family room

{Some of my Family Room List items. All items can be found on Shopswell}

Our family room is in our basement.  We use this area to watch recorded television as a family, to workout, play games &  to play ping-pong.  It is long overdue for some attention.  The couches were given to us and are at least 15 years old.  They are sagging and worn down with holes starting to form! Our TV is nice, but I know my husband is dreaming of one a bit larger. The basement family room in general has been very neglected by me and needs my cleaning, organizing and decorating touch.

{our basement that needs some updating & attention}

We have 3 girls, 12, 14 & 16.  We really like to encourage them to have friends over and this space is where they like to take their friends.  We decided it was time to create a comfortable and beautiful space that they would be proud of & love to bring their friends to just hang out.  We also decided it needs to be done ASAP because our girls are growing older and before we know it they will be up and gone.  Now is the time to invest in our living space and create the priceless memories with them before it is too late!

I started decluttering the space about a month ago.  All that is left to declutter is our crazy board game shelves and our bookshelves.  Many of the games on the shelves right now are for kids and our girls have outgrown them. It is time to minimalize! Todd will have to minimalize the bookshelves as most of the books on them are his.

Here is my list to- do for the basement family room:

1. Minimalize the game shelves.
2. Minimalize the book shelves.
3. Get carpets cleaned
4. Paint. Change red wall paint color to a nice mellow blue.
5. Create office space for Todd
6. Decorate

Here is my list of things to shop for:

1. New treadmill (our’s is old and the motor is SO LOUD!)
2. New television
3. New window treatments. (Right now we have pillows stuffed in the window. Ugh.)
4. A rug
5. New couch & love seat
6. A mini refrigerator for drinks
7. Some end tables to set drinks.
8. A game table
9. Lamps for cozy lighting
10. Pillows & soft throws
11. A few accessories to add some character and warmth.

It is a lot, and some things may need to wait as we save, but it is never too late to clean, dust, organize, dream and start shopping for what we can buy right now!

I have found the greatest site to do some organizing, dreaming and SHOPPING! It is a site called Shopswell.  You all know that I love Pinterest, and Shopswell is like Pinterest for shopping!  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been on Pinterest, went to click on an item I’d like to buy, and the link is broken or the item is not for sale. On Shopswell you will never have that issue!  They show only items that are for sale, and their price.

The site is super easy to use.  You set up an account, which is where you can create and keep as many lists as you want.  I, of course, made a list simply called “Family Room” because I’m a simple girl like that! You can get as creative as you want for your own lists. I am keeping items that inspire me and items that I would like to purchase for our basement family room.

I’m eager to make more lists.  I made a second list called “Household” and of course, I have to have one called Wish List! There is so much that you can shop for on Shopswell. Home decor, fashion and tech are just a few of the categories.  They even have food you can shop for!

You can share your lists and look at other peoples lists for more ideas and inspiration. My “Households” list was inspired by looking at others household items & their lists.  If you find something on a list that you like, you can put it right on your list.  They have turned shopping into a community experience.

Another feature that is very cool is their Priced Tracker.  Once you add a item to a list you can then click the “track” button to add it to you Price tracker list. It will stay in your Price tracker with the current price, and can be set to alert you when its gets to the price your willing to spend on the item.

Don’t forget to enter the Shop.Share.Win. Program where you curate and create lists then share them. Each month they give $10,000 back to the Shopswell community based on credits earned for helping others. You can get the full details and rules on how to play and win HERE.  You can also track the top earners, its updated every 24 hours.

I will keep you updated on our basement progress.  Let me know if you create a Shopswell account so I can come follow you!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.