Tag: projects

Posted on

Attic renovation and organization

After spending the day upstairs in the attic yesterday, I’ve decided it is in dire need of some organization and in general a major overhaul. I’m seriously thinking about putting better flooring in and also drywall. I need a dumpster first to throw out junk I’ve sort of hoarded over the years, that I really don’t have any use for. I went shopping and got storage containers for clothes but I know that the boxes that are in the attic need replaced by something plastic, since the air despite of the vents in the attic, was a bit humid.

There are basically two rooms up in the attic, and I took measurements of the one side we don’t use. It could be made into another room, and I want to contact a contractor or even a few of my guy friends that know how to renovate rooms or “transform” attics to see what it would cost to make a useable room out of this room that is basically gutted.

I found a bunch of wall hangings and items I forgot I had and am switching the decor in my living room. Sort of swapping things. This will save money on redecorating also, since no one has seen this stuff. We’ll see what the professionals say about fixing the extra room up there and I’ll have another winter project!

Posted on

Mother’s Day flower boxes

The kids made me shut my eyes as they led me outside to reveal my Mother’s Day present, which were a set of flower boxes. I loved them right away! I’ve been wanting regular flower boxes for a long time, as I have a sort of project in mind,, using them and some other garden items, in the front yard, and now I can at least start on this project. The lovely flowers of all sort that apparently my kids bought and transplanted into the box, were the finishing touch on my present.

I love window boxes also. When we bought the house, there were some on the house, but they were in sad state of repair. I finally got them down and they literally were falling apart in places because of wood rot, and the fact that they were super old.

A window box in each of the front windows, as there are two of them, would look really pretty. It’s on my list of things I get while saving up my pennies. OR, I could save money and try to make my own.

Posted on

Home security is like insurance

This guest post from Lenny Mcknight

I think it is about time I got security systems for home. I told my husband that we really should start considering getting something done at our house. It is an older house so all of the locks and windows are a bit odd and hard to keep closed and locked. We thought about going through and getting all the windows and locks replaced. My husband did not really want to since he felt that it would take from the character of the house. For me, it was always about saving money. The old windows were so bad, it seemed like we just wasted so much energy and money. I am not sure if we will replace the windows, but I have definitely made a good case about it to my husband. When it comes to home security systems though, I just keep telling him that it is like an insurance policy on your house, except better probably. I do not understand why we have all the insurance policies we do, but we cannot get something simple like a home security system set up. It is more practical in my mind since it’s protecting the things you use and the place you live every day!

Posted on

Home improvement and survival

Lately I’ve been coming across some really great web sites and FB pages about easy but good home improvement  projects. I’m finding a lot of great ideas, that I will be posting, with my particular twist.

It’s really interesting seeing and reading how other mom’s make their homes better, and ideas for storage, organization and also small repair projects that one can do on a budget. We all need ideas that will work, but will save money also. I’ve been running across some pretty awesome garden ideas also!

I have a feeling that I am going to be pretty busy come Spring. I’ve already started to roll some ideas around in my head that I’d like to do, both inside the house and outside the house. Especially for organization and to give us more space and storage.

Posted on

Ordering my seeds

I’ve been pouring over the seed catalogs that are now coming in the mail, trying to find exactly the seeds I want to plant in the front herb and flower gardens. Such a hard decision for me. I want the all, it seems. I found though, if I buy bulk from a few of the catalogs, I’ll save a lot of money.

In the back yard is where my son and I have decided to get serious about bale gardening and also a plot for veggies that I can take to farmers market and sell, plus have enough for the family to eat.

I’m a vegetable freak. I love just about any kind. I do plan on having some different kinds of squash that a lot of people haven’t even heard of. My mom is making me a list of the ones she has tried and loved. Right now, I just can’t remember the names of them. I’m really looking forward to spring. Plus, I didn’t know it, but my gardens are considered home improvement projects. (The insurance guy told us this). Guess you learn something new every day!

Posted on

A great Spring gardening magazines

I’m so excited. My son brought in the mail today and handed me not one, but two new Spring 2012  Native Gardener’s Companion magazines! This is like a catalog, but with tips on growing various flowers, potted plants, shrubs and trees, plus a whole lot more.

In the What’s New section, I see that they now offer a Pollinator Kit that I would like to try. It consists of a tray of 38 potted plants for moist soil situations, and from the sound of it, there are a variety of really pretty colors, and forms of plants that attract bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies, all of which I love. Some people are afraid of bees and try to get rid of them. I’m not one of those people. I love bumbles and honey bees. The only kind I don’t like, are the ones that are long and yellow and up here, people call them yellow jackets. They like to attack and build nests under the eves, and actually anywhere they can. Those are scary and so very mean. Plus they do nothing for my gardens. I’m glad that I rarely see them anywhere near my plants.

I’ve noticed also that the Gardner’s companion has include a color coded diagrams for planting gardens in various way, including plants in pots and various flowers and grasses. This is a great idea. I like to get new ideas and ways of making my gardens look different each year. I’m so excited for Spring to get here. And getting this magazine in the mail today boosted my spirits.

 

Posted on

Sub zero temps

Deciding to get new carpet in the living room is a big step. I have tongue and groove hard wood floors and I’m really undecided about covering them up, because even though they could use some work a bit, they still are really beautiful, since this house is so old.

With the temperatures now dropping the floors, despite of the big oval rug I have laid down, get really cold. At least to me they do. Walking barefoot in the house isn’t an option now because the weather is now doing what it’s basically supposed to do here.

We could insulate more, but it doesn’t seem to be helping much. I’m still undecided. Another project might be underway soon though.

Posted on

School Christmas Craftshow

The start of the Christmas craft show at the school is today. I usually have my crafts finished and already set up to sell at the event, except this year I won’t be taking any. It’s the first year in a long while, but so much has been going on this year, that I haven’t had time to work on crafts like I used to. I’ll go to it and see what is new though. Some of these women are really talented and should promote their crafts. Others do have small shops or sell out of their homes. It’ll be nice to see what others have created.

Posted on

Planning for window boxes for the Spring

As all of my family are aware of, I’ve been planning on putting up window boxes when Spring comes. I know it’s early to be planning such things to some people, but I am the kind of person who likes to plan ahead when it comes to my  out door plants and flowers. I plan all winter long for what I would like to do with my gardens and my lawn, way before most people are even planning for Christmas.

Since we have been remodeling the house, I have all new windows and I think that I want to put in window box planters. Every time I go by a home that has them, I really start getting plans in my head about the flowers I could plant that would match all of the flowers and herbs I have in my gardens, especially out in the front court yard. I think it would be a perfect accent to what I already have growing now. Not to mention that I could make more use of color against the siding of the house.

Window flower boxes would be an excellent touch to the atmosphere also. I could have the windows open and then smell the fragrant scent of the flowers and herbs I plan on planting in them. I’ve done a lot of planning on this and even my husband is in agreement that they would make a nice “finishing touch” on the home.

 

Posted on

Mosaic tile for the bathroom

Because I’m in the middle of remodeling the bathroom, I’ve decided that for one of the walls, to use mosaic tiles. There are a large selection of these and I have to make some more decisions, but I love the look of the tiles and I think that for the wall that I am going to use them on, it will look beautiful. This project is mine. My husband wanted to get in on it, and of course I will let him do some of the heavy lifting and such and putting in the new toilet, sink and towel bars I’ve picked out. The problem is, while I was gone for a weekend after I bought floor tile, he installed it. That is where the trouble began. It’s not his skill.

I’ve gone online and have done a lot of research about glass mosaic tiles and how to put them up, what to use and even how to cut them, of course. It’s a bit tricky and I’m sure I’ll need some different tools than what I am accustom to using, but I have a feeling I’m going to like doing this project.

Using the mosaic tile will offer me a variety of options, even if I change my mind and go with the metal ones.  I still haven’t decided on the colors that I would like to use, but I’m thinking about it. I’ve also spoken to a friend who has used these tiles in her kitchen on the wall behind her sink and stove, and she loves them. The up keep in minimal and cleaning is easy also. That indeed is a plus.