Housewife Hacks: Part 3

Hello, everyone!  Welcome to Housewife Hacks: Part 3.

This first hack is probably my most favourite hack so far.  The girls brush their teeth after breakfast in the morning, so I like to keep a second set of toothbrushes in the kitchen.  I wasn't able to find a toothbrush holder that matched my kitchen decor, so I made one!  I took a small glass vase that I had and wrapped some twine around it, hot gluing as I went along.  Be sure to glue the entire first row, to make a stable base, and then glue periodically from that row onwards.  I topped it off with some brown ribbon and wraphia, hot glued it in place, and voila!  I got a little twine happy after I made this, which you'll see in a later post.



I'm  on Pinterest now, and I have noticed a lot of pins about how to organize family papers, homework, calendars, etc.  So, I thought I'd share my solution as well.  I have a magnet board in our kitchen.  On it I keep a calendar and an accordion folder with coupons, important papers, and other miscellaneous items.  It's simple, but it keeps me organized. 

 



Do you have a cottage or basement kitchen that needs a pick-me-up?  Then this is the solution for you!  I picked up some peel-and-stick tiles from Canadian Tire, and I'm now in love with peel-and-stick tiles.  They come in a 1 foot by 1 foot square, and are so simple to apply.  Stick them on the wall (you're supposed to clean the walls first, but, who has time for that?) and then caulk around the edges with clear caulking.  It has the look and feel of real tile, without all the hassle, expense, and time.  Brilliant!

Another quick kitchen or bathroom fix is to paint your cupboard doors.  Use melamine paint, I opted for white, and paint away.  Two tips I learned the hard way.  First, take the doors off.  As much as you may think you can paint the doors in place, you can't.  Second tip, shake the can.   Then shake it again.  And shake it one more time.  Then stir and stir and stir.  I didn't, and the first coat was awful and runny and clear and drippy and I had to sand the whole thing off and start again.  Way more work than it needed to be.

Ok, do you see a bit of a theme here?  Did you know that you can paint tile?  Well, you can.  You can pick up a tile painting kit from any big box store, like Home Depot or Lowes.  I painted our powder room floor in three quick coats.  Will it last forever?  I doubt it.  But, it will hold you over until your husband agrees to call in a contractor. 



For this next tip, I challenge you to look around your basement, or your parents' basement, for furniture that can be repurposed.  This is my Grandparents dining room hutch.  I love this piece.  It reminds me of them, and the many family meals we had around their dining room table.  Our dining room isn't quite so fancy, but the hutch adds an eclectic look to our front entryway / hallway and is a great way to store shoes. 



Next time you host a birthday party, print off some old photos (preferably embarrassing ones) of the birthday boy or girl and display them in potted plants.  You can pick up a few of those card holders from a flower shop to prop the photos up and line the potted plants along the dining table or mixed in amongst the appetizers.

This next DIY project is one of those DIY projects that kind of happens by accident.  I set out looking for a white framed mirror, but could only find a black one.  So, I painted the frame white.  The unpainted backside of the frame was reflected in the mirror, and looked awful.  So, I got some white cording and hot glued it around the edges to cover it up.  The edges now looked great, but where the two ends of the cording met looked messy.  So, I hot glued some shells onto the frame of the mirror to hid some of the cording.  And now I like it.  (For info on how to make that snazzy head band holder you see in the picture, click here) 





We used to have mirrored closet doors in our front hallway.   We replaced them, (actually, we took out the closet all together) but we held on to the mirrors.  My husband used construction adhesive to attach the mirrors to the closet doors in the girls' bedrooms, then framed the mirror with trim.  And now, the girls' have mirrored doors in their bedrooms.

When I was pregnant with Little Bear, I came across the song "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts on a mixed CD my friend had made for a super long road trip we took together.  I played that song over and over again, and, months away from becoming a mom for the first time, the words resonated with me.  I used to sing it and rub my belly, wishing the wishes in the song for Little Bear.  So, when it came time to decorate her room, I printed the lyrics to the song, framed it, and hung it on her wall.  In case you're wondering, Crazy Plates' song is "My Little Girl" by Tim McGraw.  I still have to type out the lyrics, but I did by the frame, so, that counts, right?

Don't forget to check out Housewife Hacks part 1 and 2 for more great ideas.  Well, I think they're great...