DIY Goals for 2013

It's a new year and time to make those yearly goals. Last year I was waaaay too ambitious with my DIY goals. I made 30. I didn't leave room for life getting in the way and boy did it. I only finished 12 of my 2012 DIY goals.

I supposed I could cheat and make my missed 2012 goals my 2013 DIY goals but there are a few items I'm not sure if I want to do like building a fireplace mantel. I want to live sans mantel for awhile to test the waters.

Crazy, I know.

This year I think it might be best for me to make a few more general goals than a long list of specific goals. That way, if life gets in the way or I get my fantasy dream job as a Caribbean beach Quality Assurance Tester which requires Husband and I to dump everything in snowy Ohio for warm beaches, I won't feel like such a big fat failure at the end of the year because I didn't meet a long list of goals. I'm the Queen of Overscheduling. *royal wave*

General 

1. Concentrate on projects using the items I already have.  I'm not saying I won't buy any new materials or components to complete the project if that's what the project requires but I really need to knock the growing list of projects off my Someday list.

2. Find/create storage. We're pretty good about purging and donating the stuff on a regular basis so things don't pile up.  But there are some things we like to keep around, like say food but only one designated cabinet in the kitchen for it. I have some stuff stored in plain sight (aka no place to call home) as a temporary thing for far too long.

One Small Green Change: Down Winter Coat

I came home from 40 degree (F) Washington DC (more on that later I promise) to -9 degree Columbus. BRR! The light winter jacket I've making do with this year because my good wool coat is a bit too snug (ahem) just isn't going to cut it no matter how many layers I wear under it.

I need a new heavy winter "play" coat. Something I can wear sledding, skiing, and trudging through snow to the mailbox. Wool is warm and more eco friendly but once it gets wet, you stand a good chance of getting hypothermia on the toboggan run.

In my opinion a wool outer layer isn't practical for a winter ski coat since shushing snow can soak your coat.

Who am I kidding? My ski coat gets wet more from falling and skiing on my face in spectacularly graceful ways than from kicking up snow and outperforming Shaun White on a snowboarding half pipe.

Anyway. I need a new warm heavy winter coat that isn't too bulky to play in the snow. If it can be made from more eco friendly materials that would be awesome. I want this coat to perform well and last. I am willing to pony up the cash for that (although if I can get it on sale that will be the icing on the cake.)

How to Make Kitchen Sink Cabinet Storage Shelves

I don’t have a lot of storage room under my kitchen sink. A slide out trash can (love, BTW) fills the right side of the sink cabinet. The garbage disposal fills the upper air space on the left side of the sink cabinet. Soaps and cleaners, and extras on deck hang out on the left side of the cabinet and are in the line of fire when the garage disposal violently decides it doesn’t want to connect to the waste water pipe and floods the cabinet with water and food goo.

After trying to dry out a cardboard box box full of dish washing powder three times in two days, I figured it was time to install shelves under the sink to keep my extras high and dry.

Keep reading! I'll teach you how to make my wood crate shelf.

I couldn’t find what I wanted in a store. Then I remembered I have mad DIY skillz and a bunch of wood. DIY to the rescue! I designed and built a under sink shelf from an old hot sauce caddy.   

Husband likes hot sauce so much we got a Dave’s Insanity sauce gift pack like this as a wedding present. True story.

Nine Christmas Time and Money Saving Tips That Will Save Your Sanity (and Money Too)

During one of our first Christmas Eves I had a meltdown. Husband waited until the very last second to purchase and wrap gifts because we were waiting on payday (we run a cash only house with the exception of our mortgage and car payments.)

We stayed up until the wee hours of the night wrapping gifts. Wrapping gifts less than 24 hours before the paper is ripped off seems pointless. Not to mention, I try to keep Christmas Eve low key and chill time to gear up for the happy Christmas frenzy the following day. 

I knew things had to change unless I wanted to ruin every single holiday for the rest of our lives with an annual argument.

Barnwood Speaker Shelves

Its funny how one little DIY project like painting an accent wall turns into a tumble of DIY projects like installing a TV wall mount, updating the fireplace surround with paint, and now building barn wood shelves for the surround sound speakers. It is like eating Terra Chips around here. I can’t eat just one.

During the mounting the flat screen TV project I did as part of Husband’s birthday present, I originally wanted the surround sound speaker placement to be on the back wall around the TV for optimal sound. I realized I have more TV than TV niche wall space. Plan B: make surround sound shelves from the reclaimed wood I rescued from a broken fence.

Learn how to build these reclaimed wood display shelves. It's easy. Promise.

I feel like I should almost apologies for having a flat TV, surround sound, and TV components because in  having a TV, let alone cable and a video game system is pooh-poohed in eco circles. I’m going to address it but I’m not going to apologize for it.

How to Install a Flat Panel TV Wall Mount

We have a TV niche (big, fat hole) above the fireplace. When we moved in, Husband and I hefted our TV into the niche. I bought and configured a set of interMetro shelves to store the components above the TV.

The speakers for the surround sound didn't fit in the niche as I hoped. I bought two CD towers to use as speaker stands and to store CDs. We lived this way for many years.

CDs? The seem so quaint now. 

Do You Have an Emergency Weather Plan?

Last week as my next door neighbors and I were outside and commented how the beautiful clear blue sky, quickly turned into a gray-purple-puke colored Tornado Sky.

The winds kicked up unexpectedly, rain, thunder, and lightening pounded down. Over 300, 000 people in Ohio lost electricity as Mother Nature tossed around trees and power lines with the force of a full on toddler kicking and screaming mega meltdown.

Fortunately, we were one of the lucky few that had electricity. This is surprising because if there is a blackout, we are almost always in it. Often for several days at a time. 

We did not experience a tornado because even those some areas estimated 75+ mile an hour winds, there wasn't any rotation. The crazy, unexpected, snuck up on everyone including the weather service experts, was a derecho.

How to Organize Cancer Medications

Blitzkrieg had what the oncologist called a “spa day”instead of a chemo treatment last week. They did blood work, exams, played with him, and feed him a redonculous amount of chicken baby food all day.

I'm a dog. I like food, see?

Blitzkrieg let them because he is kind like that.

The doctors feel Blitzkrieg is responding to the new cancer treatment protocol and sent us home with an oral form of that week’s chemo medication.

We are cautiously optimistic.

This is what it takes every day to keep our boy alive.

The only prescription missing from this photo is Blitzkrieg's prescription dog food.

How to Remove Furniture Marks from Carpet

I borrowed a steam carpet cleaner to clean the wet and explosive surprises Blitzkrieg left in his wake on an hourly basis when he had a bladder infection due to the chemotherapy.

Fortunately, Blitzkrieg is now back to his fine and fluffy self. My carpeting is another story. I spent an entire afternoon steam cleaning pet stains on the carpeting by the front door. I couldn’t move on to the rest of the living room or house like I normally do. We lived with the living room in the kitchen for several days. And then our bedroom in the computer room. And then the computer room in our bedroom. And then the guest/sewing room in our bedroom.

This is about the time I was considering maid service.  Or a box of matches. 

My House Smells Like Dog Pee

Blitzkrieg developed a bladder infection as a side effect of chemotherapy. Poor little dog is piddling almost every hour in the house on his way to the front door.

This is my old toy box Lisa made me.

 This is unusual for Blitzkrieg. He has an accident in the house one or two times a year tops. We checked with the oncologist. This new behavior is a medical thing not a behavioral thing. Trust me, Blitzkrieg's potty bark is so sharp and forceful it could shatter glass. Consider it the canine equivalent of a toddler screaming in the middle of a public place,"I HAVE TO GO POOOTTY!"

The problem is the infection is overwhelming his little bladder that he often barks to be let out and the flood gates open on his way to the front door.

To deal with pet accidents, I got a Bissell Spot Lifer as gift on Blitzkrieg’s first Christmas. I think I got more use out of the box because I turned it into Blitzkrieg’s first toy box until I made him a toy box from a wood wine box. 

This is my new toy box Lisa made me. It's comfy.

 
Between the Spot Lifter and the later gift of a Bissell Ready Clean carpet cleaner I was able to keep up with the rare dog accident.

Until now.

I almost fell over from the smell coming from the dry living room carpet when I bend down to clip Blitzkrieg’s leash to his collar for a walk.

O.M.G! Ew. Ew. Ew!  I'm big baby about smells. I better never have a human baby because I'd make them potty in the yard like Blitzkrieg so I don't have to deal with stinky diapers. Whiiiich I just tipped Children Services off about me early and put myself on some sort of Watch List. Oopsie.

9 Sneaky Green Ways to Save Money

I always struggle when it comes to writing an Earth Day post because everyday is Earth Day around here.

Frankly, my mind is more on trimming the fat from our family budget to pay for Blitzkrieg’s medical bills, and rebuilding our emergency fund which keeps getting knocked back after last year’s Back Luck Summer. 

A conversation with my newest sister in law Mrs J2 last weekend lit the CFL light bulb of inspiration over my head. (What other kind of light bulb would expect to go off over my head? An energy wasting incandescent? Pea-shaw!)

She and her new husband (I never get tired of saying that. I’m a gushy romantic - sue me.) are in Newlywed Money Saving Mode. I started kicking around ideas with her from Condo Blues. She politely said she wasn’t into the green thing so much because it is expensive. Her new family is more interested in saving enough money to buy a house.

The funny thing is, back when I was a newlywed and in Newlywed Saving Mode most of the things we did and still do to save money are green, only back then green was a color, not a movement.

Sister in Law, here’s a little list of  ways that save money and just so happen to be green. This isn’t a I Do All of These And I’m So Much Greener than You list. Everyone is different, has different priorities and preferences, and some green ways conflict with other green ways (which most people don't mention.) Consider this list a Swiss Army Knife of Money Saving Green Options, Not Absolutes.

Six Pack Carrier turned Covered Storage Box

World Water Day was a big fat fail.

I celebrated by fixing a leaky pipe and exploding garage disposal that made a lovely mess of the kitchen cabinet and dishwasher. After I cleaned that up, I dropped just about everything I used to make hummus onto the floor. Then the beans exploded out of the blender and all over me. I steam cleaned the kitchen floor again. Ran two loads of dishes in the dishwasher (don't ask), and did a half load of laundry (hangs head. I always do full loads) because every dog towel, dishtowel, and towel I cut down to use instead of paper towels were soaked.

On the upside, I Spring Cleaned the under sink cabinet. 

On the downside, the six pack carrier I use to hold clean up towels was toast.

This is a good thing. Every once and awhile, I notice Mother-in-law’s look of motherly concern when she opens a cupboard or the refrigerator and sees the contents stored in a beer six pack carrier. We don’t drink that much but I hang onto the caddys for projects and of the craft beers we try that have crazy names.

However, my cupboards are starting to look like a fraternity house.  

End Table Bookshelf

My sewing room looks like a wrecking ball hit it. Me being me I don’t want to install any old set of shelves. This room is my creative space. I want something fun. 

Designer Isabel Quiroga created a bookshelf from old end tables. Floor to ceiling bookcases get my organizational motor running. The high gloss purple speaks to my quirky side.

All photos courtesy of Stichting Art Eko

The website featuring Isabel Quiroga is in Dutch but it isn’t too hard to figure out how to do something like this yourself.

My Homemade Green Cleaner Labeling Privileges Have Been Revoked

I make homemade green cleaners. I know exactly what is in them, making them takes a few minutes, and they are less expensive. For the most part, my homemade cleaners clean the same or, as in the case of my homemade daily shower cleaner, better than their store bought counter parts. Woot! Woot!

 I store my cleaners in empty and repurposed spray bottles. I finally got around to making labels for the bottles  I worked too hard on my half bathroom remodel to ruin the granite counter tops with a homemade vinegar based cleaner from the other bathrooms by mistake!

I gave up printing designs in super cute and colorful ink because the cartridges in my inkjet dried out. AGAIN!

I went with black laser print ink that never runs dry instead of plunking down $80 for color ink cartridges to do a whim project. Since I could not do super cute and colorful label designs, I went with decorative fonts.

Clear Your Clutter: Five Temporary Garage Organizers

I’m participating in the Clear Your Clutter Challenge because my garage workshop project is making nothing but clutter in the garage.

I know things will get worse before they get better but I need a temporary fix. I have a big fat bruise on my arm (OW!) when a couple of tool cases leapt from a shelf and cannon balled onto my arms and head during a I-swear-I-put-it-in-the-garage type search. 

A garage clean up and temporary reorganization should put the workshop project back on track. It is either that or post Beware of Falling Power Tools signs all over the garage. Oh, heck I still might.

I want to spend as little money as possible on this project because all of my organization and storage will change in a few months when I build the new garage storage system. My repurposed freebies may not be the prettiest but they are doing the job for now. 

 This is my working plan for final garage project.

What is the Strangest Thing You Do to Save Money?

I watched the Extreme Cheapskates special on TLC. True to reality TV, they presented and edited the people featured as weird in the lengths they go to save money even though I read many of those tips, like washing and reusing plastic zipper baggies (heck! I do it myself) on blogs and in The Tightwad Gazette books long before this show was a twinkle in a producer's eye.

Our green and frugal ways mean the amount of our weekly household trash is usually one small plastic bag of trash. 

Frugality, just like green living, is all about balance. What works and is normal for some, others just can’t go there. I’m all for boxing up and taking my restaurant leftovers home with me (a quick, easy, and cheap lunch option for the following day!) but I personally draw the line at asking other people for their leftovers at the restaurant, while one guy on the show does it all the time – to his wife’s embarrassment which makes good TV.

If I left these amazing homemade tortillas at the restaurant it would have been a crime!

30 DIY Goals for 2012

I learned early on that it’s better in the Spousal Management department if I give Husband a head’s up on a major DIY project. For some crazy reason, the man doesn’t like to come home to surprises that look like this:

Surprise! I’m painting the kitchen! Doesn't it look GREAT?!

The Nester is holding a Home Goals party. In the interest of holding myself accountable for actually doing a planned project instead of plunking my tush in front of DIY Network and only dreaming about it, I made a list of DIY project goals for the year.

Husband, consider this list your head’s up for 2012.

Garage

Yeah, I know I said 2011 was going to be the Year of the Garage Workshop. It accidently turned into the Summer of the Remodeled Garden and Porch which had yummier results than accidentally ingesting sawdust. Although I reserve the right to ingest sawdust at any time in the future because who couldn't use a little more fiber in their diet? 

This looks largely the same except I painted the wall blue.

My Top 10 Project Posts of 2011

Happy New Year! 2011 was a busy, busy blogging year. I went to my first Blissdom conference. This year I am going to be one of the Blissdom Newcomer Community Leaders! Please come! (More on that in a later post.)

I taught a great group of momand dad bloggers how to use tools at the Craftsman DIY Blogger Summit.

Richard from Craftsman, Primer Magazine, The Gadgeteer, Backpacking Dad, CC Chapman, Mom Start is hiding almost off screen), Wiskey in My Sippy Cup, Busy Dad Blog, and Attack of the Redneck Mommy.

I Organized My Office!

Clutter makes me cranky. Which made it easy to pick a project when Apartment Guide asked me to participate in their Holiday Home Organization Blogger Challenge.  I was sitting at it.

 Before: Clutter Central!

Apartment Guide gave me a budget of $150 dollars for my project. I spent a chunk of the budget on repainting and repairing a thrift store wood filing cabinet to replace the flimsy little guy in the office. Good call on that one because the drawer front snapped off when I opened the drawer on the old cabinet to clean it out for the last time. I can't tell you how happy I was when I chucked that baby into the city recycling bin!

After: Clean and Organized!

Trash to Treasure Filing Cabinet

I am the reason we do not have nice things.


 I rebuilt and made over this thrift store filing cabinet after breaking the old one too many times.

Why? Because I snapped the plastic, handle off this filing cabinet drawer almost as soon as we got it home.

Uncle Bob?

My Green DIY Diva powers came to the rescue! I spiffed up a set of sturdy second hand cabinet handles with paint, attached them to the drawer fronts, and Bob’s your uncle. 

• A little later a drawer broke; Husband kvetched we need a less flimsy cabinet. I fixed the drawer.

• A year later the bottom drawer broke, Husband kvetched we need a less flimsy cabinet. I fixed the drawer.

• A few months after that the top drawer broke, Husband kvetched we need a less flimsy cabinet. I fixed the drawer.

A drawer broke again. I agreed. We need a less flimsy filing cabinet.