Nesting? Not just for pregnant women.

I know that ladies purge, clean and nest when they are waiting to have a baby but we tend to do it at different times as well.  I am scheduled for a complete knee replacement in a couple of weeks and I have a real need to clean and purge before I go to hospital so that anyone who comes in after I get home doesn't have to see my mess.

Yesterday I started by working on my kitchen counters and coffee station.


This is what my cluttered counters looked like before.  Ewwww. Please don't judge me. Its a really tiny kitchen and I'm not the best at finding permanent homes for things so they tend to pile up.

First I moved everything from the counters to the island top . I didn't think to take a picture of this but just imagine a pile about two feet high balanced and ready to fall over.

Then I just sprayed and scrubbed everything with my homemade all purpose cleaner.  This stuff busts grease like nobody's business.  I works on everything from the walls to the stainless sink.

Then I started putting things back.   I purged as I went so some things got tossed and others found a new home, but it all got wiped down so it's nice and shiny.  I love how it looks now.

I had to do the coffee station too while I was on a roll. Here is the before.

I moved everything once again to the island and gave the shelves and buffet and good wipe.
then put it all back nice and clean.

I made the tiles freehand because I couldn't find a stencil I liked for here.

And the apothecary jars are just pickle jars and candlesticks. I love how they look and keep the tea bags, sugar and sweetener close at hand.  As you can see I have a thing for old rolling pins. A couple of those were from my grandmother and mom.

The coffee pods are in the drawer right below the coffee maker.  I use these ones and I keep them filled and ready. I like that they come in two colours for dark roast and decaf.  You can find them at Canadian tire at this link.  http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/cafe-cup-0430480p.html#.VKrxWSx0zVI   The cost savings are great and I don't have a ton of pods to throw away,  I just buy some special coffee once in a while.  And besides I need to keep my grounds for the garden.

I feel great now that it's all done.  I just have to keep it this way. Now when my friend comes to stay with me after I get home from hospital she'll have an easy time making a coffee.  Everything is handy and in a great spot.. Loving it

I guess my next job is the Fridge and bottom cupboards.  Don't know if I'm gonna get to that right away though.

Laundry Mondays....Getting Control of your Laundry

I used to hate doing laundry and would leave it all to do on "laundry  day".  I always thought that was how it needed to be done because that was how my mother did it.   Of course when I first started doing my own I still had a wringer washing machine and a clothes line. It was supplemented with double laundry sinks though so I considered myself very lucky, but it still took a whole day to fill the machine and wash all those clothes starting from the whites to the darks then emptying and filling again to rinse.  Then sometimes it took a few days to get everything out on the line and dried. Of course all those wrinkled items needed to be ironed.  Does anyone else remember this.



Laundry doesn't have to be a monumental task.
Today I have a matching washer and dryer and it makes me smile when I go into the laundry room to put a load through. Remembering the old way always makes me very grateful for what I have now. 

Doing Laundry now
 

I guess if you never experienced a laundry day like that, you might not realize how easy it should be now.  Notice I say  "should be".  That's because I'm always hearing how people have let it pile up until they are overwhelmed with the task of getting it done.


If you want to get rid of huge piles of laundry you need to get get rid of laundry day. We create dirty laundry every day , but it doesn't take a whole day to get it clean.  Follow my laundry posts over the next few  weeks   and maybe you won't hate laundry any more either.  And on your day off from work maybe you can find something more enjoyable to do.

Lets start with sorting. It's such an important step. If you don't sort your clothes when you wash them, they will soon look dingy, colours will run or fade and that shirt you just loved when you bought it won't be so great any more.  A long time ago I just threw all my dirty laundry into one big pile and then it took ages to sort and made a big mess on the floor when I did the wash. Not any more. Everything is sorted all the time now.

This is what you need to do. Find a central space in your home to keep at least 3 baskets for continuous sorting. Ideally this would be the laundry room but the bottom of a small closet or a space in an upstairs hall will work if that is what you have.  Use one for whites and pastels (make sure nothing will run), one for darker coloured clothes  and one for towels,underwear and socks.  Do a quick round up once a day from bedrooms and bathrooms and toss items into the correct basket.  Better still get each family member to put his or her own clothes into the right basket.

Get the whole family on board by putting their own clothes in the bins

Now you have all the laundry sorted and you haven't even started yet.  See how easy this is going to be. Maybe not if you have  a mountain of laundry to do before you start your new system, but if you  do have a mountain of laundry that's a really good indicator that you need a new system.  Just saying.
























If you want it to be even easier , teach each family member to put their own laundry into the sorting station.  Of course older children should be doing their own,  but you will probably  have to help those little fellows for a bit until they get the hang of it, otherwise you might find a weeks worth of clothing under the bed or in the toy box. 



Here are a few laundry sorting stations that you might like, but picking the system that is easiest for you is the key to actually making it work.

With just a few shelf parts you can put together this simple system for your laundry baskets.


































A good simple and cheap system just using baskets and labels can be found here.
























This slide in system created by welcome to the nuthouse is really great because it doesn't use up a lot of space.   I would put castors on it though for easy moving.















OR
You can buy a six pack of these baskets from Amazon and create your own system.



or maybe this system from Vileda found here.

















Which ever system you choose, just remember that by using it faithfully you can  make your laundry task much much easier.

Find   Part 2 here to see what to do with your nicely sorted laundry.
and Part 3 here to see the finish line.


Update:  If you have a talented builder in you life you could build this  Dresser Sorting Station. Click on the link to get full instructions

I'd love to hear from you.

Please leave a comment and tell me

what you think of todays post.

Sunday's Pictures - Christmas cactus

I love   my Christmas Cactus.  It makes me a little sad  the blooms are already past, but I captured a few pictures before they were all gone. 

 

 

 

 

 

So very pretty.

 

Happy Sunday, I hope you all

have a wonderful week

Every Child is an Artist

I absolute love the saying "Every child is an artist".  But to be an artist a child has to be able to create when they want to.  I threw together this little caddy about two years ago and it is holding up really well so I thought I'd share it here today.

Six pack crayon storage.

 Crayons , coloured pencils and drawing tools are sometimes hard to keep organized and this little caddy does the job perfectly

The little muffin crayons are made by melting crayon bits in a mini cupcake pan (using liners) and then just remove the liner when the crayon cools and hardens.

All you need to make this handy caddy is a six pack carton from the beer store, and six empty soup cans. The cans fit the six pack holder perfectly.

I used  DIY chalky paint and painted the carton . It took two coats to get good coverage.  This makes the carton a chalkboard too.

The  white paint is from my stash of the little 2 oz bottles of acrylic paint.  I simply used a brush and hand lettered. You really won't need a stencil for this, it's so easy.

My granddaughters love being able to just grab this whenever they want to colour or draw, and it's to easy to store away when they go home.

So if your looking for craft room storage for kids art supplies this caddy will hold almost anything you want to put in it .  It could also hold paint brushes,  coloured chalks,  or markers.  Just imagine what you could add if you used a twelve pack.  I bet it could  be a complete portable craft station.

And if your wondering how this holds up, I used it in a home daycare for almost 2 years and now I have it for my grandkids.  A few of  these pictures were taken about two years apart and if the first ones weren't so blurry you wouldn't be able to tell which was which. So yes.. It is very sturdy and holds up to a lot of use.

I'd love to hear from you.

Please leave a comment and tell me

what you think of todays post.

Apothecary Jar DIY

I love the apothecary jars you see in the stores but they are way out of my price range.  Being lucky like I am, the DIY's are all over the internet.  Is there anything you can't find directions for if you look.  I found some done for any  décor, and I also found them in different colours for Halloween, Easter, and Christmas.  I guess you could make them to colour match for wedding or birthday décor as well.


DIY Apothecary Jars



I had a couple of these candlesticks that I never really used, and of course I save jars of almost every size.  And the spray paint is from my stash.  So I gave a couple of coats of spray paint to the candlesticks, the jar lids and a couple of little door knobs I had in a drawer. 

When everything was good and dry,  I put a ring of my adhesive around the top rim of the candlesticks. Then looking down through the jar I centered them on top and pushed down tightly to create a good bond. 

I put the lids onto another jar and using an awl I punched a hole in the center of each jar for the screw to attach the knobs.  And presto.  I have two apothecary jars and I didn't spend a dime.  I had everything I needed on hand.  Good thing I don't throw anything away.

I love the pretty Champagne Mist colour of these and I think they look great as storage in my bathroom.

I have a gallon pickle jar. I wonder if I could find a base big enough to make a cool cookie jar.



Here's a tiny sample of what else is out there.... but... once you take a peek I guarantee you'll go looking for more.

The crystal knobs on top of these ones from Twelve O Eight  are fabulous, and I love the blue.

And these black jars done up so pretty for Halloween from Uncommon Design are great.  Check out her blog to see what she did with them for Christmas.

And the pokadot bows on these Christmas jars from
"The real thing with the Coake family" are just too cute for words.

New Years Resolution

Do you make New Years resolutions.  I have some years and I haven't on others.  The only one I actually remember keeping was when I resolved to quit smoking.  That was over 20 years ago and I am so grateful I kept that one.

This year I am going to try and fix one of my bad habits.  I have a terrible habit of starting a project and then jumping on to a new one before it's finished. This year I am going to resolve to complete every project I start. They don't have to be huge or complicated.  Just completed.  Not half finished and then forgotten.  I always feel bad when I come across something that I started and didn't finish.  So that is my resolution.  I resolve to finish all the projects I start. No putting them away because I thought of something new.

That's it.  Very simple, and hopefully doable.  What about you. Did you resolve to change anything this year?

To all my followers I wish a very Happy New Year, and thank you so much for reading this blog.

A New Years Wreath.

New Years Wreath

I've always left a Christmas wreath up until it'S been there way too long and then replaced it with a simple welcome wreath.  But this year I decided I would make one just for the new year. 

 I bought some big containers of ornaments on boxing day at 50% off.  Please ignore the mess in the background. This room is going to be re-invented as a craft / work room for me and Christmas kind of put a stop to the work.

 

 

 

Using a can of spray paint  I coloured a few ornaments black. 

It needed a third colour and I chose the bright turquoise.  Silver, black and turquoise. Love it.

 

 

 

Once the ornaments were completely dry I constructed the wreath using the same method as my red ornament wreath from a few weeks ago.  I left a little space at the ends of the hanger so when I joined it together I had room to add a little jewellery.  In this case some beads in silver and black.  After all no one gets dressed for New Years Eve without a bit of jewellery. 

 

 



TIP:  Really check your ornaments to make sure the little caps are attached. If they come off too easily, fasten them with some hot glue.  You don't want to be putting them back on after you make the wreath.  Bet you wonder how I know that.


WISHING EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 

Packing Away Christmas

I love my house decorated for Christmas but there is a great deal of work getting it out and packing it all away.  That's what I am going to be doing for the next couple of days.  With that in mind I  am on the search for some packing ideas that are a little more organized and secure for my packing options this year.


I really like this idea from Mom's Party Café where she glued plastic drink cups to cardboard and stored them in storage bins. It's a great place to keep all those little ornaments. 





















Because I hate untangling lights I was considering just leaving them on the tree, but I'm not sure that I wouldn't end up with a huge ball of "stuff" by next December. I think wrapping them around a hanger like this is a better idea. Then I could add a tag to each hanger about where the lights go.

There are a ton of storage boxes and bags for storing wreaths but I find most of them a bit on the pricey side.  And I'm addicted to wreaths so imagine how much I would have to spend.  I found this little idea on  Good Housekeeping, and because I plan on utilising a closet space for Christmas storage I think this one is perfect. I picture a whole row of wreaths neatly bagged and hanging side by side, right next to all the hangers with the lights on them.

I am going to add all my wrapping supplies to my new  wrapping station, when I get it done.
All I need are a few storage containers for all my angels and snowmen and other knick knacks.  One more for linens where I can keep them protected using these cedar balls from Amazon and I might just have this storage thing under control.





















Ornament Wreath DIY

How many wreaths do you put up throughout the year?  Do you use them just for the holidays or for all the seasons?  I try to have a wreath on my front door all year long.  I actually think doors look naked without them,  kind of like they forgot to get dressed before they went to work.

Ornament Wreath DIY

That's just my front door.  During the holiday season I like them anywhere I can fit one.  I never seem to have enough. 

With that thought in mind I had this big box of red and gold plastic ornaments that had been on our traditional Christmas tree for about seven or eight years and I've grown tired of the red and gold theme.

 

















I've seen a lot of wreaths made with plastic ornaments  using a hanger for the form and wanted to see how hard they are to make.  All you do is untwist the hanger ends, bend it into a circle, and thread the ornaments onto the hanger until it's full. You do need to twist the ornaments around the hanger though, don't cut it at the end to make it easier. You need the ends to twist back together to form your circle and create a hook for hanging.

It actually took me longer to cut all the little strings from the ornaments than it did to put  the ornaments on the hanger.  Total time for this project about 30 minutes.  Definitely one of the easier ones I've done.

And definitely worth it. This wreath is full and glamorous. It looks great from both sides so its perfect for hanging in a window or door where it will be viewed from both sides.

Fast , simple and beautiful.