organization Archives - Crap I've Made

Keeping It Real

March 9, 2011 By Char @ Crap I've Made 82 Comments

You know…because I usually don’t. Winking smile

I’m in the middle of a couple of projects that are not turning out as fabulous as they are in my head. And I’m annoyed. I’ve spent way more time on them than I intended to. One of them is not even for this site…it’s a guest post I’m doing elsewhere, which only adds to the pressure. And the annoyance.

So, in an attempt to clear my mind and do something else yesterday, I headed down to my sewing room. My sewing room is in the very furthest corner of the basement (sometimes I go a week or more without setting foot in the basement), so it’s out of sight and out of mind. Plus, you can shut the door and hide the mess. Usually.

View from the hall

I can’t believe I just posted that.

And it gets worse. Let’s start with this mess:

I had 2 lovely IKEA shelves mounted to the wall. Only my kids decided to use them for doing pull-ups. And they spontaneously (yeah right) fell off the wall, bringing all the contents down with them. Did I mention I had tiny little drawer units full of needles, sewing machine feet, snaps, etc on said shelves?

And then there’s this situation:

I know. I KNOW!

Someone dumped out my scrap bucket…

Really? That’s the least of my worries.

P.S. The remote for that TV is missing somewhere in the room, so I can only watch the one channel it’s stuck on (local CBS affiliate).

I spent 3 hours down there yesterday. I spackled. I vacuumed. I filled an entire big black garbage bag and 3 boxes for DI. And it’s still not done. Not even close.

I need IKEA. I need baskets and bins.

Or maybe I just need an intervention.

A bomb?

I WILL finish this. Hold me to it.

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Filed Under: home decor, organization, ramblings

A Confession

February 2, 2011 By Char @ Crap I've Made 153 Comments

My name is Char and I hate laundry.

Specifically, I hate matching socks. And, it’s gotten out of control.

Way way way way out of control.

See?

It’s too late for help. I think I’m going to buy everyone new socks and start over.

Yes, really.

So, do you have any tips to keep my from finding myself in this situation again in a few short months? (Especially if you have 3 little boys in a row who all wear white socks that look exactly the same, though apparently they’re not and leave them in weird places so complete pairs very rarely make it into the same load of laundry…)

Maybe I’ll just move to Hawaii and make them all only wear sandals.

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Filed Under: organization, ramblings

Shoe Storage Solution

January 13, 2011 By Char @ Crap I've Made 22 Comments

Our previous “storage” consisted of a galvanized metal bin and people throwing their shoes in that general direction and leaving marks all over the wall. And me tripping over the shoes that missed (and cursing) at least twice a day. Strange that I thought we needed a change, right?

We made a trip to IKEA this weekend. And by “we” I mean that everyone rode there in the van and then Macy and Keller and I ran in to get the goods…less chaos that way.

I picked up 2 of these:

And my entryway now looks like this:

(Man I need a new rug. That one I spent $3 on at Target is sad.)

The original doorstop is under the cabinets, so we got one that mounts on the door hinge and adjusted it so that the door stops just short of the cabinets. It’s similar to this and was under $2 at Lowe’s.

We also have jumbo baseboards (6” or something) so the cabinets didn’t quite clear them. We mounted a 1 X 4 on the wall and screwed the cabinets to that to make up for the difference.

I posted a picture on the Facebook page when I got them installed Tuesday night and had a few requests for pictures of the inside. So, here you go.

2 pairs of men’s size 12 shoes in that one.

Empty, with a dried mud spot for artistic effect.

Snow boots work too, if you get creative.

So, that’s our new shoe storage. Now I just need to do something awesome to the wall above it…

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Filed Under: home decor, organization

Score!

January 4, 2011 By Char @ Crap I've Made 34 Comments

BC dragged me to a disgusting mess of a store (NPS, for you locals) this weekend. Like, I’m not sure why anyone would go there. Maybe you need a cross bow and some expired Diet Coke in one stop? I think it’s freight damaged stuff? Like I said…I’m still not clear on the whole situation, but BC *really* wanted to go (with all 4 kids in tow), so we went.

And I wanted to hurt people and/or myself.

BC spent lots of time looking at golf clubs. My boys enjoyed the other sports equipment. Macy and I saw a sign that said “FABRIC” and got excited, but it was a lie. There was no fabric.

As we were about to leave, I saw one of these:

(Image from Pottery Barn)

Only it was Antique White…like the rest of the furniture in my craft/sewing room. Retail price? $419, but currently on sale for $379. NPS price? $149.

But wait!

It was an additional 70% off! That means I paid $44.70…for real live Pottery Barn! I think it’s going to be my official Silhouette storage solution. Stay tuned for more on that.

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Filed Under: home decor, organization, thrifting

Magazine Storage Solution

November 16, 2010 By Char @ Crap I've Made 47 Comments

***Enter to win free fabric from Raspberry Creek Fabrics by going here.***

Did your husband order every. single. thing. in the $5 subscription section on Amazon?

Mine did.

And suddenly that little crate from Lowe’s just wasn’t cutting it.

I was thrifting this weekend and came across this:

Covered in stickers and crap, but definitely worth the $10 they were asking for it.

I got some Goo Gone and a razor blade and went to work this morning whilst chatting with a friend. I also installed some casters to give it a little height.

So, so, SO much better….except for that little spot on the wall where I need to touch up the paint. Oops.

And because it’s my house…

Much improved,right?

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Filed Under: home decor, organization, thrifting

Go back for the doors or not?

September 15, 2008 By Char @ Crap I've Made 12 Comments

See? Told you my sewing room was messy. I HATE those electrical panels, but in order to get my room big enough to be useful, they had to be in the room. I tried hanging a cork board over them (there it is in the pile on the ground) but it stuck out weird. And I didn’t like it anyway.

So, I was at IKEA this weekend, looking for some frames (more on that in the next day or two, as soon as I locate the duct tape), when I saw this cabinet. Look how nicely it covers those ugly panels! Plus, the red will go great with my new ironing board cover. But I think I might go back for the doors, seen here. Thoughts?

(Note the small sick child who accidentally fell asleep on the floor whilst watching Tarzan.)

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Filed Under: organization

Mission: Organization

September 13, 2008 By Char @ Crap I've Made 2 Comments

My sewing room is a disaster. I’ve started tidying and cleaning, but that means dealing with a lot of unfinished projects. A LOT. For example, I started this purse over a year ago. I hate the handles, so I never finished. I can’t decide if it’s worth working on some more or if I should just cut it apart and use the scraps for something else.

I also had some huge floor pillows I bought for the reading corner in my boys’ room. I did all the machine sewing 2 months ago, but still hadn’t sewed the darn things shut. Heck, the throw pillows on the couch in my master bedroom still aren’t sewed shut after a year or more, I just put that side down. And not many people hang out in my master, so it’s OK…right?

BC has a 42″ plasma leaning against the wall in there, too. He claims he’s taking it to work for training videos. Or something. I think it should be the prize for our next giveaway. And I’m sending him a link to this post. Maybe it’ll be the motivation he needs to remove it?

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Filed Under: organization