“Kim-mando” Decorating?

What in the world is “Kim-mando” Decorating?

What is “Kim-mando” Decorating?  When is it used?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, a commando is a member of an elite team trained to raid enemy territory.

“Kim-mando” Decorating is a verb referring to tactics used to rapidly clean, straighten and decorate one’s home!  While I don’t consider my home to be enemy territory, sometimes extreme measures need to be taken in order to tackle the chaos!  These tactics are normally employed when company is coming and I have run out of thyme to get everything done.

Even after several years living full time in Florida, I am still struggling with finding places to put everything so my living room often looks like this:

Sadly, this problem isn’t new to me! Even when we lived in a 14 room farmhouse, it seemed like I never had enough space!

When we lived at the farmhouse, I often employed these “Kim-mando”  tactics at the holidays.  The dining room table often looked like this just hours before the family was to arrive for Christmas lunch.

Using a variety of totes and other hiding techniques, the table would soon look like this:

Of course, when we lived in the farmhouse, it usually wasn’t just the dining room table that needed attention before the quests arrived.  I just don’t have before and after pictures of the other areas!

After we moved to Florida, I told myself I was going to be much more organized so that I wouldn’t have to employ my “Kim-Mando” techniques.  I am still working on downsizing and finding creative ways to store the seasonal decor!

Yikes! Company Is Coming!

While we did have company in early December, we hadn’t had any visitors since the holidays were over.  A few weeks ago, we found out my youngest bonus son and his Mom were coming to visit for the day.  A few days after their visit, one of my close friends was coming from Illinois to stay for a few days.

I managed to procrastinate to the point where I needed to get up extra early the day Andrew and his mom were coming. I had to quickly whip the house into shape!  Sort of like when I was in college and hadn’t studied for a test so I would need to get up early and cram!

I had a folding table up in the living room covered with decorating items.  There were empty boxes in the living room as well.  There were still  Valentine’s Day items on display.  And truthfully, there were a few Christmas dishes still in the corner cabinet! You get the idea,  I had a mess on my hands.

Rapid Cleaning is Deployed

Once the boxes and tables and assorted miscellaneous items were dealt with, it was time to rapidly clean the house.  I quickly dusted the furniture.   I cleaned the kitchen counters, scoured the sink and removed all the junk from the island.  Next up was cleaning the bathrooms and sweeping the floors.

I had purchased these hand towels for Christmas.  I decided to leave them out year round…. they have a coastal theme and don’t look overly Christmassy.  Is that even a word?

A Tiny Bit of Seasonal Decorating

I did manage to get a little bit of Easter out so that the house looked a bit more Springy!

And a quick refresh of the chalk painted candle holders.   I added a vintage flower frog and a small bundle of faux lilies of the valley.  Shhhh don’t tell anyone but that one sphere is actually an old faux  mistletoe kissing ball!

A “new” centerpiece for the coffee table!

It wasn’t too long before order was restored to the living room!

Then it was thyme to refresh the front entryway!

The Front Entryway

Fortunately, I didn’t have to do too much to the outside of the house.  Just a tiny bit of dead heading and a quick sweep of the concrete in the actual entryway and I was done with that part!

Ready for the First Batch of Company!

We had an enjoyable visit!

After they left, I was able to get the guest room in shape for our next visitor!

The Guest Room

The guest room is where everything gets thrown, I mean lovingly placed, when company is coming.  Unless the company is going to be spending a night or two.  Then I need to actually put stuff back where it belongs!

I have plans for moving a few  pieces of furniture out of the guest room.  In the meantime, I did get it straighten up so that my friend could at least sleep in the bed!