DIY Life

I did a bit of house shopping this week and found a lovely bungalow style home, but it was soooo tiny. I suppose if I was an optimist, I'd call it "cozy", but the truth is (and there's no hiding behind the truth, is there?) -- it was just small. Luckily, the low ceilings and minimal square footage won't deter me... especially after I watched this video from AOL's interior design expert Kelly Edwards.


Want more great ideas for maximizing small square footage or making the most out of small homes, spaces and nook? Here's the best tip of all: Get creative. You can often work with what you've got by thinking out of the [very small] box.

Try transforming a closet into an office, a pantry into a playroom... or even a garage into a man-friendly den/cave. It's all in the space planning, and don't be afraid to do something out of the ordinary. Your reward will be more space to work with, and storage solutions you'll actually use!

Get to work!

Not everyone has a dedicated mudroom for storing their coats, shoes, backpacks and other paraphernalia. However, even the smallest coat closet can be made into an effective and organized space. Many people like to keep the coat closet relatively empty for guests. Unless you're entertaining daily, reclaim your coat closet and instead get a coat tree for your front hall for hanging guests coats.

Reclaim your coat closet in these three easy steps:

When my wife and I bought our town-home, we immediately decided that we didn't like the old-school sliding closet doors that were hung in the 57" wide opening for our kids' closet. They were a pair of hollow core slab doors 30" wide and 1 3/8" thick. They only allowed 27" of the closet to be exposed at any one time, and, as a result, it was difficult to get to the middle of the closet.

I removed the doors almost immediately, and then my wife got a couple of drapery panels from Pottery Barn. I used a metal closet rod as a hanger: as a result, we could then have full access to the whole closet. This worked well for a few years, until my wife recently decided that she was done with that look and wanted to put doors back up.

After the obligatory groaning and mumbling about changing the "door" to the kids' closet again, we went shopping for new doors. After the break, I'll share a few of the options out there for solutions to this issue, along with a few tips I gleaned from the installation process for the doors we ultimately chose.

Back in September, Francesca Clarke gave us 8 uses for wire clothes hangers.

When I read her excellent post, I decided to find ways to reuse all of my wire hangers. I bought wood and plastic hangers to replace all the wire hangers I had in the house.I like using the wood hangers, and plastic hangers come in many colors, so it is easy to not get bored with them. However, I prefer the look of fabric coat hanger covers.

Notebook Magazine has the perfect project, including a pdf template to download for making your own pretty hanger covers. A commenter suggests putting a button on each end to keep any straps from sliding off the hanger.

Covering plain hangers with vibrant colors is the perfect way to get rid of small fabric scraps and any extra ribbon you may have lying around, not to mention buttons that have no mates. Fabric covered hangers would also make perfect gifts.

[via: Craft]

Pam Garrison is a relatively well-known artist and craft blogger: you may have seen her work in the Somerset family of magazines, or over at her blog.

Recently, Pam wrote about a decorating project she'd done in her own home: she made over the closet in her art room by papering its interior and adding shelves.

There's nothing so unusual in that, but the paper is entirely vintage (and vintage-style) wallpaper scraps, put up in a patchwork style. The effect is a cheerful and pretty collage. She credits the inspiration for the project to Alicia Paulson of the popular blog Posie Gets Cozy, who has done a closet door in a similar style.

Read more about how Pam did it, along with some further suggestions of my own, after the break.

What? You mean I'm not just supposed to shove my winter clothes in the back of the closet, semi-folded, and hope I can find them again when the weather starts getting nippy?

Nope. Apparently there is a right way to store your winter clothes, and I will grudgingly admit that it makes sense (although my way does work!).

For example, you really should make sure everything is washed well and all stains are removed, so that you don't wind up with permanent stains six months later.

Also, beware the plastic storage container: if you have bug larvae in there, your clothes will be a feast for the summer. Your fashionable sweaters may have more holes than is stylin'.

Tips on using (or not using) mothballs, hanging (or not hanging) clothes for storing and finding the best places to store are included in this helpful article.

I suppose I am off to do some laundry and try to store my winter clothes properly this year....

There are some adorable new holiday crochet patterns at the Lion Brand Yarn site: an amigurumi Penguin, Reindeer, Santa, Snowman, Gingerbread House, and Gingerbread Man. The latter two make good ornaments, and there's also a Candy Cane Coat Hanger for kids to make. The only problem isn't really a problem: you have to be registered at the Lion Brand site before you can actually see the free patterns themselves (but click the first link in this article to see a list with photos).

Several of these amigurumi are made in their new Vanna's Choice acrylic yarn. I have to confess that I'm less-than-interested in using that yarn; I don't like to work with 100% acrylic. Because amigurumi should be crocheted tightly, the elasticity that wool adds to a yarn can be really helpful, and it's kinder to your poor hands and wrists. Vanna's Choice is worsted weight, so you'll have no problem using Wool-Ease or something nicer.

If you want to use Wool-Ease, try Mushroom for the body of the reindeer -- it's a lighter color than Vanna's Choice Taupe, but not too pale -- Cocoa for the feet, Cranberry for the collar, and Gold for the bell. The corresponding colors would also work for the penguin. He's mostly black and white but has some gold and red elements; you'll need to choose a green that you like, too.

These crocheted toys should only take an evening or two to make. They might be the sweetest hand-made stocking stuffers I've seen this year.

Most of us used sleeping bags throughout the summer for various camping trips and overnight adventures. Unless you're going survivor style in the snow, you've packed away your camping gear and brought out your down blankets and warm coats. How you packed away that sleeping bag will make a big difference as to how well it serves you next season.

These instructions for proper sleeping bag maintenance and storage are particularly useful. If you read through and find that you didn't clean your bag thoroughly or don't have it packed away in the best manner then you'll want to dig it out of the closet right away. Take care of those things and pack it away confident that it will be ready when you need it. Here's how your clean and dry bag should be stored:

All of us at one time or another have had too much clutter. Our closets and our cabinets can become virtually overrun with clothing, bedding, or food that we just throw in because we don't have time to properly put it in its spot, or we are just to lazy to do so.

If you're running out of room to store all your clothing or food, and are having a difficult time cramming any more items into your closets and your cabinets, then check out this article I found on Gomestic.com. Ruby Hawk tells us 10 ways to organize those messy closets and cabinets.

From over the door pantry racks, multi-tiered can dispensers, hooks and utility racks to under the bed storage boxes on wheels, the article has it all. If your closets and cabinets are so cluttered that you dread the idea of even tackling them, maybe it's time to donate to charity or your local food bank. Gather up some boxes and start tossing in what you can live without. You'll be amazed at how much space you end up with!

Thanks to Debra and Anna you've probably already managed to organize your bedroom closed and overhaul your linen closet. Now it's time to tackle that dreaded pantry.

My pantry was haunting me, overflowing with cracker boxes and craft supplies, just begging for a makeover. Last night I took on this project and I'll share the process with you here.

What you'll need

1. Baskets (various sizes, that fit in your pantry)
2. Tupperware containers
3. Cleaning supplies
4. Garbage bag
5. Flat surface for sorting

After the break, I'll take you through my pantry transformation.

I see you standing in front of your linen closet in your home, wondering how it became overcrowded and ready to burst at the seams. Oh gee, I think I am talking about myself! Well,now that Autumn is here, it's time to take back your closet space. With the kids in school, you really have no more excuses, do ya?

IcyCucky on Gomestic has written some excellent tips on organizing your closet space. She suggests taking everything out, deciding what you really need to keep, and donating whatever you haven't used in the last six months. All seasonal items, such as comforters, flannel sheets, extra pillows, and blankets should be kept on the top shelves. I suggest keeping the original packaging they came in, so that you can easily store them dust free. Use eye level shelves to store items you use everyday, such as toothpaste, hairspray, and personal hygiene products. On the lower shelves, keep all the bedding you currently use, and stack them in piles according to the needs of each family member. Bottom shelves should get all the cleaning products.

Of course, this is not how my linen closet looks right now. I will surely do as IcyCucky suggests though, because when I have a killer migraine, I really don't need to be blindly searching for my Tylenol, and when that certain time of the month comes very unexpectedly, I don't need to be tearing the closet apart looking for something I need right now, or screaming at my husband to run to the store for me. I should have these things organized and at my fingertips. This will be on my to do list for Friday when my littlest one goes to daycare. What about you?

We are constantly looking for more storage. Trying to hack together anything we can to hide the overflow of shoes at the door, old winter jackets busting out of the hall closet, or extra bedding that doesn't fit in the linen closet. We are not alone in needing more storage. I never would have considered using the steps of my stairs as drawers, but it's a great idea. All that unused space so brilliantly discovered.

Based on Kaiden-Tansu, an old Japanese step chest used for storage and to hide from tax collectors, Unicraft joinery, an Australian based company brought us these stair drawers. Each stair transforms into a drawer, hugely increasing your storage space.

If you're building a staircase, consider adding in drawers for extra storage. I love projects that find another use for what would otherwise be wasted. In this case, it's space, and we could all use more space. Now your problem won't be where to cram all your shoes, but where to buy all the new shoes you'll need to fill the drawers.

As I write this, the flush of shame is slowly creeping up my neck and reddening my face with embarrassment. I cannot believe I am confessing to my disastrous closet online, but nevertheless, here I go.

My sweaters are piled far too high on the top shelf above the hanger bar, toppling over on a constant basis. Only sometimes do I bother to pick them up and refold them.

The ancient and cheaply made shoe racks in the bottom of my closet have loose supporting bars, therefore, they don't actually hold the shoes. I don't even try to put them back on the racks.

I actually do a good job of hanging my clothes up. The problem would be that my toddler loves to play in the closet and aside from making a huge mess of the shoes and sweaters on the floor, he knocks some clothes off the hangers too, to add to the horrifying mix.

Does this sound like your closet?