Clean & Organize

Bubbling Up

Published on May 15, 2013May 15, 2013 by Our Humble Abode15 Comments

Here’s another quickie project to help you get organized. Or at least more organized, can’t fix every problem with a few hooks now can ya? It started when I saw these cute metal cloud hooks.

Then I looked at the pile of Everett’s costumes and set out to make cute hooks. A stop to Michael’s and Home Depot gave me everything I needed:

1 inch wood dowel

Pre-cut wooden shapes (I chose conversation bubbles, but there are so many fun shapes, including clouds)

Dowel screws

Sharpie paint pen

Not pictured, you’ll need craft paint, clear coat, wood glue (or your favorite strong glue), a drill, saw, and pliers. Cut the dowel to length, mine are 2 inches and sand any rough ends. Then glue the wooden shapes the front, pressing firmly. Once dry, paint all sides of the hooks. Drill a pilot hole the size of your screw shaft in the end of the dowel. Screw the in, making it tight.

I chose to write on the bubbles, to look like a comic books. Gotta love a little onomatopoeia, right? Seemed fitting since the hooks hold super hero costumes. So I wrote words like Boom, Kapow, Zap, and Thud with the Sharpie pen and gave the hooks two coats of clear finish. I screwed them to the wall (find a stud or use anchors, just to be safe) and showed Everett.

He thought they were “so nice.” Mission accomplished.

I’ve got two more that I might add, but we’ll see.

Something similar could be fun and functional in an entry, too. Maybe with names on them? Maybe not, to look like little floating art…

Tray Chic

Published on March 22, 2013March 22, 2013 by Our Humble Abode14 Comments

I’m sure you’re getting sick of posts about the guest room, but I’m so excited to have a room to decorate. And tweak and perfect. New green accents are a great burst of color, but I wanted more. For handy storage, I made another storage box, this time green with navy accents and an octagon tray.

For $2.49 from Hobby Lobby, I think this little two-tone tray is down right cheerful. Navy diagonal stripes on the box lid are youthful (perfect for a 19-year-old boy) and tie into the other navy elements.

Even more greenery in the form of a fake succulent (perfect for a room with little natural light) nestled in a spray painted glass jar. Here’s a tip, get a glossy outside by painting the inside of glass vessels.

Fingers crossed we’ll install trim in here this weekend. After painting it, we can finally paint the walls. I’m almost positive we’ve settled on Safari by Benjamin Moore (the top, light sample).

It is more pale than I originally planned for, but I think it should work well. There’s enough orange to keep it from turning lime green under the bluish CFL lighting, but still looks yellow. Although I should admit I’m still yearning for a darker warm gold like Honeymoon. A chip close to the light switch nearly blends in with the color I originally wanted. I’m apprehensive to go with the darker color because I’ve struck out my last four attempts.

Which would you choose? The lighter, safer option or the darker that is close to the original vision?

Box Tops {Lidded Storage Boxes}

Published on March 7, 2013March 12, 2013 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

But not the box tops for education. Instead, building tops for these $3 boxes from Target’s dollar spot. These plain wood boxes are the perfect size for Handy Sammy’s bookshelf/nightstand storage. But I wanted lids to hide everything inside. So I looked in the garage and found a scrap of 1/4 inch MDF that was slightly larger than my box. In a word, perfect.

I measured the outside of the box and the inside.

And cut four pieces. One piece the same size as the outside, and another 1/4 inch smaller than the inside, for both boxes. Plenty of wood glue to attach the two pieces and wait for it to dry.

Then I started painting. I’m a rebel and skipped primer, but it would help. And sand the boxes quickly. I wanted something similar to these lacquer boxes, so I covered the edges with gold craft paint.

After the gold dried, I marked off 1/4 inch on all sides, then taped off the corners.

Mysterious blue paint and primer left over from the mini dresser covered nicely.

I still want to spray the boxes for a smoother, glossy finish, but I love how they look.

To make it easier on myself, I painted the inside of the boxes blue and the covers all gold.

As we tackle projects for the guest room, I’m getting more antsy to finish it. Because I want to see everything together. If you’ve got a tray you’d like to cover, this was as easy as two cuts. What do you think? Are you willing to give it a try? Or have you done something similar?

How Low Do You Stow?

Published on March 6, 2013March 6, 2013 by Our Humble Abode12 Comments

Storage. Everyone needs it, but not everyone has enough. As is the case in our little guest bedroom that Handy Sammy now lives in. Well, not this week because he’s on spring break, but usually. Actually, his break is the reason we’re working in this barely touched since we moved in room.

By far the smallest bedroom we’ve ever had, coming in at a whopping 9 feet 9 inches wide by almost 11 feet long (including the bookshelf depth). The closet is proportionate to the room, just about three feet wide.

And it has to work for a young college kid with clothes, books, backpacks, and other necessities. The current storage system is lacking, to say the least. Left over mismatched bins on the top shelves hold socks, t-shirts, and more.

A small shoe rack holds extra shoes, but there’s little room to store backpacks and other large items.

Once Handy Sammy returns, he can fill the mini dresser I refinished, hopefully giving more room at the top of the closet to stow bags and such.

But we did take out the nightstand, so it’s a trade. Gain some floor space, making the room feel larger, but lose a drawer of small storage space.

I do have a loose plan. Instead we’ll make more space on the bookshelves. One shelf of magazine files for notebooks/paper and another for books. The shelf at bed height will function now as a nightstand. I’m working on a few boxes for that shelf to store small items, too.

Under bed storage bins (for 8 bucks a piece) can hold anything shorter than 8 inches. Out of season clothes, school supplies, or other oddities. That should help until we get a chance to build a bed frame with drawers below.

Clearly we have some work to do here, like get/make a bed skirt (in addition to other things). And, if you look carefully, you can see one change we started over the weekend.

Handy Sammy isn’t picky, but I’d like to make this room functional, clutter free, and pretty. We’ve never had to think about the needs of a teenager, so if you have any small storage ideas, please share.

Organization Strikes Again

Published on January 30, 2013January 30, 2013 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

You know when you’re busy working on house projects and other areas get trashed as a result? I do. Usually our garage and laundry room are the victims. So are we because it takes an eternity to find tools and supplies. Like the electrical box covers for the sconces. First I looked in the laundry room, then the garage, then my office, then our tool stash in the pool house and still came back empty-handed.

Knowing they were in the house somewhere, I brought a chair in the laundry room, dug around the higher shelves and found the bag with covers buried under paint rollers. Right then, I had an organization intervention with myself, vowing to clear the crap sometime this week. We’ve got plenty of storage space, like this catch-all cabinet.

Light bulbs, caulking, batteries, tape, and more. Half used cans of spray paint and test pots.

A variety of screws, nuts, bolts, and miscellaneous hardware.

Across the room, we have a paint cabinet. Not in as bad of shape, still not great.

After sorting through containers of screws, boxes of nails, and moving all supplies to the laundry room, things are easy to find. More importantly, all in one place so we’re not searching several places.

Same for the paint cabinet. Everything paint related is stashed behind one set of doors.

And all paint cans, test pots, and stain stays in the neighboring cabinet (which previously held cleaning supplies).

Speaking of cleaning supplies, I condensed everything cleaning to one cabinet.

Just for fun, how many different brands of laundry detergent can you count?

The answer, seven, plus one sitting on the washing machine. Of which, we’ve purchased only one (number 4). Handy Sammy has a few (1, 5, and 6). Tenants have given Ben the rest when they’ve moved.

For now, everything is grouped and easy to find. Until it gets used, neglected, and we start the process over again. I’m thinking bins would be great.