Storage, Organization, Raspberries, and the Front Door

Just ahead of a planned vacation day that allowed me to have a long weekend I got the flu. Yup. Long weekend be damned. This one was a funny one – well, as funny as the flu gets.  Tuesday when I arrived at work I felt a pinch in my throat that, before the end of the day had developed into a full blown nasty sore throat... Wednesday I muscled my way into the office because I was supposed to have my quarterly review – nope.  My boss decided to forego my review and home I went less than an hour later.

Wednesday and Thursday were both filled with seriously ugly fever and chills, aches and pains all over, and the requisite stuffed up sinus cavities. Medications were obtained and taken – that made getting at least a little bit of sleep Thursday night. When Friday rolled around I was still in the depths of flu misery. Today is Monday and I’ve taken one final sick day (I have to go back tomorrow) and aside from feeling stupidly weak and having wicked post nasal drip that has me coughing like a barking dog, I’m pretty much on the mend.  I did go into town again this morning to pick up some antihistamines that will help clear up the post nasal drip (and hold the coughing in check) but honestly, it is a flu virus – the only thing that will really help it heal is time and rest. I know that, and all I’m really doing now is treating the symptoms.

So since I am in rest-mode today I thought I would chronicle a few of my recent adventures in my house – I have had the pictures in place for a while, just not taken the time to document what has been done of late.

First, the new storage.  You may recall that the major living room renovation was completed in such a way that there was a new (and exciting) storage space made open to me – over the laundry part of the bathroom. Last weekend – or rather the pre-flu weekend, I opened it up to see how big it was, and to start putting stuff up there.  It is a HUGE space!

Hatch removed... 

If you look really carefully, you can see one of the original
wall-paper samples, still in place!

My little 6’ step ladder is REALLY rickety, so this highlighted to me that I need to obtain a new and much sturdier step ladder.

The organization part of today’s post is actually in reference to finally constructing the shelving/storage in the bathroom right beside the washer/drier. This was a really neat project for me (though not yet 100% complete) because I needed to think outside of my normal linear pattern. I needed to construct the whole thing in such a way that it could be completely taken apart and moved out of place in order to allow for access to behind the washer/drier AND so that if the washer/drier needed to be pulled out, it could be – but without too much effort.

The support was made in two pieces, using some 1”x4” scraps that were left over from the living room project, and a 2”x4” that had been salvaged from the false ceiling in the living room (the 2”x6” beams will be used later this summer to build a very small deck in my back yard) - it was FILTHY with dust and dirt, so first I sanded it down a little and then I wiped it off.  I haven’t decided if I will be painting or staining it, so for now, it is “raw” wood in place.

The first piece ready to put in

First and second pieces in place

Making sure it is tall enough!

Once the base was made and screwed into place, I made the top out of cedar – I love the smell of cedar and it is a wood that, even untreated, works well in a bathroom.  It is a soft wood, so will scar over time and therefore need to be pulled out and re-sanded, but in any case, it is a great wood to use for shelving.

First phase complete.
Still needs some trim!

Plus cedar oil smells amazing.

Base made, I decided it also needed a small “shelf” on top as well, to hold bottles of laundry detergent and fabric softener – and the shelf is made just like the base – to be taken apart if needed.

Building the concept... and the drill battery
ran out of charge.

Concept built

Make certain it is level BEFORE screwing into place!

Ta-da!

I’m quite pleased with the finished product – which is tall enough that I can roll my laundry cart underneath it, and I can also put a small door on it, if need be, to “hide” the laundry cart.

As of yesterday, spring is finished and we have now started summer.  Late spring brought my raspberry canes to fruit, and I picked my very first small bowl of raspberries one night after work. Two nights later I picked another, larger, bowl – and then two nights after that (last night) I picked another bowl.  Seems like I will get a bowl full every other day now – which is a Very Happy Thing, if you ask me!

Small bowl

Two Days Later!

Finally, yesterday I tackled staining my front door. This was a slow putter project that I could stop and start when tired, without trouble. The door does need another coat of stain – to even it all out – but in all honesty, it looks pretty darn good to me!  This would most definitely have been easier if I had actually taken the door off of its hinges before I started, but I didn’t think about that possibility until I had finished the first side.  When I get around to putting on the second coat, I’ll definitely take it off its hinges!

All right… it is time to take my medicine.

With love across the waters…

The Gift of Organization

Comfortable life in a small home requires organization and creative storage space.

My home, a small, 1896 bungalow (for now), was initially built as rental housing for miners (Cumberland being initially established as a coal mining town) but the then local undertakers team.

In around 1945 the kitchen was added on and, at some point between then and when I bought the house in 2011, it was mounted on proper foundations and the electrical wiring was updated from the original knob and tube wiring to current standards.

As I peel back the layers and make changes to the house, I find interesting things that constantly force me to think outside the box for the changes I would like to make.

The kitchen is one such place in the house. The cupboards are spacious and deep – but as they were when I moved in, not entirely practical for storage of dishes, utensils and so on.  The first modification I made happened after my Sister in Law made an Ikea trip and picked up some shelving inserts that made my cupboards MUCH more user-friendly.

Christmas this year saw me as the happy recipient of a couple of gift cards from Lee Valley Tools – which I promptly went on line and spent on some cupboard organizing magic.  The parcel arrived yesterday and this afternoon I installed the inserts and voila – organization under the kitchen sink is MINE!

The parts - sliders, basket and screws...

The project space - under the sink.
A pretty common under-the-sink view.

One installed

Both sides installed.  SO easy...
I should have bought a third one for under
the bathroom sink!

SO much more organized - and all the same stuff!!!

Left over parts - they hang on the sides and are for
holding cookie sheets

Good thing I have a space for cookie sheets!

The racks aren't fixed to the wall or to the cedar, but they
seem to balance OK and the cookie sheets fir perfectly.  

I think I will have to go on-line next time they (Lee Valley) have another free shipping event and order more magical organizing stuff!

With love across the waters…

Organizing Stuff

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love to arrange things, re-arrange them, organize stuff, reorganize stuff, de-clutter things and basically make the energy in my space flow comfortably and easily.  I think part of it may be a little obsessive / compulsive disorder-like, but for the most part I think it has to do with needing a tidy space where I can locate what I am after.

 

Today I spent some quality time with some of my family (more about that in another post) and then after I had tidied the kitchen and done my dishes, I got to tackle one of the BEST organization projects (for me) to date.

 

This particular project started last weekend when my WONDERFUL Sister in Law let me know she was going to be going to IKEA while on a work trip and asked me if there was anything I wanted her to pick up for me. I let her know that I absolutely DID have a couple of things in mind and then, when I got off the phone from our call, I promptly forgot about the IKEA trip. 

 

My Sister in Law must have a sixth sense - she sent me an email the day before leaving letting me know that if there was anything I wanted to just email her the spec numbers... God bless her for that!  I immediately got onto the IKEA website and emailed her the spec number for what I needed... what I have actually been looking for for roughly the last year.

 

When I moved into my house, one of the things I immediately appreciated was the HUGE kitchen cupboards - massive!  What I realized shortly after taking possession of the house was that the HUGE kitchen cupboards weren't 100% conducive to true kitchen organization. 

 

So what have I needed, and been looking for for the last year or so? Shelf Inserts. Yes, truly, I have been looking and not finding anything sturdy enough to do the job.  Short of buying lumber and building them myself I just wasn't getting anywhere.

 

So Carrie, bless her forever and ever, picked up 8 shelf inserts for me.  Thanks to Carrie (and in small part to IKEA for having organization stuff that people like me need) I now have kitchen cupboards that look like this:

Organized!  Woo hoo!!

Ah the bliss of organization!

With love across the waters,