Recycle, repurpose, reuse.

I am also in the process of organizing my house.  I have come up with some cool and unusual items to aid in this process.  I am taking items that are lying around with really no place to live and looking for storage for them.  Keep this in mind,  just because an item is made for something particular does not mean that is it's sole purpose.  Think out side the box when you find a item. 

Take for instance the spice rack pictured below.  I am using it to hold nail polish.  This was outside in my storage building.  I was going to be either thrown away or put in a yard sale.  I re purposed it.

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First item to complete on my to do list.

Today is Wednesday, middle of the week. I need to decide what item on my to do list I will complete this week. I have some many project started but only few in which I have everything I need to do to complete them. I have the cabinet and draw pulls for the kitchen, both bathrooms and the office. So since I have the material and tools, then this is the project I will complete this week. I purchased the cabinet pulls from ( www.lowes.com ) and the draw pulls from home depot. ( Homedepot.com) They are a satin nickel finish.

Old Builder grade cabinet and draw pulls

 

 

 

 

New cabinet pulls

 

 

 

New Draw pulls
Cabinets need to be repainted - on my list

 

I still have a few more pulls to install.  I had to drill another hole in the cabinet doors.  I will update and show how that is done.  Stay tuned. 

 

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New Washer and Dryer

I am in need of a new Washer and Dryer.  You see, I have had my washer and dryer for 13 years. Fridgidaire Heavy Duty. 


Each have been repair a couple of times. Back in 2000, when I purchased my washer and dryer, I got both for a little over $500.  I've been out shopping around and online and have been ticket shocked.  You can't even get one or the other for less than $500.  WOW!  Ok, I have to regroup. 

After a lot of research, I think this is the units I will get.  The are found at hh gregg and at lowes.

http://www.hhgregg.com/maytag-7-4-cu-ft-silver-electric-dryer/item/MEDX700XL?intcmp=homepageBanner-2-MEDX700XL and http://www.hhgregg.com/maytag-3-6-cu-ft-silver-he-top-load-washer/item/MVWX700XL . Although these are hhgregg website, I will be gettting them from lowes. 

Lowes in Rocky Mount which is only 12 miles from me and offer free delievery, set up and haul away of old applicances.  HH Gregg is in Raleigh, about 50 miles from me and do not provide delievery.  I would have to pick them up, set the up myself and haul away my old washer and dryer.  Although I love DIY, I am not in the mood to take on this task.  Besides I can do a lot of other things while this is being accomplished by the professionals for free.

I will blog a review on the washer and dryer in about a month. 

Hope you enjoy my blogs.  Please subscribe and refer to your friends.  One Love!

So I finally broke down and purchased a new washer and dryer and here they are.  They will be delievered and set up on Monday morning.  Purchased them from Lowes.  Product review in a month.  Oh yea, in addition to all the freebies above, I am getting a $120 Lowes gift card as a rebate.  Good deal in my book. 

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Do we really need more room and stuff? Don't we have enough?

Anybody that really know me, know that I love doing or at least attempting to do all my own home improvement projects.  With that comes a lot of learning.  I do a lot of self educating.  I watch a lot of DIY shows, research a lot on the Internet.  This morning I was watching a show on HGTV, called "Bang for your Buck.  The show looks at a specific room of 3 different houses that has been remodeled/renovated in the same city, in order to determine who got the best renovation for their money.  Today they featured master bathrooms in Birmingham.  An expert designer and a local realtor goes through the room and evaluate it.  Trying to determine if the home owners made the right choices.

As far as I am concerned these were really large bathrooms.  However, the first thing that the critiquing designer and real estate expert stated that one of the particular bathrooms was small. The bathroom was bigger than the second bedroom in  my house. They also complained that the master closet was way to small.  The master closet was a converted bedroom.  Are you kidding me.  That is to small?

Why do we need so much space?  Oh, I know!  Because we have so much stuff.  Why do we have so much stuff?  I am not condemning the home owners for having so much stuff.  I am as guilty as the next person.  I have so much stuff, that I have accumulated over a 20 year period,  not wanting to let go of anything.  My house is busting at the seams, even after purging, giving things away and trashing others. 

Every bedroom closet is full of stuff.  The attic is full of stuff.  And after I filled all those areas with stuff, I had a storage building, built behind my house, to get the stuff out of my house and I did. Only to accumulate more stuff in my house.   Oh yea,  there is a storage room connected to the back of my house, which is also full of stuff.

I have stuff (and that's what it really is, stuff) in my attic that has been there since the day I moved in my house 13 years ago.  I think it is time for it to go.  There is stuff in the storage building that belongs to my daughter that has been there since she graduated from college in 2010. 

My thought process to get rid of all this stuff is if, I/we have not used it in over a year, I/we don't need it.  It is time for it to go.  I see a huge yard sale coming in March. 


Thanks for reading my blog.  Stay tuned or come back for more.  If you like my blogs, please subscribe to my page.  Thanks in advance. One Love!

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About my blogs.

I will blog on past renovations, current and future projects.  Successful and failed attempts.  Products I've tried and feel was not worth the  money and those that was well worth every penny. I have learned that sometimes you just should spend a little more money to get the look and quality you want.

I have tried some many products to accomplish the same job.  Sometimes I did not do enough research and sometimes the perfect product comes out after you have tried other products that did not work for you.  I have learned when I want to do a project to do the research on available products/material then wait several months before purchasing the material to do my project.  It has never failed that once I purchase the material something new and sometimes better comes out. 

I have very good intentions.  Never the less, I also have a long list of project that I have started but did not complete.  So I am making a list of all my projects and by the end of the year all will be completed.  I will blog each and every one of them.  I will list them all in my next blog.  Stay tune and stay in touch.  Comments and questions are always welcome. 

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I have been in my house 13 years and have not really done any major updates. A couple of years ago, I decided to pull up all the carpet and replace with laminate flooring.  I went through 4 different products before I finally found the one that I really like and works for me.  It is easy to install.  I replaced the flooring in the living room and hall twice, in the 3 bedrooms once, however in the master bedroom, I ended up putting down flooring that is completely difference from the other bedrooms and the living room and hall.  I found this product/flooring at home depot. 

Master Bedroom after carpet is taken up

I wished I had found this product before I installed the living room and hall flooring the first time.  Click this link for the flooring:  http://www.homedepot.com/Flooring-Vinyl-Flooring-Resilient-Flooring-Resilient-Vinyl-Planks/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbzjz/R-202075773/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

It was so easy to put down.  My floor was even so there was only vacumming the subfloor as my prep work, after taking up the carpet.  Oh yea, make sure all the carpet staples are removed from the subfloor.  All you need is a box cutter and a straight edge as a guide.  When you need to cut a plank just line up with the area, determine where you need to cut, score it on the back of the plank and then snap into.  Just lay the plank down and connect the adhesive strips. If you need to take up a strip to reposition or replace, just use a blow dryer on the strip and pull up.  So easy.  I wish I had taken pictures of the installation.  When I replace the living room and hall, I will show you how easy it is to install.   Below are the pictures of my bedroom from being to the finished product.

The flooring is a fraction of the cost of hardwood but gives the look of hardwood.  I am so in love with this flooring. 

Please ignore all the extra stuff laying around that I had not put away before taking the pictures. 


I hope you enjoyed this blog.  Leave a comment and let me know what you think of the blog and the flooring.  I have decided to blog the other floor installations, the results and how I feel about them.  Please stay tuned or come back.

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