What did I do before this?  Oh wait… I have a picture.

 

 

Messy, no?

Here’s what it looks like now.

It’s simply a coupla boxes on the wall, a calendar, and a corkboard, hung over my DIY recycling center, but it has changed my life!

 

Here’s a quick run down of my returning home (with kiddos) after … let’s say… picking up Bamm-Bamm from preschool.

 

I have grabbed the mail on the way in and also have Bamm-Bamm lunch box.  Bamm-Bamm strips off his jacket and shoes (and sometimes his pants and underwear) and Little Man looks for toys and/or cheerios to put in his mouth.

I head over to the recycling Family Command Center and drop off my keys, toss trash, wrappers from the lunchbox and junk mail, open the mail, post coupons, write down appointments, and place bills in the inbox –all before the kids get bored and start begging for (food, candy, TV, clean diaper, fill-in-the-blank). 

  

Life is good better.

 

The mail bins were cheapo, quick coat of paint, thrift store transformations. 

The board is an old calendar holder-thing that I flipped upside down and glued some corkboard to. 

The calendar is just a piece of construction paper I drew a 5x7 grid on. 

Over this I wedged a piece of acrylic (instant dry erase board), glass would have worked too. Add some pretty ribbon to hide the edge - viola.

 

Easy, peasy – so why didn’t I do it sooner?

The family is so much more “commanded” now ;)

 

Sometimes I think I just don’t know what I am missing. 

This wall-o-organization only cost me $2 (hand-me-down frame, old corkboard and acrylic I had, $2 letter bins-thingy!!!).  Oh, well, I guess I did spend $5 on some new dry erase markers ;)

 

What do you think?  Do you have one of these?  Do you love yours too?

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I’m pleased with the new book nook in the playroom.

It was maybe the cheapest build I have ever done – most of the lumber was from MDF scraps left over after other projects. 

At just 3.5 inches deep – it doesn’t use a lot of wood.   A 3/4” spade bit cut the sides for the dowels.

The wall is a different kind of square at the top and bottom, so I used copious amounts of caulk at the edge to hide the gap.

My handy dandy Dremel MultiMax cut holes in the 1/8” hardboard back for the outlet and light switch.  I used box extenders to “extend” the outlet and switch box to their new depth with the bookcase in place (see this post for more on box extenders).

I also used it to cut down the outlet cover so it would fit (a little sanding cleaned the edge right up).  Don’t use your table saw for this – it will shatter the plastic (I learned that the hard way ;)

Now, the playroom is still messy – this doesn’t help the kids pick up their books (yet!), but they don’t dump them in a pile just ‘cause anymore.

For the uninitiated, the light switch can be a fun treasure hunt (but since the room has a skylight, it only matters at night).

Now I just need to build a little sofa or couch, and I can see sitting here reading to the boys “all day long” (as Bamm Bamm would say).

What are your favorite playroom or kids’ room storage?  Favorite kid’s book?  I like Where’s My Cow, by Terry Pratchett!

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Thank you Laura @ Organizing Junkie and Maryann@ Domestically Speaking for giving me some incentive to clean and organize my house (my husband thanks you too).

 

This week’s challenge – the kitchen.  I don’t do the cooking, but that doesn’t mean keeping a tidy kitchen isn’t my responsibility (he cooks – I clean – most women would agree it’s a fair trade).

So I dove in… and I’m not done by a long shot, but things are starting to get better!

1.  I don’t have to do it all this week (I have 52 weeks to organize the whole house – so I’ll pace myself! ;)

This cabinet wasn’t terrible, but there was a little of everything – no overarching theme here (except messy).

2.  To organize sometimes it gets messier before it gets tidier.  So true – I’ve still got stuff all over my counters.

 

Now, I’ve got medicines in a basket at the top, flours in the middle, and oils/vinegars on the bottom.

3.  Put like with like, and place it near where you use it.   A drawer becomes dedicated to vitamins.  Baskets for medicines and flours.  I used to have these things scattered all over the kitchen!

 

And I learned something.  I had some of these exceptional gluten-free flours from Norway – being saved for a special day.  When I had gathered them together, I had more than I thought.  I also realized that I was hoarding them!  There’s no point in having something special if it never gets used because it is too special.  I am going to use these flours – they aren’t doing me any good in the cupboard!

Oh my goodness I can NOT wait to see everyone’s organized kitchen projects!

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of Organizing starts here…

 

with the Recycling Center I built over the holidays!

Since we started using this, the change at our house has been amazing.

 

Junk mail used to pile up on the table.  Empty milk cartons and yogurt cups sat on the counter until I got around to taking them outside.  Aahhh!

Now, into the handsome cabinet bin they go, hidden until I take out the trash.  Plenty of room for 13 gallons each of trash and recycling… this has been the perfect way to kick off Laura’s 52 Weeks of Organizing Challenge!

 

Now I’m working on week 2’s project (book storage for my kids’ playroom), and the other 50 weeks of organizing.

Doing a little every week (with the occasional big project), will help keep me from becoming overwhelmed.  This year I’m getting organized!

 

Are you getting organized this year?

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I am so excited to share my new Recycling Center with you!

It wasn’t much to build because I used an Ikea shelving system I already owned (but am so over that knotty pine).

The biggest impact comes from the addition of some lattice wood, which is cheap and easy to use!  I love the difference it makes!


What I had:
IKEA Husar shelf and drawer unit
antique drawer pulls (10 for $3 at the thrift store)
pocket jig and screws (optional)


What I bought:
~30 feet lattice strips (~1.3” wide)
1x8 pine lumber
1x4 pine lumber
hinges
hinge supports
Minwax Bombay Mahogany PolyShades stain


The Husar is discontinued (and I really miss it – decent solid wood products do not seem to interest Ikea much these days), but you may be able to find something second-hand.


I removed the drawers and shelves and firmly screwed the two units together.

Then I just started putting on the lattice – which was pretty fun.   This stuff is easy to cut and just needs a little glue or small brad nails. 

Attach strips of lattice to the sides with wood glue (I used Gorilla Glue) and clamp or nail.

I also put strips across the front and sides where the drawer unit meets with the shelves, and around the drawer fronts.

I don’t have pictures, but I built a new top out of a 1x8 and 1x4 lumber screwed onto the old top.  I cut a bevel edge with the table saw for looks.
The footer was cut out of 1x4 with a jigsaw and screwed on from below.


The hardest part… adding a divider and building the doors out of the old shelves.  Here’s where my pocket screw jig came in handy…

used pocket screws to attach the divider inside the shelf unit.


The shelves that I removed from the unit weren’t wide enough, so I screwed a narrow strip of lumber to one side (with – what else - pocket screws!)

They received the same lattice treatment and stain.

The antique pulls from the thrift store were a serious score! I just needed to drill holes in the doors for them.

Attached the doors to the cabinet with some hinges at the bottom.

Added a single hinge support to each door.  These will keep the door in whatever position you place it in and helps to hold it shut too. 
 

I put a simple double-roller latch in each door also, but probably didn’t need to (well, I’ve got toddlers, so maybe I did need to).   


I love it!  The red tone of the stain goes well with my kitchen (I am thinking a third coat so it’s really dark – and maybe that’ll even it out too?).

Storage and (finally!) a place for recyclables and trash!  What’s not to love!

I’m taking the rest of the week off for Christmas!  Hope you all have a great holiday weekend!

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Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation ThursdayDIY ShowOff's Inspired to OrganizeFunky Junk's Saturday Night SpecialShanty2Chic's I Made It Without My Hubby

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