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!

When it comes to home décor, I've learned to get more for my money. If you're currently renting, chances are you're doing the same – shopping for Pottery Barn looks at bargain basement prices. Shop even smarter: Time your purchases to take advantage of clearance sales on seasonal product lines!

August is a great time to shop for outdoor supplies, especially furniture and décor for your patio or balcony. So start keeping an eye out for those hot late-summer deals! Need inspiration? Check out my slideshow of thrifty buys for balcony beautification. It's all about getting great looks at an affordable price.

Oh, and for sensible tips on making the most of your outdoor spaces, take a look at Oh My Apartment's balcony decorating ideas and also HGTV's guide to decorating a balcony.

If "get organized" topped your list of New Year's resolutions, you're not alone; if you still haven't crossed it off, you're also not alone. Spring is the time for new beginnings, and with some helpful advice, you'll be able to take that tired resolution off your list and get organized once and for all.

Check out these 5 organizing tips from the pros. In each tip, they encourage us to get creative. Don't be bound by what you believe you can do with your space. Come to it with fresh eyes: see where you can make it more usable, and how you can fit in the things you need without being overrun by them.

One tip that I found particularly useful is to get rid of all those circular storage baskets kicking around the house. They might look great, but they are not designed for efficient storage. Replace them with square or rectangular baskets. These will hold more things, fit better into corners, and leave less unused space around them.

The end of the article leaves us with this important thought: "The less "stuff" you have out in your home, the bigger and calmer it will look." I'd add: the less stuff you have, and the bigger and calmer it looks, the more relaxed you will feel.

Francesca brought us a wonderful hack on how to build your own MacBook stand. You certainly can't beat free! While I like the idea of using just paper and binder clips, I would like to use something a little more sophisticated to keep my laptop on, if I had one that is.

Instructables has a wonderful hack on how to make a PVC laptop stand. You make the stand by cutting 16 pieces of PVC to length, assemble the shelves, route the cable, and the end result will be a laptop saved from overheating. You'll also save your neck, your eyesight, and precious desktop space.

Of course, I would want to paint the pipe so that it is prettier, but that is just me. I love the hack, and I agree with one of the readers: I would definitely put something under the pipe so that it won't scratch up your desk.

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!

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.