DIY Drawer Organizer

Followers of my other blog may recognize this project, but I thought I should post it to this blog as well so all of little ditders friends can see it too!

One of my biggest goals for this year is to get my house organized.  It seems I've been moving from house to house for 6 years, never staying in one place long enough to get truly unpacked and organized and I'm tired of living out of boxes. 

I found a cleaning agenda on the Internet (sorry I can't find the blog now) that helps you get/keep your house clean, even deep cleaned, by doing a small project every day... Here's a synopsis of the agenda.  The actual print out has more detail. Let me know if you would like a copy and I can email it to you (I downloaded it from the blog).

Monday -  Laundry Day (This doesn't work for me, I have to do laundry every day)
                 Tidy the House
                 Vacuum main room (I sweep as I have hardwood floors)

Tuesday - Bathrooms

Wednesday - Surfaces (dusting, wiping things down etc)

Thursday - Organize/Clean out something. 

Friday - Tidy the house
              Vacuum all rooms including stairs.

This seems to work pretty well, I've only been doing it for a couple of weeks and don't hit it all every week, but at least I have a goal.  Now, back to organization.  Last Thursday I started an organization project that has taken me all week to complete (mainly due to my work schedule and other obligations), but I finished it this evening and I want to share it with you.  Not only is it something everyone can probably utilize somewhere, it is very inexpensive too!

Now, this is not the first time I've used this concept, (I will show you some other examples at the end) but it is the first time I've utilized it to this extent...  You see I have this kitchen drawer; it is huge 28" wide by 20" deep.  You can't find organizers for something that size, which makes it impossible to find the utensil you need when you need it.

I was discussing the problem with my 8 year old, running an idea by him that I had come up with. A quite complicated idea that involved buying wood and building a divider.  He said "Mom, why don't you just use boxes like you did for my desk?" Thank goodness children think simply. I couldn't believe I didn't think of that myself!  So I dug through the pantry and searched the house for boxes, and even found a box at work that would work for some of the bigger items.

I placed each box in the drawer and drew lines around it with a sharpie.  (Please excuse the dye mark on my hand, I had been helping my husband in the shop that day).

Next, using a box cutter (you could also use a Stanley knife) I cut along the lines.

Then I test fit the boxes in the drawer and went looking for more boxes to fill in the holes.


In most cases you can stop at this point, but since this is a heavily used kitchen drawer, I decided it needed a little more attention. So I wrapped each box in contact paper. This step will make the boxes sturdier and make it easy to wipe them out and keep the drawer clean. If you are planning to cover your boxes in contact paper, I highly recommend and abstract pattern, I used the "granite" pattern and it worked great because I didn't have to worry about lining things up and could patch any mistakes with scraps. It took two 9 foot rolls of contact paper to complete this project. That was the only expense.



Viola! The finished project.  Now, I said I've done this before, The following drawers need a little attention as they haven't been redone since the last move and some of the boxes are missing. 

Dominic's desk is actually a computer desk without a drawer, we utilized boxes on the keyboard tray to make cubbies for all his school supplies.

We also have a hutch that has been utilized as a catch-all and TV stand in the past but now holds the vivarium for Dominic's bearded dragon, Dexter. In the past this drawer held mostly batteries and candles, and I'm thinking the batteries will again call this drawer home once I begin to organize the drawers in the laundry room.

I hope you found this idea helpful.  Stay tuned to follow me on more organizational adventures as I work toward my whole house organization goal this year! 

Love and God's peace to you,
Christine



Redecorating 2013 - DIY Stenciling

The next project for my master bedroom was to paint a single strip of stenciling on one of the walls...an idea I found on pinterest from My Sister & I, Inc.

So I started looking for a stencil that would work with the other patterns going on in the room.  But it turns out, stencils (especially the large patterns like this one) are expensive!  Most of the ones I found were between $40-90!  If I were doing the whole wall, that expense might be justifiable, but when you're unemployed and only painting a small amount of the stencil...nope, not happening.

Instead, I borrowed a trick I had just learned from making the Subway Art for the other wall in the room.  I found a picture of a pattern that I liked, and enlarged it with an "engineering print" from Staples.  It only cost $2 for the print!

In the interest of full disclosure, this is probably not a "beginner" project, nor is it a good project for a perfectionist. BUT, if you want to add an accent like this, need to save some money and have some time to kill (probably 4-5 hours) - the effect is amazing!

I forgot to take a picture, but there are a couple of options for transferring the outline of the image to the wall.  You could use an overhead projector (assuming you have access to one), but I'd be concerned about the pattern getting distorted.  Any form of tracing paper or carbon paper will work.  But, of course, I didn't have any of these, so I went old school.  I used a piece of charcoal (you could also use a pencil, but it would take a long time) to color all over the pack of the sheet of paper.  Then, when I put it on the wall and traced over the pattern, the charcoal transferred the pattern to the wall.

Once you've traced the pattern, move the paper and realign it so you can continue the pattern.  You'll see that the pattern is designed as an all over pattern, so I had to select the portion that I wanted to use and only trace that.

 Hard to photograph, but this is what it looked like once I was finished tracing the pattern.

Next, using an artist's brush, fill in the pattern with paint.  I used a 1/2" angled brush and it worked perfectly!  This part is the reason that beginners and perfectionists should spend the money on a stencil.  You need a very steady hand, and even still, when you look up close, the lines aren't perfectly crisp like they would be with a stencil.  From just a couple of feet away though, you can hardly tell that its not perfect.

The finished product!  I liked this pattern because it's a softer version of the print on my bed.  Eventually, I'm going to mount a long mirror over this, but who knows when I'll get around to that.

Total Project Cost

"Engineering Print" from Staples             $2

Paint (left over from another project)    FREE 

Paint Brush                                        $3

Total                                                $5

Take that $50 stencil!

For a more subtle look, you could use polycrylic, or the same color paint in a different finish (gloss paint on a matte wall).  The effect would be beautiful!

Post your comments to let me know what you think and/or if you try this for yourself.

Grace and love,

Jenn

Redecorating 2013 - How to update laminate countertops

My house has the most hideous counter tops you have seen...No, seriously...they're really awful.  I don't even know why they make laminate in this color.  When we first moved in, I toyed with a lot of ideas about how I could disguise them - unattached ceramic tiles , paint, just never walking into the kitchen...and finally found the idea of using Contact Paper.  It was 3 years ago, so I have no idea where I found the idea, but I'm sure it was the result of a Google search.

Since then, I have had to redo them about once a year.  It costs less than $10 and takes about 2 hours - not bad!  This year, I had to redo the whole thing (usually I just do the flat surfaces, and leave the back splash) because they discontinued the color I was using.  So you get to see the process from start to finish.  First, a few before pictures...

Why?  Just Why?

This side is even worse because of the matching back splash...

So for this project I needed contact paper, scissors, a utility knife and something to smooth out the paper.  I use my Pampered Chef Handy Scraper because of the rubber edge, but a piece of stiff cardboard will do the same thing.

First, cut the Contact paper into pieces that are big enough to cover from the back over the front edge of the counter top with plenty of extra (1-2").  Then, starting on one end, peel off the backing and lay the first sheet as straight as possible.  If the end of the counter is exposed, make sure you can cover that edge as well.  It's a big piece of paper to work with, so I only peel off 6-8" of the backing paper so that it doesn't get stuck together.  Use your scraper (or cardboard) to press it into place and remove any bubbles.  Start from the middle and work towards the edges.

Slowly peel off the backing paper as you press the paper into place, until the whole sheet is stuck down and bubble free.

Then take your *sharp* utility knife and trim along the edges.  Be careful so you don't cut off areas you wanted to cover.  On the corners, you will need to cut along the edges so you can overlap the pieces.

Then go on to the next piece.  You will want to lay it carefully, and may need to re-position it a couple of times to get it right.  You'll want a small overlap, probably less than 1/4".  Then continue as you did with the first one until the whole section is covered.

Take extra care around the sink to make sure it fits well.  I also do extra overlap because of the extra water that always seems to be on the counter.  I don't have many problems with it peeling, but just be extra careful.

So much better looking once its done!

Contact paper will hold up with light to medium use.  Always use cutting boards as it can be cut easily, even with dull knives.  I find that the surface holds up for about a year (I usually replace it after canning season, which is when it gets the most damaged - I was a little behind this year!)  This is only the second time I've done the back splash (It lasted 3 years), and if I hadn't been changing colors I wouldn't have changed it...it easily could have lasted a few more years.

Total cost of project

Contact Paper (2 rolls)                        $12
Tools                                                  Already had

Total                                                   $12

Comment and let me know what you think and also let me know if you try this for yourself!

Grace and love,
Jenn