Let’s just say our computer mouse pad had seen better days. It was never anything special to look at, just a plain red pad with an Apple logo on it. The fabric cover was beginning to peel off and it was a real eye sore. I was on the look out for a one that was a bit more funky, but honestly, wasn’t seeing anything I liked. I found a blog post that outlined the steps for re-surfacing an existing mouse pad. This allowed me to use my own fabric and update our current pad to be more consistent with the decor of the room.
DIY Mouse Pad Upcycle:
I basically followed the steps outlined in Bridget’s tutorial.
With your fabric facing down, trace the shape of the mouse pad onto the back of it. Cut out the traced shape using your line as a guide, but my suggestion is to cut slightly outside of the line to avoid the possibility of it not fitting properly. It can be trimmed at the very end of the project.
My pad was in pretty rough shape, so I had to Mod Podge (or glue) the curling fabric prior to re-surfacing it. I let this dry thoroughly before proceeding.
I applied a thin coat of Mod Podge to the “wrong side” (bottom) of my fabric and let it dry completely. Bridget suggests this helps to prevent fraying and stiffens the fabric, so that it’s easier to adhere “wrinkle free” to the top of the mouse pad.
Take the dry fabric and apply another layer of Mod Podge to the bottom of the fabric as well as a layer to the top of the mouse pad. Ensure both surfaces are completely covered with podge.
Carefully lay the new fabric over the existing pad and smooth out any wrinkles.
Let the mouse pad dry completely and then trim the edges as needed.
This is actually where I stopped. Not on purpose, but my son was tired of trying to make the mouse work properly on my make shift magazine mouse pad and stole the mouse pad from the work bench. It seems to work fine, so I haven’t snuck it away to finish it and am not sure if I will proceed with the last two steps. It seems to be working well and standing up to the use without the final two coats. This is a super easy project, but you do have to wait patiently between the coats for the Mod Podge to dry. Here are the last two steps from Bridget’s tutorial.
Apply a generous coat of Modge Podge to the pad and once again let it dry completely.
Bridget suggests spraying the dry pad with a coat of Krylon Matte Finish to give it a smooth surface for the computer mouse.
BEFORE: Old Mouse Pad
Here is my new fabric cut to size.
AFTER: Here is the new pad ~ Looks great and works like a charm!
Oh how I wish that only 12 ladybug showed up to the Ladybug Picnic!
Why me?
For the last few springs we have found that the closet window in Eden’s room seemed to attract ladybugs. Not just a few, but several. We never really did much about it as I believed they were harmless and there weren’t even enough to really be annoying. So, we would collect and dispose of them one by one. Although there never really were that many, clearly we should not have ignored the problem. There are definitely more this year and they seem to be migrating through the house a bit more. Eden and Shay are a bit freaked out, but I had totally down played it even after checking out her window and seeing that yes, there were a few more than other years and we should probably look into how best to handle it. Well, I am a busy lady and this morning Shay asked if I could please do something about the ladybugs in his room. I had looked last night and found 2 or 3, but when I went in there today I had to go in his closet for something and found that his window is way worse than Eden’s ever was. We have been bombarded by them. They are no longer cute! They are all over – Ugh!
Sorry these pictures are so dark, but the ladybugs are somehow getting in through the windows. I had to take the picture with the window in the background and didn’t know how to correct the lighting.
The first picture doesn’t show how bad it really is, like in the bottom corner.
Of course, I was a little disturbed and over reacted. Cover your eyes if you’re not up to this, but I ran to the basement and got the RAID. Yep! You guessed it, I sprayed those suckers like there’s no tomorrow. I didn’t even pause to think it over first. Just aimed and blasted. I figured I would let the poison dry and then wipe the windows and sills down throughly. Too bad I didn’t google it first as bug spray doesn’t seem to be high on the list of recommendations.
So, having already wiped out most of the population and spooked the rest, I am pretty sure they have given off their special “pheromones” that let all their lady bug friends know where they are hanging out. They say vacuuming them up is a better choice. I’ll vacuum up the mess I made once the RAID dries and then proceed to clean. Evidently the “yellow” stain they are famous for is actually blood that they secrete when they are in danger. My hasty decision may mean I need to sand and paint to get rid of the stains and still not be clear of future infestations. According to The Ladybug Lady:
They use pheromones as a means of communication during mating and hibernation. Insect pheromones are very powerful. They can be detected by others up to a 1/4 mile away. This helps ladybugs find each other and it lets future generations know of a good place to “camp out” for the winter. The pheromones don’t go away easily. The chemical “scent” can remain year after year, and not only on the outside of a structure, but also within the walls, where ladybugs tend to hide before emerging into your home. So, scrubbing pheromones off a house is a BIG task, if not impossible.
Oh, joy. I guess spring really has sprung at the Roys!
My daughter has a January birthday which is smack dab in the middle of our harsh Manitoba winter. So, when we decided to do a “spring theme” for her 6th birthday party, it was much more about creating optimism in the middle of a cold winter than actually about celebrating the onset of spring. Having said that, it was a really fun party to plan and pull together.
Invitations:
I made this invitation long before I was into card making, so it was done on the computer using a really cute “spring/flower” font and some free clip art. I tried to find the one I used, but can’t find it. If you go to dafont or font space you will be able to find something adorable to work with the theme. I actually tried to make the invitation Rebus style by embedding both a butterfly and a bee into the text. (I had a total mind cramp trying to remember the word Rebus for this post and it almost drove me mad!) The photos below are taken of the extra invitation I printed for Eden’s scrapbook. Sometimes when I did this, I would shrink the original so that I could fit it into my layout. These aren’t the best pictures, but it gives you an idea. I made the invitation post card style, so the two photos represent each side of it.
Decorations:
I can’t say that the decorations for this party were anything too fabulous. I painted our “picture window” in our dining room with a spring theme and had made some grass/flowers along the half walls between the living room and the dining room. I also painted black stripes on yellow balloons and then attached antennae and yellow cellophane wings. I also hung up several hand painted butterflies that I had kept from Eden’s second birthday party. To add to the theme, the birthday girl was also dressed up like a butterfly!
Decorated half walls. You can actually see the loot baskets with handmade flower cookies peeking out above the grass.
Painted window
Activities and Games:
It is funny how each party has its highlight. Sometimes it is the decorations, other times it’s the cake, but for this party I thought the activities were the big hit. I can’t take credit for most of these ideas as I know I would have relied on party planning sites to get me started. Here are some of the fun things we did:
Butterfly Bowling ~ I filled 6 empty water bottles with tap water and food colouring to make them nice and bright. I then secured tissue paper “wings to them” and they became the bowling pins.
Pin the Spot on the Lady Bug ~ I made a large poster board sized lady bug on red tag board. The kids were blind folded and given an open Oreo half (with the icing). Their job was to lick the icing and attempt to “stick the spot” on the lady bug while blind folded. They got to eat the other half.
Fly Swatter Relay ~ This was so fun and hilarious to watch. The kids were divided into teams and given a fly swatter with plastic flies on it. They had to walk across the room balancing the flies and then turn around and come back without spilling the flies! When the reached the starting line, they had to carefully pass the fly swatter full of flies on to the next person in line, so the relay could continue until everyone had a turn.
The kids used homemade whoopie pie cookies, licorice and icing to make their own insect cookies by adding legs and spots. Of course, they got to eat these.
The girls also had their faces painted with insects and/or flowers when they arrived.
I pre-printed on foam door hangers before the party. They could choose “Buzz off” or “Don’t BUG me!” and then proceed to decorate their hanger.
Pass the Present ~ I got this idea from my friend Michelle. Basically, you wrap a little gift/surprise item in a box. You then proceed to add layers of wrapping paper on the outside equal to the number of kids, so that each child will get a turn to unwrap the present. You pass the present around the circle to music and when the music stops, the person holding the present gets to unwrap a layer. The person to unwrap the final layer gets to keep the prize inside. The kids love this! I can’t remember what the present was, but I am sure it was probably theme related.
Here are the girls making their door hangers.
Pin the Spot on the Lady Bug
Here is Shay getting ready to put his Oreo on the lady bug.
Here are the pins for butterfly bowling.
Here is Eden having her turn in the fly swatter relay.
Food/Snacks:
I always plan my parties for no more than 2 hours and keep a pretty tight schedule. It is because of this that food is not ever a huge part of the party. For this party, I put out a store bought “spring” table-cloth, plates and napkins. I also used my butterfly serving tray for snacks. For the most part the food was not theme related, but I did make small “caterpillar” fruit skewers using purple grapes and those fancy puffy toothpicks for the head. I added florist wire to the puffy head for antennae.
Here is Shay at the snack table. If you look closely you can see the caterpillar grape skewers.
Cupcakes and Ice Cream:
For this party, I decide to create a flower pot of cupcakes as well as an extra plate of cupcakes with a variety of embellishments on them. I loved the little birds ~ an idea from Martha Stewart.
I used fondant for the flowers and added chocolate cookie crumbs for the soil.
The butterflies were made with chocolate covered pretzels.
I don’t seem to have a photo of this, but for the ice cream, I bought a carton of vanilla ice cream and made slices that were about 3/4″ thick. I used a butterfly cookie cutter to pre-cut butterfly ice cream shapes. I then sprinkled them with coloured sugar crystals and re-froze them on a cookie sheet lined with plastic wrap, so that they were ready to serve.
Loot Bags:
This party was 6 years ago and I actually am a little miffed that I can’t find a picture of the loot baskets or an outline of my party plans. I am basically piecing this post together from memory and photos. The loot baskets were small “purse” like bags with two handles and some flowers stitched on the side. They were lined with hot pink fabric and very cute. I don’t remember exactly what I put in the bags, but I do remember that I made each of the girls a bug jar with a screen inserted in the top and a handle added. I made these for each of the girls, but don’t seem to have a picture of the jars either. I also made them each a large homemade sugar cookie on a stick. All that I can remember is the basket, a bug jar, a large cookie and a door hanger, but I really don’t remember what else was in them.
The only picture of the loot I could find!
This was a really fun party and could be tweaked for girls or boys. For more great party ideas, visit my other posts:
One of my all time favourite speakers is coming to town! Springs Church is hosting Dr. Kevin Leman for several sessions at the end of April. He is the author of dozens of fabulous books on parenting, marriage and other self-help topics and he is absolutely hilarious. He has a wealth of information, but delivers in “stand-up comedy” fashion. I have heard him speak a few times before and came home with a tummy ache from all of the belly laughs. I am so excited he is coming back and his topics sound great. I just purchased my tickets and am inviting my readers to join me for an evening of fun. This is one of his best selling books which I have read and loved, but he has written numerous. There is literally something for everyone. Click the book image to check out the book or follow this link to see his best sellers.
Click on the excerpt from the Springs Church website to take you directly to the link where tickets can be purchased.
If you decide to purchase tickets, let me know and perhaps we can arrange to sit together! For those of you that can’t make it, I highly recommend Dr. Leman’s books as they are both informative and enjoyable to read. Although his books are filled with his humour, nothing beats his live delivery. Hope you can make it!
The kids are back to school, but I was lucky enough to have my day off land on the first day back, so I get one extra day all to myself. I decided to treat myself to something I don’t indulge in too often anymore ~ a Hot Oatmeal Sundae!
What is a Hot Oatmeal Sundae?
Well, oatmeal has been a breakfast favourite for decades, but I have to admit it was not one of mine. A few years ago, I pretty much forced myself to eat “porridge” as I had read about how good it was for you. I had to play around a bit to find a way that I could eat it without actually gagging. Honestly, the consistency did not agree with me. Eventually, I not only developed a love of hot oatmeal, but it actually became one of my favourite breakfasts.
Hot Oatmeal Breakfast Sundae:
Ingredients:
cooked oatmeal (I just use the Quick Oats and even opt for the microwave version if I don’t have the time to prepare it on the stove top. (In this case, 1/3 cup oats to 2/3 cup water with a pinch of salt for about 2 minutes)
a bit of milk to create a texture/creaminess that suits your tastes
Sundae toppings of your choice (walnuts, pecans, chopped dates, blueberries, apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, pure maple syrup, chia seeds, flax seeds, etc.)
There really is no right or wrong way to make this, but my favourite consists of hot oatmeal with milk stirred in and topped chopped dates, apple, chopped walnuts, cinnamon and a sprinkle of both chia and flax seeds. I generally don’t need any sweetener as the dates make it sweet enough. If you do opt to add sugar or syrup, do so sparingly. This is so yummy and a great way to serve oatmeal to kids. It is fun to set out a little of tray of toppings and let them build their own Breakfast Sundae. Enjoy! (I don’t think I need to actually say this, but I will. If you are thinking, “Oh, that’s just like those little flavoured packages you can buy!” Let me make this perfectly clear. It is nothing like those packages, this is a delicious way to incorporate a medley of fresh nutritious foods into your breakfast. I always add items that add extra protein because I believe it is very important to have ample protein with every meal.)
P.S. You may be wondering why I began the post by saying that I don’t eat this often…..Did you know that Lyn Genet-Recitas lists oatmeal as one of the 7 “devil foods” in her book. She includes it on the list because so many people believe that it is a healthy choice when it is actually reactive for 85% of the population. I am okay with it, but I know that it is not a completely friendly food for me, so it is a once in a while treat for me. Go figure? I force myself to eat it believing I should be and now have to limit my intake because it actually causes inflammation in my body. In her book, THE PLAN she states:
…inflammation is the underlying factor behind all disease and health issues.
Although oatmeal has been identified as a food that helps lower cholesterol, that is only true for those few people who do not have an inflammatory response to oatmeal consumption. That is really the trouble with nutrition these days, no one really knows what to eat anymore. Foods seem to bounce from the Superfoods list to the Devil Foods list and it is difficult to know what the best choices are. Again, I really think it is worth the time and energy to figure this out for yourself as everyone reacts to food differently.
I was out picking up a few things at Home Depot for my tray storage cupboard and came across the section where the Command Hooks are kept. I have purchased these in the past, but rarely. However, it suddenly occurred to me that they were just what I was looking for! When I made my sliding storage rack, I had to cut it down because of the support board that ran along the side of the fridge below the cupboards. It was about a foot deep and it meant that I had to sacrifice the additional space behind the cabinet. I thought perhaps I could still make use of the space by adding hooks to the wall, but had a temporary mind cramp and couldn’t figure out a way to get a screw or nail in the tight space ~ Dah! The Command Hooks would work perfectly. I was so excited that I ended up looking over the entire selection and picked-up a few packages. In the end, I mounted two behind the sliding cupboard, one for my broom and another for my oven mitts.
More Kitchen Storage Ideas:
My original plan was to install this system, but unfortunately it wouldn’t work in my kitchen.
As well as installing the Command Hooks, I also picked up a set of hinges and plastic storage trays that are designed to fit behind the false drawer front that sits in front of your kitchen sink. Unfortunately, we have an under mount sink and it was impossible to use the set due to the way it was installed. Although I was disappointed I figured I could install one of the plastic trays inside the door of the cupboard that sits under the sink. It is perhaps slightly less handy than the original plan, but serves the same purpose. I would often have my scrubber and sponge sitting on the back ledge behind the sink and really hated it. This is much better.
So, here are some photos of how I installed and used my new hooks and storage solutions.
Command Hook broom storage solution.
These are actually about 20″ apart to accommodate larger trays and such.
You can see one of my cooling racks hanging on the hook. I love how I am now able to make use of this extra storage space in my kitchen.
Yesterday I mentioned the great date my hubby and I had on Thursday. What I didn’t explain were the details surrounding our “date day”. About 3 or 4 years ago, we had hydro come out and do an efficiency test on our house and it failed miserably. That was not surprising since our heating bills for our first winter surpassed our monthly mortgage payments. Once the test was done, we were given an outline of suggestions that would help to make our home more efficient. The number one suggestion was insulating our basement.
The basement of our 1921 home had no insulation, but there were a few rooms that had been roughed in. Obviously, these were primarily used for storage and laundry and looked to be at least 70 years old. It was in a very sad state, but provided adequate space for all of our tools and stored items. We had everything put away and organized and although the basement was really only used for laundry, it was tidy and functional.
However, when we decided to insulate and drywall the space to help lower our heating costs, we had to remove everything from the exterior walls and place it in the center of the space, so that Tim could work his way around the exterior. This project seemed to progress in spurts with most of the insulating completed a few years back, but it was at this point that it seemed to stall out. Now, for an organization freak like me, this became a huge issue. It wasn’t so much that the basement wasn’t finished, but more an issue of not being able to find what I was looking for. I absolutely hate wasting time and sorting through a “pile of rubble” was not scoring high with me. Although my husband won’t admit it, I think that he felt somewhat overwhelmed by the job. We have pipes hanging awkwardly from the ceiling and wires that need to be moved as well as bulkheads that need to be built. Between the mess from the renovation, the pile of storage tubs and the construction materials themself, he just kind of shut down and really no progress has been made for a long time. It was a bit of a “hot topic” in our house, but last fall I finally decided to temporarily let go of the idea of having a finished basement and just focus on what was stressing me out the most ~ THE HUGE MESS! So, this is where the date comes into play.
The Best Date Ever:
So, you can imagine my excitement when I got my husband to agree to “a date”. No, this date didn’t involve a romantic dinner or flowers, but something much more meaningful to me. A special date marked on the calendar that would be dedicated to the basement. We would clean, purge and organize as much as we could in one day. That is all I requested…just one day to see what we could accomplish. So, on April 3rd, shortly after lunch, we took the walk of shame and headed down to the dungeon. Honestly, it felt like a clip from the TV show “Hoarders”. There was stuff everywhere and I simply could not live with it any longer. Although we have a large basement of about 1500 square feet, there literally was hardly any floor space. Construction materials, tubs of storage items, tools and sporting goods seemed to be everywhere. So, without much of a plan, we set to work.
We sorted out our pile of reclaimed wood from the tear down to determine what we should keep and what should be tossed.
We organized all of the scrap wood we were keeping for future projects and placed all of the large garbage items at the base of the stairs. We need to get a BFI bin or something for all of this, but wanted to have all of the garbage ready before we actually order it.
I went through all of the cans of paint to determine what was still good and what needed to be tossed.
Tim vacuumed and cleaned all of the floor space and moved all of our storage tubs against one wall, so that they are more out of the way.
I spent about 6 hours going through all of our “hardware” stuff: screws, nails, tacks, plumbing, electrical and painting supplies. I sorted, vacuumed, organized and labelled until I was almost delirious.
I bought a Casio label machine and was so excited as I began to unpack boxes of supplies that had yet to be unpacked from our move to this house in 2008. I think Tim just kept waiting for the day he would have his basement “workshop” set-up and never really bothered to go through some of the boxes. Normally, I would just go do it myself, but I knew that it was impossible. I had tried a few times, but this was his stuff and I was unable to determine what some items were and how they should be sorted or if they even needed to be kept. I knew that the only way to get this done was to work together.
So, after about 14 hours of work (times two bodies = 28 hours), our basement is in much better shape. I was disappointed when the sample roll of label tape ran out and I hadn’t finished my job, but overall it looks much better. There are still many things that need to be done down there, but I can live with this. It is organized and there is once again ample usable space. My hope is that now that the mess is cleared, Tim will feel more optimistic and once again begin to complete one task at a time. We don’t really have a design plan in mind for the “family room” type of space that will eventually be down there, but we have already got the walls up and drywalled for the storage room and we’ll keep the existing laundry room walls. Of course, I have my wish list and even a preference for the order of completion, but for now I will relish in the fact that a job that was long over due is finally done. As I looked around the basement, I seriously got a bit teared up. This basement has been a huge bone of contention for me and the disarray of this space just seemed like a weight on my shoulders. Every time I walked down the stairs, my annoyance would resurface. This was a huge amount of work. It was dusty and dirty and tedious and long, but none the less, for me, the best date ever! My husband scored huge points with me this week. I can find what I need and now have the space to work without feeling like I need to drag everything up to my scrapbook/project room.
If and when we proceed with our basement plans, I will keep you posted. If I had my wish, we would begin by finishing the storage room. Although it still needs a ceiling, flooring, mud and sanding, and electrical work done, it still seems like the most logical space to complete first. Finishing this space, would allow me to move all of the tubs of storage items into their permanent home. It would literally clear-up most of the basement clutter and because it will only be used for storage it seems like a great space to fumble and learn. I’m not really worried about perfect seams and the finished look in this space. I’m merely looking for a clean, organized room banked with shelving and hooks to store our Christmas decorations, off-season clothing and other off-season items. Finishing this room will be another great reason to celebrate.
Now, I had to dig deep to actually have the guts to share these BEFORE/AFTER pictures with you. Anyone who knows me well, would be astonished that my basement looked like this for so long. I certainly didn’t keep it a secret, but few ever saw the state of affairs. The makings of this mess began innocently enough, but I just didn’t know how to get things back on track when I really was not able to do the work. I would love to think I am capable enough to be a great helper or assistant, but the reality is I don’t know the first thing about basement construction and my hubby really does have to take the lead on this. You know what they say about couples and how opposites attract ~ I am a total “get ‘r done gal” and Procrastination is Tim’s middle name. Ugh! I love him to pieces, but sometimes, I can’t figure out how we manage to make it all work. I’ll give God credit for that!
Brace Yourself for the BEFORE Shots:
28 Hours and Two Back Aches Later:
AFTER: This still looks pretty bad, but it should. This is the sorted garbage pile ready to be taken out. Yay!
AFTER: This was where the laundry sink was previously standing.
Here is the space where the sink used to sit, but we removed the green board so that we could add it to the junk pile. Don’t you love the old wood planks on the walls.
Hey! There’s the work bench or should I say examination table. A doctor used to own the house and this was converted to a work bench somewhere along the way.
AFTER: This is a close-up of the examination table/work bench. I opened the end drawer just to show you they were there. We didn’t even know there were drawers there until Thursday!
AFTER: I used the drawers at the end of the bench to house the screws. Any that were in little labelled boxes were arranged by size. There are three drawers full!
AFTER: The table, door and piano pieces were moved to the rear of the grey storage tubs which makes much more sense don’t you think?
AFTER: It is really hard to appreciate the hours I spent going through the odds and ends that ended up sorted into these bins.
AFTER: This is the same shot of the length of the basement. Notice the open floor space in the middle.
AFTER: This is where the original pile of wood from the tear down was, but now all of our storage tubs line this wall. The door way leads to the “someday” storage room.
AFTER: The old wood that we want to repurpose is now neatly leaning against the pillar in the center of the space.
AFTER: The sink is temporarily sitting in front of the now organized paint shelf.
Still so much to do, but I think we might actually be back on track. What a relief!!
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Tim and I had set a date a few months back. We specifically picked April 4th because I would be on Spring Break and Tim is off on Thursdays and Fridays. I have had this date circled on my calendar since February and couldn’t wait to spend the day together. We had the most incredible day ever and I even get a bit teary-eyed thinking back on the events of the day. I know you are on the edge of your seats wondering what we did? Well, let me just tell you that this is something that has been a deep desire in my heart for several years now and yesterday, it finally happened. Now before I get carried away with our date, I have to tell you about the super easy and quick DIY project that I did in the morning before our date. I will fill you in on our fabulous date tomorrow….it is a long story and I was up way too late and can only commit to a quick post as I am bagged, but believe me this is a good one.
Here is a BEFORE shot. It doesn’t actually look as bad as it was.
Nail boards onto the bottom of the shelf (or top of the cupboard depending on your space).
Use your divider as a spacer between the wood pieces.
AFTER: The shelf has been placed inside and the dividers just slide into the channels.
Here is my new space. I was even able to add my loaf pans on the new shelf!
DIY Cookie Sheet Storage
You may recall me mentioning the sad state of my cookie sheet/muffin tin cupboard a few posts ago. I am not exaggerating when I say that a battle took place each and every time that cupboard door opened. Not one single item came in or out without a fight and I finally had enough. I knew what I wanted, but had put it off because I had never really taken the time to figure out how to get the job done and I honestly thought it was beyond my capabilities, but I was so wrong. This is one of the easiest projects I’ve done. First of all, I googled and within the first few links found a tutorial explaining exactly what I wanted to do. I was so excited! Here’s what I did.
Measured the depth and width of my cupboard (7 1/2″ X 24″ deep).
I knew that I would need two dividing boards and planned to use scrap pegboard that I already had in the house. The thickness of pegboard is about 1/4″.
The concept is so easy. You mount boards along the base and top of the cupboard that are the same distance apart as your divider board which in my case was 1/4″. The space between the mounted boards creates the channel for the vertical dividers to stand in. I didn’t really have boards on hand that would work for this, so I went to Home Depot and picked-up 3 four foot poplar boards that were each 1/4″ thick for around $10. (This is actually a bit of a fib. It wasn’t until I went to stain that I realized I had grabbed a 3 foot piece of the 1 1/2″ board. It wasn’t worth going back, but I had planned to mount it on the top under the shelf so it wouldn’t be seen, but completely forgot and used the longer piece on top. Oh well, it is not like anyone will ever see the back of that cupboard again!) I was aiming to have the boards equal 7 1/2″ minus the 1/2″ to account for the channel between the boards (1/4″ X 2 channels), so I could purchase boards equalling up to 7″ wide. I ended up purchasing two boards that were 2 1/2″ wide and one that was 1 1/2″ wide for a total width of 6 1/2″. I couldn’t get the numbers to workout exactly, but just planned to leave the extra space on the outside edges close to the walls of the cupboard. It worked perfectly.
I then stained the boards and cut them to 21″ long as I wanted the dividers to sit back a few inches from the front of the cupboard. So I ended up with 2 fat boards and one narrow board for both the base and top of the space. (I needed 6 boards in all).
I didn’t want to waste any space, so I put those little metal shelf plugs in the pre-drilled holes on the sides of the cupboard. This allowed me to add a shelf and extra storage space above my trays. I had the plugs on hand and for the shelf, I just used a scrap piece from an old desk top that I had dismantled and re-purposed a while back. It is not in perfect shape, but it will be completely hidden and has a melamine surface, so it will stand up well. It just needed about 1/4″ trimmed off the side to fit perfectly in the space. I placed the pegs in with the shelf on top and measured a distance of 16 3/8″ between the base and the bottom of the shelf.
I then cut the pegboard at 21″ X 16 3/8″ so that it would fit snuggly between the top shelf and base inside the channels I was making.
This part certainly wasn’t hard, but I must admit I took a bit of time to think this through to avoid making a mistake. After cutting the pegboard I realized that I may have to accommodate the shelf pegs by notching out the wood because I couldn’t have the shelf rest on my wood pieces or it would raise the height and my pegboard would no longer fit snuggly. I ended up placing my shelf on the pegs and marking the underside of my board, so I knew how far the pegs sat out under the shelf. I removed the shelf and mounted my first length of board so that it would sit tight against the pegs. I then used my pegboard as a spacer and mounted the next board. When I went to mount the third board, I realized that there wouldn’t be quite enough room for the pegs, so I ended up cutting about 1/4″ off of the side of one of the top boards. (Of course, this was not necessary on the base.) I placed the shelf back in, and it rested perfectly on the bottom of the shelf, not the channel boards. (Lucky for me that I only bought boards equaling 6 1/2″ otherwise I would have had to do more trimming to account for the pegs.)
I then used the same system to nail the boards to the base of the cabinet ensuring that the placement matched the boards at the top.
Finally, I slid in my pegboard dividers and have myself an awesome storage system for my pans. Yay!
* You might have noticed that I also mounted the base for a “Command” hook here. (You know the sticky kind.) I am going to hang my oven mitts here.
Tuesday, I spent the entire day cleaning and organizing my kitchen. You know that kind of cleaning you do when you actually take the time to look beyond the forks and knives and notice all the little crumbs that have fallen to the bottom of the tray. I must admit that juggling work, family and daily blogging has taken a bit of a toll. I have had to become even more effective at managing my time and despite all of the projects I have been doing, for the most part my house has never looked worse. I just don’t have the time to clean in the ways I am accustomed to. I tidied up the fridge freezer and found a mind-boggling 22 frozen bananas…Yikes! Let’s just say my kitchen really needed a “behind the scenes” cleaning. After having spent all day in the kitchen, I am sad to say that the kitchen isn’t even done and to the “onlooker” it looks like I haven’t touched a thing because most of it is behind closed doors. Don’t you hate that?
I called this post Spring Cleaning Gone Mad because I actually felt like a mad woman yesterday. I went from cupboard to cupboard vacuuming drawers, wiping out shelves and re-organizing their contents. I did odd jobs that had been avoided for way too long and after a very long day of slaving away I was left with a longer list of “to do’s” than when I started. Isn’t that the way it goes…you take on one project and it seems like you’ve opened up a can of worms. Every space I attacked revealed something else that needed attention. The good news is I have lots of blogging ideas, but the bad news is I don’t have the time to do it all! Although I am not done, it is looking much better.
Finished the job of cleaning spice jars and organizing the drawers. I must admit that I was a bit surprised that even after all of that work, I still have two drawers, a cupboard and now a pull-out rack that contain spices! How is that even possible? The great thing is that it is neatly organized and streamlined, but I didn’t really create the extra cupboard space I was hoping for.
Managed to fit my cereal into a drawer and store the accessories for my manual food processor (that I absolutely love) behind the cereal boxes to make better use of the space.
Re-configured the cupboard beside the stove, so that all of my Epicure jars are not hidden in the back, but rather neatly stored and much more visible in the second spice drawer.
Removed all of my baking sheets and muffin tins, cleaned the cupboard and organized the space better. This cupboard is like a thorn in my side. I honestly get so mad taking things out and putting things in there that there should be an alarm that sounds warning my family it is not safe to enter the kitchen when I open that cupboard. Let’s just say it does not bring out the best in me. Although I straightened it out. I already know I will be in a rant by Sunday if something is not done. This project is next on my list and hopefully will get done today….I have a plan and am a woman on a mission!
Hung the cord from the under cabinet lighting that came loose about 3 years ago. Every time I noticed that sucker hanging down, I would be annoyed that it hadn’t been put back-up. Not yesterday….I finally took the 5 minutes necessary and did it myself. Perhaps not the way my husband would have done it, but clearly he was okay with it hanging down loosely over the stove, so his standards weren’t getting in my way. It’s done, my way and looks way better.
We had mounted an old grate for school mail and notes at least two years ago. When we originally attached it, the holes were drilled too high and we had to lower them. That was fine, but the holes never got filled. Yesterday, I filled the holes and will sand and paint them today….yay!
Here are some of the before and after shots:
SPICE DRAWER INSERT: I’ve had one of these all along and still love it. It is actually hard to believe that the drawer was in such disarray because this really does help to keep things organized. I think that’s why the “before and after” shots don’t look that dramatic, but believe me it is so much easier to find what you are looking for now. (I had to saw the edges off of mine to fit this drawer as it was actually bought for a larger drawer.)
It may not look like much work, but scrubbing labels, washing bottles, filling and re-labelling took me hours!! (Just noticed the T missing from the word “yet” and I’m choosing to let it go. Not really my style, but even I have my limits. I have been working on this post for way too long and have re-done the screen shot of this collage about 4 times too many already. Oh well! I’m sure my readers can figure it out – consider it a fill in the blank lesson from grade school. I am absolutely not changing it.)
It seemed like we had cereal boxes everywhere! Hard to believe we were Paleo at one time!!
So glad to have this eyesore taken care of…finally!
These spice bottle look so much better and love the new rack!
You can see from the photo that there is no space beside our bed for night stands.
Our bed is set into a small alcove in our room. Although I love the look of this, the trade-off is that there is absolutely zero room for a bedside table. This posed a huge problem for me for several reasons:
I often read before bed.
I wear glasses and am virtually blind without them.
I have a chronic runny nose and never go anywhere without a tissue and that includes bed.
I use lip balm and hand lotion right before going to sleep.
I am a creature of habit and when we moved into our house, I knew that I would have to figure something out to make this set-up work.
The Solution:
I bought a piece of fabric that coordinated with our bedding and bedroom colours and made a very simple pocket system that stretches across the bed between the box spring and the top mattress. The width was approximately 16″ (before finishing the edges) and the length depends on the size of the bed you are making it for. We have a queen, so the finished length included the width of the bed plus the fabric needed to build the pockets. To save money, I made joins that were hidden under the mattress. (You could even use old sheets or fabric scraps for the hidden part as it will never be seen.) I finished the edges of the entire piece and then created the pockets by folding the ends up to the desired pocket depth. I then simply stitched the sides to the base and made two additional vertical stitching lines to create three pockets of varying size. This gave both Tim and I our own personal little pocket for our bedtime essentials without having access to a nightstand.
I love that the pockets are almost completely hidden when the bed is made! This is a perfect solution, and is in fact a much “cleaner look” than a cluttered night stand!
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One of my all time favourite speakers is coming to town! Springs Church is hosting Dr. Kevin Leman for several sessions at the end of April. He is the author of dozens of fabulous books on parenting, marriage and other self-help topics and he is absolutely hilarious. He has a wealth of information, but delivers in “stand-up comedy” fashion. I have heard him speak a few times before and came home with a tummy ache from all of the belly laughs. I am so excited he is coming back and his topics sound great. I just purchased my tickets and am inviting my readers to join me for an evening of fun. This is one of his best selling books which I have read and loved, but he has written numerous. There is literally something for everyone. Click the book image to check out the book or follow this link to see his 
