small amount of effort.

It’s hard not to feel great about yourself when you try something new with your makeup so throw on some bright lipstick and go rock your day with confidence!

If you want to learn more quick makeup tips that you can add to your everyday makeup routine, check out www.elysemorency.com. You can also find Elyse on Instagram at www.instagram.com/elysemor/ where she talks about the real and raw life of motherhood and makeup!

A Stunning Yet Simple Porch Makeover

Creating a beautiful outdoor space - Nesting Story

I’m not sure what I love more, my outdoor or indoor living spaces. We’ve spent the last few years pouring ourselves into our backyard space, while the front of our house was left in the dust.

Recently as I was sitting on the bench of our front porch, (the one purchase we had made for that space), watching our kids play on our driveway, and I looked around at the sparse, uninviting porch, I knew that it needed a makeover.

I set out on a hunt for pieces that would complete this space and create the vision I had in mind.

Layering the mats at the front door creates a more inviting entry by adding texture and pattern. I found the rug at HomeSense and the doormat at Walmart.

An inviting front door - Nesting Story
How to layer doormats on the front porch - Nesting Story

I grouped two pots and a black metal lantern beside the bench, which brings so much need colour to my porch. I opted for begonias and hen and chicks to bring some vibrance and give the Southern California flair I love so much. Plus they are pretty strong plants, and this area can be a bit of a wind tunnel. I found the pots at HomeSense and the greenery at Terra Greenhouses.

porch makeover - Nesting Story

Like I said, this space gets a lot of wind, so I wanted to make sure that it could blow right through the side table, instead of knocking it over. This plastic and glass side table wash the perfect solution. I opted for a low pot with hen and chicks to sit on top. The table and pot are from Terra Greenhouses and and the pot is from HomeSense. I found the bench and cushions at Lowes a couple years ago.

Simple outdoor round side table - Nesting Story
Front porch succulent planter - Nesting Story

You can watch the entire porch makeover here, including my shopping haul in Part One, and the complete makeover before and after…