Category Archives: Home Improvement

Pinterest How-To’s

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Let’s keep the Pinterest theme going, eh? Another thing I love about Pinterest is all of the helpful “How-To’s” that are posted. Seriously! There are great ideas for almost anything! Here are some of my fave’s!

source: http://asmallsnippet.blogspot.com/2010/01/few-tips.html

1. Did you know that putting a wooden spoon over a pot of boiling water will prevent it from spilling over? I didn’t. Now I use wooden spoons all the time!

source: http://www.ehow.com/how_4519165_clean-car-headlights.html

2. Did you know that to clean those grimy headlights all you need is toothpaste?

source: http://media-cache-ec2.pinterest.com/upload/193162271487566901_prgab7sO.jpg

3. Did you know that you do not need helium to blow up balloons for a decorate centerpiece? Just use a tube up the center and secure them!

source: http://www.thegardenerseden.com/?p=13221

4. Scrapped for time? Freeze some herbs with olive oil and toss in a cooking pan when needed!

source: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2012/04/hot-dogs-for-crowd.html

5. Have a ton of guests for that summer party and no one to man the grill? Toss a bunch of the hot dogs into a slow cooking, upright, and cook on low for 4 hours!

source: http://rentfluff.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/quick-carpet-fix/

6. Need to remove furniture indents? Lay some ice cubs on the dents and let them melt then gently lift the carpet upright.

source: unknown

7. Look for that extra sparkle on your Christmas tree this winter? Glue 2 mini mirrors back to back and insert a silver metallic cord for hanging. Fill the insides of the tree after putting the lights on and the mirrors will give the tree an extra sparkle with the added reflection of the light!

source: http://www.thriftyfun.com/_generator/tf_article.lasso?id=tf88835264

8. A cheap and easy way to add extra lighting to your backyard is add solar lights to your fence, which will absorb the sun in the day and stream a warm glow for your backyard party at night.

source: http://www.projectwedding.com/wedding-ideas/easy-rsvp-tracking

9. Afraid your guests for your upcoming wedding will forget to include their name? Draw their name or initials in black light pen on the invite so if they forget, you’ll know who they are when the RSVP is returned! Genius!

source: http://www.meckmom.com/2010/03/22/simple-trick-for-tissue-issues/

10. Sick of dragging around a trash can or being surrounded by millions of used tissues? Rubberband an empty tissue box to a new one and you have an instant trash receptacle for your used tissues!

 

Have you found any great tips on Pinterest?

85% Moved In …

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Yep. Two girls got that bad-boy queen size bed on the SUV and up three flights of stairs. I’m about 85% moved into the new digs and will have pics of the new casa up this week! What a blank slate! I’m so excited to make it my own! But for now I’m trying to purge as much as I can and also gather up all those little knick-knacks that aren’t so easy to pack! Have a great week!

Gray + Yellow

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I love gray and yellow rooms. I can’t remember where I first spotted the design/concept but ever since then I’ve been obsessed with eventually re-doing my bedroom into a soft, cozy gray and yellow color scheme. I love this … although I’m a big fan of the gray wall and yellow accent colors instead of vice versa in this room…but it still works for me:

http://campbelldesignsllc.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/decorating-with-gray/

Campbell designs actually has a post on decorating with gray and utilizing yellow as the accent color. It’s a different anchor color than beige or white that we traditionally see and can also make the accent color pop out better than a beige or tan.

I adore how the gray is a great contrast to the yellow and just makes it pop so much more. Do you have any color schemes that you’re in love with?

http://architectsforlife.com

Not Rocket Science

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I’ve been feeling pretty dreary lately. Not motivated…not full of gusto. Nada. I had the day off from work on Friday and decided that maybe it was my surroundings that had me down in the dumps. JP and I have been sick recently, and my condo has been a bit dishelved. I figured a good clean of the condo would help lift the mood in the place and would definitely make me feel better. I didn’t do anything crazy, but isn’t it amazing how just a quick clean up can make a difference? I’ve included a before picture of the desk area that we use:

Notice cords everywhere (we’re iPod junkies), an Ohio State calendar still turned to May.  Mailing and important papers tucked erractically in the mail bin. Freebies from a recent career fair I worked spread all over (helloo Dr. Scholls!). I started by pulling out this blue basket and also my garbage can/recycle bin. I went through all the old magazines, papers we didn’t need, and items that could be donated and just separated everything so I could see what I was working with better. Then I tossed the calendar out (there are only 2.5 months left anyways), and wiped down all of the surfaces with anti-bacterial cleaner.

The result is not grrreat, but its BETTER. And, it makes me feel better with everything sorted and clean. Here are some fine points to note:

1. We have a gray plastic tub that houses all of our DVDs (that we actually never watch). Its tucked between the wall and the desk and outta sight. We like it like that. On top of the bin, we have a black plastic filing system that isn’t the most beautiful (and is completely unorganized) but works its purpose. I made a tiny nook behind the bin for my laptop bag for work so I can tuck it outta sight as soon as I get home from work.

2. I dusted off the lamp, pic of JP and I and stationed Mr. Pooda at the top of our lamp area. He was a gift from Valentine’s day this year from JP, and he oversees all of our desk/internet surfing needs.

3. Can you guess what my next desk project is?! I’ve been drooling all over these babies since most recently seeing them here on Jen’s site iHeart Organizing.  I’m waiting for assistance with the wall drill and leveling. Stay tuned!

4. The mail sorter is still outta sorts. But I removed some of the bigger, bulkier pieces that could go in our trusty filing system (see #1).

5. You can barely see it in the picture, but I picked up a $3 black snap bin that tucks perfectly into the cubby hole. It’s perfect for corraling all of our loose cords, note pads, digital cameras, etc.

Have you organized anything recently?