BEFORE

BEFORE

The previous owners made some really great shelves running along the walls in our garage but the only issue was that they were too high.  We needed a more practical and reachable shelf solution to house the garage items we were keeping in totes and crates.

BEFORE

We purchased this black industrial shelf from Home Depot for about $60 which is an awesome deal for a 5 shelf, 48″X72″ set up.  We really liked black and felt that the particle board shelving would be sturdy and wouldn’t sag under weight. We also liked that we could fit 3 of my favorite Container Store Bins on each shelf.

AFTER

Putting it together was fairly easy with two people and a mallet.  We ended up having to raise the shelving above the unit a little higher in order to use the top shelf, but that’s not an issue since those items are rarely used.

We sorted our garage items into several crates and these are the “categories” we came up with:

• Sports-balls, gloves, etc.
• Summer yard toys-water table accessories, bubbles, etc.
• Car Wash-Soaps, rags, wipes, etc
• Beach-bags, toys, floats, etc.
• Light bulbs
• Cooking-cedar planks, cast iron pots, lighter fluid, etc.
• Cleats-Yes there is a whole bin of cleats because Joe is a hoarder
• Other items on the shelf include a tackle box, empty crate, and ice chests.

Now that we have organized the stray items floating around the garage and contained them into bins on the shelf, we have freed up more floor space and the garage feels less cluttered.

Still to do for the garage project:

• Label bins, crates, and tool box
• Hang decor-Joe’s football jersey, chalk board/message board of some kind?
• Add address numbers to the door-see pinterest board
• Take after shots of the space

I know I’ve raved about magic erasers before but I still am amazed every time I use them.  Madeleine is really into coloring but doesn’t quite understand that you can’t color everything, only paper.  I found her coloring on her Minnie Mouse car, her stool, and even the fridge.  At first I tried a warm wash cloth which worked on the plastic car but it took a lot of elbow grease.  It wasn’t coming off the fridge so I pulled out an eraser and BAM!  It wiped off so easily!!

I also used a magic eraser on Madeleine’s furniture in her new big girl room.  Our neighbors down the street have a daughter entering middle school and she was ready to get rid of her little girl bedroom set so they just gave it to us.  Major score because it is such good quality, great colors, and free. Thanks neighbors!  There were only a few scratches here and there so I took a Magic eraser and wiped down everything.  Take a look at the before (right) and after (left) of the drawers under the bed.

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AFTER

I mean right?

For the dresser I cleaned out the drawers and lined them with this cool gold chevron wrapping paper.  I love this little trick because it’s so inexpensive and makes the drawers look so sharp. Here’s how I lined the nursery dresser and our bathroom vanity. All you need is wrapping paper and a washable glue stick.

BEFORE

AFTER

We did take a drawer to Lowes and color matched the paint for a few light touch ups.  You will see how it all comes together when I post about her big girl room soon.  Can’t wait to show you how everything turned out!

We desperately needed some hanging organization in our garage.  We had tons of open wall space to utilize but for the longest time, our tools just leaned in a corner looking cluttered and hard to get to.

BEFORE

Our solution was inspired by our home’s previous owner who installed garage shelving himself using lumber, so we used the same method and attached lumber to the wall and then secured various hooks for our tools.

BEFORE

There are several hooks to choose from and we shopped around to find the ones we needed.  We ended up with one ladder hook, 4 ‘U’ shaped hooks for rakes and shovels, 3 clip hooks for brooms and skinny poles, and then several heavy duty utility hooks for items like our lawn chairs, washer boards, and small yard machines.

AFTER

AFTER

Each hook ranges in price from $2-$6 so we saved a lot of money on this project using scrap wood.  If you want a cleaner, sophisticated look, like this garage I did, you can purchase the tracks and coordinating hooks for about $200 from your hardware store.  A high end solution would be the Elfa collection from The Container Store.  They have a utility line that allows you to even add shelves and baskets to the tracks.  This is expensive but worth it!

A great tip for hanging garage items is don’t limit your self to one row.  In our garage and the one I linked to, we used two rows of tracks which allows you to maximize your vertical space and provides flexibility for retrieving items off the wall.

AFTER and you can see how it comes right up to our scrap wood storage

 The nursery isn’t undergoing a major transformation, so much of my ‘nesting’ has been in Madeleine’s big girl room next door.  Here are some before pictures of what it was as a guest room with my old furniture and college bedding, etc.

I lovingly labeled this guest room the ‘craft room’ because I stored all of my crafting supplies, gift wrap, candles, etc in the huge desk, under the bed, and in the walk in closet.  I have relocated all of this to a closet in our third bedroom, but more about that later.

Check out my Pinterest Board for M’s room here.  There aren’t a ton of pins because it’s still a work in progress.  All I know is that I want there to be room for toys and bright fun colors.  We were given bedroom furniture by our neighbor’s and Grandma and Papa gave M her bedding and curtains as part of her Christmas gift.

We’ve already come a long way in there but stay tuned to see!

Are you getting mail that says “Important Tax Document Enclosed?”  I am too and here are some tips on how to stay organized this tax season.

• Designate a folder and keep it  handy for collecting tax forms that come in the mail. During a free minute, gather documents you already have and will need, such as social security numbers for dependents, and keep them in  the folder as well.  When you are ready to file, the folder of forms is ready for you!
• Save your log in info if using an online tax service such as Turbo Tax.  We used Turbo Tax last year and they have sent me a reminder email or two about my 2014 tax return.  Take that reminder as an opportunity to make sure you have your username and password.  Saved information from previous returns is a major time saver this year!

Important tax dates to remember:

January 31st was the deadline for your employer and bank to send your important forms like your W2, 1098, or 1099. Haven’t gotten it? Make sure you have the correct address listed with your human resources department and bank so these forms are guaranteed to get to the right place.

April 15th-Duh your taxes are due!

If you keep receipts, start going through them now.  I keep a small accordion file of receipts and one of the sections is dedicated to donation receipts that I can claim on my taxes.

Happy filing!

Last time I posted about our laundry room it was looking like this:

Which is a giant step up from this:

Well now it looks likes this!

Tasks still remaining on our Laundry To Do List included:

• Touch up the trim and door paint
• Make a countertop and stain the shelf to match
• Purchase a frame or washboard to cover up the ugly connection box
• Stage and Decorate??

Joe made the countertop out of cabinet grade ply wood from Lowe’s that he cut to size and stained with our ‘go to’ Jacobean color.  I was pretty leery of using ply wood because it’s rough and I wanted a smooth finish, especially when it came time to wipe off lint or fold on the surface.  The first go round was pretty rough, pun intended, so Joe used our sander on top of the stain to smooth it out and then added a coat of clear polyurethane.  There were still a few snags here and there so one more round of sanding and poly did the trick.  It is really smooth y’all!

Installation was a piece of cake.  We took a few pieces of trim board and screwed them into the studs on each side wall.  We made the outside cut at an angle so you can’t see it when you look head on.  The counter top, once we got it in the door and under the cabinets, just slides right on top.  

**It’s important to note that the counter doesn’t go all the way to the back wall because the washer and dryer connections are in the way.  We also didn’t want to secure the counter with silicone or caulking in case we have to remove it to access the connections.  There are tons of solutions for working around the hoses but this one seemed to work best for us.

Since the connections come above the counter I wanted to cover them up tastefully so I had the idea to use an old washer board.  I found this one at Crate and Barrel for only $20 and it is the perfect disgu’size.’ :)

Joe also stained the middle shelf to match the counter and please check out my giant value size detergent.  I am still on my first one and am not missing buying the small detergents every other grocery trip.

Here’s a peek inside the upper cabinets.  There is still tons of room for storage but I love everything neat and tidy, much better than the pedestals.

Still left to do:

• Touch up trim and door paint
• And I’m on the hunt for a cute laundry room print, something like this

One of the mini projects within the big honker garage project was to paint our peg board.  From a practical sense, this WAS just for fun and Joe needed some convincing that it was worth it but I think it turned out GREAT!  Is it me or do the thick stripes actually make it look less cluttered?? We used a sample of flat black paint and the stripes were very easy to create using the peg holes as a guide for the painter’s tape.

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During

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