The Little Things

Sometimes, it's the little things that make the biggest impact. Here are some DIY projects I've done that require very little money and very little time, but produce absolutely great results!

Menu Planner: This was not an original idea, as I saw several different versions of this menu planner on Pinterest. But I made it my own by picking out some pretty scrapbook paper and using scrapbook stickers for each day of the week, and for the "Menu" header. I actually mounted this to the side of my fridge with Command Hooks, and I keep a wet erase Vis-a-Vis marker in the drawer nearby to fill 'er up each week! This definitely motivates me to cook all week, because I get to fill out my pretty little board!

Clean Closet: Label baskets in your closet to keep clothes from piling up on the floor. This is great for corraling all of the clothes you tried on in the morning, but didn't end up wearing. Then simply hang them up later!



Home Office Organization: This literally took me 20 minutes from start to finish. The hardest part was hanging the curtain rod! I got six pencil cup holders from the Dollar Tree, six "S" hooks from the hardware store, and hung a leftover curtain rod I had stashed away in the closet. So this whole project cost me about $10. You could also use a towel bar, or any other kind of curtain rod instead. I liked the espresso color of this rod, but you could certainly spraypaint whatever you're working with to whatever color you'd like.

Bonus tip: Notice the cord keeper stuck to the back of my desk, kind of like the ones I used in my daughter's nursery? These are also very cheap, and a great way to keep messy computer cords neatly tucked away.

Smart Shower Storage: We have a tiny little stall shower in our master bath, so there is really no room for a hanging shower caddy in there. I got these metal baskets and hooks at Ikea, and just hung them on the drywall above the super-fancy, pre-fab, fake "tiled" portion of our shower. Hey, a bathroom reno is on the list, but it's a long list! :)

DIY Wall Art: These bad boys are among my favorite creations. We have two of them, one over each nightstand next to our bed. I started by spraypainted two matching old frames black. Then I used a large, Tiffany blue damask gift bag from our wedding and cut it in half. Then, I trimmed it down to fit inside the mat, secured with some tape and voilà! You can also do this with scrapbook paper, wrapping paper - the options are endless. I hate spending $$$ on wall art, when you can almost always find something more creative and cuter from cheap materials.

No-Sew Nite-Nite Drapes: Okay, I didn't actually create the entire drape myself. But I purchased some ugly powder blue blackout drapes for very cheap, and made them pretty with these sheer white panels from JC Penney Home Store. I just placed the white panels on top of the blue, and used safety pins behind to secure them in place. Yes, you could just get a double curtain rod and hang them seperately, but we already had a single one and I didn't want to waste it. My husband sleeps all day due to his schedule, so blocking out the bright sun is a must. It's just like a hotel room now! 

DIY Lazy Trays: These are called lazy trays because we use them every day, while we are lazy and eating dinner or snacks on the couch. I spent $6 for two ugly, patterned melamine trays at a discount store. I spraypainted them with white primer, used painter's tape to make stripes, painted them with leftover wall paint, pulled off the tape (while still wet, which is important) and they came out great. You can actually see that the paint was still a little wet in this picture ... I was excited to share! :)

Clean Car, Happy Car: It's easy to end up with a messy car, especially if you're on the go a lot. But there's no excuse not to keep things neat and tidy when you have a wastebasket within arm's reach, right? I used a plastic cereal storage container, drilled two holes, looped some ribbon through the holes, and tied a targe loop to stick around my gear shift. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner!

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