Clean & Organize

A few years ago, we installed a central vacuüm system. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. It is so choice. We upgraded from a canister vacuüm, you know, the kind you drag around behind you, smashing into all of your walls on the way? Yea, we hated it. And it didn’t clean very well because it was old. Ben researched central vac systems and decided he could install one in our house. I was definitely on board. Anything to make cleaning easier and more enjoyable, right?

Back then, our basement was unfinished, so installing the PVC piping was relatively easy. Ben ran the ‘plumbing’ and wiring from our predetermined outlets to the vacuüm itself, which is located in our attached garage, cutting down on the noise significantly.

Our central vacuüm system consists of four outlets, one vacuüm, one 30 foot hose, and attachment heads. We opted not to install dustpan receptacles in our kitchen because we just get the vacuüm hose out and clean the whole house at once.

We have one centrally located vacuüm hook up on each level.

You can see an extra outlet at the end of the hall, to the left of the door.

The central outlet in the basement is hidden in the toe kick of our entertainment center:

Our 30 foot hose reaches most areas, but not quite all, so we installed one additional outlet at the south end of each level.

The vacuüm hose package we purchased includes the hose, a rug cleaning head, a hardwood cleaning head, and several small brushes and crevice tools. This vacuüm makes cleaning the miles of trim a breeze because of the reach of the hose. Vacuuming the stairs has never been easier, either thanks to the light weight hose. No more lugging a heavy vacuüm up and down the stairs. No more changing bags, just dumping the 12 gallon canister occasionally. And, it is easily stored in a small hall closet with other cleaning supplies.

Helpful Hint: To help decide the length of hose you need, keep your furniture placement in mind. That will shorten the reach of your hose.

I’m back to show off more of my almost finished office!

I was using the children’s desk we have in our living room to run my stationery shop, Customized Stationary. A little more than a year and a lot of complaining later, I am using my new office! Ben still has some building to do, but I’m happy as a clam to have more space.

Before we go into the present day office, lets take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

This is what the office space looked like before. Then Ben worked his magic. Summer rolled around and we got busy with outdoor projects and life, so my office was on hold. Winter came and we started working again, but now we had a deadline. We were going to have a baby around the end of March 2010. Time to go into over drive. We had an entire basement to finish, including my office. So, 15 gallons of white paint later, we have arrived at our destination.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, MY OFFICE

Once the office is complete, I will have a stack of four drawers on the left side of the desk and four cabinet doors to cover the right side. I will also have adjustable shelving in the cabinet that houses my computer tower and printer.

Here is a look at the other side:

Ben is building the cabinet doors to cover the right sides.

Here we have a door waiting to be filled, sanded, primed and painted.

Ben is pretty smart and had a few ideas to improve the function of the space. One idea was under cabinet lighting. The other brilliant idea was a magnetic backsplash to serve as my inspiration/work board. (I was planning on using a framed metal board, but this is so much better AND it allows artwork on the left wall). The original plan was to install painted steel, but we didn’t know how we would keep it in place without ruining the walls and making it obvious.

Then, my dad suggested using magnetic primer. Brilliant! A quart costs between $20.00 and $25.00, but we covered my entire backsplash 6 times (the can suggests a minimum of three thin coats) with one can. Once the primer has dried, you just paint over it with your wall color and voilà! Instant magnet board. The magnetic primer can’t hold heavy items, but it’s perfect for my papers.

The left side holds three IKEA containers with paperclips, rubber bands and small clips.