Project laundry room: Under the stairs

My basement is so wonderful, honestly.  How many Southern Californians can even say the HAVE a basement? Not many, trust me.  Ours is used for laundry, pantry overflow, and lots of TOOLS!  My hubby's workshop is down there in that 300 square feet of wonderfulness.  

Before, table in the way and no color!

Laundry Room Update

I have a special treat today! I've been giving all kinds of behind the scenes pictures on Instagram about my laundry update for weeks! Did you miss those? Oh, if you're on Instagram and aren't following me, you're missing out!

Laundry Room finished up!

Paint project!

A few weeks ago I did this post at Pretty Handy Girl.  So, I wanted to share it with YOU! I'm going to show you how I organized all my household paint recently.

It may not seem so bad, when you first look in here.  My paint stash isn't THAT big, is it?  Well, it is...see this is where I was storing half of my paint supplies - in my basement. 

The other half are in my shed outside!  My goal: keep it all in one location! I prefer having it in the basement so I did a little bit of re-organizing. My other goal:  don't spend ANY money on organizing bins.  For Pete's sake, this is paint in the basement! It doesn't need to LOOK pretty! But, I DO need it to function practically!




I got all my paint, spray paint, paint brushes, anything related to painting, and put them in the basement on the floor.  




Wow, that's a LOT of paint.  I even attempted to try and get my friends to take some - a small amount was actually taken! But, there is still a lot left.



My cardboard carry-all box was not functioning as originally intended.  It had now become my "throw it in there and forget about it" box!




A couple of years ago, I was smart and bought many small, quart-sized paint cans at the hardware store.  They aren't expensive and I had a couple left.  I use those to pour that last little bit left from the big gallon paint cans of paint into.

  I highly recommend you dab your finger with the paint, mark the date, the formula or name of paint color, and brand. This way, if you ever DO need more you can have it.




More importantly, write down the date and the room you used it in.  I can't tell you how many cans of paint I forgot to do this with and the colors all start to look alike! Was this the kitchen yellow, the bathroom yellow, or furniture yellow? It's also amazing to realize - "wow, it's been 8 years since I painted the kitchen?" - and realize that it might be time for an update!




My resources for organizing were simple, old containers. I used a small coffee can, a Doritos can, Feta cheese container, a couple of cardboard box-bottoms, and some aluminum left-over containers.  All of these I found in my stash of containers in my overflow pantry.



The large aluminum roasting pan was to house all my spray paint {it was a tiny bit big, so I smooshed it in the front and back to be able to close the door}.  A smaller aluminum pan for the rollers. Two existing plastic boxes for sand paper and rubber gloves {they WERE "organizing" paint supplies in the shed but got unorganized}.



 Then, the feta cheese container to contain my stir sticks...




A coffee can for holding foam brushes...




A Dorito can for my Purdy brushes!


 And then, I put all the quart-sized paint cans into the cardboard box-bottom and stacked another box-bottom on top of the cans to make a "shelf".


This removable "shelf" would hold all the roller handles. I've got a lot - a lot more than I remember!

 I used the third pre-existing plastic box {minus the missing lid} for housing other small, miscellaneous paint supplies {tape, small foam rollers, paint can openers, etc.}.




I also moved out some other entertaining supplies in order to make room for the larger gallon-sized paint cans. Then I simply used the last of my existing plastic boxes to hold my de-glossers {TSP, stone sealers, etc.}.


 Last, I wanted to keep my rectangular, cardboard box for my paint trays and liners.  I like to use this box to "load" up everything and carry upstairs for my paint job!


 In the end, I decided to get rid of a bunch of paint.  Now, keep in mind, you can't "throw away" paint! You must let the can sit out in the sun and completely dry before throwing out {or throw cat litter inside and stir}.  Or, better yet, our city has a "hazardous waste" round-up every September that I plan to take all this paint to!


 You can see here, before and after, it's not drastically different, but I actually added MORE stuff to it and it's more organized.  My goal of not buying a single organizing container was also accomplished! So, I would say it was a success! I'm the only "painter" around here, so the mess was mine and I can't blame anyone else! Now, I'm going to keep it nice.




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Looking out to see what's there...a small project

We are one of a handful of southern Californian's that actually have a basement, not a cellar, but a real basement.  Now, it's probably not a basement like the rest of the country has, but we have one nonetheless!  I love having it as it has afforded us a lot of extra space to store things -things that we mostly use for all the many events and guests that we have here at our house.  It also has my laundry "room" and my husband's work shop down there.  It's only about 300 square feet, but it's wonderful!  However, I have to look out my laundry room window and see this awful view every time I do the laundry.

It's all about the little things! Gadgets and such!

I love small, modern conveniences. You know, those little things that just make life easier. Since we haven't done many projects lately here, I thought I'd take the time out to show you some of the little things that have made my life just a little happier. Some things may seem expensive or insignificant, but they've become important to me. 

Don't walk away - how to have a {fake} immaculate house (part 4)

How to put pegboard on a block wall to cover up ugly pipes {and more details}

I think so many of you have asked "how did you get that pegboard on the wall?" many times. And NOW I'm finally going to show you! I showed you last time how I organized it, now I'll show you how I did it!!

Organizing an Upright Freezer {Garage Freezer}

Right as we were getting into our kitchen renovation, while my husband was away on a business trip for a week, our downstairs fridge/freezer died! We have a lot of people over and feed a lot of people, plus I like to buy in bulk, so our downstairs freezer is vitally important. I knew it could go anytime, as we had problems with it. It was "only" 15 years old but we loved it as it had a TOP fridge and BOTTOM freezer and they don't make those anymore, sadly. So, we had to explore some new options, and fast. 

My Best DIY Projects Ever!

I LOVE to do DIY projects. I LOVE spray paint. I LOVE to decorate and transform spaces in my home, especially. Do you? I was looking back through all my projects I've done over the last 4 1/2 years and I know that you might enjoy seeing what I've done. Perhaps you've never even seen them since you're newer to Organizing Made Fun. But, I'm a spray painting queen! Ha! I love that stuff. And, I like changing things up - I love color and patterns!

Weekend Project: Laundry Room Skirted sink

Here is a great project that I did on our ugly basement utility sink.  I was inspired recently by THIS blog on laundry room inspirations and noticed all the sinks with their pretty skirts!  This was my laundry room sink - pretty ugly!  I have to be careful because my husband's workshop is in this basement along with my laundry area - and it's not quite as beautiful as the laundry rooms in that blog, but I'm working on getting it looking a little more pleasant to do my laundry down there. 

Sink before

Laundry Day with OMF

I have been wanting to talk about laundry for awhile. Laundry day for me is something I have done for my whole single to married life. I have changed how I DO {the way I clean} laundry quite a bit in the last couple of years, but I still enjoy having one day each week that I do my laundry.

How I organize: My overflow pantry

Down in my basement, I have an overflow pantry.  This one is different from my regular pantry in the kitchen. 

I am not into Extreme Couponing or anything to necessitate an entire wing of my home for extra items. My hubby just likes me to have stuff "at the ready" anytime so we can have company over anytime! My kitchen pantry can't hold everything so between this and my basement freezer, we can have extra stuff here to feed anyone at any time!

 I keep lots and lots of drinks stocked for both my kids' lunches, afternoon snacks - we often travel to therapists offices right after school or to have packed up for them to drink while I'm teaching piano lessons after school.  These coffee cups {got them at Costco} with lids are especially nice to have when we have a smaller group of friends over so the adults can take their coffee to go or inside for our Bible Study time.  I also keep my roasting pan in there - since I pull it out only a few times a year - along with some soft-sided coolers for picnics or taking along lunch/dinner/snacks when we watch a baseball game or other sport.

I have lots of table cloths that I bought pretty cheap - both cloth and vinyl - to use for throwing a quick tablescape and if they get dirty I'm okay with it! They are long and rectangular so I can make them fit just about any table size.

I keep the regular overstock of foods and cleaners and paper goods down there, too.  One thing that I keep is lots and lots of extra "disposable" containers.  We have many needs in our church body for meals.  So, I bring a meal to one family a month {this is my limit, but I love to do it}.  So, I always bring the meal in disposable containers - butter tubs, restaurant take-out containers, jars - so that they don't have to wash OR return any dishes to me! I wash and stack them down here to use. How do you store overflow stuff?  


 

For the love of organizing: Junk Drawers

Is a junk drawer an oxymoron for an organized person? Well, I certainly don't think so!

Your house can't be complete without at least one junk drawer. And, I realized the other day that I have FOUR junk drawers - yes, FOUR!

The first one is my Tool Junk Drawer in my kitchen right by the door down to the basement. You can see that I recently needed to get it organized. I'm not going to name names...but, SOMEBODY likes to bring tools up from the basement and leave them in this drawer. I love that somebody, so I gladly cleaned it up. I noticed the other day when I went to get a hammer and I could hardly open the drawer! I have this junk drawer tray that is double stacking and made for junk organized into categories.

My next junk drawer is my tiny junk drawer. It's near my kitchen sink and I use it for twistie ties, rubber bands, candles, flower cutting stuff, and some kitchen manuals for my small appliances. It didn't look horrible before, but what you can't see is that one of the floralife flower food packets had broken open and was all over the inside the drawer. 

Another junk drawer I have is also in my kitchen/dining area set of drawers. It's my charging junk drawer. I have a fantastic battery organizer that I use in there. I also keep chalk and chalk ink and some miscellaneous items, as well. But, mostly I have all kinds of batteries, flashlights, and a tape measure.

The last one is in my entry dresser. I've made it into an office suplies junk drawer. You can see it's got all kinds of things in there. I love it and have used a plethora of containers to organize the many supplies I keep in there. I even have a big one for my hubby's junk - of which has kept me from going absolutely bonkers!! So, my idea of a junk drawer may or may not be yours. But, really it's a hodge podge drawer of accumulated things. You can take the hodge podge and organize it into a wonderful dreamy drawer! Alright, do you have a junk drawer or two or four??

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Organized Resolutions: Being less wasteful

Last week, I brought you my organizing resolution about living more healthy and today I'm going to show you how I'm trying to be a little less wasteful -- even if it's just a little bit. 

 

The Donation Box

I have a big rule in my own closet that anytime I buy something new {or used}, another thing has to go. One in, one out rule. I'm pretty strict about it and have been trying to do this for many years. But, the best and easiest way I've seen myself keep to doing this is by having a donation box in my closet.

Organizing for Christmas: Gift Wrapping Stations

When Christmas comes, so does the wrapping! Having a nice wrapping paper station - or at least an area of your home that's got your wrapping items organized - is helpful when you're getting ready to wrap up all your gifts!

Our patio cover: all the little details

Last week I revealed to you our new patio cover. It's an absolute wonderful addition to our outdoor kitchen and deck that my hubby built himself. We have been talking about needing a cover for years and finally decided to take the plunge - since it's not something he can do himself. But, it took a great deal of planning and many man hours to get it to look like it does. Some of you have a great big finished basement, in comparison this is our "basement."

You can see above that there was some serious planning to get these enormous beams ready. They had to start by cutting our driveway and sinking the large vertical beams two feet under. The top of the beam, from the driveway, is about 12 feet high. There are also beams on our roof {remember we had to put a new roof on recently}. The city got involved and required a "bit" more welding and structural soundness than we had originally "planned" {meaning more $$ for permits and man hours} so this structure can LITERALLY hold a second story should we ever decide to move up there - or maybe park a car or two!! So, the canvas panels that are there now are certainly not going to pull down the structure!

The men welded this thing for TWO solid weeks. There are all kinds of cross beams, but there are also some small steel rods that you can see that are for the panels to hang from.  They also primed and painted the entire structure. Then they came out to measure for the cloth panels and for about a month we strapped a tarp on the top of the structure - to give us an idea what it would be like, and to shield us from the scorching sun.

I chose two different fabrics for the panels. I have a charcoal tweed that is used on all the panels - that's the one on the right, above. Then, for the drapes, I used a charcoal gray with the tweed coming down the sides with the tie-backs in the tweed also.

You can see above, where I put the two fabrics. It's subtle, but gives more of a tie-in with the panels on the roof/cover. I also chose "boring" dark colors because we have S-M-O-G here...it's dirty and it's nasty. So, keeping these a dirty color will help to keep them from looking dirty - the tweed can help mask that on the roof panels especially. 

You can see the Charcoal Gray Tweed panels above after they were {custom} sewn and with the rings attached to them. They are strong and sturdy. 

Here's another view of them pull back and up close.

And to pull back the panels, you simply use the hook and pull across. It's got the possibility to move back all the panels --  in the winter when we want more sunlight or a few at a time when we want light here and there. 

You can close up all the curtains in the late afternoon to keep the sun out or even to have more privacy. You may have noticed above that we are rather close to our neighbors - we are all right on top of one another here in our area, but the curtains add some necessary privacy {although we like all our neighbors and they are all very sweet}. 

To hang the lights we bought magnetic hooks - since the entire structure is steel, it's the best way to hang just about anything. I spray painted the hooks black so you can't even see them. They blend right into the structure. 

Some of you wonder what we do if it rains...Well, it's not rain-proof, so if it rains we get wet! But, here we normally have rain in October and February - occasionally we might have a "freak storm" {we did just last week} and it rains in July! But, in the "winter months" I just store the couch cushions in the shed and we can leave the panels open. There are grommets in the middle of each one for drainage - so it really doesn't matter if they are open or closed when it rains. Everything out here is pretty much weather-proof. We know it will get wet or hot or windy. The panels should not have too much trouble in the real windy days - our contractor has a similar set up at his house just a few blocks away and has virtually no maintenance on his.

And last, I want to show you some of these crazy angles of our deck that is tied into the patio cover. Some asked about whether this is custom - yes, very much so. You may wonder about the cost...well, I won't tell you exactly how much it cost - unfortunately it was more than originally expected since our city added many expensive costs we weren't expecting, but overall it was about 5% of what we actually paid for our home six years ago - that doesn't seem like that much when I say it that way! And, being that this is Southern California and this IS our dining room {which happens to be outdoors} AND if you knew us well, you'd know that it is WELL used - we host people over weekly. I hope you have any questions answered that you were wondering about the patio cover! Thanks for all your sweet comments!

 

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