Making Your House a Home...

 The blog Mrs. Hines Class is having a linky party called "Making Your House A Home " where you share tips on how you do this.  I think this is a great idea & thought the title was pretty catchy too...

My blog is titled Love Of  Homes,

 " Making our house a "Home" one project at a time!"

I think there are so many different things that make your house a "HOME".

 For me the most important thing about my home are the people who live in it...my family!  

They are the reason I work so hard to make our house a "home". 

 Our family consists of me, my husband, 4 kids, a dog, a bird & fish...This at times is chaos!

Organization is a must & helps minimize the chaos.  

I think it's so important to teach your kids how to clean up after themselves, it's easier for them to do this if they know what's expected of them & if they know where all of their things go.  

I love that saying, "everything has a place".   

We have designated areas where things go, which makes clean up so much faster & easier.

A place for shoes

This basket is right by the front door & we also have one by the door going out to the garage.  

This helps with finding shoes when we are running late too, because they should be in one of the baskets.

*Coats:  Everyone has a hook in the closet.

*Backpacks

This hall tree is in the laundry room, which leads to the garage.  It also holds shoes.  The kids know that's where they go, which also helps with getting out the door on time.

*Toys  

These can take over the whole house...so we have different storage containers to put them in. 

This bucket holds all  of their "Bey Blades"

And makes clean up so much easier.

In the family room we have designated areas for Wii games & remotes.

These are in the console under the T.V. 

This trunk is used to hold more games and accessories      .

I think Chores are also an important part of  keeping up a home.  

I also think this is tricky because I didn't want my kids to be the type that would only help around the house if they were paid.  

So the only chores my kids get paid for are making their bed & cleaning the bathroom.  The rest they are expected to do because we all have to help if we live here!

They each have specific jobs  for cleaning the bathroom & they do it together & are done in about 10 minutes.  The first time I "showed" them how & they've been doing a great job ever since. 

The reason I thought they should be paid to make their beds is because I wanted this one to just become a habit & it worked!

 I love it now because whenever I go in their rooms in the morning their beds are made... 

It's just part of their morning routine, which is a great habit to have.

Lastly, I love decorating my home!  It makes me Happy!!

 Here are a few of my favorites:

Our wood shutters...we made them.

Our Entry Way...

Our Master Bedroom

My daughter's nursery...you can see more of it here.

How do you make your house a "Home"?

I'm sharing with these blogs:
Mrs. Hines Class
Finding Fabulous
Stuff & Nonsense
Mom 4 Real
Chic On A Shoestring
Five Days Five Ways
Lolly Jane
Funky Junk Interiors
Sisters Of The Wild West
I Heart Nap Time
The Girl Creative
Lady Bug Blessings
Making The World Cuter
Cherished Bliss
Home Stories A to Z
Organize & Decorate Everything
The Sasse Life
At Home With K