Just A Few Do It Yourself Accomplishments This Summer

Despite allergies and periods of poor air quality we did get some projects done this summer. Although my ideas are always more plentiful than my budget, it still really feels good when you get to see and enjoy whatever work you can actually accomplish.

So along with a front yard refresh that I talked about on a previous post. One of several projects on the list was to clean up and remove the rust from these two garden decor critters. I found them so long ago I can only remember that I picked them up at a warehouse clearance for next to nothing. Thanks to a lot of scrubbing and a little Rust-Oleum black paint they look better than they ever did....so they can continue to make me smile whenever I see them.

            A work in progress.

         The final result.

I also painted this wood office organizer with some left over white low VOC paint. Now the office cabinet is a little more organized, easier to keep clean with a whole lot less cluttered. 

I was also (with some much appreciated help) able to install a new kitchen faucet. The buttons on the top of the old one were cracked and didn't always work. It had also recently started dripping and not shutting off completely. So it was time for a replacement.

So far, the new faucet is working really well, much better than the old one. The added bonus being that I can now say I've actually installed one and not just helped. And the cabinet underneath the sink is now nice and clean, well at least for the moment anyway. 

                From this to....

                to this..

One thing you may or may not have noticed about me is that I'm an organizer. Sometimes though the places that we live in aren't always designed for our needs or even our design tastes. For example I would love to get rid of the dark countertops. 

But the more important challenge is to make what you have work better for you.  Many of us don't have the luxury of simply ripping it all out and starting over again with something completely new. So you have to get creative.

Instead of always buying something new see if you can repurpose, repair, or in someway reuse something you already have. Like the old rusted garden decor I cleaned up and painted or the organizer I painted that  originally started it's life in another part of the house entirely.

Sometimes it can also be hard to let go of some of the things we accumulate, but it can feel incredibly good to give it a new life or allow someone else to be able to use it. If it's been sitting in a box or in a place like the corner of the garage for more years than you can remember do you still need it? Can somebody else benefit from it? 

Well I found myself asking just that question again recently. After opening a few containers to find what I was looking for in our garage it all somehow morphed into me reorganizing, dusting, labeling and creating a donation pile. In the end I ended up with a few empty storage bins and a few boxes to donate. Including old towels and sheets for animal rescue and a bunch of miscellaneous other things for Vallue Village. It always feels good to have more room and to be able to look on the label on a container instead of relying on memory. Because frankly I can somehow remember where it was two houses ago but not necessarily were it is now. 

If you're looking for some inspiration check out our Pinterest page Helpful ideas for the home.