Repurposed

This tray used to be a candle holder. I'm glad I didn't throw it away! Looking for a way to coral the "stuff" on the table and counters. It all fits! Pepper, vinegar (I use this ALL the time - so it doesn't seem weird to have it handy), napkins, olive oil and salt! Looks great and keep it all together.

I have been struggling with striking a balance...between functionality and decor. In some ways we have plenty of space (1200sq ft), and in others, I feel like we are maxed out. I am making my mission in 2012 to improve our living space, habits, schedules, etc, to suit the space we have.

I've been feeling a need for a place to put school things in the kitchen/livingroom, instead of always back to the bedroom. Enter my Pier 1 book shelf. Wanna guess how many times I've read about the life of Adoniram Judson in the past 9 years? Yah...that'd be zero:-) So I decided to loose the books (parenting etc books to the bookshelf in my bedroom) and make this a functional space.

I took some of the prettier/cool hardcovers and added them to my ladder bookshelf

I found some canvas baskets at Walmart for $4ea. that fit perfectly. So now we have a place to stash pencil cases and books without putting everything completely away. AND, actually, it doesn't even look that bad (although the pic does not do justice). Functional and decorative perhaps:-)

 Trying out a new "chore chart" thing I saw on Pinterest. I will make prettier ones from chipboard and gorgeous papers later, while we're seeing if the system even works, we're using door hangers from the Dollar Store. They work fine, just aren't that pretty!

Hang this on each child's bedroom door. There is a To Do side and a Done side. Write their chores etc. on clothes pins, and put them on the To Do side. When the chore is complete, they move it to the Done side! For days (sat), when reading or math might not be required, I put those pins along the bottom edge. Anything on the bottom is for another day. So far its working great - kids are loving it.

Another repurpose - toy box turned coffee table! We were always having such a buildup of toys in here, it just made sense to have a place to put them, without introducing more baskets. It is perfect!

My Dad made this toy box in the early 80's for my siblings and I. It shows wear from lots of kids and lots of toys, but I love it! If I ever get the gumption to refinish it, it would look amazing I'm sure. But I'm into the beat up look for now.

Working our way to a more efficient life!