Free Pinboard

When I gave my old desk to Husband (see why here!), I also gave him the magnet board and shelf that were above my desk. I never really used that stuff, he could use it, and I wouldn’t have to put a bunch more holes in the wall to move everything. I have a real problem with turning our walls into Swiss cheese. Just ask Husband. I still needed something to go above my desk though, because staring at a blank wall just wasn’t cutting it for me.

I’ve recently jumped off the bridge joined Pinterest. As awesome as the site is for gathering inspiration, I still can’t let go of my magazine cutouts and random whatnot that inspires me. I decided a pinboard would be perfect above my desk. I could rotate items to keep things fresh and I could use it to help me feel inspired, since this is where I do most of my creative work. I had a smaller version of this project above my old desk but I knew I needed to change it up just a bit. I wanted more inspiration board, less memo board this time.

This is what I came up with to fill the void above my desk.

Tada!

Wanna know what it’s made out of? Tough, I’m telling you anyway. In annoying detail, no less!

When I first moved in with Husband, I needed a cheapo way to organize my closet, since my dresser wouldn’t fit in our bedroom. I bought one of these (Source here!):

I swear they were cheaper when I bought them a few years ago. Plus, my cubes are silver and I can’t find those anywhere.

After settling in and setting up my new closet system (post to come soon), I moved part of this modular unit into a spare closet for additional storage. Since I only need some of the cubes, not all six, I was left with a few of these wire panels. I knew I could repurpose them in some way. As it turned out, I could!

I used some beading wire, just like the kind I used here, to attach the panels together to make a 3x3 grid.

Just wrap the wire tightly around the grids at intersecting points.

Like-a-so

To hang the grids, I used some regular old picture hanging hooks I had on hand.

Yup. That's a hair. Keeping it real, yo.

Then, I followed the same method to hang my new pinboard as shown here on younghouselove using a paper template and some painters tape on the wall. Can you tell I read their site daily? They are DIY gods, I tell you! I don’t have a picture of that part of the process but the link will tell you all you need to know. It works better than any method for picture hanging out there. I didn’t have to put any extra holes in the wall! You hear that, Husband?! I only need to make three small holes! YOU’RE WELCOME.

I’m feeling totally inspired. How about you?

The grid work makes an excellent place to hang hooks for tools, shower/curtain clips for notes and magazine cutouts, and (being metal) magnets work too! The chalkboard is a canvas panel I painted with chalkboard paint. It was an extra from another project, which I hope to detail later. It looks a bit empty now but I know I will fill it out over time.

Get these here! However, I got mine from Target, but they aren’t available on Target’s website. Check your local store.

I also keep little mementos that make me happy here, such as 3D glasses from a spontaneous double movie date with some of my best gal pals and sweet cards from Husband. He’s actually quite the romantic. Don’t let him know I told you! Although, he totally reads the blog, so . . . I suck at secrets.

In case you’re wondering (can’t have that), the lamp is the same lamp pictured here, I just spray painted it blue! You see, with Husband’s new desk set up, he bought this awesome new lamp. It was like the classier version of mine.

See what I mean? Please allow the black and white to distract from the electronics on the base. I'm not allowed to mess with that stuff.

I tried to convince him to switch with me but the bastard he just wouldn’t budge. So I got some serious lamp envy. I couldn’t justify a $40 lamp just because of lamp envy. Believe me, I tried. So I decided to do the next best thing. I spray painted it! Isn’t that always the solution? Yes. It totally is. I had some bright blue spray paint on hand and just gave it a few light coats. Bam! No more lamp envy.

This project cost me $0 because I reused and repurposed items I already had on hand. Just for kicks, I’ll do a budget breakdown as if I had to buy everything but the storage cubes, in case you have a set of wire cubes that you can’t part with but are no longer in use.

Budget Breakdown:

Metal grids -$0

Curtain clips with hooks - $9

Magnets - $ 5 - 7, found here, here, and here

Beading wire - $ 2

Total cost - $16 – 18 (give or take)

Still not a bad price for a large pin board where I can keep things that inspire me and make me happy. I may attach a cork square behind on of the grids later on, but this will do just fine until then.

So what do you think? Are you so addicted to Pinterest that a pinboard has been rendered obsolete? Have you found any other uses for those metal grids? Feel free to share!

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Organized Entryway

An organized entryway is essential for keeping an orderly home. A place for keys, a landing spot for your bags, and a spot to keep things like library books and mail; Without a designated area for these things, your home can quickly get out of control.

Whenever I move, this is one of the first areas I set up and organize. I may have unpacked boxes everywhere but by God I can find my keys so I can get the hell out of dodge, aka a messy, unpacked house.

This is what you see when you first walk into our home.

Come on in!

The cabinet is from Target, available here. I switched out the hardware to dress up the cabinet a bit. As you can see, it also makes a nice hook for a purse. The mirror is a metal wall hanging from Hobby Lobby that I glued a mirror onto. Here's some more detailed shots.

The memo board is just a frame I picked up at Goodwill and spray painted brown. I framed some scrapbook paper to give it a nice background. I used double stick tape to attach a tin sheet to the front, so I could have a magnetic surface for notes and whatnot. Tin sheets are available at Hobby Lobby (near model making materials) for pretty cheap. I keep my keys and some sticky notes in the red vase, which I received along with a nice flower arrangement as a congrats on getting engaged. The little chess piece is from the marble chess set I learned how to play on with my dad. It's just a nice little memento to greet me when I get home.

I picked up a pack of silver hooks from the Target dollar spot to hold my work tote and Ty's leash. I keep a little basket tucked away for some shoes, mainly flip flops.

Yeesh. Looks like I need to do a little paint touch up in here.

I ordered this hook from Amazon (get it here!) and it works perfect. The hooks swivel and it leaves a small footprint, perfect for a tight space! It can handle our heaviest winter coats, even though there's is absolutely no need for those right now. It is sweltering outside. I thought hell was supposed to freeze over once the Saints won a Superbowl?!

Here's look inside the cabinet. Let's all just take a moment to bask in the organized bliss of the bins. Ahhh. . . Ok, moment over. I use the bins to organize things I need to return to people (I'm really terrible at that but trying to get better. Honest.), stuff to take with me when I run errands, and various tote bags I might need. The bins are also from Target. My weekly cleaning checklists are in the frames on the inside of doors, which are attached with some Velcro strips. I also have a couple of hooks and a Post-It pocket not currently in use on the doors. Still working that part out.

I used a label hole punch and some metal rings to label the bins.

This little metal basket holds my compact camera and a few other essentials I like to have on hand, such as hand sanitizer and pepper spray. Yup, pepper spray. The orange magnetic pocket is from Target (notice a trend?) and  holds a couple of notepads, because God forbid if I'm ever without one. I keep a magnetic pen holder on the side for, you guessed it, pens!

And that's all she wrote! This little area keeps me organized so I can dash out the door in the morning without frantically searching for keys, purses, or pepper spray. You know, essential items for your morning commute.

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