Archive | Organization

Framed Jewelry Holder

By Holly on 03/07/2012 in Crafts, Holly, Organization

This project has been on the list for a long time. It was so easy to make, I wonder why I waited so long to get it done! Using tips from Shelley at House of Smiths, I just changed it up to be what I needed.

Here is the problem: Piles on the counter. I never could find the pair I wanted.

Solution: 12X24 frame (from Hobby Lobby), decorative metal radiator covering (from Lowe’s, not Home Depot), and metal snips.

Cut metal to fit frame (I tried my best to center the design). Then I put a little hot glue in each corner to take down the metal. I wanted it to not be permanent, as I might paint the frame a fun color some day. But for now, the black will stay.

With my blow dryer off the counter, and now my jewelry off the counter, my bathroom is going to fill a lot bigger. I’m loving it! My next update for my bathroom is to frame my mirror. It might be a while before I can talk my husband into helping me with that. Maybe I’ll ask for that for my birthday. 🙂

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Clean Sweep

By Natalie on 10/14/2011 in Natalie, Organization

I don’t know what it is, but this time of year I always feel the cleaning bug come upon me. I make a list of all the things I want to get done and try to tackle at least one thing a day. It feels so great!
Here are some simple things you can do to make you and your home feel more organized and clean:

1) Have your carpets cleaned. We just did this a couple weeks ago and it has made all the difference! EVERYTHING felt so much cleaner.
2) Organize a shelf or closet a day. This is something I’ve been trying to work on. Somehow all my spaces get disorganized at some point. I love looking in a shelf and having it all organized.

Before

After

This felt so much better to me! I know quite the food pantry, huh? Not my favorite, but it does the job! 🙂
Tomorrow’s project is cleaning out under the sink in the bathroom. *sigh* I can do it!
Also, I’ve been trying to wipe down all the blinds and baseboards in my house. These little things make all the difference! (Disclaimer: I by no means am telling you I have the cleanest house in the world)
3) Another way to change things up and clean is to move your room around. I love this change. I’d show you mine, but it hasn’t quite happened yet. What a great way to clean out all that “lingering” stuff that somehow gets under your bed 🙂

And this doesn’t have anything to do with cleaning, but I made a yummy soup tonight I wanted to share! This is a must try. Not the healthiest in the world, but it does have the word “broccoli” in it. My family just loved it.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli
4 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 (1 pound) loaf processed cheese food, cubed
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2/3 cup cornstarch
1 cup water

Directions

In a stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onion in butter until softened. Stir in broccoli, and cover with chicken broth. Simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
Reduce heat, and stir in cheese cubes until melted. Mix in milk and garlic powder.
In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into water until dissolved. Stir into soup; cook, stirring frequently, until thick.

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Closet Door with Storage

By Emily on 09/05/2011 in Emily, Organization

I saw this picture on Pinterest a while back and just KNEW it was for me.

I LOVE, love, LOVE organization and if I had unlimited time & money, I’d do it a lot more often!

This is an Ana-White pattern. I love that whole site. I could spend all day

looking for ideas! If you like to build things and figure how to do it on your own

(instead of paying someone to build it for you) you should totally check out this site!

(photo credit here)

Her website says 3-6 hours and $30 to do this project; however, if you are not experts, like us,

it will take longer and more $$. Just so you’re prepared!!

This is the before look.

(I bet you can’t tell that I love organization from looking at my little girls’ closet, can you?)

So after ~~begging and pleading~~ talking my husband into helping me, we got started.

We pretty much just followed her exact instructions. We built the outside.

Then the shelves.

We decided to make the bottom shelf about 4 inches bigger, for the bigger books.

Then we used 1 X 2’s for the shelf trim.

My husband has a nail gun, so that is what we used on all of this so far.

Then we brought it inside that night and puttied the wholes and then after it dried, we sanded it.

We also put two wheels on the front of it to help add some support.

Then we took a break for a few days.

When we got back to it, we painted it two coats of purple that we had left over from another bedroom.

The color was Sherwin Williams, (Cashmere & Low Luster) 6815 Awesome Violet.

Next, we took the shelf and put it up against the door where we wanted it to go and

marked it with a pencil. Then we took the closet door off the hinge and took it to the garage.

We laid the new shelf on top.

Next we drilled holes through the shelf AND the door. We centered the first hole and then came in about 2 inches on each side for the other holes. So there are three holes in the top support and three in the bottom.

We were nervous about the weight of the shelf because it was a hollow door.

Luckily, we found these toggle bolts that worked out perfectly!

We had to drill bigger holes to get the toggle part through, so we moved the shelf for that part.

Then we put the screw through the hole in the shelf, attached the toggle part, and then pushed it through the bigger hole in the door. It snapped into place without any problems. (Expect for my smashed finger =)