Archive for the ‘Cleaning’ Category

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room (Tour Our Shed!)

Tuesday, October 20th, 2015

How could I not share my “She Shed” with you again to go along with our Transform Your Space M Challenge? It remains my favorite transformation. ever. I hope you are inspired to take back space and make it work for you!

she-shed-makeover

Today I wanted to share with you how we transformed our outdoor shed into a bonus room. Shed makeovers are one of my favorite things to look at, but I had never considered our own shed a bonus room until this summer.  This transformation from a shed that housed our chaos and clutter into a multi-purpose retreat is one of my proudest makeovers we have ever done on our home.

I partnered with Walmart on this project to showcase a unique idea for outdoor living. Since they partnered with me, I did my best to utilize items from their store while weaving in handmade items from some of my favorite Etsy sellers.

Before I get ahead of myself though, let’s take a tour of our shed before the makeover. As an FYI,  I did not gloss this up for you one bit. This is exactly as awful and as embarrassing as it looked. It took me twelve hours to organize our garage, six donation runs, and a whole day to empty this shed. I am ashamed how bad it had gotten, but I wanted to be honest about all of that with you. This took a lot of preparation for me to empty this and rid my life of a lot of junk to execute this space. It was worth every moment of effort.

Shed Before Pictures

Shed Before Pictures

Shed Before Pictures

Shed Before Pictures

Shed Before Pictures

Shed Before Pictures

Shed Before Pictures

Shed Before Pictures

Shed Before Pictures

Our home is a late-sixties tri-level that had an attached shed on the home.  Although the shed is attached to our home, you do have to step outside to access it, but it is close enough that easy access is possible. This might be unlike  other sheds that might be residing further out from your property. After talking with our neighbor who has been a longtime resident here,  I understand that this wasn’t originally part of the home, but was an addition that had been made later to our house. Over the years, as other homeowner’s owned it things like insulation and electrical were added. The space had good bones to be a room, but no one had gotten any further than that. We have resided in this home 12 years and it only occured to me this summer that maybe we were missing out on a golden opportunity to have a unique bonus room.  After getting estimates and ideas from a few contractors, we hired All Pro Renovations to assist in transforming this dumping crowd of chaos into the room of my dreams.  They were able to address getting our space up to code and also got my vision for what I wanted to accomplish with this room.

My idea for the space was that it could be a retreat for my children during the day and a fun entertaining spot in the evenings. The most important aspect for this project was that we utilize every single inch of this 8×12 space in a thoughtful way. I wanted a bar that could fold down, flush to the wall when it was not in use. I wanted to utilize all the space that we could behind the door to house storage. I wanted furniture that could be stacked or wall mounted for entertaining.  Most of all, I wanted it to feel very modern and light-filled with a glass door and a window.

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

We painted the door with a bright coat of teal paint that I loved so much that we decided to paint the front door too.

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

We quickly figured out that when the kids were in this room that I couldn’t necessarily see that they were in there and would be hunting in the backyard for them. I added a plastic Open/Closed Sign from Walmart that I attached to the trim of the door with a 3M hook so the kids could let me know if they were in there. If they are inside it is open if they go back out to play in the yard, they flip it to closed. My daughter loves to also leave a time on the clock to let me know when she will be back.

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

Since our home had aluminum siding, All Pro recommended adding light with a skylight (which cost the same as adding a window), because if we damaged our siding, we would not be able to find matching aluminum siding for this home. They found a glass door that we could use for the space. They recommended doing an epoxy-paint floor with neutral tones that would be durable and ideal for this outdoor space. To warm up the floor, I added this outdoor rug in a 5’3×7’7 (an absolute steal at $77.58)   The room was drywalled, painted, and trimmed to finish out the bones of this room.  My color choice for this space was Benjamin Moore’s Gray Owl for the walls (which I now what to paint my entire house in) and Benjamin Moore’s glossy White Dove for all of the trim.  Although the original intent was to add canned lighting, our ceilings were too low for the space so track lighting was installed which adds to that modern retro feel that I was going for.

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

A built-in was added behind the door to make sure that every inch was used. Wine glasses, a rack, and opener are on the top shelves for evening entertaining. On the lower shelves, we have coloring books, crayons, and books. I also added a few of my favorites from our record collection and they fit perfectly on the bottom so we can use our turntable out there.

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

The focal point of the room is this beautiful Providence Outdoor Day Bed (priced at $399) from Walmart for the back wall.  This canopy bed is so beautifully made that I almost fall asleep every night on it while I am out there. It is generously deep and the canopy element really adds an eye-catching detail to the room. I switched out the pillows with a more modern printed pillow covers that I scored on Groopdealz as one of their deals-of-the-day. I also added this Too Legit To Quit pillow from Michelle Dwight Designs to add a splash of fun to the bed. I found inexpensive pillow forms from Walmart to create cushions with style for the back of this bed.  The pillow forms are two for $5.15 and feel like expensive cushions.   This bed not only is the perfect spot for a reading nook, but it also can double as a guest room year-round for our guests. I kind of want to stay here as a guest myself.

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

 

The bar can comfortably seat four people and I found retro Amelia Metal Cafe Bar Stools in red (2 for $159) from Walmart to complete the look.  I actually placed an additional order for two more now that I could see how many I can fit here.  All Pro Renovations created a bar that could be folded down and added a stripe of teal on the edge of my bar to add a little splash of color.

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

 

We added these modern floating shelves (only $19.95) and I filled them with a few fake succulents and wove in a few of my favorite books and a fake orchid.  It creates a soothing and maintenance-free splash of color over there.

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

The turntable I was gifted from my amazing girlfriends was placed on this pedestal table from Home Decorators and it was just the right size for this small space. I added this beautiful 30″ handmade arrow from Junk Art Gypsyz to the wall. We also added a beautiful typography piece that has the lyrics from Elton John’s, “Tiny Dancer,” to that wall.

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

Your question might be how we are keeping the room cool in the summer and warm in the winter? I have a great solution for you. We discovered that Walmart offers a Newair NewAir AC-10000H Portable Air Conditioner & Heater unit that not only act as an air conditioner, but a one piece solution for air conditioning, heating, and dehumidifying. The best part is that it can be set on a timer so you can set it for the day and it will automatically shut itself off.  All-Pro got the unit to drain outside of our home and installed a flap for the hose so that the unit is maintenance-free. This was the priciest of the purchases at $471.81, but eliminated the need for multiple units in such a small room.

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

Shed Makeover Shopping List

1. 30″ Marquee Arrow {Junk Art Gypsyz}

2. Too Legit To Quit Pillow {Michelle Dwight Designs}

3. Arrow Apache Blue  & Fynn Cool Grey Pillows {Groopdealz}

4. Tiny Dancer Typography {Concepcion Studios}

5. Safavieh Courtyard Outdoor Rug {Walmart}

6. Chloe Side Table {Home Decorators}

7. Amelia Metal Cafe Bar Stools {Walmart}

8. Newair NewAir AC-10000H Portable Air Conditioner & Heater unit {Walmart}

9. Providence Outdoor Day Bed {Walmart}

10. Danya Floating Shelves {Walmart}

11. Pellon Homegoods Decorative Pillow Inserts {Walmart}

12. Open/Closed Sign {Walmart}

Benjamin Moore Paint Choices

 

Paint Colors Used In Our Shed

1. Benjamin Moore White Dove (Glossy, Trim)

2. Benjamin Moore Blue Spa (Exterior, Door & Edge of Bar)

3. Benjamin Moore Gray Owl (Semi-Glossy, Walls)

 

I hope you enjoyed touring our shed.  I have found this room to be so good for my soul. It is so quiet and peaceful in there and is my new favorite place to unwind. Since the room is designed so differently from our home, it truly feels like I am going somewhere else in the evenings. The absence of clutter and our busy everyday life has been very calming to me.  I have been counting down the hours until my kids go to bed so I can escape. I also look forward to entertaining in here with my girlfriends, hosting book clubs, sharing a cup of coffee with good friends, writing alone,  and having a retreat for our kids on rainy days.

I’m thankful to All Pro Renovations for making all my dreams come true and exceeding my expectations for our former junky shed. Professional, courteous, on time (or early) every day, and quick to create smart solutions for this design challenge.  In ten short days, they created a space that I am so proud of and were as equally excited seeing it all come to life. They even came to my rescue when my daughter had a meltdown that her chalkboard door was disappearing and cut it to size for our garage door to surprise her while we were on vacation.  How amazing is that?

How to Makeover a Shed Into a Bonus Room

I could not have asked for more! I am already working on vision boards for other rooms in our home I would like to tackle with them again.

I hope this space inspires you and I’m thankful that Walmart gave me the chance to share about their beautiful outdoor options with you!

walmart_mom_disclaimer

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Organize Your Spice Rack (FREE PRINTABLES!!)

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015

Organize Your Spice Rack (FREE PRINTABLES!!) from MomAdvice.com

When I say that my life has felt a little disorganized, I mean it! One sore spot in my house has been my spice cabinet and pantry. Thanks to the gentle shove (ahem) of The Magic Art of Tidying Up, I am trying to transform those sad corners and joy-robbers into more thoughtful spaces. I figured that I can’t be the only one with a disorganized spice rack so I wanted to offer free printable spice labels and pantry labels that you can use to spruce up your own space too, designed by our own MJ from Pars Caeli!

Organize Your Spice Rack (FREE PRINTABLES!!) from MomAdvice.com

Here is my cabinet before I tackled it. There were several spices that had empty jars (why? who helped me on clean-up? WHO?), several duplicates (who does the grocery shopping? who? oh wait…), and there were some that had labels as far as back as 2008 (THE SHAME!). There were also spices lurking in a few other corners in the pantry that were, of course, duplicates. Hunting for spices in a million spots and then trying to not get a black eye from knocking myself out with one as I dig around was a nightly occurrence.

Organize Your Spice Rack (FREE PRINTABLES!!) from MomAdvice.com

I absolutely love the clean design of these labels and they couldn’t be easier to print. You will need to purchase a package of this style of label to print on. We kept the design simple and light to keep the ink waste to a minimum.

If you have spice jars you can reuse, by all means do it! About five years ago, I asked my in-law’s for two sets of these jars since I intended to redo my spice cabinet. I found them when I organized my scary storage side of my basement this weekend while binging on podcasts. It felt like Christmas all over again. This decluttering has really been paying off!

I used a small funnel to funnel the spices that still had life in them into these new fresh jars and then attached the new labels. How easy is that?

Organize Your Spice Rack (FREE PRINTABLES!!) from MomAdvice.com

For pantry items with a larger volume, I used some mason jars that I already owned that had been gathering dust on a shelf. These are the perfect holders for these items and the labels work really well on this size jar too!

Organize Your Spice Rack (FREE PRINTABLES!!) from MomAdvice.com

free-spice-label-printables-7

This corner is making me so much happier and it made prepping for our dinner hour so much easier this week! I didn’t realize how much frustration I was having and how much time I was wasting hunting for these spices each night!

Organize Your Spice Rack (FREE PRINTABLES!!) from MomAdvice.com

Organize Your Spice Rack (FREE PRINTABLES!!) from MomAdvice.com

Get the Labels!

If you are interested in receiving 14 free home management printables and these beautiful pantry labels (see the small sampling above), just input your email below or in the sidebar and we will send you the link to your packet as our thank you for being a subscriber (look for it in the final welcome email). Subscribers will have access to our additional printables as they become available.

Note: if you already subscribe to the Mom Advice Newsletter, be sure to look in your inbox for a special email that contains the link for your set of these printables! If you can’t seem to get the form to work with your browser, just look over to your right in the sidebar on the site. You will see a handy form there too that works with all browsers! We appreciate you so much! Thank you! 

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The DIY Laundry: Detergent & Fabric Softener Sheets

Thursday, April 16th, 2015

The DIY Laundry-Detergent and Softener Sheets

Have you ever thought about making your own laundry detergent and dryer sheets? While it’s not specifically around our M Challenge of Loving Your Home, thinking about our home made me think about the DIY projects that have helped to create a better environment for my family – one of which is our DIY Laundry! I love the control and confidence I have in making our own laundry essentials – it’s better for the environment and results in major savings with minimal time invested.

Ready to make your own? Here’s a little more on each project with a link to the original full article where you’ll find complete tutorials with photos and recipes:

DIY Fabric Softener Sheets

DIY Fabric Softener Sheets

I have been making my own DIY fabric softener sheets for years – it’s an easy process that will stretch your softener further with nothing to throw away! Plus, they actually perform better than putting fabric softener in your washer compartment and you don’t have to worry about any staining on your fabrics.

They are also reusable – you can use each sheet about 20 times before they lose their effectiveness. But then it’s an easy step to repeat the process!

Go here for the steps to make your own fabric softener sheets – plus tips on other options if you don’t want to use commercial fabric softener:

DIY Fabric Softener Sheets

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Making homemade detergent is easier than you might think and the cost comparison makes it worth the small amount of effort required. It’s naturally low-sudsing, making it perfect for using with HE washing machines and because it contains zero phosphates or fillers, it’s septic-friendly as well.

This homemade detergent is made up of three ingredients: Fels-Naptha (or Ivory Soap), Washing Soda, and Borax, which can be bought for around $8.00 total. Dividing the total materials required to make one batch of soap (the soap bar and 1 c. each of the remaining ingredients) equals a cost of $1.80-$1.90 for a batch. At one to two tablespoons per load, it comes in at around $.05, compared to $0.17-.0.21 per load of name brand detergents.

It also takes less time than you may think: I was able to make a triple batch of this soap in about fifteen minutes (and that is along with taking pictures for this tutorial). The real time-consuming process of it is grating the soap, but if you have a food processor, that can be accomplished in no time at all!

Go here for a picture tutorial of how to make your own laundry detergent, including photos of all the ingredients (and where to find them):

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Do you make any laundry items for your home? Have you made either of these after the original postings?

 

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Declutter Your Space & Rid Your Life of Clutter Forever

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015

How to Declutter Your Home from MomAdvice.com

This year I went on a journey towards being truly serious about decluttering our home of unnecessary items.

I would conservatively say that we have reduced our belongings easily by 50% and I still feel that there is more that we can do this year. Is your dream to declutter your space this year and rid yourself of clutter forever?

It is a common resolution and I am living proof that this is achievable, although I will always be a work in progress.

Today I want to share with you a few resources that have helped our family on the journey towards reclaiming our home – the transformation is so worth it!

 

 

Try the 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge

I attribute the 40 Bags in 40 days Challenge as the kickstart towards decrapifying (that is totally a word!) our life.
Each year White House Black Shutters shares a 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge that typically runs from March to April. During this challenge, you are encouraged to gather 40 bags of stuff that you don’t need over the course of 40 days.
I never dreamed that I could gather that many belongings from our home, but it started me on a journey towards realizing how much excess we really did have.
Each morning I started my day with a bag and tried to clear one spot in our house to create a more organized space.
I did not typically have a plan, only a desire to remove anything that I saw throughout the day that we didn’t need anymore.
As each bag was unloaded, it made our space a little less cluttered and a little easier to upkeep.
Utilize this list to help you begin tackling different areas in your home and download the free printable to track your progress as you unload the clutter from your home.
This is an example of a space that needed attention in our home that I worked on in the Spring.
With the 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge encouragement, I was able to free our shed of unnecessary clutter and transformed it into a dreamy bonus room for our family.
Who would have ever thought that this cluttered and embarrassing space could have ever been an oasis right on our own property?
Perhaps there is an area in your own home like this that with a clutter unload could become a cozy space for your family?
Try this easy challenge to successfully achieve that goal!

Try Project 333: Experiments in Living With Less

Feeling inspired by my journey towards living with less, I began to turn my eye to my closet.
In full confession, I had a lot of clothing in my closet and not a lot of closet space to house it.
I started reading about fashion capsules and thought that minimizing my wardrobe while working on selecting key pieces that worked together would be a great way to continue my journey in decluttering our home of unnecessary items.
Have you heard of a capsule wardrobe before?
A capsule wardrobe is a collection of clothing which is designed using only interchangeable items, in order to maximize the number of outfits which can be created.
The aim is to have an outfit suitable for any occasion without owning excessive items of clothing.
This is usually achieved by buying what are considered to be “key” or “staple” items in coordinating colors.
Project 333 is what I am doing right now which is a minimalist approach to fashion that incorporates a 33-piece capsule wardrobe.
Participants can have 33 items in their closet that they wear for three months.
You are allowed to set aside 3 items that you can weave in as long as you weave items out, keeping the item number to just 33.
Although I have found the planning of my capsules to be a little stressful, once I execute them well, I have discovered that I have plenty of options in my closet to wear and actually get more compliments than I did when I had a closet that was overflowing.
You can view my current capsule as an inspiration for creating your own.
My best advice though is to really create your capsule around YOU and not a capsule that is just copying someone else’s style so you feel your best!

Try the A Bag a Day Challenge

You would think that after participating in the 40 Bags in 40 Days that our home would be completely clutter free.
I fully admit, I am a work in progress and that I still have a ways to go.
This year I am participating in the A Bag a Day Challenge from Inspired Room which is a 12-month decluttering plan to help you reclaim your home.
I like that this challenge isn’t focused on organizing, but simply on ridding the excess from your home.
With a beautiful outlined plan in place and the gentle encouragement of the beauty of Melissa’s stunning home, who wouldn’t want to rid their homes of the clutter?
Over the snowy holiday, I got rid of six bags of clutter and four bags of trash in our home.
It was so freeing to let these items go and reclaim corners in our little house. I loaded these up in the car and took them over to the Goodwill donation bin, conveniently just down our road, and knew that these items would be put to good use in their store.
I hope you will find this post encouraging and hearing feedback from family and friends about our clutter-free spaces makes me even more proud of the journey we have taken towards a life with less.
I hope these ideas inspire you to declutter your space and reclaim your home!  What are some of your favorite ways to declutter?
Leave your ideas in the comments below!
Don’t miss these other great ideas from MomAdvice.com:

My Year of Living Intentionally

 

 

 

Unexpected Blessings of Simple Living

 

 

Make the Most of your Capsule Wardrobe

 

 

Advice and tips for keeping a cleaner house

How I Learned to Keep a Cleaner House

 

 

 

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Make Money Organizing Your Closet

Tuesday, November 25th, 2014

Make Money Organizing Your Closet

I have never had a truly clean and organized closet until I started my fashion capsule project. Had I known that I could have been making considerable cash this whole time, I might have taken the endeavor a bit more seriously. Today I want to share with you some resources I have discovered for making money while cleaning out your closet. Not only do you have the power to make some serious cash, but you also have the opportunity to transform lives by paying it forward to charities in need.

First things first, let’s talk about my purse clean out that netted me $80! 

Make Money Organizing Your Closet

Start With Your Purses- I Made a Ton

I have a terrible habit of switching my purses and never taking time to clean them out. Not only did I find a lot of great lipsticks to wear, but I also discovered that I had a lot of credit card gift cards with small denominator amounts on them that I didn’t know what to do with. Do you know that you can transfer all of these tiny gift card amounts to an Amazon gift card with no minimum balance? I headed over to this page where you can quickly reload your balance with NO MINIMUM amount. After kicking myself for all of the cards that had been sitting there expiring, I was happy to see that I now had $80 of credit that I can use towards my shopping.

Sell The Things You Aren’t Wearing

It has been brought to my attention since minimizing my wardrobe how little I really do need and how little I really do wear. If your items are brand name and in gently used condition consider selling them to make some extra cash or to put towards wardrobe items you really would love and wear.

Here are a few resources you can check. I know there are more, but these are the ones that I am most familiar with: 

Twice

Twice This has been my #1 resource for pulling together my capsule wardrobe, but it is also my #1 resource for selling my gently used items. Twice will send you a selling kit within 4-6 days of your request that includes a bag and prepaid postage sticker for your items. If you are really excited to just get started though, you can grab a box from your recycling and fill it up with a label you print from your computer. Once you send in your first shipment they will give you $10 of credit towards a purchase so you can buy something you really love. Here is a list of the brands that they accept. Once they make an offer you can decide if you want to accept it or not.  If you don’t like the price, you pay $4.95 for return shipping. In contrast, thredUP charges $12.00 to return your items.

Keep in mind that this is not a consignment shop so they pay you once the item is accepted. No need to wait for your items to sell.

Threadflip

Threadflip– Threadflip is a new discovery for me and I am so excited about using this for my next capsule wardrobe. Threadflip is more of an online consignment shop for your clothing so that means you get paid when your item has been sold and shipped. That being said, they charge a mere 20% commission on your items so that you can pocket 80% of the profit. 

Much like Twice, they will send you an envelope with a prepaid shipping label for your items. Once you send it to them, they will list it for you by their team of professionals, saving you the hassle of trying to photograph and style your item. There is also the option to list the items yourself if you don’t want to send the items in. For me, the profit is the same so I would much rather have their team list it for me, but that one is totally up to you.

Poshmark

Poshmark Poshmark & Threadflip are very similar in nature and the site is one of my new favorite places to browse for items for my capsule.  It is an app available for iPad and iPhone that allows you to shop, sell, and engage with virtual closets full of pre-worn or new pieces on one simple platform.

You list the items yourself- some take their own pictures while others utilize the photos from the website of where they purchased the item. They also charge a 20% commision fee on your items allowing you to pocket 80% of your profit. 

I will say from a user perspective, despite adding my sizing and storing it, I find the site a bit like going to a high-end garage sale. You have to really scan through all of the listings and even when sizing is set, it still pulls items that are not in my size or unrelated to my searches. Since users set their own pricing, you can find some steals though and I still love the thrill of a good hunt so I am sure thrifty shoppers will be ready to embrace your gently loved clothing.

thredUP

thredUP– All of my friends have been raving about thredUP and after joining to try it for this article, I can see what the fuss is about. Not only can you clean out your closet to make money, but you can also make money on your kid’s stuff and maternity items too! As with some of the other places I have listed, you can order a bag with a prepaid shipping label to start your closet clean out. Their fashion resale professionals review your clothing and then pay up to 80% of the resale value. You can earn thredUP shopping credit, or simply cash out with PayPal. Items that they don’t accept go to charitable partners or textile recycling companies. They can also be mailed back to you as part of their Return Assurance program for a $12.99 shipping fee. Be sure to check their quality standards before sending. Here is $10 of credit to spend on your first purchase. 

eBay eBay has been around forever and is actually featured a lot in my It’s the 3 Little Things because I find some really killer deals on there as a buyer.  Although I have never personally sold items on eBay, I have had many friends who have with great success. There is a seller fee that you can read more about the eBay seller fees here. The nice thing is that you can sell items individually or you can sell them as a lot grouping instead.

Make Money Organizing Your Closet

Give Away The Rest

If you don’t love it, you aren’t wearing it, and you can’t sell it…share it with someone in need. There are so many fantastic charities to give to and if the items aren’t the wildly popular name brands or you just don’t want to hassle with the sale, consider paying it forward and giving your items to a worthwhile cause.

Here are a few options to consider:

Women’s Shelters– By far my favorite place to donate is to our local women’s shelters. This link helps you browse your state and find a shelter closest to you to give.

Dress For Success– Help someone look and feel their best for their job interviews. Their greatest need is larger size suits and apparel, but any business attire will do! Check here for locations.

Pick Up Please The Vietnam Veterans of America is a respected charity that gives aid to all of America’s veterans, not just those of a particular age group or war. By donating used clothes, shoes, appliances, and other household items, you help generate funds to take care of the soldiers and service men and women who help keep America safe from harm. See if your state participates by visiting here.

Churches- Growing up our church had a room where guests or members could shop. Check with your church to see if they offer this or if they are partnered with any shelters in town where they could recommend sharing your donation.

Goodwill– Goodwill provides employment and job training to those in need of job assistance. Donations couldn’t be easier thanks to the drop-off boxes. Check here for locations.

Once you have your closet cleaned out, let’s get it organized!

Try a Capsule Wardrobe (here are my Fall & Winter capsules) to Minimize- Read more about what I have learned from minimizing my closet.

Tips & Tools for Organizing Your Closet

Have you made money selling items in your closet? Leave your experience here with the different services and be sure to share any resources that I might have missed!

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Back to School Organization Ideas

Thursday, September 18th, 2014

Back to School Organization Ideas from MomAdvice.com.

 

*This post is sponsored by the Post-it Brand. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It is such an honor to be working with the Post-it Brand for the back-to-school season.  I am so thrilled that you loved our DIY Homework Stations we created for our family and today I wanted to continue along that theme and share with you some additional ways that we keep our kids organized for back-to-school.

Since we live in a small home, organization is truly necessary to keep our small spaces functional.  I also am someone who prefers to not have a lot of visual clutter and appreciates smart hidden storage for our homework area rather than bulky caddies that can take up a lot of space since we don’t have a lot of storage space in our home. With that in mind, here are some of our ideas for organizing for back-to-school in a small space.

Back to School Organization Ideas from MomAdvice.com.

Designate a Small Area for Homework Organization- I recently created a bar cart for our shed bonus room and this cart has become the hub of this room for our back-to-school organization this year.  I purchased a chalkboard for tracking our to-do list, a small globe, and then stackable hollowed books for school supplies storage. This little area is efficient and has just what we need to stay organized.

A hub can be created in a corner of your own home, tucked away in a closet, or even just a designated drawer of supplies. The key isn’t how much space you have to organize, but just that the space is functional and that you always have on-hand what your child needs to complete their assignments.

Back to School Organization Ideas from MomAdvice.com.

Put Them in Charge- I can admit that I am a bit of a helicopter mom and it is hard for me to let my kids be in charge of their own tasks. This year I am really going to work on helping them to be more independent and make them be in charge of their own to-do lists and schedules.

Imagine if they went to college and wondered where their mother was to keep them on task.

This could get a little embarrassing.

I purchased this chalkboard and each child can jot down their own to-do list on Post-it Study Super Sticky Notes to attach to the chalkboard to remind themselves of the important tasks they need to accomplish for the week. I am loving the new Post-it Study Collection because it offers a fantastic new line of Notes, Notebook Kits, Flags, Tabs, and Page Markers that stick securely to papers, notebooks, folders, and more, yet remove cleanly. The products all work together to help your family stay organized on-the-go.  In this case with our Study Super Sticky Notes, once the task is accomplished, they can remove it from the board. As new tasks and assignments are added, they can create their own reminder list to attach to the chalkboard.  Each child gets their own color of Post-it Study Super Sticky Notes so that they know exactly whose task is whose, eliminating the need for two boards and creating a visual area for them of necessary items to accomplish.

Back to School Organization Ideas from MomAdvice.com.

Make Those School Supplies Part of Your Décor-  Pinterest has many ideas for creating storage caddies of homework supplies for your children which is great, but we don’t really have somewhere we can store it when those items are not being used. I happened upon these hollowed out books for storage at our craft store and realized that this was the perfect spot for camouflaging our homework helpers and adding visual interest to a room.

Inside the smallest book I stored crayons and glue sticks, the middle storage is for pencils and pens, and the largest book holds our Post-it Study collection homework helpers like Study Super Sticky Notes, Study Grid Notes, and Study Message Flags. This also houses our extra Post-it Super Sticky Notes for our chalkboard to-do list.

Back to School Organization Ideas from MomAdvice.com.

Back to School Organization Ideas from MomAdvice.com.

Cut Down the Distractions- The reason I love our bonus room for our homework area is that this area is screen-free and there is absolutely nothing in this room to distract them. I can be in the room with them to help them work through problems in a distraction-free environment.  The DIY Homework Stations we created for this room help each child to stay in their own zone and keep focused on their own list of tasks. Once everything has been completed, the kids can exit the space and head off to their technology-filled lives.

I really hope you enjoyed this fun series on back-to-school organization that I created with the Post-it Brand. Thanks to this job, I feel more confident than ever that we will have a successful and truly organized school year! To purchase some fun Post-it Brand items of your own, you will find that they are available at office superstores and mass merchandise retailers nationwide!

 

This post is sponsored by the Post-it Brand. I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and effort in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

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5 Ways to Use Kids ‘N’ Pets Stain & Odor Remover #mommusthave

Thursday, May 8th, 2014

5 Ways to Use Kids ‘N’ Pets Stain & Odor Remover

*This post is sponsored by Kids ‘N’ Pets Stain & Odor Remover

This was a big year for our family because we adopted a beautiful little kitty named Lulu from the shelter.  Our kids fell madly in love with her and we were so excited to bring her home and make her a part of our family. The kids even threw her a birthday party this year! When we got her home though, we soon realized that Lulu had some difficulty adjusting to our family.  She had some accidents and seemed nervous and stressed around us. She didn’t like being alone and she let us know how unhappy she was when we had been gone all day.

We had testing done at the vet clinic and even had a meeting for behavioral therapy. Having a pet that is struggling to adjust in your home and is wreaking havoc on your house is extremely stressful. After some behavioral therapy, we were able to modify her behavior, which has relieved a lot of stress for all of us.  She is doing so much better and we are so thankful, but removing pet odors and feeling at peace in my home again was tough.

When Kids ‘ N’ Pet contacted me, I knew that we would be the perfect family to test their Kids ‘N’ Pets Stain & Odor Remover.  Not only did we have a history of pet stains, but I have two messy kids who could help me test their cleaner. They sent me the cleaner to try and I have been using it for the last month on my house with wonderful results.  I am genuinely excited to share about this product with you and can’t recommend it enough.

Kids N’ Pets cleaner is non-toxic and biodegradable,  made from high speed natural enzymes, isopropyl alcohol, surfactant Ordenone, water and a natural citrus scent.  Thanks to this formula it is safe to use around your kids and furry friends without worries.  The cleaner is also one of those great all-in-one cleaners that doesn’t take up a lot of space on your shelves, but packs a punch by performing a multitude of tasks including removing stains, odors, boosting your laundry, and cleaning carpets.

Today I want to show you 5 ways we used Kids ‘ N’ Pets Stain & Odor Remover in our home this month!

5-ways-to-use-kids-n-pets-cleaner

  • Spot Clean Your Couches- Do you get MYSTERY stains on your couches that you wonder if someone may have used your couch as a napkin or as a tissue for their nose? I don’t either. That’s disgusting. If you did though, I would tell you that this cleaner works fantastic on those types of stains on your couches and leaves your couch looking and smelling fresh. You will want to test for colorfastness by applying the cleaner on a hidden area and allowing it to dry first, especially if you are the kind of family that buys fancy couches. We are the kind of family that knows that our couch is going to be used as a napkin and a tissue on occasion, so that is why we used this with no problems at all.  The product also gets out red wine and coffee stains…if you are that kind of mom sitting on your couch after the kids goes to bed trying to soothe yourself. Again, this is completely hypothetical.

Bissell_DeepClean_Premier_Carpet_Cleaner_Review_2

  • Freshen Up Your Carpets- As I illustrated in my story above, our carpets really needed freshening up and if you are dealing with pet stains, you want to make sure that your pets are not coming back to their spots of habit and wreaking more havoc on your home. We have used other products, but often the overly powerful scents meant to mask the urine odors were just as painful. While this has a citrus scent, it dissipates quickly, leaving everything smelling fresh. You can treat stains on your carpet directly with Kids ‘N’ Pets or you can put sixteen ounces of the cleaner per gallon of water in your Carpet Cleaner and freshen your carpets up in one fell swoop. After cleaning up Vomitfest 2014 from my cat this weekend, I can attest that this cleaner performs beautifully, but I really wish that I could not attest to that scenario at all. The cleaner also works like a dream on hardwood or on tile.
  • Get Your Laundry Really Clean- As you know, I love to make my own laundry detergent and I try to use cleaners and products that are safe for our family in our home.  When doing a load of whites, my homemade detergent needs a little boost and Kids ‘N’ Pets works great in our laundry loads. You just add a cup of it to your regular wash load and it helps get your whites whiter and your colors brighter.  If your child also likes to carry around pencils in his pockets and didn’t empty them and everything got marked with pencil, this cleaner also works wonderfully to remove stains, even after they have gone through the load. Ideally, you want to pre-treat them and spray them on the stains and let it work for a few minutes, but you can also spray after, like my scenario, and leave it on for an hour or more to really cut through tough stains. It might not help with your angry yelling when you see the pencil on top of your load and your new workout gear covered in pencil. suitcases
  • Freshen Up Your Suitcases- Did you loan your best friend your suitcase to take to Mexico? That might have been a mistake. Instead of crying about how bad baggage claims messed up your luggage, consider spraying it down with Kids ‘N’ Pets to make your luggage look like new again.  Spray generously, wait ten minutes, and blot up the stains with a cloth. Within twenty minutes, my luggage looked almost like new and ready for another trip to Mexico…or not.
  • Care for Your Fur Baby- Sharing our struggle with you about pet stains is embarrassing, but I am sure our situation is a common one for pet owners. Not only does Kids ‘N’ Pets get out urine stains, but it also can be used to clean pet cages (hello, guinea pig owners!), can be used to clean out your litter boxes, and can clean the areas in your home your pets frequent. Have a pet bed that needs a little freshening? Give it a spray with Kids ‘N’ Pets and allow it to air dry. It will smell fresh in no time flat!

I also love companies that support great causes and Kids ‘N’ Pets works with participating pet adoption organizations nationwide, providing products and services that help pet foster families and pet adopters! As someone who just adopted a shelter animal, that really makes my heart happy!

I love this cleaner and I hope you can give it a try in your home- I consider it a #mommusthave. You can find this product at Amazon or Walmart!

*This post is sponsored by Kids ‘N’ Pets Stain & Odor Remover

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How to Stain a Picnic Table

Friday, April 18th, 2014

How to Stain a Picnic Table from MomAdvice.com.

It’s that time of year again and I just finished staining my picnic table for another year of memories around this table! I thought it might be good to bring this post back to remind you how easy it is to restore and stain that picnic table. I hope these tips help! 

Have you ever stained a picnic table before? This was our first year staining our table and I wanted to share with you some tips on how to stain a picnic table so you can enjoy it all summer long.  Thanks to a coat of stain, our table looks and feels just like new and I can’t wait to show you just how easy it is to do.

How to Stain a Picnic Table from MomAdvice.com.

Have you ever spotted something in a magazine and just knew you had to have it… yet, you could find it nowhere?

Many years ago, I flipped through a magazine and spied a picnic table that Katie Brown owned that was in her backyard and I just knew I wanted a table like that.

After inquiring on Facebook, we found a gentleman in town who makes picnic tables and after telling him what I envisioned, he built this beautiful table for us that comfortably sits eight to ten people.  When I look out my window, this makes me so happy and the meals shared at this table are what summer is all about.

To keep her looking good, we decided to freshen her up for another year of family meals.

I wanted to share with you my tips for the best type of stain for picnic table and my advice on utilizing a semi transparent stain that can protect our table for years to come (while allowing that natural wood grain to still come through), protect it from uv damage, and that will only require a minimal amount of light sanding. This piece of furniture gets so much love in our backyard and I’m excited to share my tutorial with you today.

How to Stain a Picnic Table from MomAdvice.com.


Supplies Needed:

Thompson’s Waterseal Waterproofing Stain (we did our table in Nutmeg Brown in Semi-Transparent)

Drop Cloth

Knit Rags

Paint Tray

Foam & Paint Brush

Sandpaper

Heavy-Duty Cleaner

How to Stain a Picnic Table from MomAdvice.com.

Directions

1. Before we begin, we need to prep our surface. Using a heavy-duty cleaner, spray and wipe down your table to remove any dirt and grime. Be sure that you clean the entire surface well and then wait 10-15 minutes, or until the table is completely dry, to begin staining. You never want to stain the table while it is wet so be sure that you are not trying to stain after a heavy rain.

How to Stain a Picnic Table from MomAdvice.com.

2. Since our piece was in good condition, it did not require any sanding.

If your piece needs to be smoothed though, use a medium grit sandpaper sanding in the direction of the grain. This can be done with a small palm sander or can be done by hand. Once you are done with that, finish with a finer grit of sandpaper to smooth out any rough areas and give the table an even, smooth finish for the stain. Once it is sanded, make sure to use a tack cloth to remove any sanding.

3. Once your piece has been cleaned and prepped, it is time to begin applying stain.  With the Thompson’s Water Seal Waterproof Stain you do not want to thin this.  Make sure that you shake well and shake, stir or mix thoroughly before and occasionally during use. Before you begin staining, make sure you try a test run with a small trial patch in an inconspicuous place, like the underside of your bench or table, to make sure that the stain is the color you are going for.

Apply using an exterior paint pad, brush, roller, or even a rag to begin applying the stain to your table.  If you are doing the legs and underside of the table, lay down your drop cloth and invert your piece and do the bottom first. Allow the bottom to dry, it should take less than two hours to be fully dry, and then begin staining the top.

How to Stain a Picnic Table from MomAdvice.com.

5. Use your foam brush to get into the detail parts and legs of your table, using a rag to remove any drip marks on the ends.

6. Allow your table to dry for two hours.

How to Stain a Picnic Table from MomAdvice.com.

 

How to Stain a Picnic Table from MomAdvice.com.

How to Stain a Picnic Table from MomAdvice.com.

How to Stain a Picnic Table from MomAdvice.com.

How to Stain a Picnic Table from MomAdvice.com.

This table looks just like new again and it only cost me $30 in supplies.

Since picnic tables do reside outside, they are exposed to all of the weather elements, which means you need to stain your table from time to time.  This stain typically will last two to three years, but possibly less time than that, depending on if your picnic table is in direct sunlight.

The properties of  sunlight can dry out the stain and cause it to weather much faster.  It also has a lot to do with how much freezing and thawing happens, which in our area, seems to happen often! 

I’m so proud of my table and I hope it inspires you to freshen up your own picnic table for Spring.  Speaking of staining,  I am still SO proud of this stained table I created for our office. If you are looking for tips on indoor staining, be sure to visit that post!

Looking for more stain and paint projects? Here are a few of our favorite makeovers!

How to Stain Furniture how to easily stain furniture

how to paint a laminate fireplace

how to spray paint furniture

How to Paint a Kitchen Table

                               how to paint a kitchen table

Have you ever stained a picnic table or deck? What tips can you share on this?

This post contains affiliate links! I only recommend what I love & genuinely use though! 

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How to Style Your Bookshelves

Thursday, April 10th, 2014

How to Style Your Bookshelves from MomAdvice.com.

 

The art of styling bookshelves had never really been important to me until I started perusing pictures on Pinterest and saw the carefully curated collections and beauty in the organized book spines.

Of course, I don’t have an unlimited budget where I can add decorative books in one carefully choreographed color or an unlimited budget for fantastic looking odds-and-ends to update my bookshelves.

That is why I am excited to share with you some easy ideas for updating your bookshelves with inexpensive items and a few budget-friendly craft materials.

 

 

 

 

Cover Books With Paper

If you have an eclectic collection of books or you want to pick up a collection of books at Goodwill to stock your shelves, one frugal way you can add order and beauty to your bookshelf is to simply wrap each book in paper.

These beautiful bookshelves from Chloe Moore Photography have beautifully hand-stamped spines that add a unique detail to them.

I also love how she has weaved in her photography equipment, adding her own personal nods to her favorite interests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spray Paint Items to Create a Cohesive Collection

Instead of trying to find items of a similar color for your bookshelves to add those unique details, consider creating your own collection of groupings with an inexpensive bottle of spray paint.

My own bookshelves were cluttered with items that did not mean anything to me and did not showcase my personality.

I took a day to declutter my shelves, added a fabric back to my bookshelf and then found items that I loved and spray painted them with a little gold spray paint.

It created just the look I was going for, and cost $15 to update my shelves.

 

 

 

 

Stack Your Books In a New Way

Sometimes we get into a rut with our styling. I thought there were only two ways to style my books- vertically or horizontally.

The Art of Doing Stuff though has me rethinking my book stacks and groupings because there are actually 7 ways you can stack your books.

The names are even fun- the Sandwich Stack, On the Bias, and the Spiral Stack…just to name a few.

Consider regrouping your stacks in new ways and adding to your stacks with items you can find at your store to round out your collection.

 

 

 

 

Add an Eye-Catching Design to Your Bookcase

Even inexpensive laminate bookcases finds can be transformed with a little paint and thoughtful styling into true things of beauty.

One thing I love to see on bookcases, is an interesting color on the inside of the bookshelves.

This can be added with a pop of color from a brightly colored paint, a pretty fabric, scrapbook paper, or even stenciling.

I love this fantastic idea from This is Our Bliss to use removable wallpaper to add a decorative touch that is both frugal and fast.

 

 

 

 

Add Your Own Personality

One thing that I have been trying to do is to weed out the clutter in my life and make room for the good stuff.

The same tactic can be applied towards our bookshelves and what we place on them.

My shelves have yarn and knitting books, a shelf dedicated to my favorite classics, and I have a cookbook shelf that not only holds my cookbooks, but also holds the biscuit cutter that my great-grandma used to make biscuits for me when I was a little girl.

Consider creating a bookcase or shelf towards your own personal hobbies and collections.

I love this beautiful cookbook collection from The Inspired Room that celebrates her love for beautiful cookbooks.

This would also be a great spot to find some pretty vintage cookbooks or vintage kitchen items that you could weave into your shelves.

What’s one of your favorite things on your bookshelves? What is one styling trick you like to use when styling your bookshelves? Feel free to share here!

 

 

This post contains affiliate links.

 

 

Don’t miss those other great ideas from MomAdvice.com:

 

 

15 Easy DIY Updates To Help You Love Your Home

15 Easy DIY Updates to Help You Love Your Home

 

 

 

How to Spray Paint Furniture

 

 

 

How to Create Vignettes in Decorating

 

 

 

DIY Table Runner

 

 

 

 

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Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization

Wednesday, February 5th, 2014

Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com

It’s been a long time since I have shared some pictures of our home. I have been in the thick of organizing my craft room and today I wanted to share with you some ideas for organizing your own craft space in your home.

For my part on the Walmart craft team, they requested that I tackle a craft project. I made a special request that I could share with you today my organized craft space and see if I could find any fun additions to my space at their store and they agreed. So today instead of crafting it up, I am showing off what I have been up to in my space.

Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com

Let’s start from the very beginning. Three years ago, this was our space that I envisioned turning into our office space. We have a tri-level home, now lovingly called a quad now that we finished this fourth level, and this was what we started with. This space was where we threw our stuff that we didn’t know what to deal with. We had to majorly declutter and we had to save enough cash to make the updates to our home. We were able to accomplish both (loan free!) and create the space I had been dreaming of.

I am starting with this picture to show you that maybe there is an area in your home that could be your special space and you just don’t know it. Maybe it just requires a fresh eye, a bit of decluttering, and a few smart craft solutions to carve a space just for you.

Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com

Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com

Here is my craft and office space today. When I post these types of pictures, people ask me where I found certain things. Here are some of the things you will find in my space.

Floral Chairs- Found at a local Value City (no longer available-sadness)!

Green Side Table- A side table we owned, but spray painted & distressed

Owl Lamp & Burlap Lamp Shade–  Walmart

Record Table- Thrift Shop Find Stained & Painted

Swivel Metal Stool- Home Decorators

Knitted Leaf Centerpiece- Handmade

Everyday I’m Hustling Pillow- Michelle Dwight Designs

Record Frames- H&M

Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com

Crafting and organization do not go hand in hand for me.  I spent a good month getting this room organized and trying to figure out the best solutions for my space. Here are some of the solutions I found inexpensively at Walmart.

Glass Jars– I had all of my craft supplies tucked away in baskets. This meant I spent a lot of time digging through baskets and trying to figure out where I tucked all my crafting odds & ends. Glass jars truly helps me visualize what I have and where it is. I found the smaller jars for just $4.97 and my giant 2 gallon glass jar is the perfect home for my ribbon collection (priced at $9.97).

Clear Clipboards– As a craft blogger, I always have a running to-do list for my site and craft projects. I utilized this to-do list printable (previously featured in our DIY Homework stations) and mounted them on these clear clipboards ($3.88)  with 3M hooks ($3.67) on my wall. I also have my favorite Mead Wall Calendar I buy every year to keep track of when all my projects are due ($7.97).

Metal Bins- Over in the closet solutions, I found a metal tub that I could use to organize my knitting needles. When you start really building up your knitting needle collection, you may have four or more different sizes of the same size needle. I was constantly digging through baskets to find the right needles. I decided to use manilla envelopes and label them #0-15 and then put my needles for each size in these envelopes. This saves me tons of time hunting for the right needles and makes it easy to see what I might need to buy. I put all of these in this metal tub ($9.74) and it is on top of my newly organized craft cart.

Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com

Two things we purchased to finish out my crafting space was a crafting table and a crafting cart that I could roll out into the middle of our office when I needed to do my crafting. We found this Martha Stewart Collapsible Crafting Table & Crafting Cart on Home Decorators. If you are struggling with a small space, this is a dream come true. You can fold down one side if your space is small or open it all the way out if you need a large surface to work on.

This space also doubles as an indoor photography studio when the weather isn’t cooperating. I have my photography backdrops stored in the gift wrap center and can really spread my work out, if I need to on this space.

I spent an entire weekend whittling down my craft supplies to what I truly needed in my craft cart. I now everything I need right at my fingertips. I had to keep reassuring myself that it was okay to part with some of my craft supplies. If it hadn’t been used in the last year, it was definitely something that could be donated to free up precious space in my craft cart.

Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.comAs you can see, I can wheel them over to corners in our office so they don’t get in the way. I am so thankful for these smart solutions for our space. I am also thankful that I finally feel organized in this space.

Smart Solutions for Craft Room Organization from MomAdvice.com

And as a good old-fashioned reminder that all good things should be enjoyed in moderation, I found this old-fashioned closed sign over in the office supplies at Walmart ($1.97). I mounted a 3M clip upside down and hooked it on the back of my computer. This now offers an in-my-face reminder of how I should be spending my evenings.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my craft space! Feel free to ask me any questions and I promise to try to help!

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