WEBVTT - Don't decorate with cereal boxes

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is don't decorate with cereal boxes. Anything that is

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<v Speaker 1>visible in your home is part of your homes decorps,

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<v Speaker 1>so it's best to be intentional about what you display.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip comes from McKellen Smith, who blogs at The

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<v Speaker 1>Nester and whose latest book is House Rules, How to

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<v Speaker 1>Decorate for Every Home style and budget. In a podcast

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<v Speaker 1>interview I heard recently, she said, everything that sits out

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<v Speaker 1>in my home is a decoration. She explained that this

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<v Speaker 1>means that if you have cereal boxes sitting on your

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<v Speaker 1>kitchen counter, you are decorating with them. Now, it may

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<v Speaker 1>make you giggle to think about decorating with cereal boxes.

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<v Speaker 1>They tend not to be all that attractive, But if

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<v Speaker 1>you are like me, when you look around your home,

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<v Speaker 1>you may realize that you are doing just that. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you have bags of coffee beans sitting next to your

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<v Speaker 1>coffee maker, dental floss by your bathroom sink, laundry detergent

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<v Speaker 1>at the foot of the stairs that you intend to

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<v Speaker 1>take up to the laundry room at some point, A

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<v Speaker 1>big box of diapers on the floor in the nursery.

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<v Speaker 1>Turns out you are decorating with all those things. None

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<v Speaker 1>of these items are intended to be part of the decor,

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<v Speaker 1>but if they are out, they function as part of

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<v Speaker 1>the decor anyways. People's eyes don't have some special filter

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<v Speaker 1>that pumps up the intentional decor and hides the stuff

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<v Speaker 1>that's stored. In plain sight, everything is visible all the

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<v Speaker 1>same that beautiful framed artwork you chose because you love

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<v Speaker 1>the colors, and the cereal boxes that you probably did

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<v Speaker 1>not select for their esthetics. Now, to be fair, I

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<v Speaker 1>am a practical person, and I totally understand that people

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<v Speaker 1>leave a lot of stuff sitting out so it is

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<v Speaker 1>convenient to use, or because it reminds them of something

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<v Speaker 1>they need to do. Sometimes that is fine, but at

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<v Speaker 1>least think about it. At some point in my fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>years of changing diapers, I realized that storing the diapers

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<v Speaker 1>in the top drawer of a baby's changing table was

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<v Speaker 1>probably just as convenient as storing them in a box

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<v Speaker 1>next to the table, possibly even more convenient and definitely

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<v Speaker 1>more attractive. Storing the cereal boxes in the pantry is

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<v Speaker 1>no less convenient than taking up counter space. There's no

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<v Speaker 1>need to decant them into pretty jars or anything ridiculous

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<v Speaker 1>like that. Once they are in the pantry, they are fine,

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<v Speaker 1>but at least they are no longer part of the

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<v Speaker 1>general kitchen decorating scheme. As for stuff that truly does

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<v Speaker 1>need to be convenient, it can at least be corralled

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<v Speaker 1>and put in something attractive. For instance, shoes can go

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<v Speaker 1>in individual baskets by the back door. Make Up you

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<v Speaker 1>use daily can go in a nice little container on

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<v Speaker 1>your bathroom counter so it is not spread all over

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<v Speaker 1>the place. The cute little container becomes the decor, not

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<v Speaker 1>your bottles of whatever it is you use. If you

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<v Speaker 1>need reminders of things you have to do, you might

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<v Speaker 1>still be able to find another solution. For instance, commit

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<v Speaker 1>to quitting the habit of leaving things on the stairs

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<v Speaker 1>or outside doors. Just put the object in its final home.

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<v Speaker 1>It takes just a few seconds longer, and then you

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<v Speaker 1>don't have to deal with it a second time. If

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<v Speaker 1>you need to remember to bring your library books to

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<v Speaker 1>the library, rather than put them on the kitchen counter,

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<v Speaker 1>go put them on the driver's seat of your car.

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<v Speaker 1>Pretty hard to forget to bring them back. Then I

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<v Speaker 1>would also suggest walking through your house and looking for

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<v Speaker 1>spots where things have wound up out in the open

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<v Speaker 1>instead of put away. Again, there might be a good

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<v Speaker 1>reason we leave olive oil and salts on the counter

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<v Speaker 1>by the stoves, since we cook with these things multiple

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<v Speaker 1>times per day. But then I saw that these two

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<v Speaker 1>items were attracting other things like champagne vinegar, which we

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<v Speaker 1>use maybe twice a year, that could get put away.

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<v Speaker 1>No need to decorate with that. If you survey your

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<v Speaker 1>home for items stored in plain sight, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear what you discover. Are you decorating with cereal boxes?

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<v Speaker 1>You can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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