Here’s Looking at Me Kid is right, the Loo poses a challenge to make over when decorating and organizing this space on a thrift store dime budget. Take a list of these items on your next outing to a garage sale or the resale shops to give your loo that woo boost.
-decorative cups as a toothbrush holder
-shower caddy installed on the wall as extra storage
-floral sheet as a shower curtain
-art to fill as fillers for blank space
(source: Here’s Looking at Me Kid)
One of a Kind Jewelry Frame by J.Anne
Does is seem to be like hunt through the jungle when searching for certain pieces? If you jewelry is a bit out of control, and you in need of a solution to display your pieces with pride, then check out these easy instructions to creating your very own, handmade, J.Anne Jewelry Frame.
Ingredients
Your Jewelry
Picture frame with provided backing
Smart Foam
Cloth (for backdrop)
Knife
Pins
Scissors
Directions
1. Take out the glass to the frame and remove the backing.
2. Measure the foam to fit inside the frame, trace with a marker and cut with the knife.
3. Measure the material to cover the side of the foam that will house the jewelry. Trace with a maker and cut the material with scissors.
4. Pin the material with pins to the backside of the foam. Wrap as if wrapping a present.
5. Place the now covered foam inside the frame, return the backing to the frame.
6. Arrange the pins and add your jewelry.
7. Create as many frames needed to house all your pieces or just your most wanted.
Hang up, stand up or display your picture perfect jewelry frame however you desire.
(Source: carsgoingarages.com)
Shape Up Wednesdays - Entry Way & Hallway Closet
The closet, if used by everyone in the home, becomes a frequent stopping ground for each member of the household. If located by the nearest entrance in your home, it becomes quite the catch all, and an avalanche when you are in the most hurry to get out the door.
Our family is quite active and get into our closet daily. Since we walk our dogs everyday, retrieving the pet walking gear was becoming a daunting “go fetch” routine and inspired me to post this to help others.
You can find ease, like we do now, when accessing daily items from your closet. Set aside about 30 minutes of your day and budget $40, you’ll love your newly organized closet in no time.
Ingredients
(1) shoe organizer for a door
(1) hanging sweater organizer
(2) small baskets
Directions
1. Take everything out of the closet while separating everything into like categories (ie, scarfs and gloves together, jackets in one pile, etc).
2. Survey the items once you’ve finished sorting. Are there things that do not belong in the hallway closet? Set these aside and any items that can be donated or thrown away.
3. Install the shoe organizer onto the inside of your closet’s door.
4. Hang the sweater organizer inside the closet.
5. Return large items back to the closet (vacuum, umbrellas, jackets). Be sure to put the items most accessed closet to the front.
6. Put small items like dog leashes, flashlights, dog toys, sunglasses and even tennis shoes into the shoe organizer, after it’s attached to the door.
7. Set scarfs, gloves, hats into their own shelf in the sweater organizer.
8. Items that you get to once a year, or infrequently, set in a basket, on the top shelves. Put these items out of your daily grasps.
Remember: Leave room for the items you get to on a regular basis in the front of the closet or on the lowest shelves. Really keep the closet to house specific items that pertain to your exiting and entering the house. For us it is, pet’s leashes and other walking things, suntan lotion, coats, cool & rainy weather accessories. Be creative and try it out. You can always come back to the closet to adjust it as your realize your true needs of the closet.
Every girl dreams of her prince rescuing her from the bellows of a doom and gloom castle tower. But what about every cat’s dream to have their own castle, to go frolicking in and pounce on?
I for one, am in favor of a place for my cat to jump, climb, burn calories and entertain herself when I’m not around. Just as long as my couches and the dogs are safe from the grasp of her claws. This article caught my eye because I have high ceilings and I’m out of paintings to put up. Make use of your blank walls and be the source to your fit and happy cat’s health and well being. Build your own Cat Catnip Castle with these easy online instructions by Julia Szabo.
No time to build, order your own, Tiger Branches.
(Source: blog.craftzine.com)
Remembering that just because something is a buck (plus tax), doesn’t mean you should go all out and deplete the cash in your wallet when shopping. Here are a few simple rules to keep in mind before shopping for party supplies at budget friendly stores.
*Frugal Eye for the Planner - Head out to the store, before the event and focus on purchasing the basics. A list is very handy to make before going, and it helps you stay focused. You’ll not feel pressured to purchase extra things you “think” about as you are browsing. Since you have time to come back later, take notes as you are shopping during this trip, of the things you’d like to come back for and note why. Or even take pictures of the items with your camera phone to help you remember later.
*Moderation is King - After the party is said and done, you’ll have to either store or dispose of party supplies. Where will you be storing everything? Do you have space with your other decorations in storage already? Will you have to purchase more storage bins to store the new decorations? If these decorations are a one time use because of quality or theme, try to purchase recyclable ones that can be thrown out with your city trash pickup. Really think about what you need to make the party function, versus getting tangled into what you think you want because it’s saving you money.
*Don’t Be a Storage Facility - Will you pass these along to someone else or some organization after wards? If so, will you be storing the items until their next event. Remember to keep your home your home. Storing items for others for an extended period of time can cause you more issues than the value of what you’ve saved at the store. Put a date on the decorations with a deadline in which you have to deliver or have the items picked up by. Stay firm to your deadline, and don’t let the decorations stay past their welcome.
(Source: carsgoingarages.com)
The Traveler, a wonderful gem, caught my eye at the Renegade Craft Fair San Francisco. Showcased this past weekend by the clever designer, Jenny N.
This handy dandy handmade bag, is a clever purchase for any gal on the go. It serves as a purse/shoulder bag/messenger bag/clutch and my favorite trick, fanny bag or pack, for you 80’s buffs. The reality is, fanny packs are were cool, when you could rock the Casbah. Aesthetic standards today have made the 80’s packs a thing of the past, but our busy lives need the functionality they once provided. To throw out the purposefulness of the fanny pack is to shame. Jenny has tastefully brought the fannypack back, coolness and functionality attached at the hip.
They come in different fabrics, equipped with a zippered pocket and is adjustable. Great for stowing away cell phones, ipods when you are traveling or just an uptown girl on the move!
Happy Organizing!
~Jennifer Guess Organizing
Not all clothes, sheets, blankets, towels, are created equal. I’ve discovered that certain pieces of our laundry tend to have a particular way to being laundered. Rather than toss the annoying tags, I collect them and put them in the most useful place, my laundry reference door.
Ingredients
2-3 sheet protectors
Collect up all your laundry labels
2-3 pieces of 8x10 sheet of paper (great use for scratch paper!)
marker colors of your choice
regular scotch tape or a glue stick
closeable fasteners (Velcro or Scotch 3M from JoAnn’s fabrics or The Container Store)
Directions
Happy Organizing!
~Jennifer Guess Organizing
Laundry cabinet.
Our laundry room is located in our garage, and we’ve had to create storage to accommodate laundry supplies.
Luckily the previous owners left behind shelving in the master bathroom that we’ve re purposed to serve as our laundry station storage area. This shelf is settled in between the washer and dryer and holds all our laundry and home cleaning supplies.
Grouping the laundry and cleaning supplies together helps keep unity of where to go in the garage.
Happy Organizing!
~Jennifer Guess Organizing
For those seasonal items you only need once a year, that seem to be in the way all year long. Here is a great way to open some space, but not have to give your stuff the boot. Have it picked up, stored and delivered when you want it, controlled by the convenience of your computer chair.
This desk concept is marvelous. Store everything you need in your surface area, allowing all your needs to be at hand. No drawers, or cubbies to hide things from visual sight. Your cords and other computer related goodies, go into the built in compartments. The desk is compact and simple design. The surface area is just right for your laptop, writing pad and chargers at easy access. This desk runs about $600 from Blue Lounge.
I’m thinking this is a great project to DYI…
I knew I was keeping all those corks for a reason.
They don’t just keep your wine from spilling and spoiling; corks can also protect your tables and countertops from hot pots and pans. 1. For a medium-sized trivet, collect at least 50 uniformly sized corks. 2. Stand them upright and arrange them into a tight circle. 3. Surround corks with an 8- to 10-inch metal hose clamp (sold in the plumbing section of the hardware store). 4. Tighten the clamp to bind the corks together and then trim the excess clamp with metal clippers. Cost: about $3
**Don’t have a lot of corks saved up? No worries, ask (it’s worth a try) your local bar or wine shop. Check to see if they will keep a bucket/jar near by in their bar area to collect their uncorked corks from their quarky customers. In no time you could have jar filled up quicker than you think.
from Whole Living..check out the great list of ideas…
“Out of the Closet”
Alternative Eco Friendly Hangers for you and Mother E.
Brought to you by: Ideal Bite: http://www.idealbite.com/tiplibrary/archives/out-of-the-closet
A reader’s hung up on her hanger situation: I always put away hangers in a cardboard box sitting at the bottom of the wardrobe when the hangers are not in use. However, the hangers are of different size tend to tangle up and it looks very messy. I just wonder whether there’s a neat way of storing them?
Erin answers with a solution that gets her of the hook, with a hanger holder picutered above.
http://unclutterer.com/2009/02/04/storing-specialty-hangers/
4 easy steps to a bangin’ Biter Swap:
What if more than one person wants the same item (bound to happen)? Each has to try it on, and the rest of the “personal stylists” decide who sports it best.
Brought to you by Ideal Bite: http://www.idealbite.com/tiplibrary/archives/biter_swap_party
**Consider your next purchase to be a considerate one. Patagonia encourages and supports the recycling of their clothing line.
