Pinterest - Again

I'm gearing back up to tackling some of my hundreds of Pinterest ideas I've pinned onto various boards.  Recently I started going through all of my boards and cleaning them out.  One of four things happened:
1) The item was deleted if I've tried it and was not impressed with it or did not like it.
2) The item was moved to the board I have for "Things I've Successfully made" if it was a success. 
3) The item was deleted if I decided it was dumb.
4) The item remained on the board OR was moved to the right board.  I even managed to delete a few boards because they didn't really mean anything anymore.

As I was working on that project, I found ideas I want to try again so here goes! 

The first idea is from my For the Home board and is a new way to soften clothes.  I am not one to hang clothes outside on the line to dry OR to leave out the fabric softening sheet because I hate "crunchy" clothes.  Have you noticed how expensive good dryer sheets are now?  It's just crazy.  When I saw this idea from Mattern Family Adventures, I decided to take a chance.

This is wonderful.  I picked up a $0.98 hand towel at Wal-mart and soaked it in the liquid softener - really that just means pouring enough softener on the towel in a bowl to get it good and saturated.  Then squeeze out as much of the extra as you can and hang it where ever - I hung it over my banister in the kitchen and the whole house smelled fantastic.  My husband even asked me where I got the new air freshener because it was awesome.  Mine was completely 100% dry within about a day and half (but my kitchen is really hot so I'm sure that helped!) I washed two loads with it already and the clothes are soft and smell sooooo good!  I'm really impressed with this idea and plan to pick up a second towel - and then the plan is to "make" a new towel softener at the end of the month to replace it by the first of the month.  Considering the fact that I go through a box of softener sheets a month at close to $5.00 and I spent $5.00 on the bottle of liquid which will probably make, I don't know, maybe 10 or so towels . . well, that's a lot of savings!!

This second idea is also from my For the Home board and just seemed way too easy.  I have no were to really store the boxes of aluminum foil, cling-warp etc so it just gets thrown under my kitchen sink.  Then I saw this idea from Chica and Jo and it was just too simple not to try.

It just so happened I was cleaning out stuff in the basement and had one of these holders.  I already love it.  It's easy to grab from the cupboard and sometimes, honestly, it sits in the corner on the counter and takes up hardly any room but keeps all of that stuff so handy!  I love this idea :-)

The last idea I'm working on right now is an idea from my Craft Board and is for the boys.  The idea comes from I heart Organizing and has been on the back burner for awhile but now that we are getting ready to start preschool, I want this file organization system in place so I have a place to store all of those special projects.

I'm still searching for the perfect file box - I plan on picking up the file folders/hanging folders this weekend and well prepare that much.  I may just get the inexpensive $4.00 file bin from Walmart for now and get something more sturdy later when I find exactly what I want.  Once I start using it, I'll try to remember to post a photo :-)

I feel good about these new ideas I've tried and had success with . . not to go through some more boards and find more ideas!

Screen Doors and Fresh Wave

I bet you wonder where I'm going with a blog title like that, don't you?  Well, I really just want to share a couple of new products we've tried recently and actually really like.  (And no, I have no affiliation with any company - this is just my own personal opinion!)

First up is the Magic Mesh Instant Screen Door from Bed Bath and Beyond.

I had seen this in a recent flyer from BBB and thought it might work for us and then, much to my surprise, my mom picked one up and gave it to us.  Our main entrance is our Sliding Glass door in the kitchen.  Nope, not ideal but replacing it with a nice set of french doors is pretty far down on the list right now.  Our regular screen takes a beating throughout the year and now that the kids run in and out, that screen tends to get left open all day long.  Sure the dog loves it, but so does the outdoor cat (who, by the way, got in before we left on vacation and we didn't know it  . . until we got back!  It wasn't a big deal but boy was she glad to get back outside HA!).  When my husband looked at this, he was pretty skeptical that it would work and I was a little concerned that it would be a pain.  We figured we would try it and if it didn't work to keep it up, we could take it down and I could put it up on warm days when the slider was going to be open all day.

Boy we were wrong.  The screen is perfect.  Now, as with all things, we learned things after we put it up that would have made it a little neater but it still works fine.  The magnets REALLY pull it back together.  Even on a windy day, when the wind caught it a little while it was open, you could actually see the magnetics trying so hard to pull together HA  The kids quickly figured out that they can walk right through it and yes, you can really go through it with full hands.  The dog has NOT figured it out yet but has accidentally gone through it a few times.  The only time it is a pain is when the slider is closed and you have to go through both the slider and the screen to get out - but it is really similar to have a door and a screen door to go through I guess. 

When my husband put the sticky tabs on it to hang it, he did not realize they were actually Velcro so the Velcro didn't go on the same direction which is why we have a slight problem at the top - the pieces don't stick.  I really just need to pick up some more Velcro and we can fix that easily.  Also, we had to hang it, obviously, on the outside because there was no where to attach the second side if we hung it inside the door.  Even hanging  it outside, we had to attach one side to the glass door that doesn't open/close since the screen is bigger than our door opening but I don't think anyone would notice just walking in and out the door.  We both think it looks nice too and because it is darker/thicker, it also helps shield the sun a little from the kitchen too.


The next item is also from Bed, Bath and Beyond and is called Fresh Wave.  It is an Odor Neutralizing Product.

A little history.  When my husband was traveling over the road down to Chicago a few times a week he listened to a Chicago Radio Station every day and they would have a pet specialist come on the air periodically.  This Fresh Wave product is what they recommended to help neutralize any pet smell in your house.  When Darryl told me about it, I tried to find it but couldn't.  Well, last weekend while out and about, I got to spend a little time in BBB (my favorite store right now, by the way!).  I went into the bathroom and thought "Wow, it smells nice in here" and then I noticed a canister of the Fresh Wave Crystals sitting on the counter.  Needless to say I picked some up!  There was a combo pack with a 14 oz jar and then a small "sample" jar for $14.99.  We have a few stinky areas in our home (HA) one is the kitchen/stairwell/basement.  Because the stairs come right up to the basement - all musty, pet related smells (the little box sits near the bottom of the stairs) greet you as you walk in the door.  I placed the 14 oz canister on one of my new shelves in the kitchen and it actually blends in with the wall :-)  It really works - it smells good and keeps odors at bay.  Now for the true test.  I took the small one and put it in Nate's room.  No he doesn't stink but his diaper trash pail gets more use than any other one because all three boys end up getting changed in there at some point during the day (My two and the munchkin I babysit).  I can change the trash daily but throughout the day, wow, some days it's enough to knock you out.  On Thursday evening of last week I finally put it in there (there were some nasty diapers that day - so I doubted it would work).  I opened his door to get him up on Friday and it smelled clean and fresh in his room despite the trash (yes, I left it in there on purpose).  What a difference!!   Even if your home isn't "stinky" this product is just so fresh smelling.  I did not get one for the bathroom but I am going to - it's too good NOT to have one in there!!


There is one last product I picked up at Bed, Bath, and Beyond last weekend and that is a two pack of the Damp Rid tubs. 

The photo just shows the refills but I purchased the starter "kit" with the buckets - two for $5.99.  My sister-in-law uses these in her house and told me they actually worked so I picked them up for my bathroom and basement.  I've noticed a difference in the moisture level in both areas.  The one in the basement is placed in a little area right off the laundry room and within 24 hours I noticed that the floor in that area didn't look as damp and this morning I noticed it is dry looking.  I placed the 2nd one in the bathroom and have noticed instead of staying damp all day, it dries out pretty quickly after showers.  I plan on picking up the refill pack (4 refills for $6.99) soon so I have them when the others are gone.  Sometimes it is just a little thing that helps out :-)

I did pick up a few other things on my outing like a new paper towel holder that hangs in the kitchen (one less thing on the counter!), a banana holder (wait, a NEW thing on the counter HA!) because we ALWAYS have banana's sitting on the counter in our house, and a bottle to hold olive oil.  I used to have one but the cork eventually fell apart and I just never replaced it - my husband has been asking me too for . .years :-)

Have you tried any new products that are worth sharing? 

The Kitchen - Phase One

If you have followed this blog for long, you know that we've been working on "Phase 1" in our kitchen for just over a year.  Seriously.  We are not fast moving project people, obviously.  This was even part of my "Simplify" project last year that never got done but, guess what?  It is finished.  When this project started, there were no "phases" but life happens and I realized that I need to break this project up into phases or it would never, ever get done.   Phase One ended up consisting of:
1. Painting the cabinets
2. Putting on new hardware
3. Painting the Steps
4. Hanging decor
5. Hanging Curtains
6. Putting up trim (that was cut and painted 6 years ago but we were waiting until we did the kitchen to put it up. . .. geesh!)

To give you just a little background before I share the before and afters.  When we bought this house I said that I wanted to update the kitchen first.  This house has a pretty decent kitchen for the size that it is but it lacked any style.  Well, then our toilet flooded and ruined the flooring in the dining room so we redid the dining room.  Then our hot water heater exploded and ruined tons of stuff in the basement so we started working on that project.  Next, we decided to move our office into the smallest bedroom and we redid the guest room as our next project.  After that - kids.  Enough said.  To make it even funnier - 4 years ago I took almost everything off of the walls in the kitchen because we were going to finally redo that room.  I wanted it done before our son was born so we had a nice entrance to the house. .. then both my husband and I ended up on some sort of "bedrest" for weeks - he had back surgery at the same time I was already on bedrest and then I went into the hospital.  Needless to say it did not get done.  Finally, last March I decided to start by painting one cabinet at a time until they were done.  I was moving along great when the summer of holy hotness happened and I did nothing.  (Remember how horrid it was???) I finally picked up the project in January and my goal was to have it finished by today, Saturday May 5th and we finished a whole week early!!!

Without further ado - here are those photos!!  I'll start with a few before shots:

 Ok, first of all, yes, the cat is licking the hot dog package.  I was too busy taking photos not notice that until after the fact HA!  Back to the real story.  This is a very dated kitchen with the oak cabinets, fake wood looking counter tops and blue, yes blue, walls.  The walls were a super light shade of blue so sometimes they looked white but there were really blue!!

 The other side of the kitchen with lots of clutter, our old stove.  Some of the doors are missing because I had already started my project before I remembered to take photos!

 The stairwell wall and banister - nothing too pretty to look at. 

 Our ugly steps.  These were carpeted when we moved in - we ripped out the carpet because it was so gross and have lived with naked steps for years. 

This photo just shows some of the progress on the cabinets. 

Now, for the afters!

 Don't you just love this arrangement?  I'd see the inspiration all over on the Internet with people using plates but I had my wonderful strawberry knick knacks that have been in hiding for several years so I went to Walmart and found those wooden boxes.  There were three frames in each set for $14.00 so I was pretty happy.  Everything else I already owned.  I used Zots (scrapbooking "glue" on the bottoms of the stuff in the shelves to keep them from slipping. The color on the walls is from Lowes and is Green Apple.  It was not the "right" color.  We had been living with the color painted behind the stove for over a year.  I grabbed the paint card and headed to the store.  When I got home and started painting I discovered that I had grabbed the wrong card - it was the shade lighter then the original color but I LOVE this and am thrilled with my mistake!

 Seriously, I am so proud of this project.  I saw this idea years in a commercial, no less, for how to "finish" your steps.  Just simple paint but it looks like a carpet runner.  The green matches the wall color and the brick red matches the strawberries (The best part - it was leftover paint from when we painted our garage door so it was FREE!!)  I absolutely love how it turned out.  We are going to live with it for awhile and see how it wears . If it starts to chip, we'll touch it up and then use something to seal it but I'm hoping it wears well and we won't have to do that. 

 This wall is the one you see as you enter our house (it's above the stairs).  Don't you love those hanging candle holders?  I earned them by hosting a PartyLite show in October 2010.  I knew I wanted them in my kitchen and they are perfect.  In past posts I've mentioned about wanted to have a set of family rules in our home so I ordered this Vinyl from Sassy Sites and we just love it.  I want to give "Sassy" a shout out because working with her was so easy and I had my pieces within days of ordering them.  Anytime I want to order pieces like this I will go through her because I know that she does a great job. 

 Here is another of the lettering pieces.  Yes, that is the side of my dishwasher - the side that faces the patio door so when people enter our home, they see that statement.

 The picture above and the one below give you the full view of our kitchen.  I need to mention that our kitchen IS our entrance so when anyone comes to our home, this is the room they see first.  I love how light and bright the whole room is with the green, white, and stainless steel.  I also love how uncluttered the counter tops are now too - trust me, that was no easy feat but I did it and am working on keeping them that way! 

 A few more decor items - the saying on the wall I purchased years ago from one of those home parties.  I didn't even know if we could get it on the wall due to the age but, thanks to my husband, we did it.  Notice the flower hanging in the window?  That is what I purchased recently for my birthday.  I have decided not to hang a valance at this window - it seems to make it feel more open.  (And my husband even scrubbed the window inside and out for me too :-) )

 Do you remember this little project?  I love how the faux zebra print adds a little whimsy to the room.  

 This is my new calendar board from Creative Memories.  For years I had an oak board hung here but I wanted something clean - this is perfect :-)

 This is the area for the boys - coats and shows.  (That is a basket I got FREE from my recent Thirty-One party!)  I'm missing a few command hooks - I still have to pick those up and I think I want to get some vinyl lettering to put up that says something whitty :-)

 The view of the stairwell wall and the Bannister (it used to be brown but now disappears since it is white!)  Excuse the toys on the floor - I took pictures during prime play time.  I hung up white curtains on the patio door - they are more like sheers so now, in the heat of the summer, I can close them to help keep the blaring sun out but the light will still come through!  I would really like to do something on the patio door for decor too but other than my "Once in awhile" wreaths haven't come up with anything.

One more photo that includes that long wall with the family rules on it.

You may have noticed missing outlet covers - that is also part of Phase 1 but, my dad is our electrician and we are waiting for him to come over and put new outlets, switches and covers on :-)  This just happened to be a really busy time of year so we have to wait a few more weeks on that but I can still count this project as done since my part is done HA! 

What are the next phases?  Let me tell you!

Phase 2 - Cosmetic Things
We have quite a few cosmetic things that need to be done:
1. A new handrail on the wall to the basement (I can hear my parents cheering as they read this)
2. The strips that go on the floor between rooms and at the top of the stairs to make the edges all look nice (we also will do the bathroom strip at the same time!!)
3. A trash can holder that slides out from the cupboard  - it actually holds two cans, one for trash and one for cans.  (I want to get lettering that says "Trash Cans" to go on the cupboard door . . just for fun :-) )
4.  Draw pulls - we did the handles on the cabinets but chose to wait on the drawer pulls.  Now that the painting and all that is done, we really want the pulls after all.
5. I want to put up a shelf under a cabinet near the stove to house my recipe binder to keep it up off the counter
6. Hang the paper towels on the side of the cupboard above the sink and, on the other side, hang a spice rack to get the spices off the counter also.
7. I have a couple of cupboards that need some organizational help - I.e. the pots and pans - so I just need to get the storage solutions for those.

Phase 3- Counter top
Just one thing - we plan on doing a counter top paint to update those ugly faux wood counter tops.  I've seen it done on many blogs and "talked" to several of them about the process and feel confidant that this is the way to go for us at this time.  The counter tops will be a black surface - probably done to look like granite so it will have "movement".

Phase 4- Flooring
Again, just one thing - we are not 100% sure what we will go with yet other then I want black.  We are planning on having the flooring put in professionally (it is a small area so it won't cost much).  We feel this will be better than us trying to do it and ending up with it off center or something weird.

Phase 5 - the Bonus phase :-)
This is that phase that I don't know if I really want until we are done. Then I'll decide.  A back splash.  I have a few ideas in mind but I also just like the look of paint.  Maybe we'll do something just behind the stove . . .or maybe not.  I'd also like to get new light fixtures eventually.  What I have now is very practical and gives off tons of light . . but I want something pretty :-)

So, now we are going to begin on phase 2 - one item at a time.  We also have a few other house projects to do like decorating the boys bedrooms and updating our bedroom as well.  Just about the time I think I'm done - we start over :-)