Bookcase redo

Happy Monday!  What a busy weekend we had here!  Didn't really do that much around the house over the weekend, but I did get some things done last week.  I finished my old bookcase redo.  It didn't go exactly as planned but I finished it.  I ended up spending more money than I would have liked to but sometimes you just can't help it.  Here is a picture of the bookcase before.

Not the best looking bookcase on the block!  I didn't want to do alot with this project.  I cleaned it off with a damp rag and then primed it.  I didn't bother sanding it because I really did not want to take the time to do it.  I used two cans of white spray paint and that still didn't really cover it well.  By that point I had had enough.  I have told myself in the past I don't like using spray paint and yet I did it again.  I think I have learned my lesson this time.  I am just a paint can and brush kinda lady. We used two brackets on the shelf to mount to the wall so it would not wobble.   Here is a picture of the finished shelf in our bathroom.

I used baskets we already had at home for storage and just threw out things we were not using anymore.  This shelf is just a temporary storage solution until we remodel our bathroom.  Which I hope happens sooner than later.  The project cost about $20.00.  More then I wanted to spend, but it just couldn't be helped.  

Inspiration

Happy Thursday!  I am really enjoying doing my blog now and looking at so many amazing blogs that are out there today.  So many ideas and creative people.  All of this has inspired me to be a little crafty and make something.  Now, I am not that crafty, so I am taking baby steps in my creativity.  I decided to do a Valentine's mantel.  I love flowers and thought a homemade vase would be fun to make.  I got an old spaghetti  jar, cleaned it out of course, some tissue paper with little red hearts on it, glue and a pen.  It was a little more time consuming then I thought, but I think it turned out okay.  My son really thought it looked fun and he will be making one for the spring.  Maybe for his Nana and Granny's house.  


As you can see I tore the paper into pieces, wrapped the small pieces around my pen, dipped in the glue, and placed all around the jar.  My hand slipped a couple of times, but it wasn't hard to correct my mistake.  Here is the finished vase on my Valentine's mantel.

To make the valentine ornaments all I did was take an old valentine gift bag, cut out what I wanted, untied the ribbon handles, punched a hole into the paper and tied on the ribbon.  Then hung on my tree which was already above the mantel.  Pretty easy.  I did buy two new red candles for the rectangular candle holders and some flowers from Target.  The whole project cost about $16.00.  


I hope this inspires your creative mind!  Have a great day!

Curtain hooks reused

It's the middle of the week already!  Hope your day is going great.   We had a really busy weekend, but I did manage to get the hooks up in the kids bathroom.  My wonderful husband showed me how to use the anchors and it looked pretty easy.  My oldest is doing a pretty good job of remembering to hang his towel up now.  That makes mommy happy!

I have decided to spruce this up a little.  I am going to get two picture frames and hang one over each hook.  The frames will have a picture of my kids that way they know which towel is who's.  I saw it on a blog and thought it was really cute.  I will have to post those pictures when I get it done.

I almost forgot to mention the hooks used to be in our bedroom.  I used them to hold back the curtains on each side of the window.  I got rid of the curtains and I am so happy I got to reuse these hooks.  Didn't cost a dime!

Legos under control

I have been working on organizing my son's Legos for years and I think I may have finally won the battle.  I went to the Dollar Tree, bought 12 like containers, labeled by color and contents and placed on the bookshelf in his room.  I asked him if he thought he could keep it organized this way and he said he thought he could.  I hope so!  The hardest part was sorting all the colors.  It probably took me about 6-8 hours, but I really feel it was worth it.  He does have two large Lego containers and I put a few sets that we had separated into those, along with all the instructions for the many sets that he has collected over the years.  I hope this set up will make it easier for him to put sets together and be more imaginative with his own creations.  


Happy Friday to all and have a great weekend!

Projects, Projects

Hello all!  Hope everyone is having a great week.  I have several little organizing projects going on right now.  I am getting all of my sons Legos organized(time consuming), redoing an old bookshelf for the bathroom and still trying to hang some curtain holders in the kids bathroom for their towels.  I will need my husband's help on the last one.  He will have to teach me how to use wall anchors!  Yikes!  I will post pics when I am done with each!  Hopefully the Legos will be done before Saturday!  Here is a pic of my amazing kids and one of my son's Lego creations.  

Desk Part One

I have made a goal to organize my whole house this year.  It is a big goal, I know, but I really feel that I can accomplish it!  Little by little I will conquer the clutter and make this place shine with organization!  Wish me luck!

I finished organizing our little desk.  It took about 3 days to get it done, but I feel sooo good about it.  I only had to buy one item.  How is that for savings!  First, I cleaned everything off the desk except for the computer and printer.  I then went through all the paper and either threw it to the trash or recycled.  For papers with account information I shred and throw in the trash.  Everything else goes to recycling.

I cleared my dry erase/magnet board.  I am finally going to use it for both.  I have just been using it for hanging stuff, but I needed a new space for writing.  Happy I did that one.

I bought a shower caddy for $6.99 from Target and am using it to hold sunglasses and pens.  I think it works great and it suctions onto the dry erase board.

The desk drawer was not too bad.  I just threw out some old cards and papers.  I organized it with a basket I already had here.  I used old twist ties to hold together camera and other electronic cords.  Free and nifty!

I bought a desk calendar at Target for one dollar, that is right, one dollar.

I used a box to place tacks, rulers and my label maker in.  I labeled it office.  Very simple.

I already had a binder that I use to put organizing ideas in and I just labeled that as well.

I used two magazine file boxes that I already had for extra file folders, notebooks and of course magazines.

That is it!  So total I did spend a little over eight dollars.  Still, not bad at all.  I will be organizing the cords behind the desk and the cabinet next to the desk.  I guess that will be part two of the desk area.

I hope everyone has had a great weekend.  Enjoy MLK day tomorrow!  Volunteer or just tell someone how great it is to have them in your life.

Happy Friday everyone!  I have been working on our little desk area for a couple of days, but it is still not complete.  I will post picks when it is done.

I have been working here and there on my son's bedroom.  It is always a mess, but I am determined to find a system that works for him.

I am posting a pick, a small one, of one of his desk drawers.  I got the baskets from the dollar store.  I got two sets of three.  So two dollars was all I spent!  Not bad.  He has managed to keep it neat for almost a week now!

Let me know some of the things you have done to keep your kids rooms organized.  I would love to hear some new ideas!  Have a great weekend!

Inexpensive Storage & Cute to Boot

I found these awesome cute pink containers at THE DOLLAR STORE!!!!  Love getting a great deal on containers.  These are in my daughter's room.  I like that they have handles to carry around.  The rectangle containers I got from the kids dept. at IKEA.  Another awesome place with great deals.  I think I got all three for around ten bucks.  So don't think you always have to spend big money for great storage solutions!  Have a great day!

Organized Garage

We got it done!  It only took about 3 to 4 hours to make our garage look presentable again.  I would still like to work on the laundry area, but for now we are very satisfied.  The kids had fun helping too!

I have been collecting glass jars here and there.  I used these to put nails and screws in.  I then took a sharpie and put the size on the jar.

I used an old red and blue pocket organizer for cords and chargers.  We put it on the wall to have easy access.

I finally labeled all the plastic containers!  It looks so nice!

We did have some old toys and household items that will be going to charity and we threw away about two bags of trash or broken items.

With just a little time and effort, anyone can make their garage functional.  Happy Monday everyone!

New Year

There are so many resolutions I want to make happen this year and one is to blog more.  I am still trying to figure it all out, but I guess it will just take time. 

One resolution we have as a family is to eat out less.  So far, I am not doing well.  I get so tired of eating the same old fast food but yet, I find myself doing it at least 3 times a week.  I will make posts throughout the year and I hope that sooner than later, it will get easier to make all our meals at home.

My husband and I are going to tackle cleaning up the garage this weekend.  It will not be a full organization job, but just a small step in the right direction.  Will post some pics in the next few days.

I hope everyone is having a great 2012!