more or less back to normal

More or less. The kitchen is working great, but could use some shelves.

I'm getting to them.

The office is coming along. The floor is looking great, I put the shelves back up and have put in a ton of my necessary stuff. I also packed away things I don't need on hand all the time.

I can't wait to get rid of the old computer, but till I get all the programs I need on the laptop I have to live with 2 computers on my desk.

I've been going through a phase, trying to minimise things in the house and in my life. I've moved most of my craft stuff to the shed in plastic storage boxes. When I work on a project I just go and get the specific box I need. If I keep putting boxes back when I'm finished with them I can stop the office from becoming a dumping ground.

I need to clean and organise the pantry. Another huge job. Not to mention that I need to do the floor in there as well.

Later.

The filing cabinets are outside on the footpath.

I moved them there today so I could spray paint them both. Wayne's is cream and mine is purple. I wanted them to match since they always go in my office.

So now I'm waiting for them to come back inside so I can finish putting things away. Not that they'll come in on their own... no such luck. But I think I'll rope Wayne into bringing them in for me. Getting them out was hard enough.

The living room is back to an almost normal configuration - some office and kitchen stuff still lingers, waiting for its forever home and racks dry clothes in front of the heater. All I seem to do is move things from one room to another in a vicious circle as I move my attention from one part of the house to another.

Will we ever live in a house where everything is in its place or am I doomed to repeat this pattern forever?

Don't answer that.

z

repurposed playpen pot holder

You never expected that the kitchen makeover would be done, finito, finished, so easily - right?

No!

Last weekend I put up my new pot holder. Its not really a pot rack since it sits against the wall.

In fact its not even a pot rack... more like a frying pan and wok rack...

Basically, the layout and size of the kitchen doesn't really allow for a pot rack hanging from the ceiling. It would feel like a cave in there, Wayne would always bang his head against the pots... a total disaster.

So I considered the playpen side I picked up from a tip shop once and I've kept it in my shed (that magical place of mystery and treasures), gathering dust like everything else, forever.

I've left it original. That means I didn't do anything to it. All I did was give it a clean and a light sand (mostly to get off some unidentifiable muck). Its got hinges on either end which I used to attach it to the wall, and a hinge in the middle so it could fold in half back in its playpen sides. Its pretty cool.

I think it works pretty well as a frying pan and wok rack actually. Though not big enough... How many frying pans can one home have? Six apparently. That's how many we have. Or, technically, five frying pans and one wok.

z

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a pallet wood box

You know what its like - you come into the house with an armload of stuff: some shopping, a bag over your shoulder, your keys, phone and sunglasses, maybe an armload of firewood... you just dump it all as soon as you can, on the most convenient surface usually.

Well, I'm over using the end of our kitchen bench as a hold all for everything we bring into the house or dig out of our pockets.

And I'm even more over Wayne running around the house at the last minute every time we're on our way out going "Where's my phone? Have you seen my keys? What was I wearing yesterday? I can't find my wallet!"

I'm hopeful this little addition to our kitchen will help.

When I made the cabinet/bench I had some pallet wood left over. I used it to make this box. It was much easier than the bread box I'm making (more on that later...)

I had this fancy scrolley thingy I bought off ebay to tizzy up the wardrobe in the bedroom (one day). Given it was still lying around in a drawer when I moved the kitchen dresser from the office to the kitchen (yup) I figured I may as well use it before it got all bent from being stuck in a box and put somewhere safe where I'd never find it again.

In other words, I had this thing so I put it on the box to make it look fancy.

Why couldn't I have just said that first time? 

I painted it in the same blue/green I used on the doors and frame, and, of course, covered it in my favourite 'grime' - burnt umber. That way it matches the chalkboard straight away and I don't have to wait for someone's grimey fingers to make it look old.

I put it on the wall between the doors so that its one of the first things you bump into as you come into the house. The wall in that spot is just plasterboard and as such wouldn't be strong enough, so I put a bit of timber on the wall in order to attach the box securely to the wall. I used some old rusted up hooks and eyes for hanging the box.

I just want to dab a bit of white on the screws to hide them a bit and it'll be finished.

So far its working fine. Its already being used. I'd call that a success.

z

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office makeover

In case you're wondering where I've disappeared to for the last week or so, few posts... I've been on my knees working on the office makeover.

I've often mentioned how much I hate the salmon carpet throughout our house. And how much I specifically hated the office carpet cause the dogs (NOT my dogs! Mine are toilet trained.) used it as an indoor toilet.

A bit of background for those of you who don't know our story: when Wayne and I got together he brought 2 dogs into the relationship: Mischa, a purebred staffie, and Barney, her illegitimate spoodle cross son. Neither of them had ever been indoor dogs. They were escape artists and were penned when Wayne was at work and at night, and rarely allowed into the house. When we moved in here we kept them in the dog run when we were at work and they slept in the garage at night. I soon moved them into the entry way and allowed them in the rest of the house when we were here. When Mischa died I felt sorry for Barney so he's been a couch dog since. While in the house and out of our sight, they would often use the office carpet as their private restroom.

As a result the carpet in there was disgusting. I'd started removing it before we started the kitchen makeover and when there was another 'accident' in there (cause I forgot to close the door) I'd just cut out and throw away the piece of carpet. Why bother trying to clean it up?

So, over the week I had off and Wayne was away, I started the office makeover. First step was to remove the old carpet and underlay (which I re-use as a weed barrier).

.

Then I sanded the floor the same way I did the kitchen. First I went over it with the belt sander, then with the orbital sander and finer grit.

The floorboards now run from the kitchen, through the small hallway to the office.

After sanding both the office and hallway, I gave the office floor 3 coats of polyurethane. The hallway will have to wait. I ran out of time.

Next I I removed the shelving from the wall. I should really had done that sooner (like before sanding!) but the living room was already squeeze through room only. Once the floor was polished I took eveyrthing off the shelves, piled it into the middle of the room on a dropsheet. I now have to clean it all!

I painted the office walls the same colour as the kitchen, 3/4 strength Dulux China White. It looks so much brighter in there now. I had grown to dislike the blue which I thought was grey when I picked it. I also did the skirting boards, window and door frames in Dulux Antique White USA.

 

I still have to work out the window covering situation... I was considering painting the old blind but it doesn't fit on the inside of the window frame, and its a bit worse for wear. I'll work out what I want there eventually.

I have put a few things in the office, but can't finish things till I work out the shelves. I've painted them and have to decide how to configure them. Now that I'm making films I'm thinking of putting my small flat screen in there as a second monitor. That means working out how to best place the shelves and screw them into the brackets before I can start replacing things to clear the floor.

I've put Wayne's antique map on a different wall and placed my desk under the shelves. The plan is to minimise the crap stuff I put in the office. And try to work on ONE project at a time (says the woman who can't see the coffee table or living room floor cause of office stuff and fabric to make costumes for a film!). 

The plan is to put an armchair in this corner and only have the sewing machine on a small table with wheels, the computer on the desk, and only the things I use most often in the office. And a rug.

And not jam pack the office with a million things to 'get to when I can'.

Yeah, yeah, famous last words. However, I must point out that the kitchen is still neat and tidy and hasn't begun to accumulate junk on surfaces. I love it so much I even wipe and put away anything I have to wash by hand immediately!

Here is a preview of another project I'll post about when I get a chance... they key box!

And, as a bonus, you get to see part of the pile in the middle of the floor.

I hope to be able to get more done on the office this weekend but back to work means doing things in dribs and drabs. I'll keep you updated.

z