A House of Order

The entry way in our home has bugged me for quite some time. With 6 people's jackets and coats, and the kids' backpacks and church bags and shoes and boots, the space was being overrun with a pile of CLUTTER. In fall of 2007, I had a vision in my mind of how it could be redone into organized cubbies for a better use of the space. I wrote a blueprint of my mind's image on paper for Josh to see, so that he could understand how I would like it to be built. I thought it would be an excellent project for him to complete during his slow winter months. But even after one whole year, the project had still not been started.
As we were reading scriptures (the D&C Section 109) in Family Home Evening last week, we came across verse 8 which reads: "ORGANIZE yourselves, prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, A HOUSE OF ORDER, a house of God..." The scripture got me thinking; in addition to my physical need, it is also a spiritual desire for me to have some organization in this house. The area had started to bug me so much that I decided it was time for ME to take action, and I did so the very next day.
With some help, I was able to get the project completed, using just one piece of plywood and an 8 foot-long 2x4. Using Roberta's tools, I cut the wood into pieces, sanded the edges, put it together with screws (THANKS JOSH for helping!), painted it, and Josh and our friend Jason rewired the space to accomodate overhead lighting to replace the wall sconces. I LOVE the area now! I even cleaned out the space, throwing away two bags of crap. I personally love to rearrange and organize, it helps me feel so happy and peaceful. In President Uchtdorf's talk at the Generel Relief Society Broadcast on Saturday, he talked about the sense of accomplishment we get from creating something. Well, here's my CREATION:

BEFORE: The coats, jackets, and backpacks would overflow on the hooks in the left of the photo. The boots and shoes would be scattered across the floor.

All CLEANED and CLEARED OUT: The whole area is about 4 feet wide and 1 foot deep.

AFTER: And now: A place for everything, and everything in its place!