If you’re a fan of instant gratification, that may be in conflict with your love of DIY projects. Most DIY projects require some elbow grease and more than a little time. But Crystal (of the blog Happily Ever Uncluttered) recently discovered that you can accomplish a kitchen upgrade in less than 3 hours when you use Aspect Peel & Stick Stone Tiles.
Here’s what she had to say: “We found the tile we wanted and application of the product took less than three hours. Three hours! Usually for DIY projects I always have my husband in my back pocket for the labor part of it all. But, I am excited to tell you that I did this project with no husband in sight. In fact, I didn’t even tell him I was going to do it. He left for work and before he got home that evening our kitchen looked different. How fun is that!!!”
The kitchen upgrade in less than 3 hours post is here, so be sure to read the whole thing. There’s tons of great information on organization and much more!
Despite my incessant urge to purge, I’m a big fan of A & E’s “Hoarders,” a “fascinating look inside the lives of two different people whose inability to part with their belongings is so out of control that they are on the verge of a personal crisis.”
Fascinating it is. Viewers are voyeurs into the lives of people who are dealing with some real psychological pain. More often than not, the downward spiral to a house full of trash is triggered by some traumatic event from which they’ve never recovered. After reaching out for help, (usually at the insistence of family, friends or Adult Protective Services), a team of professionals is brought in to clean and organize the home, and aftercare therapy is provided once they leave.
Watching an episode elicits a range of emotions from disgust to a feeling of superiority (that will never happen to me), and then finally compassion and sympathy for my fellow man or woman.
For me, the urge to purge has always been strong. For as long as I can remember I’ve been throwing or giving stuff away to the point where it’s become a running joke in my family. (True story: My mom once found a pile of pennies in the wastebasket in my room. When asked why on earth I’d toss perfectly good currency, my 8-year-old self explained that it was dirty and I didn’t need it.)
Get the Urge to Purge
I believe that if you haven’t used something in a year, you don’t need it. Containers, shelves and bins are your friends. Mail should be divided into piles to keep, recycle or file, and should occur immediately upon receipt. Go through your closets before each upcoming season and make a pile of stuff to take to Goodwill. And so on, and so forth.
This philosophy has gotten me into trouble with loved ones who’ve discovered I’ve pitched something that they really wanted to keep. Case in point: if you’re a parent, you’re familiar with the unending stream of kids’ art projects. But let’s be honest, not every creation is truly a work of art. One has to be ruthless in culling through the endless detritus or quickly be overwhelmed. After getting busted by my daughters a few times as I was throwing things away, I learned to save that task for when they’re not home. I do save truly exemplary work that’s representative of that particular time in their lives, but many scraps of paper go by the wayside, never to be missed.
Love “Hoarders” as much as I do? What kinds of things do you do to stay organized and keep all that stuff in check?
A closet can be a source of frustration as it becomes the catch-all for a busy family’s gear. Cynthia, a mother of four, was at her wit’s end with her inefficient, cramped entry closet and longed for a stylish and functional space that would accommodate everyone’s needs. She decided to use Fasade panels to accentuate her closet makeover.
The first thing she did was remove the closet doors to open up the space and make it appear larger. She then added dividers so each child had his or her own space to store their belongings. Off-season items were moved to storage, which gave her the space she needed to add the dividers and shoe bins.
Then Cynthia applied Fasade Waves panels in white* to accentuate the closet makeover, adding personality and style. Fasade wall panels measure 4’x8′ to cover 32 sq. feet total and there are many designs from which to choose ranging from modern to traditional. They are also available in a multitude of finishes in color groups including gold, silver, copper, bronze, white and earth tones. Paintable matte white panels allow the consumer to customize a wall to match or accentuate their decor scheme.
This quick and budget-friendly project was just the ticket for corralling all their belongings. “Each person knows where their things go, shoes all have a place and it just looks very organized,” she says. “I love that everything has a home and is not laying out on the floor. This is going to make the start of our days during the school year so much easier.”
Are you happy with your closets? What do you think of this closet makeover? Share your organizational tips and tricks in the comments!
*Fasade Waves pattern in white is available via special order. Call 1.844.407.2853 to speak with a customer service representative.
