The Basement Closet - Day One

Here's another two day project for ya!

We have a big closet in our basement that holds all of the hand-me-downs for my five boys.

It gets rummaged through often so it needed some love.

I found out how my boys often clean the family room too!

Here's one of the before pictures...

Here's some progress...

I'll show you the finished project tomorrow!

Finished Closet

The 10-year-old, with some help from his mom, finished his closet.

He had lots of clothes that were too small in his room.

We put them away for the next boy.

Before & After

Big Boy Bed

My nephew is having a baby soon so I offered him one of our cribs.

Today was the day...

I took the crib down and washed it and even got it delivered.

 Here is the 2-year-old boy's new bed!

It's actually the 15-year-old's old bed.

He's been sleeping on the same mattress for his whole life so he got a brand new one!

D.I.

Took a load of clothes and other things that I've been collecting to the D.I. (thrift store).

Mostly little girl clothes and stuffed animals.

I really need to do this more often.

Less stuff means less to clean, right?

Warms You Twice?

Part of our back yard redo was to cut down four dead and partly dead trees.

We stacked all of the wood that we could use under the tree house.

All of the big stuff was moved to the front yard.

My awesome brother-in-law offered to come over and split it for us.

After cutting about half of it, he decided that he'd rather bring us some of his already cut wood.

(Our trees are poplars which is a light wood and it stinks when it's green.)

We stacked it in the garage and we'll move it again when the yard is finished.

So I guess this particular wood will warm us three times!

Thanks, Uncle John!

Let's try that again.

A couple of weeks ago, I tried dying a pair of jeans,

but they turned out just like they were when I started.

Before...

After...

Today, I tried it again with navy blue dye

and it worked!

Before...

After...

They are not as purple as this photo makes them look,

but it does make me think that I should try it one more time.

The Other Side of the Closet

Here is the aftermath of the other side of the closet.

Today I bought supplies for a cleaning project and this shelf.

I cut about two feet off of the shelf and installed it.

The only thing I had to buy was the support on the left.

Of course, I recently threw away a few of these thinking that I wouldn't ever need them.

Luckily, it only cost me $2.99.

Book Closet

Remember this picture from yesterday?

I got this part of my unexpected something done today.

I took the empty bookshelf from one bedroom 

and put it into the closet with the failed shelves on the wall.

All of the books fit great.

Now for the rest of the closet...

(We need a new rod and shelves on the other side now.)

That's something for another day!

An Unexpected Something

Remember this closet?

Those books have been on those shelves for two-and-a-half years.

Today, the shelves decided that they'd had enough.

The 10-year-old was laying in his bed reading one of those books when it happened.

So, today's project was to start fixing this problem.

The worst part is that I just went to two home improvement stores 

to find two shelves like these for the top of two closets like this. 

Now I have two extra.

The best part is that I didn't get rid of the shelf on the right that I emptied a few weeks ago.
I guess I know where I'm putting that now;)!

Something I Don't Love

I really dislike this job.

That's why when I get around to it, it takes a long time.

I'd love to delegate this job to one of my boys,

but after seeing a shredded 2-year-old hand in a picture once,

I do it myself.

Apartment Redo

The same company that is redoing my back yard is doing siding on our apartments.

This is new soffit and facia on one of them.

We painted the eaves dark green 15 years ago.

Sorry, no before picture of the peeling, green paint.

The other building will be done soon.

The before and after on that one will be way more impressive!

Hillside

I supervised the planting of 7 trees and 15 bushes today for my project.

The yard is finally coming together.

This is a before picture from the wrong angle, but you get the idea.

We cut down four dead/dying trees and planted several more.

After (this is actually a during picture from behind the red trees above)...

I have been informed that my sprinkler line needs to be replaced, however.

Why does one project always create another one?

I asked our contractor if he could please plant a money tree for us while he is at it.
He told me that if I could tell him where one is, he'd go steal it for me.
I must get on that!

Landscaping

I've spent lots of time buying trees and bushes for the back yard.

We are getting them from three different places.

I can't wait until they are planted and growing!

Fun in the dirt!

Here is a pic of the beginnings of my new rock wall in the backyard.

I had no idea that it would take so much of my time to have other people redo my backyard

so I'm counting the progress as my project today!

New Jeans

I was blog hopping last week and saw a post about an old pair of jeans

made new again with a $2 box of navy blue dye.

I decided to give it a try.

I have two pairs of these jeans and one of them was getting pretty worn.

Not wanting to go too crazy, I bought a bottle of "denim blue" dye and went to work.

Here's the before picture...

And the after...

My "new" jeans look just like the old ones.

The moral of this story is that denim blue dye is to make white look kinda like denim

since all that really turned blue was the frayed edges of the pockets and pant legs.

Maybe I'll try it with the navy blue dye next time!

Happy Birthday!

It's been a long time since I got out the scrapbook supplies.

Instead of scrapbooking, I made something to hang up on birthdays.

I started this banner with a friend on Friday night...

and finished it today!
With all this sparkly paper,
I was a glitter covered mess,
but I love how it turned out!

Haywire Handrail

I reattached the handrail to the stairway wall today.

 The fun is starting in the backyard too.

We got all of the metal from the chain link fence hauled to the front yard

and the wood that is small enough for the fireplace stacked.

Doesn't this look like a 2-year-old boy's dream?

A backhoe in your own backyard!

Don's Tractor

Look what showed up at my house today!

I spent a lot of time today cleaning up the backyard and taking before pictures.

I'm pretty excited about our backyard makeover.

I'll keep you updated.

It's that time of year!

These bins and clothes have been sitting in the hallway for quite some time

waiting for the weather to get warmer so I can put the winter clothes away

and get these out.

I organized all of them and put the laundry basket back where it belongs.

Now I just have to do the same thing for five more children :-}.

A New Home

I decided to take a break from my white shelf that's still pink

so I made a new home for the newest members of our family.

The 10-and-7-year-old boys got guinea pigs for their birthdays last month.

We've been keeping them in a rubbermaid bin.

A new cage big enough for two piggies costs about $70!

I looked and looked at thrift stores and online classifieds with no luck.

I decided to make one with a bigger bin and some chicken wire.

It's like a wire box so the green bin can be removed for cleaning.

Total cost = $22!  Go Me!

And I have half of the chicken wire left for another project.

I don't know what that is yet, but I'll think of something!

A New White Shelf Cont...

Here is a during picture of my new white shelf...

I finally used my new paint gun yesterday, but the compressor is way to small to make it worth my time.

I was really bummed about that.

After four coats of Behr Paint and Primer In One, it's still pink!

Grrr!  

Still NOT IMPRESSED!

I did get the workspace cleaned up so my husband could park back in the garage.

A New White Bookshelf

Look at this cute bookshelf that I got at the D.I. for $10.

It needs some love, but I really like it.

I bought some Behr Paint and Primer In One and started painting today.

Here's my product review...

NOT IMPRESSED!

God Bless the U.S.A.

I'm proud to be an American

and am thankful for those who fight for 

my freedom!

I had to add a couple of songs to the top of my playlist today!