One Dollar Wednesday... what a difference a paint job makes

I have been on quite a spray-paint kick lately. Thus, today's One Dollar Wednesday project features a can of Color Place spray paint. You can get this spray paint at Walmart for just $.96. It's not the highest quality, and you need a couple more coats, but for little projects, it's fine.

I have this little COLORFUL birdhouse in my downstairs bathroom. (I am a SAVER, so obviously I still have birdhouses sitting around, even though they went "out" a few years back.) I decided to update the little thing, instead of tossing it.



Here's the giant rustic star that hangs in the bathroom. It's hard to tell, because this shot doesn't show the true colors, but it's a pretty grayish-blue color.



I also have these cute prints from Karen Hillard Goode hanging in there.



I decided black was the natural choice to update the birdhouse, so I sent it out for a couple coats of Black spray paint.



Then, to add a little life, I mixed and dry-brushed on this paint.



Here it is all finished. I think it looks pretty cute with it's new coat.

Organizing Under the Bathroom Sink: Tidy Tips

Underneath the bathroom sink can be a scary place. Lotions, hair products, curling irons, it can all get very messy, very fast. I am not a fan of clutter (who really is though?) and am constantly trying to rethink the way I organize. Recently, instead of just throwing my straightener and blow dryer underneath I came up with a way that makes me feel less cluttered. I really need to start taking before pictures, someday I will learn. The first trick to organizing blow dryers, curling irons, and straighteners is cable management. It isn't good for the cords of those items to be wrapped around themselves because it weakens them. I got a nice new blow dryer for Christmas and one thing it said in big bold letters, "DO NOT WRAP CORD AROUND BLOW DRYER." This trick is an oldie, but a goodie, that you have probably seen before, my Mother has been doing it for years. It makes me feel less cluttered and it's free. The solution: empty toilet paper tubes. Use you empty tubes and neatly tuck your cords into them. I do this EVERYWHERE at my house, it isn't the prettiest solution, but the places I have the cords are usually out of sight from guests, so I don't mind. My blow dryers cord was too large to fit in the tube, so I used an old, stretched out hair tie, it works well. The next trick I did was to put some hooks inside my cabinet. I just used some gold hooks we had in a kit, and they worked perfectly. My blow dryer and straightener both have specific places to hang them from a hook, and I totally love it!! I only hung the 3 items I use most, large curling iron, blow dryer, and straightener. The other items I put in a small basket (you know how I love storing things in baskets.)
Ahh, much better for everything to have a place, rather than just thrown under there.
Lastly, to organize all your bathroom supplies, I read this trick in a magazine. I *think* it was Better Homes & Gardens, but I can't remember it was a few years ago. You put a lazy susan underneath your sink. That way everything is easily accessible with one simple turn and there are no explosions when you open up the cabinet. Make sure you face everything with the label facing out, so you (or your husband) can easily find what you are looking for without having to dig. This has worked really well, and until recently, I did it under every sink with cleaning supplies, etc. Now I have a mobile baby, so I have come up with a safer solution. We have a child lock on our bathroom door, so I am not too worried about these.
What are your solutions for under the bathroom sink?