Mini Paint Project
I have finally completed a tiny project that has bugging me on my to-do list forever now!
Remember the little downstairs bathroom with the cute antique cupboard… (tiny room = bad photos, sorry!)
Well, here is the very sad, and a little scary inside of this cupboard…
So, a little paint and some pretty things to make the cupboard useful, and… viola!
The cupboard is antique, and therefore has many bumps and cracks, so it will never be “perfect,” but now its not such an eyesore. When company is over I will not be so embarrassed to let them reach in for another roll of toilet paper or necessity!
I even did a bit of decorating to the necessities in the cupboard. These antique jars got new fun lids. And a small box got a bright cover to hold small things.
Aah, much better! What do you think? More projects on the way too! 🙂
Waste Not
Last night I stopped at my mom’s house and she was telling me about how my great-grandma used to save everything. She said that it their time people never wasted, and reused everything imaginable. I am pretty much a pack rat and always try to find new uses for old things too, but she had a couple of cool ideas I never thought of.
One no-brainer that she mentioned my great-grandma did was save her bread bags. She would shake or rinse them out and reuse them as baggies. Really? We use baggies for everything, so why had I never thought of this? You could use them as a cheaper alternative on dog walks, or even to bundle or store the items you normally use a baggy for! So simple, yet so green and effective!
She also mentioned that they often saved the same bread bags for making rugs. I have seen these in my grandparent’s old house. Here is a picture. Visit her site to see instructions for crocheting the round version here: http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2008/09/27/recycled-round-plarn-rug/
I think these could be really fun and funky. Now I need to learn how to crochet!
Other things that my great-grandma saved were more common, and things that we already frequently save, but still great reminders nonetheless. Cool-whip containers, coffee cans, other plastic, cardboard, or metal containers. These can be reused in so many different ways in the home. You can even recover or paint them to match! One more thing that she saved was the little plastic eggs her pantyhose came in. I had to laugh. My mom said she had tons of them. Hmm… what would you use those for?
Especially in hard economic times, but always to be healthier for our planet, its great practice to reuse such commonplace items. What other ideas do you have?
Some Color In The Pocket Office
Over the weekend I made a few tiny but fun changes to the pocket office. First, I added some bright red paper to the blah sides of the drawer set under the desk. It looked as if it had just been stashed under there, but now it looks as if it was intended to be there. I also tried to eliminate some clutter. I took down the picture mobile, arranged some of the hanging photos on the inspiration wire, and changed the art a bit.
I had seen online where framing simple art in a blank CD case can be easy to swap and add a fun punch to your walls for little money. So, I hung three of these CD case frames with some strange art in them above the desk. The art was small, cluttered, and mismatched. I changed the art out to something more simple and in the color scheme. I then hung them vertically to contrast with the inspiration wire. I think this is starting to look much better than my original office a few months ago!
The colored paper on the drawers.
The CD case art I made.
Doesn't it look so much better!?
And, the other side of the office, so you can see the pretty matching boxes.
What do you think?
On An Organizing Spree
After being so impressed with my organizational skills with the jewelry in the medicine cabinet, I decided not to stop there. I moved onto the closet next. Mostly we were already pretty organized in there, but rearranging a few things helped free up some space. I also hung a hook on one of the walls inside the closet to hang a few extra long necklaces from my costume jewelry collection. Things seem so handy and visible now. Here’s a peak inside the space of our home that everyone is afraid to share:
This is a view of the closet as a whole. The shelving was already installed when we moved in, so we are using it as-is. It is helpful, but we do not have "sides," just "areas." A little confusing at first, but now it works.
We hang belts, scarves, and ties on the low bar, along with a few of my shorter shirts. My giant shoe rack fits in the corner.
This is the hook of necklaces that I hung along a side wall of the closet. This is so helpful!
Here is a close-up of the hook I used. It is actually a hook that fits over a door, so one end is flat, which I use to hold multiple necklaces. The other end is curved, but I twisted it with pliers to hang agianst a wall. So simple I even did it myself.
Some More Pictures
A few more before shots.
This is the before of our living room and boxes. And the UGLY curtains!
A view from the living room into the dining room. Stuff was everywhere!
Make Mine Eclectic 