Organizing Pinterest

Stuck in bed with a bad cold today so I decided to do a little organizing.  Took the better part of day to go through my Pinterest boards and tidy them up.  Remove the duplicates, delete things I'm no longer interested in and move pins to a more logical board. Not much but I still got something accomplished between sniffles.

xo Julie

Frugal Friday #3 - Reduce

Reduce and no, I don't mean my waistline but that needs it too!  I have been inspired by a home renovation show called All for Nothing.  It is a competition show but what caught my attention was attempting to do renovations (or in my case, redecoration) for nothing. They use many fundraising ideas but the simplest is to sell things around the house that you are no longer using.

 I just ordered a new couch - good price, classic shape and made in Toronto (yay for buying local).  Unfortunately I don't have the money to pay for it when the credit card bill comes.  So my frugal tip for today is out with the old before the new comes in.

I went around the house this week and amassed a collection of things to sell.  About half the house has been searched and I am now starting to photograph and list items on Kijiji. It should take about a week.   As well, I have a Facebook page that I set up ages ago and never did anything with so I'll try that too.  In October, I'll be following up with an indoor yard sale.  Hopefully this will be enough to cover the cost of my couch.

If you see something you can't live without, contact me and I'll check out the cost of shipping but I expect 99% of my sales will be local.

Julie

The Closet is Complete!

To keep you updated on the progress in my bedroom...all the walls and trim are painted except for the door.  I decided to wait and do that after I bring all the stuff back in.  There's a little touch up but I'm pretty happy with the results so far.

My closet floor is pretty rough.  I had already laid carpet when I decided to have the wall pushed out a foot so I could build a closet.  This basement bedroom was originally a TV room so I needed to make some adjustments.

You can see a portion of cement floor which actually hasn't bothered me but after painting the room, I felt I should do something.  I bought $6.25 of peel and stick tile from the buck store and covered the cement.  Lucy thinks it looks better.  She likes to assist any project.

Here's some pictures of the finished closet...

And now you need to use some imagination.   Pretend these drapes are pressed and hemmed to the correct length.

Julie

A Little Organizing on a Simple Sunday

I am joining Elaine for Sunny Simple Sunday.  Today I did a little desultory housework.  The basement really needs cleaned but unfortunately the lights are out in half of it.  I'll have to do what I can by lamplight and extension cords and call an electrician this week.  One more bill.

I found this lovely organizer at Homesense and decided it would be the perfect thing for my bedside table.  The drawer is always a mess even though I did buy some small plastic bins at the dollar store.

My Mess

So I hauled everything out and threw some of it away.  Good time to clear out the hoard.

And I started fresh.  Isn't this lovely?  I love things with a bee motif.

And voila - organized and neat...at least for now.

Julie

Books & Magazines (these are a few of my favourite things...)

I'm joining Claudia for A Favourite Thing at Mockingbird Hill Cottage tonight.  My most cherished possessions are my books and magazines and while I have them all over the house, most of them are in my bookcases in my sewing room/office.

My books are chock a block...

My collection of Agatha Christie's.  I think I have them all.

My collection of shells from holidays on the top shelf....

My baby picture and shoes.  So tiny....

My in-basket - bills, bills, bills.  A few of my magazines - Martha Stewart Living, House & Home, Style at Home, Victoria, Country Living, Bon Appetit, etc.  I keep a lot of my magazines but I'm running out of room.

Part of my cookbook collection...the rest are in the sunroom.

Agatha Christie, cat books, Diana's life story, financial management books and The Secret.

One of my favourite teacups....parlez vous francais?

The hand print of my little Mouse taken just before she left this world...

Some of my favourite books by Nora Roberts, and Cathy Kelly.

The blue bird of happiness in my little sanctuary or maybe just a Blue Jay in honour of my favourite baseball team! (I have a book about them too ;)

Julie