Puppy "Pantry"

I don't know about you, but our sweet pup Dixee is the love of our (read Hubby here) lives.

With all of our children grown and out on their own, having our lemon beagle adds so much joy to every day living.  She's very spoiled and thinks her "daddy" hung the proverbial moon.

Last week as I was cleaning out our pantry, I decided to also give her pantry a refresh and new organization.

Her pantry is an IKEA wall cabinet (above the frig sized), hung a bit higher than traditional countertop height; over her feeding area.  It's in our laundry room right across from the human pantry.  I hung this cabinet with extra storage in mind.  Because there is not adequate space to place a base cabinet, and the heating would have to be moved, we opted to hang wall cabinetry instead.

TIP:  Think about where you could utilize a wall cabinet in lieu of a base cabinet.  They are shallower and can be mounted like I've shown here.  The top of wall cabinets tend to have a shallow space, or in this case, they have a flat top.  I used a piece of cut glass as a topper with some decorative wallpaper underneath.

I pulled all of the stuff out and placed it on the washer and dryer to assess what we had.

There were expired medication bottles and heart medicine.  Old treats that she didn't like.  Uneaten food that she didn't like.  Smaller collars that didn't fit from puppyhood.

Time to purge.

Everything was removed and the cabinet got a good wipe down with our Young Living Thieves cleaner.

I buy the concentrate in bottle form and mix it with water to make my all-purpose cleaner.  This bottle has so many cleaning options in it.  We use Thieves cleaner for EVERYTHING in our home.  It's people AND pet safe, so I don't have to worry about her ingesting it.

Next, I measured the interior width and depth of the cabinet so I could cut my lining.

I am happy to say this refresh didn't cost me any money as I had all the needed supplies.  The liner was leftover as was all the storage bins and baskets.

Once the liner was in place, it was ready to be restaged for maximum use.

I put her dog food in the hard acrylic bins that were already in her pantry.  I used the same shelf riser to maximize the verticle space.

I foraged in my organization stash our basement and found this small set of three drawers.  I cleaned it up with the Thieves cleaner and organized specific items in each drawer.

Using my label maker, I marked drawers for her Teeth, Grooming, and Meds.

Before, these items were just willy-nilly in the cabinet and tended to get lost and forgotten about.

I wanted a way to store her little bandanas, collars, and extra "poo" bags and remembered that I had a large container left from the lemonade I emptied into a plastic container.

I cleaned it out and covered it with leftover contact paper (Dollar Tree) and put the labels on the outside.

They fit nicely into the container and the height gave me more room in the cabinet as opposed to something that would be wider and flatter.

It fit in perfectly and the puppy pantry was complete!

We keep her Vera treats (aka "Cookies") in the large black canister on top of the pantry and the bags of treats are stored here for future fill-ups.

Her Jif Natural Peanut Butter also fit in there - it's a daily treat that leaves her salivating while we scoop out a spoonful...

Of course, Dixee was thrilled with her pantry re-fresh.

Can't you tell?  She can barely hold the excitement in!

She's a bit of a rule-breaker as well.

Pantry Pick-Me-Up

My pantry needed reorganization.

Now, I know that many of you will not agree with me, because it did APPEAR to be well organzied.

However, from my persepective and need for function and "pretty," this pantry was missing the mark.

The floor area was slowly filling up.  Random boxes and bags of food were shoved into open areas.  Multiple bottles of the same stuff were open and at varing levels of empty.  Things were dusty and hiding dirt and crumbs behind them.

It was driving me crazy.

So I dove it and removed everything!

About 10 years ago, I had a mouse problem that almost sent me to the psychiatric floor of our local hospital.  I caught the culprit and then cleaned out the pantry thoroughly - because mouse droppings and urine can infect food, especially on cans and bags.

Less than a week later...more mouse evidence.  Repeat thorough cleaning after said mouse was erradicated.

2 DAYS LATER...yep, you guessed it...another mouse.

I was literally in tears from having to spend hours and hours cleaning and recleaning this pantry!

Seems there was a family and as each "scout mouse" was eliminated, another was sent out in it's place.

I was so tired of cleaning out this pantry that I fully DEMOLISHED that mouse family, AND THE ENTIRE PANTRY WITH IT!

It was my attempt at reclaiming my sanity.

I pulled off the old 1963 sagging wooden brackets and warped shelves (finding hundreds of mouse droppings behind the brackets and shelves - yes, I gagged the entire time), wiped down the walls, and then wall-papered them in a heavy duty vinyl wallpaper.

It makes the pantry totally wipable, PLUS, cans and containers do not leave marks on the walls now.

The wallpaper was from Lowes.  I believe they carry this type of paper still; near the curtain department.

I also installed a bracket and rail system for coated wire shelving which allows me to adjust shelving space as needed.  The only drawback are those wire shelving spaces.

The Dollar Tree to the rescue. (Did you have any doubt?)

If you have wire shelving and you don't like how things wobble or fall through, create shelf toppers with foam board and contact paper from your local Dollar Tree.  

Cut and cover to size per shelf and you've got wipable shelving at a low, low cost as compared to replacing with wooden or melamine shelves.

Once everything was wiped down and readied for the return of stuff, I did a bit of "triage" on the initial contents.

I started with the plastic containers.

We don't use plastic for leftovers in our house.  Instead, we use glass because it's "green" and easy to reheat right in the containers (minus the plastic lids).

I do however use plastic for the RV when we camp as well as sending food to our parents or with friends.  I keep a basket of them in our pantry for these situations.  However, I too end up with non-matching pairs and need to periodically clean it out.

BEFORE

AFTER

The Dollar Tree carries these small black frames that are perfect as labels for baskets.  I use my P-Touch label maker and some string to tie them to the baskets.  It's easy to change as needed.

Use the sting by tucking it behind the cardboard piece in the back.  You could also use hot glue.

Next, I wiped down each food item and checked the dates.  I was pretty surprised at how many items I had that were out of date.

Also, by going over each item I got a better idea of what I have in the way of food stuff and can plan upcoming meals around that, especially stuff that is close to it's expiration date.

I picked up some more containers (Amazon and The Dollar Tree) for a few of those items that were still in bags.

After my episodes with the mice, I realized that you can discourage them by not having "chewable" containers/packaging in your food areas.  Using solid containers allows you to have a pretty pantry AND keep critters at bay.  Once they realize that they cannot find food available, mice will move on looking for the next food source.

Containers CAN get pretty expensve IF you are not picking them up at The Dollar Tree.

Amazon periodically has them for sale on their daily specials, but I've also picked up many from Marshals and Home Goods.  I like The Container Store, but I think they are pricey, especially when you have access to lower priced, good quality containers.

Not all my containers match, but the overall asthetic works, so I'm happy.

I use my label maker to label the outside and then I cut off the directions for cooking and place it in the container.

Here are my grits in their new home.  When I add more, I will make sure to check the directions to see if they match the current ones.  IF NOT, I will place these grits in a baggie with their directions and place the new grits and directions in the container.  I will then place the baggie inside as well and use them up first.

At last is was time to put things back.

Up high I place items that I don't need as often.  I use these fabric bins to store things like lunchboxes, aluminum pans, and my immersion blender.

Items like my crock pots go near or on the bottom.  

Yes, I have 5 crock pots.  They are all different sizes, and YES, I use them all.

Between our RV life and easy meal prep, I find a crock-pot is a life saver.

Our glass storage is put at arm height for easy reach.  I bought this as a set, and see them quite often in my BJs.

Oils go on the door.  I peridodically replace the paper towling beneath it to keep oil residue at bay.

Finally, I started placing "like" things back in where I felt made the most sense.  It was a different placement than before, so I had to give hubby a "tour."  (I knew there would be confusion if I didn't.)

Four hours later...

What's the best part?

ALL THAT EMPTY SPACE!

I mean seriously...  It's like the best to see it there.  It feels so un-cramped!

Before - not so organized.

After - ahhhhhhh!

I did re-home some of our entertainment items.  If they were only used a few times a year, they went into the basement with their "friends."

The trick will be to keep this organization for a longer period of time then when I re-organized before.

I seriously have a rule-breaker in my house...

(not me obviously)

Baby...It's Freezing Outside!

I thought it appropriate to post my latest Pinterest Hack because...

IT'S ABSOLUTELY FREEZING OUTSIDE!

Like 19 degrees freezing outside.

Plus, it's time to work on the final touches for my winter front porch idea.

Enter brooklynlimestone.com; a wonderful blog about decor and rehab in the big city.

Here's what I spied on Pinterest:

Obviously, with Mrs. Limestone's talent, she created this adorbs stoop signage.

I decided that I would create something VERY similar for my winter steps as well.

I always start a project like this by copying photos from Pinterest into a montage of that I want to copy or use as inspiration.

Besides the sign, you can see a series of wooden snowflakes that I will be posting about soon!

I purchased a pine craft board from Lowes and painted it black with some leftover paint that we already had on hand.  I painted both sides as this will be out in the elements and I wanted the wood to be sealed with the paint and eventually the polyurethane.

TIP:  Lowes and Home Depot have an aisle where you can purchase "craft boards" that are already pre-cut to differing lengths and widths.  The wood choices range from hard oak to soft pine and can be stained or painted.  I use these craft boards quite often because I have less cutting to perform and I like how they are not as "raw" as the typical wood you find deep in the lumber area of Lowes.

Once the black paint was fully dried, I used white chalk (I know, it's small...) to begin mapping out the letters and placement of the words.

The black paint is not chalkboard paint, but the chalk will easily wipe off with a dry cloth.  I do not recommend using paper towels as they will leave a bit of fuzz on any raised surfaces of the painted board and you then have to hand-pick them off piece by piece.  (Ask me how I know.)

Using the inspiration picture as a guide, I started at the top.  My "Baby" is slightly different than hers, but it's close enough.  I liked the cursive part of this sign, so I wanted to emulate it as much as possible.

Once I got the top words on, I started on the large "COLD" word and quickly realized that I needed to first script on the "outside" so that I had a visual idea of where to place the C, the O, the L, and the D.

So, I wiped off the C with a rag and moved to the bottom of the board.

I made sure to give myself some room on the edges for the outline that goes all the way around the board.

At this point, I chalked on the COLD.

I was happy with the "rough" draft, so I grabbed some paintbrushes and Waverly chalk paint in white.

You can use any white paint you have on hand, I just happened to have this.

I have a collection of inexpensive artist brushes and ended up using the flat angled brush and a pointed tip brush.

I followed the lines I had chalked, using the original picture as a constant reference.  I had to re-dip the brush in the paint often to keep a smooth like appearance.  I did not go for solid white, but more of a "snow-like" appearance - where the board showed slightly behind the paint.

Here's the tip of the brush I used for the fine lining.

I also found it helpful to work from different angles.  I painted this on my Kobalt craft island, so I was able to move around the piece easily.

I painted the top and bottom and let it dry.  I knew that the COLD letters would be more of a challenge, and I didn't want to flop my arms or hands in the wet paint of the cursive letters.

I decided that I was not as ambitious with my letters as Mrs. Limestone was.  Her's were very Old English scripty and mine are more typewriter chic; which is a much cooler way of saying that I was not going to paint all those tiny lines and features she had on hers.

Once it was all dried, I used a rag to wipe off any remaining chalk and then free-handed the outline around the board.

This was my finished version...

Of course, Dixee dog had to check it out, but I'm hopeful she approved.  I at least didn't get her usual "side eye."

Of course, it's absolutely too cold to work on the front porch today, plus I need to finish my snowflakes and snowballs.

In fact, it's too cold to break any significant rules today, but I can make plans to break some tomorrow!

$2 Tiered Silver Stand

While in the midst of cleaning the basement, I happened upon a few silver pieces that had been a part of many pieces that belonged to my in-laws.  During their social days, entertaining with silver, good china, and crystal was a part of the societal landscape, and you pulled it out for company and special occasions.

Nowadays, having a bevy of these types of pieces is basically obsolete (unless you're in love with this stuff and then you probably have amassed tons of it anyway).

One of the pieces I found was this silver serving dish with top and I knew exactly how I wanted to give it new life.

What was especially great about this piece was that the top pull easily twisted off.

I went to the Dollar Tree in search of 2 candlesticks.  Cost = $2.00!

I picked these particular votive holders because they were a bit more contemporary than the cut glass traditional ones AND they were two different heights.  I knew this would work well with the final design I had in mind.

I gathered some additional supplies.  

E6000, the mother of all permanent adhesives, a silver polishing cloth ( I wanted to leave much of the blackened patina as I could for a more rustic look), and my jar of Museum Wax.

If you are not familiar with Museum Wax it's a great gooey $6.00 substance that will keep things from tipping over - hence the reason museums use it so that valuable items do not tip inside their cases.  It never goes bad.  I've had this for 5 years now!

It's a removable product that also allows you to temporarily adhere or place things.  Try it wherever you need something to stand straight (think candles) or not be pushed off surfaces (decor items for you cat lovers who think any item is fair game for swatting) or even if you place things in a movable vehicle like an RV.

I first used my silver polishing cloth around the edges to shine up the bits that were sticking up.  I left the blackened patina alone in the decorative crevices.

Next, I measured front to back and side to side.

This gave me an idea about where the middle of the bottom piece would be for placement of the tallest candlestick.

I eyeballed the placement from there and dry placed the candlestick inside.

Using a small amount, I squeezed out a thin ring of E6000 on the very edge of the candlestick.  

TIP:  The candlestick base is concaved upwards.  Placing the adhesive all over the underside would have been wasteful AND it would have shown through the glass as a "smooshy" mess.  This small amount is enough to adhere the candlestick permanently to the silver without making it look like a kindergarten project.

Once I placed it in the "middle" I had a bit of time to move it back and forth so it was almost dead center.

I measured the distance from the opposite sides and crept it either way just a bit until I was satisfied with it.

It didn't have to be absolutely PERFECT, but it did need to be as close as I could get it because the lid was going to be placed on top of that and the balance would become an issue IF it was too terribly off.

I let it dry for about 6 hours.

I moved on with placing the handle on top of the smaller candlestick in much the same way as I just placed the taller one.

A thin bead around the perimeter and it fit EXACTLY over the votive bowl.

I let this dry for 6 hours as well.

When I came back, the taller candlestick was stick nicely to the base and I could easily pick it all up.

You can see the E6000 just a bit, but it's not a mess and looks like a ring on the actual base of the candlestick.

Now I needed to attach to the lid, upside down to the tall candlestick.

I was fortunate that the votive cup of the candlestick fit nicely around the attachment of the handle.  

Another thin bead of E6000 on the votive cup and I eyeballed its placement on the lid.

Because the votive cup was clear glass I could see that there was about the same area all around the rim.

I also placed it upside down to dry so that the weight of the base would be on the candlestick, making the adhesion stronger.

I let this dry for about 6 hours as well.

And....

Here's the outcome!

It's perfect for a bathroom counter to use for makeup or personal toiletries.

Using the Museum Wax I placed the small candlestick with handle in the center of the top tier.

Here it is in the guest bathroom without the candlestick and handle.  It gives the top tier more room if needed.

Again, with the topper, it makes a great place to keep and display jewelry.

Without the topper, it's a storage area for sunglasses.

I didn't stage this tiered stand with food, but that's always an option.  It would look beautiful with fresh fruit, or snacks, or even on a table with dessert treats like cookies and cupcakes.  Add a few paper doilies to the bottom (cut as needed) to make it elegant and sweet.

I also envision it holding wrapped utensils for a buffet.

It could easily hold jars of condiments for a buffet.

It's perfect for cheese and crackers topped with some grapes.

It could be used to hold essential oils and supplies.

See where I'm going with this...

ENDLESS USES from an unused piece in my basement!

You might wonder why I didn't permanently attach the top piece.  

As I was constructing this, I thought about how I could get much more use out of a piece that had a bit more versatility, PLUS, how could I store it without the top getting broken.

I knew that I would NEVER carry this around by using the handle, but always by the bottom (because I would never assume that the construction would hold 100%).

I saw my Museum Wax as a way to help with this idea, and storing the top rested on its side made it an easy fit in my cabinet.

You may not have silver or even old plates in your home, but I bet if you hit your local thrift or "antique" stores you could find exactly something that you like.

TIP:  This is a great way to use pieces of china that might have belonged to a grandparent or mother and there are several folks who want a piece of it (or no one wants ALL of it but would like a piece to remember).  If you made it into serving pieces then each of you would get a part of the cherished memories.  It could really solve a problem and everyone is happy in the end.  (Just check to make sure that you're not sitting on an Antiques Roadshow million dollar find - research it on eBay or the internet prior to permanently altering it!)

Dollar Tree also has a variety of plates (and candlesticks) to make an endless amount of these for yourself or for gifts.  You can go contemporary, traditional, timeless, or funky.  It's all a matter of personal taste and what you pick.

E6000 can be picked up from any hardware or Wal*Mart or even Amazon.

Yep, I broke the rules and repurposed something to fit me.

Now, you go out and break some rules as well!