Bathroom organizing

Project 8 of 52

One of my goals for this year it to get organized. You know how it goes. You organize then the kiddos come behind you and undo your lovely work. Yep, well, it's time to re-do that work. Each room of my home needs a little attention. I live by the motto "a place for everything and everything in it's place". I hate having to search for something. That is probably because I am so incredibly busy but I digress. 

I have a few problem areas to focus on first. The rest will come throughout the year. One blogger put it nicely that it takes time to learn organization (mostly for the boys) so doing it all at once won't help to KEEP it organized. Hey, sounds good! We are giving it a go this year.

 First up...under the bathroom sinks. Mine was a mess. I don't have a lot under there but it still looked a mess.

I know there are deals at the Dollar Store but I liked these bins from Walmart.

Taking care of hygiene stuff made a HUGE difference. I tossed a lot of stuff too. 

These bins come in different widths that stack nicely together or separate. I plan to get a couple of narrow ones for the other side but they haven't come in stock yet. (Our Walmart is the only game in town and they are slow to restock). The pipes got in the way of my original plan but I am still happy with the results. The real test? My sweet hubby was pleasantly surprised at the improvement. He always comments on my projects but he was extra excited about this one. Huh, who knew. ;-)

DIY tile~ cooling the storage room

We have a small cool storage room under my stairs but it was time to fix a couple of issues.

I store the produce I bottle from our garden in there so it needs to be cold and dark.

It was also a bit of a squeeze through the doorway.

I thought if I took the insulation off the outside walls it would cool off more and I wanted to cover the floor in something. We had used the sticky tiles in our other house and they worked great! This was definitely a project that needed to be done before canning gets going full swing.

I found some nice (but cheap inexpensive) vinyl tile at Home Depot. I didn't have room to empty the storage out completely so I enlisted my boys help and did the job in 3 sections.

 First I started under the stairs. My boys were great helpers at taking out all the empty bottles. Once the tiles were laid they went to work moving the bottles back in place. 

Now for section 2. We had to move my homemade shelves, no easy task mind you. Those babies are He-avy!

Most of the tiles went down nicely. We have to do a bit of cutting but not much. I am not good at that part so thankfully dear hubby indulged me after he got home from work.

Then we finished off with the last little bit, working my way out the door.

The insulation I took off the walls gave me 8 inches more space. I know that doesn't sound like a lot but it was perfect. Now the shelves fit better and my lunch bins easily slid in between the shelf and wall. Remember that tight fit~ yep, no more.

Ahh, that is wonderful! So much better. It's amazing how little things can make big differences.

Now my bottles are no longer right on the cement. Did you know that water bottles can leach the taste of  cement into it. Uck! This is better. I plan on putting my water on pallets as well.

I don't mind the cement walls. They are outside walls and will help to keep the room cooler.

Now for a door and light switch of it's own....

Canvas Awning how to....and a summertime word art.

Now that we have a wonderful deck I made great plans to enjoy family BBQ's on it every evening throughout the summer. My boys love Love LOVE eating outside. Great idea right?! Well, the kicker was dear hubby spends all day working in the desert sun. He said he didn't mind the heat but he just couldn't handle anymore sun. By the time he gets home he just wants to relax in the cool shade. I totally understood. We still need to finish the cross beams for the pergola but that won't really shade much. Our umbrella for the table bit the dust last fall and another umbrella was out of the budget. Instead I found inspiration in the paint section of Home Depot...

(Just a funny side note...pulling into Home Depot one day my sweet 5 year old lamented, "Mom, I don't want to go in that store!!" I asked why and he proceded to tell me, "Because I don't wanna do any crafts or projects!!" Oh, my dear son knows his mom so well. Home Depot is often worse than a craft store for me. Outa the mouth of babes right)

So back to my project (hehehe).....CANVAS!! Yep, canvas. You can get large drop clothes for a fraction of the cost of canvas at the craft store.

We found a large drop cloth (12x15) that I thought would work great. 

The plan was to use pipe to hold the canvas but YIKES that was expensive. It needed to be strong enough to hole the canvas over 15 ft....PVC was to light but conduit just might work. Only 1/3 the cost too.

 

 I had to use this connector to piece 2 sections.

 They were long!

 Then we used these brackets to screw into the beams.

 Now when I want to take it down in the fall I can just undo the brackets but I don't have to take it out of the beams. Perfect!

 Now I needed a way to hold the canvas to the rods. I had pictures several different ways but actually getting one of those ways to WORK was a whole other story. Remember I was trying to keep the cost down as well as be functional and versitile. I thought these curtain clips would work but nope. They weren't strong enough to hold up against the wind.

 I tried sewing a 3 inch seam to slide the bar through. That worked great until I needed to close the brackets holding the rod in the center. The center bracket on the middle rod was impossible to get the screw in the right spot. 

Back to plan A I went...large snap gromets.

By now I REALLY wanted this little project done. I was getting frustrated that I hadn't accomplished anything on our weekend off. Just when I was close to getting it figured out the heavens opened and DUMPED on us. 

I couldn't just let it go though. OH NO!
I was out their in the rain frantically trying to finish my little big project.

 Can you see the drops? They were huge! And came on with a vengeance that only a rain shower in the desert can do.

 Undaughnted I trudged on. I needed to get the holes for the grommets marked and cut. I am so thankful for a wonderful hubby and a son who is learning that mom just needs to "get it done" sometimes. They were out there like troopers helping me as I barked orders ahem, asked calmly. (I mean come ON! It was pouring rain!)

 In the end we did get it done and I LOVE IT!

 We can open and close it as we need and now I can easily take it down at the end of the season.

 Now dear dad will gladly go out on the shaded deck and BBQ juicy steaks for his family.

 I love sitting on the deck, just enjoying the fresh summer air. I love our time at the patio table as a family. The boys love it too.

Did you notice my pillow? We found that at Home Depot. I loved it but dear hubby didn't think it would match the new cushions. When we got them home I knew I needed it! By the time I got back to Home Depot the pillow was gone. Every day thereafter I would check to see if they had gotten another back in. Finally my patience paid off. My sweet hubby just laughed but knew exactly what I was doing. He gets this little twinkle in his eye that says "I knew it!" Yep, he's got my number all right. I love what it says:

Click the picture for the download.

Gardening...make a difference in 15 minutes!

 We had a great weekend outdoors with family. We played and picniced then cooled in the house for a bit. After a nice rest I became restless. Ironic, I know. I need to keep moving and keep doing. Evening was coming but it was still so hot. Thankfully there was wonderfully inviting shade around front. I had already trimmed my shrubs this year but holy cow, they are growing. I decided it would be a good time to take a few minutes to clean up.

 My flowers had busted out with great glory but now they were looking heat worn, browning and tired. I love the blossoms; enjoy them while they last then clip them back to start over with fresh blooms. Yep, it was time to get some trimming done.

I grabbed my clippers and started with the shrubs. They are full and lush. I haven't gotten my power clippers yet but still manage to do a good job. Just like farming or making garden rows I eye a spot on the house and trim even with it. I actually want the shrubs a little shorter so they go just under the window but have a hard time getting them there. Trimming front to back and left to right I trimmed those shrubs nice and neat.

Then to the rose bushes. I love them but they can easily get overgrown. I am rather generous with my rose trimming. I want the bush to stay small because it will grow long branches before reblooming.
It didn't take long but has a big impact on my curb appeal for my house. I love how clean things looked when I finished. Now I feel better. A little activity and tidying up before the close of the day...just makes my heart smile.

See, what do you think? Gardening doesn't have to take all day or be sweat inducing. Just a little shade and 15 minutes. Look what you can accomplish.

Headboard to bench...

 My neighbors had these headboards out for the trash for a couple of days. I tried to resist the urge but just couldn't. One sunny afternoon I found myself trudging back with these in hand...as well as a pallet. ehehehe.

The sat out for a couple of weeks but this last week Kaylyn and I finally made it to this little project.

 Turning the headboards into a bench. I was a bit worried with the long spindles. I wasn't sure how the sides would look. After about an hour and a few dollars we managed to turn those headboards into something grand.

 I love that we went with the slotted seat rather than a solid one.

And LOOK Jeff, Kaylyn is even using power tools!!!

Yep! It passes the little boy test.

Now Kaylyn plans to paint it a barn red. It will match her pallet patio furniture that we made.....hmmm come to think of it, I don't think I ever posted about those. Maybe I will do that next week. ;-)!

What a difference blinds make...

When we moved in I just put up curtains. I wasn't sure what I wanted for living room window. It faces west. We have a beautiful view but in the summer I had the curtains closed most of the day to keep the hot sun out. I don't care for vertical blinds but our window is 97 inches wide!

I finally figured what I wanted. Through the winter I just enjoyed bathing in the afternoon sun. With summer trying to come I thought I'd better get my plan in gear...

The before...

I wish I could have gotten a better picture. My next camera will have the option to leave the flash on for backlighting like this...

Thankfully my darling hubby is getting very good at putting up window treatments. That is one think I just don't like to do. He just smiles and says "ok babe" when I finally decide what I want put up.

Blinds are basic but so functional. I opted to go with one large blind and two smaller ones to match the sides of the window that open. Simple but I love them.

Without a back yard last year leaving the curtains closed didn't matter....

but this year....

...we have a beautiful backyard to enjoy. Not to mention simply enjoying the daylight.

Patio Swing Redo....

About 10 yrs ago my wonderful parents gave us a lovely patio swing for Christmas. We have enjoyed it so much. Long summer hours swinging with my boys, reading a book, or just watching them play. It's such a comfortable swing.

Remember when I recovered the cushions last summer?

Well, shortly after finishing them my dear son ran and jumped on the swing in a frantic attempt to escape the puppy chasing him. A lot of laughing ended in WOAH!

After so many years of weathering the canvas base lost it's strength and split in two. Thankfully the cushions protected his knees from the cement.

The swing was showing wear in other places as well.....

I decided to put it aside until this spring. I just couldn't get myself to toss it. It still had great bones and just needed a little TLC. Besides my growing urge to recycle.

I checked on new canvas but realized a canvas drop cloth would be cheaper than fabric from the bolt. Plus, it would be already hemmed. After a few rough measurements I finished sewing slots for the bars to slid into. Unfortunately I learned the base to the swing have been welded together. I was able to take the back bar apart and thread the fabric through the opening I had sewn. The rest of it would have to be hand stitched. It wasn't too bad. I just spent the evening on the floor watching t.v. while I stitched. My biggest concern was the strength of the stitch. I used full strength cross stitching thread. Then crossed my fingers and reassembled everything.

Ahh, much better!

The rusted frame was an easy fix with a bit of spray paint. I used a textured paint that dear hubby likes better than the original. My dear friends came over and we visited while he swung gently on the swing. Yep, it survived. He gave it a good test run. Thanks Jeff!

My cushions are faded pretty good already but it is still comfy.

Now Mr. M can join mom on the swing during the hot summer weather- I'm determined summer IS coming!

The swing is always SAFE!

Yep, there's still many more years of enjoyment in this lovely patio swing. 

Gotta show it off...

I made it Monday

I finished my hamper redo last week. I am so thrilled how it turned out. This is one of the things I enjoy about blogging. I would never have thought to just tear something apart and try to redo it, well not something like this. My mind has been opened to a whole new world of crafting and thriftiness. I am really enjoying it. What do you think? Here are the before and after pictures of my hamper....

Before- UGH!

After- ahh, much better!

I especially like the cording at the top. It gave it just a bit of color. This project only cost about $5. I already had the paint. The fabric was clearanced at Walmart and I have quite a bit left, plus the cording and voila!
Linking up to:

Project 19 of 52: Before and after painting

Before:

I finally got my house painted. When we moved in the white was really refreshing. After nearly 5 yrs I was ready for some color. Lowes had their paint on sale a couple of weeks ago. The cream is something like Vanilla Brandy by Olympic. I was worried at first. The red is Cedar Chest. The cream has more of a yellow base than I thought and the red more orange, but I love it. DH loves it too. He kept commenting on how warm it felt. I plan to redo the white trim but haven't gotten to that yet. What do you think?

After:

I am not a messy painter so I don't lay much covering down. I use one of these paint trimmers to cut in around the ceiling and trim. No taping off here.

It saves a lot of time. I start by moving furniture, removing outlet covers, covering the outlets and then using putty on the dings and holes. I found that if you don't have the right sandpaper available that the green cello scratch pads do a pretty good job. After the prep I cut in a section with my trimmer then it's time to roll on the paint. It goes pretty fast this way too. I was able to do our family room in about 2 hours. 

I don't know about you, but spring just brings out the redecorator in me. I usually have several home improvement/paint jobs I want to do. This has been my favorite so far. It made such a difference. So what are you itching to do this spring?
I'm linking up to TDC Before and After party: