Condo Blues: Book Page Storage Shelves

Monday, April 4, 2011

Book Page Storage Shelves

They say the cheapest way to spruce up a room is to paint it. I say cheapest way to spruce up a room is to clean and reorganize it.

The utility room is one of those rooms I walk into that makes me go ARRRRGH!

Clutter makes me cranky.


This little cart holds items that don’t fit into my teeny pantry/my modest stockpile of backup/sale items.

It’s also a real hot mess! Fortunately, there’s an easy fix for that.

I pulled everything out of the utility room, decluttered, and restocked the pantry and kitchen cupboards. Better, but still crowded.

*Sigh* I daydream about installing shelves above the cart for extra storage that we so desperately need.

 I decided to make that little dream a reality.

I went to the Restore to look for wood to build three wall shelves with a lip to keep items from sliding fall off the shelves and onto my head.

I found a shelf, that needed a little love for a dollar. If I panted it and installed it upside down, I’d have the lip I planed to make with molding.

Shelves before.

One dollar for a premade shelf? OK, you convinced me. I’ll buy it instead of building it.

I bought the shelf and two of its friends. I cleaned them up with a mild solution of dish soap and water. I pained the edges with the rest of a sample can of Sultana Martha Stewart no VOC paint I had in the garage. This is the second time I used no VOC paint. I’m convinced that it’s worth the extra money! While there is a faint odor during painting, it’s gone by the next day. I can’t say that with low VOC paint I used in the Smurf Village garage. The paint smell hung around in the garage for a couple of weeks after the project.



I didn’t have enough paint to do two coats and I’m too lazy and cheap resourceful to go buy another tester of paint. I spied the box of leftover book pages I used as bathroom wallpaper. A little Modge Podge and time later I had fun and functional shelves to install in the utility room.


I use the baby food to bake dog treats.


I went with plain white shelf brackets that match the wall color because only Husband and I go into this room.

See, I really do buy the products I review and promote on my blog.

Until now. Guess who came into the utility room for the first time because I was taking photos for the blog?

Say hi to Blitzkrieg!

While I was in clean, organize, and declutter mode, I screwed a row of large cup hooks into the opposite wall and hung Husband’s BBQ tools on them. Previously, his Christmas gift was still in the box propped up against the wall because it’s too cold to grill.

Ah, much better!

Here’s the project cost breakdown:

3 shelves @ $1.00 each (Restore)
6 shelf brackets @ $.89 each (Lowes)
12 screws – already had
Paint – already had
Book pages – already had
Modge Podge – already had
7 large teacup hooks – already had

TOTAL PROJECT COST: $8.34

I priced a premade and painted wood shelf at Lowes (without brackets) at $12.00 each. I like my price and project much better!


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10 comments :

san colechio said...

as usual Blitzkreig is on the job.
How is he doing? What are you feeding him these days?

Lisa Nelsen-Woods said...

Blitzkrieg's doing great! I could tell he was feeling better once he started asking to be allowed up on the sofa or arm chairs when we were sitting on them watching TV, reading, etc. He's able to take longer walks for physical therapy. He's running up and down the stairs on his own, and feels good enough to play fetch indoors.

Some days Blitzkrieg over does it a bit and wants to be carried upstairs because he's sore. I try to take my cue from him. He likes being an independent dog and doing things himself. Although during his behavioral rehab, Blitzkrieg learned that it's nice to have humans to give you a carry when you're tired from walking 4 miles or more :)

We're feeding him Fromm Surf and Turf. He's responding to it very well. It's putting up with us switching up his old dinner of herring and sweet potato with a new dinner of duck, salmon (a favorite), chicken and sweet potato. He's a trooper :)

Carolina said...

nice job! I might add something behind the bottom of the bbq tools... like an old coffee tray or cookie sheet. Something that's easy to wipe off if hubby puts back tools that have been "fire cleaned" rather than scrubbed. : )

julee said...

Hey, that looks pretty darn clean and organized.
What is 'restore'?
A nice organized shelf is a happy dance thing to me.!

Megs said...

Clutter totally makes me cranky too! I have got to do something like this in our pantry. And I definitely need a spot for all the BBQ tools my husband has collected!

Thanks for stopping by This & That Creative!

Lisa Nelsen-Woods said...

JulandMatt- the Restore is the Habitat for Humanity Restore. It's basically a thrift store of building supplies. The money they raise helps Habitat build houses.

Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage said...

Don't you just love redos on the cheap? I always feel so much better when my spaces are clean and organized, and it was all done inexpensively. ;)

Thanks for linking to the party. By the way, cool blog wallpaper.

Have a great weekend!
Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

★Rebekah {All Thingz Related}★ said...

Awesome! Looks good! Great way to repurpose! Thanks so much for joining me at Anything Related!

AllieMakes! said...

Looks great! Fabulous job!
Thanks for linking up to Making It With Allie! I can't wait to see what you have for next week!
AllieMakes.Blogspot.com

Becky@Beyond The Picket Fence said...

So much better and cheap too! Thanks for sharing at Beyond The Picket Fence.

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