Pegs as creative storage solutions: Part Four of the 'Organise and Beautify' saga

In my constant struggle to declutter and keep myself and the house organised, I have decided to be creative with storage. It is more a MUST do, rather than a 'oooh isn't this creative lets do it', due to the lack of spare cash in the household! 

The house is small, we need to use the walls as much as possible to stash things. Cash is limited so we need to use what we have to create a storage solution.

As I have been decluttering the house I noticed so many paper bits: receipts, bills to attend to, memos... lots of bits of paper that may not need long term storage but need to be in the forefront of my consciousness until they are actioned. 

I decided they could be stored on the walls, with clothes pegs. I haven't gone completely insane..yet.. my batlings, stay with me on this.

All i needed was a long piece of picture wire, some nice hooks, and some pegs. I have all those things so no need to buy anything extra here. 

The pegs looked a bit hohum, and as you know I do not like drab and dull.  I looked at my box of washi tape and knew just how to decorate those wooden clothes pegs!

wooden clothes pegs and washi tape, what a great idea!

Covered in washi tape pegs are useful and decorativet!

In case you are looking for some lovely washi tape designs at very low prices, I buy most of my washi tape from Chiyogami Designs , they have an ebay store and I have always found them to be reliable and honest sellers, with an amazingly diverse range of washi tape as well as Japanese print origami paper.

After covering the pegs with washi tape, I then put some small brass hooks into the wall, (you could also use removable adhesive ones if you are renting) and attached picture wire, the wire is taut so it can handle weight of the paper without sagging.

Finished storage solution: I can even put my spare fountain pen ink there!

You may have noticed I have a lot of washi tape, and as I said before most of my beautiful washi tapes come from Chiyogami Designs. Where do I store these?

On a trouser hanger of course!

Decorative tape stored on a trouser hanger

I would love to hear your creative storage ideas for organising and decluttering, please feel free to let me know them in the comments!

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About Me: I work full time, I am also studying for a therapist qualification in Naturopathy specialising in Herbalism, I have a small craft 'business', I am co-admin of an auction page on facebook to help other small hobby businesses, i maintain my own 'store' facebook page, I blog at least once a week and I maintain a facebook page created to support small home businesses and hobby sellers 

............................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................... Please visit me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat handcrafted gothic goodies at bargain prices. see me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat ...Please visit me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat handcrafted gothic goodies at bargain prices. see me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat

Challenges and Obstacles to organisation: Part Three of the 'Organise and Beautify' saga

I really want to get the house decluttered, organised, beautiful and peaceful. I have been reading a lot of blogs by proud 'stay at home' people who spend a lot of time organising and making things white and shiny. (Their blog photos also show them beaming with fresh shiny faces and not one hair out of place and not a pimple in sight..yeh bitter i may be...)  From what I can tell, as they do not have 'day jobs' outside of the home they can spend a lot of time in this domestic pursuit of organising and beautifying their homes. 

Please do not misunderstand me, I am not saying these people are NOT working, I am just saying that as their WORKplace IS the HOME and FAMILY fulltime, they can spend the time WORKING on making the house organised and pretty. I acknowledge that they are working and working very hard.

Additionally the How to Organise your house bloggers all seem to have large houses. One blog I read about making the laundry organised and a happy environment, had a laundry bigger than our loungeroom/dining/kitchen/bathroom combined.  Not to mention a blog I read last week about how to organise a loungeroom;  their loungeroom was as big as our house.

These blogs however are inspiring and motivate me to work out how to make our house an organised, pretty and decluttered peaceful home with what we have; and make me think of ways to overcome the challenges of making the place peaceful and organised, while facing obstacles of:

• not a lot of 'spare' cash, 
• a very small house, 
• a house that was a 'flood victim ' in 2011 with no insurance paid out, still trying to replace furniture
• working full time outside of the home with long commutes (equating to only having weekends to actually do anything in the house).

So let me look at these challenges and think of ways to work with them to success in my declutter/organisation goal.

Not a lot of cash

This means I need to be even more creative by working with things I already own as well as keep an eye out at second hand shops and ebay auctions to purchase things we need at a low cost.

I have been decorating and repurposing old cupboard boxes as storage boxes and I use them for stashing craft supplies, fabric, and stationery. You can read about  my 'upcycling' of old cardboard storage boxes here. 

We recently purchased second hand solid pine shelving unit from ebay, for $40. New it would have been well over $200. We keep an eye out for good quality storage bargains and sometimes we find great things at a low cost.

A very small house

A small house means, keep the clutter at a minimum, THINK before we buy anything (do we need it, where is it going to be stored, what gets donated/discarded to make room for it).

It also means we need to think of storing UP: taking advantage of walls and putting floor to ceiling shelves in for example, and hanging things up on hooks on the walls to clear floor space.

Lost our furniture in the flood

Okay yep I know, the flood was three years ago, but as the insurance refused to pay anything, we have got by with the generous donations from friends, family, and total strangers. We have re-stained, varnished and repurposed the donated shelves, tables, and chairs, and are doing a lot to make the items we were given look refreshed as well as useful. (it is amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do)

No time

We have almost a four hour round trip each day to and from work, and then an eight hour day in our workplaces, this means that we are exhausted by the time we get home. In order to get us some time, we cook on the weekends and freeze meals to reheat on week nights. That way husband, his son, and I have nutritious meals to choose form and with the flick of the microwave are eating in less than ten minutes.

I utilise my filofax to keep me organised and allot certain tasks to certain days. I do not put times on the tasks, just assign them to block days so i know that sometime that day this needs to be done.

On the weekends we get the washing done, cook meals for the week, and do the basic housework that needs to be done. We need to be organised with our time so that we can manage to find a few hours to relax in a week.

We also assign small ad hoc tasks to ourselves: for example today I am sorting through my clothes, discarding the torn, faded clothes that are beyond repair (assigning them to car rags), and repairing the ones that need and can be fixed; adding any good clothes that i no longer want to a charity bag, and then neatly placing my To Keep clothes on the hanging device i have for them ( i do not have a wardrobe).

To conquer the 'we have no time' to declutter and organise the house obstacle we need to be in control of our time.

Storage boxes i 'prepared earlier' organised in a shelf

I would be very interested in ideas on how others conquer challenges to keeping the house organised and beautiful. Particularly if you, like us, have a small house and need to be inventive on how to organise the things you need or want to keep.

Please feel free to comment.


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About Me:
I work full time, I am also studying for a therapist qualification in Naturopathy specialising in Herbalism, I have a small craft 'business', I am co-admin of an auction page on facebook to help other small hobby businesses, i maintain my own 'store' facebook page, I blog at least once a week and I maintain a facebook page created to support small home businesses and hobby sellers
............................................................................................................... Please visit me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat handcrafted gothic goodies at bargain prices. see me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat ...Please visit me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat handcrafted gothic goodies at bargain prices. see me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat

DIY decorative storage box: Part Two of the 'Organise and Beautify' saga

In 2012 I sorted and stashed my craft supplies oh so neatly after my husband bought me an awesome shelving unit from Ikea...... however, with working fulltime, studying, trying to maintain the usual household chores, designing and creating jewellery and other things to sell on etsy, and all the other things I do, my craftroom/study/office/hang out has become sadly neglected.

I decided that if the room looked nice and welcoming, and had plenty of storage containers and shelving,  it would be easier for me to keep it decluttered and organised.

Step one for me then, is to get some nice storage containers..

I looked at the boxes I use to stash craft supplies and magazines in, they are functional, strong, and..oh so drab!

I don't know about you dear Batling readers, but I cannot afford to buy the latest and greatest in new trendy storage crates. So I had a look around my chaotic craft room, and found I have quite a stash of previously used and kept wrapping paper, as well as glue, tape, all sorts of things that I could use to make my ho hum storage boxes look less utility and more..well..me.

I gathered my supplies, scissors, glue, tape, old strong box (the one I complained about being drab), old wrapping paper, and ooooh some Martha Stewart/Avery bookplates I forgot I had!!!(see what happens when you start decluttering? you find cool things!)

I went over the box and its lid to ensure they were intact, and used some thick masking tape on areas of the box that looked like they needed reinforcement. I then painted the box with a very thing coat of Modge Podge that had been diluted in water, to prime the cardboard.

After the coat of diluted Modge Pode (it is basically a very thick PVA glue) had dried, I sprayed the box with spray adhesive and wrapped it in the re-used wrapping paper. (just like wrapping a pressy!)

I used an Exacto knife to cut out where the hand hold holes are in the box, and then wrapped these with clear tape to reinforce them.

Starting to look rather nice.. if I say so myself.

I didn't want the box lid to have the same paper on it, I felt that made it a wee bit too twee, so I hunted around some more in the chaos of my craft room, and found some old wrapping paper in almost the same design but in opposite colours!!

I then prepared and covered the box lid the same as I had for the box.

After it all dried I sprayed a thin coat of semi gloss varnish over it all to help strengthen and preserve the new look box, and stuck the Martha Stewart/Avery bookplate on it.

I am very happy with this box!!! It has the Gothic/Baroque look that I really love.  

Now to do more sorting out of my room!

For inspiration I visit I heart Organizing, a very motivating and informative blog!

If you have any great storage ideas, DIY boxes or anything else that may help me in my goal to declutter and get organised I would LOVE to hear your ideas! Please feel free to let me know about them in the comments section below!

............................................................................................................... Please visit me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat handcrafted gothic goodies at bargain prices. see me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat ...Please visit me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat handcrafted gothic goodies at bargain prices. see me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat

Organised chaos? Part one of the 'Organise and Beautify' saga

Looking at blogposts and Pinterest images of super organised rooms, amazingly organised handbags, shelves with everything labelled... makes me sigh!  I would love to be so organised that I knew where everything was, and everything was labelled, and it all looked artistically pleasing. I have read books on how to declutter, I have bought filing systems, I have bought well crafted organisation boxes. All to no avail.

What am I missing here? Am i destined to always be a person whose creativity outweighs my ability to actually keep things organised?

I look around my study/computer room/craft room/hang out and am so depressed by the clutter and chaos around me.

The only thing that is organised is my filofax!! Why can't everything else be as under control?

I have had enough of the mess in this room!
I have had enough of the disarray in the pantry!
My clothes (I don't even have many!) are stowed away untidily.

Time to start operation 'Organise and Beautify'

Stay tuned for the next episode in my aim to organise myself! (I manage to keep my filofax organised, functional and pretty... so hey i can do this!)

In the meantime please view these blogs from very organised people:

• Label me organised: blog by a lady who is studying, working, and blogging, and is also extremely organised.

• I heart organising : blog by a stay at home parent who manages to create beautiful and organised rooms, shelves, things .. while maintaining a home and being a good spouse and parent.. please check her blog out!

Feel free to post a comment: hints , laughter...anything


............................................................................................................... Please visit me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat handcrafted gothic goodies at bargain prices. see me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat ...Please visit me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat handcrafted gothic goodies at bargain prices. see me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat

ALPHABET BLOG CHALLENGE: L is for Lace, ribbon, fabric!

Today i am writing about ideas to use up one's craft scraps. I have the week off work for the holiday period, and we are sorting the house out, that includes my study of art and cra supplies! While sorting stuff out i noticed a huge box full of tiny scraps of ribbon, lace, and bits of fabric. Just about to throw the lot away, i had a thought, why not use these scraps!!

Firstly i did a stock take of what i had, from the mess in the box, i divided it firstly into colours, then subdivided them into type. The colours were mainly red, black, green, and purple and after the sorting I realised there was quite a lot of usable lace and ribbon there.

What did i make?

(I will post pix another time)

ROSE HAIRCLIP With some scraps of red velvet ribbon i fashioned a fabric rose, i attached some green satin fabric, cut into leaves, to its base, and adorned it with black lace. I then hot glued the rose i had made onto a hair clip!

LAVENDER SACHETS I had scraps of fabric netting, i cut them into neat circles, added some scoops of dried lavender, and gathered the edges up, and tied the lot up with lace and ribbon! Shoved in the drawers of my dressing table they look decorative, smell lovelyl keeping the contents of the drawers fresh, and keep insects at bay!!

HAIR BOWS with matching lace and ribbon i formed bows, sewed them so they didnt undo, and then attached them to snag free hair ties.

LACEY SOCKS i sewed lace edging to brighten up some of my socks, and added little ribbon bows to the lace!

Ok i could rave on and on here, but the point is, before you throw stuff away have a look at it, work out what is there, and use it! Use, reusue, upcycle and recycle!!!

What do you do with your crafting scraps? I'd love to hear your ideas! Please feel free to add your comments and share your ideas!

 

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ALPHABET BLOG CHALLENGE: J is for JEWELS for your hair

Up to J in my alphabet blog! Today's blog is about JEWELS for your hair!

MISS SKELETON'S HAIRBOWS AND ACCESSORIES is a home based business based in Queensland Australia, run by the very talented Samantha, sales are made via her facebook business page.

Samantha often puts up fabric images on her page to ask for interest in them before she makes up bows, i recently expressed interest in bows made out of a particular fabric, and within a week she had ordered the fabric, made the bows, and sent them to me!

I own many clips, bows, and hairbands made by this talented lady, they are well made, bargain priced, and sent super fast! She makes old fashioned 50's style type head scarves, bows on clips, gorgeous fabric frilly hair accessories, hair clips, and is happy to take on custom orders!

If you or someone you knows likes to use gorgeous hair accessories, then please visit her facebook page today!

............................................................................................................... Please visit me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat handcrafted gothic goodies at bargain prices. see me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat ...Please visit me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat handcrafted gothic goodies at bargain prices. see me on etsy! www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat

 

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why sell on etsy

etsy, the site to buy and sell hand crafted or vintage items and supplies first went live to the internet in June 2005, some people have actual businesses on there, and their etsy shop frionts are either as well as or instead of a physical store. Others list on etsy as a hobby, or visit the site to locate some cool unique handmade items, vintage wares, or craft supplies to buy for themselves or as gifts for others.

Im on etsy for a bit of fun, i make stuff all the time , give stuff to friends and family, keep some stuff for myself, .. and as i make so many often quite diverse items, I thought i would try to sell my overflow of handmade things on etsy. I have had one sale in the month i have been on etsy, and as this is a hobby and not my source of income, that's fine.

For some people, etsy is where they hope to make a real go at a business, and if sales are slow to start can be put off by the lack of interest in their wares.

The etsy community, i think, is more than a group of people who buy or sell hanging out in a virtual place that sells things. It is a place where like minded people can interact and discuss their handicraft interests, and provide support and encouragement to each other, their fellow craftsmen and women.


In the month I have been on etsy, I have met (in a virtual sense) people from all over the world who have similar interests to me, or who have brilliant ideas and creativity that they are happy to share with others, or people who have had really bad times and are using etsy as an outlet to help them to relax and rejuvenate their minds.

I think that etsy has grown into something even more than first envisioned by the small company who dreamed it up, iospace. ever thought it would.

Why do weekends go faster than the working week?

Don't get me wrong, most of the time I enjoy my job, I work with computers and data a lot, and that is just right for me. On weekends I spend a lot of time designing and creating things, which I have a feeling I enjoy far more than my real job....

Weekends go super fast.. I am hectically drawing designs and working out what resources I need to realise my ideas into ..things... the weekend zooms past while I am engrossed in creativity.. and then suddenly its Monday morning.. and my husband yells out ' hey get up are you going to work' .. as he is already clothed and almost out the door to get to work..

If only I could put independently wealthy and could spend my days being creative.....

see my latest item, a bat gothic type messenger bag, on etsy.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80573281/halloween-gothic-messenger-bag-with-bat

Also a nifty reusable notepad cover with mini notepad included
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80690181/halloween-bat-gothic-notebook-cover

welcome to my Blog

Years ago, when the www was kind of new and people were still in awe of this new fangled internet thing, I had started a web journal.  I soon lost interest in it and went back to reading, playing with my pets, playing music, and making stuff.


This weekend I started to sell my hand made stuff on etsy, (/www.etsy.com/shop/empressbat ) and it was then that I noticed people writing about all sorts of things blogging about their handicrafts, writing about their pets, sharing pictures, recipes etc....and whether what they say interests others or not, i suppose it is kind of cathartic to rave online to an anonymous audience. I  figured I will try my little gothic paws at web logs.. or blogs once again... technology has improved so much since I first tried a web journal.. so why not give it a go!