We're techy people but don't like the sight of power cables or lamps cords in the house. Each room has a cable management trick unique for the application, and they're so simple that anyone can do them. Some have said that this post has made their dreams come true and saved their marriage - just sayin’!
Read MoreI thought my wardrobe was on the slim side until my dear blogger friend Natasha Habermann schooled me on getting rid of the clothes I don't love. And, she knows best, so I have no regrets about purging over half of my wardrobe.
Natasha and I went live on Instagram Stories so she could help me sort through all my clothes and answer your questions about the organization. Did you tune in? If not, that's okay! At the bottom of the post is a video of the key points!
Inspired by the book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, Natasha has transformed her home (and her life!) using the KonMari method, which, in summary, is owning only the things that bring you joy. Learn more about how Natasha keeps her bedroom organized and how she folds her clothes.
Psst! If you're in an RSS reader, you'll have to click through to see the fun before and after animation.
I started with a pretty packed closet with mismatched hangers and overly-stacked shelves. But now my wardrobe is a true representation of me. Look at how much more refined my color palette is! I can't believe I owned so many jewel tones even though I know I gravitate towards dark cool colors and neutrals.
I purged so many pieces that don't bring me joy, and I don't miss them at all. In fact, I have so much more joy knowing that someone else will get to wear each of those garments. Goodwill is definitely my friend, but I like to donate particular items to specific places.
To see how Natasha and I did it, check out the video below. It's a slimmed down version of our live chat plus a time lapse - and who doesn't love those? If you look closely, you'll see a cat taking a bath in the backyard during my purge, and, more importantly, if you listen to Natasha, you'll certainly learn a lot.
See any garments in my closet that you like? You can shop my favorite pieces below. I've been literally living in that grey mock turtleneck for weeks - and I never use the word "literally" lightly.
Check out Natasha's post recapping the process, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and happy organizing!
January is often when I get the bug to purge the house. Holiday decor starts to get claustrophobic towards the end of December, and winter travel to tidy hotels rooms (like Rivertown Lodge pictured below) gets me excited about minimal living.
There are many more options than your local donation drop-off center to take your unwanted items. In fact - did you know many of the items dropped off at Goodwill just end up in the landfill?? I'm listing my favorite places that put things to the best use - since there’s always a better solution than the landfill and so many go to such a good cause. Please share your favorite alternatives in the comments!
I give our unwanted sheets, blankets, and dingy towels to animal rescue centers. They use them to pad the beds for our critter friends during recovery or while they wait for forever homes. In San Diego, I donate to Project Wildlife or the Humane Society.
Habitat for Humanity is my go-to for anything house related. Items from furniture to doors and paint to light fixtures are sold at their ReStore centers and the proceeds support affordable housing projects. Psst! It's also a great place to shop for house parts.
San Diego has the largest K-12 school for kids experiencing homelessness. They have an extensive wishlist including school supplies and kids' clothes. Since I don't have either of those at home to give away, I donate toiletries and unwanted makeup. Women’s shelters are also a great option for these items.
I’m obsessed with giving things away on my local Buy Nothing Project Facebook group where neighbors can post things to give away. I posted a collection of cleaning supplies that I no longer needed and someone that runs a local nonprofit picked them up to clean her community center. Consider joining a similar giveaway group, or think of a favorite nonprofit when cleaning out the cleaning cabinet.
When I upgraded computers last year, I donated my old iMac to a favorite local nonprofit, Include Autism, but many community centers, nonprofits, or schools would be more than happy to receive old computers, iPads, and electronic toys. If your electronics are broken, they need to go to e-waste recycling. Look up a local recycling event in your neighborhood or check earth911.com.
Local libraries will take your used books, but you can also take subject-specific ones to places that will read them more. Consider kids' books for a local YMCA and coffee table books for a retirement home. Also, your neighborhood may have a Little Free Library where you can drop off a book and pick up another one in exchange.
Glossy pages filled with colorful images are great for collage art projects. Consider taking a stack of catalogs, magazines, maps, and scrapbook paper to a children's museum, art center, after-school program, or school.
Schools, art museums, and youth programs can put unwanted paints, brushes, and craft paper to use. Before dropping it off, check to be sure they can use what you want to give - oil paints are toxic and won't be put to good use with young kids, so gift them to older artists.
Salvation Army will pick up big furniture items that you'd normally have to pay someone to move, so it's a win-win. Smaller furniture items can go to Habitat for Humanity or your local donation center. If it's too small to have Salvation Army pick up, but too big to fit in the car, I put it on the curb with a free sign, post it on my Buy Nothing Group, and/or post it on Craigslist. It's often gone in an hour.
Do you have any of those pesky incandescent bulbs laying around but don’t have a need for them because you switched everything to LED? My local animal wildlife rehabilitation center, Project Wildlife, uses them in incubators for baby animals without their parents because those old bulbs emit heat. Consider finding a similar organization near you!
If you ended up with too many Sharpies (guilty) or you're changing out your office chair, consider giving to your favorite community organization. You may be used to donating dog food to the animal shelter, but the administrative staff that support the pups could benefit from your extra office accessories.
There are thousands of people without access to vision care so giving your old glasses can help someone have the ability to read for the first time. When I upgrade to new frames, I mail in my old ones to Lion's Club where they redistribute them.
Feeding America will accept unopened non-perishable food items at their distribution centers. It's a great place to give when you do a major pantry clean out, but when I have a couple of items we don't need, I keep them in my car and pass out to folks on the street that are hungry.
Donation centers are an easy option for dropping off clothes and housewares, but your community likely has organizations that can give directly to folks in need. Refugee families can benefit from clothes and basic housewares as they settle into a new country. Women's shelters are in need of child and adult clothing in addition to basic home items as they transition housing. Consider donating old suits and business attire to an organization offering job training for underserved individuals. This is a good one for women’s clothes. If your clothes are so worn that they can’t be reused (think a sock with a hole in the toe or very worn undergarments) take them to a textile recycler - H&M happens to be a drop-off center for textile recycling.
I haven't done this one myself, but I'm sure any retirement home would appreciate houseplants that no longer fit your space, or those you need to give up when you move. I’ve also listed nearly dead plants on my Buy Nothing Group and had a few neighbors pick them up to try to revive them.
If you receive kid toys or clothes for your little ones that you don't want, you can donate brand new ones to children's hospitals. Gently used toys and clothes can help kids at a shelter where they may be displaced due to housing, domestic violence, behavioral challenges, and more. Refugee families and women and children’s shelters would also love these items.
That tent you never use can be put to great use for someone living on the street. You can walk up to someone that is struggling with housing and hand it to them directly or work with a local organization that serves folks that are displaced.
I've received $5 gift cards to places I don't frequent then they end up in a pile, or clogging my wallet. Many nonprofits will use these to give to their volunteers as gifts. Local children's centers will use them when they go on outings with kids that are living on the center's campus.
When we changed Mabel's diet, we ended up with a bunch of open bags of treats and kibble. I found an organization that takes these snacks to animals in Tijuana. Unopened items can go to your local animal shelter.
There’s always that something that you’re sure nobody wants. But I’ll bet you someone will take it. When you take a weird item that doesn’t have a specific purpose or needs explaining to a major donation center, it’s likely to get trashed. For items like this, I turn to my Buy Nothing Group and post it to my neighborhood where they can get a description as to what it is. I have given away twist ties, canvas photos of me as a child (not kidding), nearly dead plants, coupons, an open container of milk, and so so much more.
Many nonprofits share wishlists on their website. Some are like Monarch School's list of needs and others are shop-able Amazon wishlists like the Humane Society where you can purchase items online to be mailed directly to the center. The wishlists can often inspire cleaning you didn't even think of (I now know to take the wrong-sized batteries I accidentally bought to the Humane Society). I also like to keep my local non-profits in mind when I see BOGO deals at the store. I can buy a tube of toothpaste for myself, and drop off the free one at Monarch School. Also, many organizations will take your recycling off your hands, too - our local children's museum is always looking for toilet paper tubes.
The list above is just what I do in my city with links to San Diego organizations, but here is a list of national organizations to support. Please share the ways you clean out your house for a good cause!
If you’re in the giving spirit and want to make monetary donations, here’s a list of my favorite non-profits to support.
It's week six of the One Room Challenge! Today would be the day that you'd see the full reveal. However! You have to wait another seven days since the design challenge has been extended by another week.
If you're jumping in now, I'm Ashley and I'm transforming my home office of our 1915 craftsman bungalow in San Diego. Take a look at the plans which include a new layout, storage, lighting, furniture, and most importantly, a dramatic mural! Catch up on the last five weeks of progress here.
I'm still actively working on the mural, but this week I'm sharing how we customized storage for our home office needs.
If you recall, the only storage we had in our previous office was a hutch.
It was a mid-century beauty but it wasn't designed for keeping files, electronics, or office necessities. So, I added a filing cabinet to the mix, but still had nowhere for camera gear or odds and ends. Everything we didn't use was on display and everything necessary for the office didn't have a home and was just strewn about on top of the desk or throughout the house.
Have you ever tried looking for attractive filing cabinets with combined storage and drawers? It's nearly impossible. I first started looking at office furniture but the options are pretty limited to exclusively filing cabinets without any other storage for odds and ends. So then I looked at credenzas and media cabinets. They were the best option, but if they had doors, I wanted drawers, and if they had drawers, I'd wish they were deep enough to fit hanging files. Gah!
Additionally, I wanted a low cabinet that wouldn't obstruct the view out the window, and something long enough to fill most of the wall. It just simply doesn't exist out there! Then, I came across this beauty that can be customized to the depth, height, and length as well as drawer and cabinet features. It was exactly what I wanted. I was in love. BUT because it was custom made, it wouldn't have arrived in time for the One Room Challenge.
So I went back to square one and searched high and low for something premade that fit the bill. Then, decided an IKEA hack was the way to go.
I started off with one of the BESTA units in the 47x15x29" size with four drawers. Then, got another of the same size, but with three drawers and one cabinet with doors. We also added a few legs and shelves to the mix along with some of the BESTA storage options. A full shopping list is at the bottom of this post.
IKEA has a bad rap, but I genuinely enjoy assembling their furniture. Call me up the next time you don't want to assemble your cabinet. I'll bring my "helpful" assistant along with me to support.
We dressed up the plain white cabinets with the most beautiful handles.
It's no surprise that I went with a pretty brass finish. These are the 8" Blake Drawer Pulls from Rejuvenation and me oh my are they dreamy!
What's great about the IKEA drawer fronts is that you can install any kind of hardware in any spot on the cabinet because it doesn't have any pre-drilled holes. I could have done knobs, narrower handles, or installed them at any height. The unlimited design options are great, yet I was plagued with indecision when it came to placing the handles.
The beauty of the customization is how it holds all my things. Shall we take a look at what's inside?
The most officey drawer is the one with the everyday office gear. It also houses everyday home improvement tools so I don't need to run to the garage whenever I need to hammer something. This collection of tools is veeeery minimal at the moment. I'm sure this will become a junk drawer in no time, but I'm going to try to resist putting the reciprocating saw in here.
To corral everything, I used the BESTA box and these Amac boxes from the Container Store.
I'm prone to losing my shutter release remote for the camera, so I am sure glad to have a spot to keep the camera gear. Obviously not pictured is the camera and the tripod, both of which fit in the drawer.
The drawers aren't designed for file storage, but they are just the right size for a standalone hanging file unit which keeps paperwork nicely filed, and also some space for who knows what!
We recently cleaned out our electronics junk and narrowed it down to a few keepers. The IKEA drawer divider seems like it was perfectly designed for our Doxie scanner. The felt liner is so handy because it prevents everything from sliding around when we open and close drawers.
While six out of the eight cubbies are drawers, two of the cabinets have doors with shelves. This way, I can hide things that actually do better on a shelf - like the printer. One of those bins (which is actually a shoe box) stores art supplies so I can pull it out and take the whole lot to a table. The other easy-to-move around bin is filled with greeting cards so I can catch up on my correspondence.
Retrofitting the cabinet for the printer was as easy as cutting a hole in the back for the power supply. The back panels are a thick cardboard, so a sharp exacto is all that's needed to run cables through.
If you wanna get the scoop on how I hide all of my electronics and cables throughout the house, click here!
Two of the drawers are empty! I'm sure I'll find a use for them soon, but for now, it feels so refreshing to have empty space.
Can we take a moment to admire the original painting by Mary Sinner? Swoon.
Mabel appreciates the storage unit being the perfect height to survey her queendom.
Be sure to check out my blog post all about organizing cables, wires, and electronics throughout the entire house here!
If you're tuning in via the One Room Challenge and want to stay up to date on all of my home's transformations, subscribe to get future posts in your email! Also, follow along on Instagram for daily updates.
I’m getting a lot of questions about the exact configuration of this storage unit. I’m not an IKEA expert so I can’t give you any insight into the current IKEA offerings, so I do recommend you chat with an employee to help you. Based on comments I get the impression that they changed some products. However, keep in mind that I customized the Besta unit by mixing and matching doors and drawers. This isn’t an off the shelf item! Since folks are still asking for more guidance and I’m happy to provide, I’ve included the shopping list I have on file. Click the button below to take a look. You can see my doodles to give you an idea of what I picked up. Remember that things have likely changed in the past few years, so please don’t use my document as an exact model for you!
Fall One Room Challenge progress:
Week 1 - the before, the inspiration, and the plan
Week 2 - preparing for a bold wall mural
Week 3 - tricks for creating a perfect wall mural
Week 4 - painting the mural
Week 5 - walls, windows, and shades
Week 6 - IKEA storage hack
Week 7 - the reveal!
Look back at the Spring One Room Challenge:
Week 1 - the before, the inspiration, and the plan
Week 2 - paint, paint, paint
Week 3 - how to install picture rail molding
Week 4 - sourcing the artwork
Week 5 - refreshing a chair
Week 6 - the reveal!
The biggest challenge with many kitchens is a lack of work surfaces. It's a pain to cook without sufficient countertop space, right? Yet, it's easy and inexpensive to DIY a spot to prep and cook. So, I bring you three super simple ways to add custom counters for cheap.
There are oodles of rolling bar cart options like this, this, or this, to give you more space to work, and they are great! Some have additional storage, some have spots for wine bottles, and some have fancy hooks and bars for all of your kitchen needs. But they don't always fit a space perfectly. Sometimes the height doesn't line up with the existing counters, or there's a gap next to the range, or it blocks an outlet. I tried out three different methods to add valuable work surface to a kitchen that has a couple of empty nooks.
Our range was centered on a narrow wall so we never had a spot to rest our tools or prep. With a few inches on either side of the appliance, the area was the perfect candidate for a new work surface and even some concealed storage. The search for a base cabinet started at Habitat for Humanity ReStore, then Home Depot and Lowe's, but I ultimately found the best size and cheapest option at IKEA. After wiggling the stove over, I had the perfect amount of room to wedge in this 18x24x30" SEKTION base cabinet.
I assembled the base cabinet according to the instructions provided. Instead of using the track system for the full kitchen cabinet installation, I used the components that mount it directly to the wall and supported it with the adjustable cabinet legs.
These cabinets don't come with a countertop, so I made my own. Butcher block was my first choice since wood is easier to work with than stone. However, even the cheapest slabs were too pricy and more material than I needed, so I used this piece of 3/4" pine that works swimmingly. In an effort to get as much surface area as possible, I made the wood overhang by 2” and notched out a spot for the door trim using my trusty jigsaw. I also sanded the corners to match the round profile of the range.
To finish, I coated the pine with food-safe Acrylacq so it could better stand up to the moisture in the kitchen.
Cabinet: $60
Cabinet legs: $6
Countertop: $20
Acrylacq: left over from the concrete countertop project
The corner of the kitchen had been the home for a small breakfast table, but we never used it. A better use of the space was a long shelf to extend the existing counter. Instead of store-bought brackets (see #3), I used a cleat system. This technique provides strong support and gives the illusion of a floating countertop.
The first step was to identify the wall studs so the cleats would have something strong to sink into. I used my favorite technique from when I installed picture rail molding.
After finding all of the studs, the next step was to screw in lumber along the walls just below the counter. To find the height to screw in the cleats, subtract the thickness of the counter material from the height you want it off the floor. Make your mark, then using a level, draw the guide along all of the walls. It’s important that you make the cleats level so your food doesn’t roll off the counter!
I was lucky to have some scrap lumber, but you could get a few feet of 2x4s and cut them to size. I purposefully left a gap between the cleats so I could feed a power cord through to the top of the counter. It conveniently gets hidden behind the coffee maker.
I cut the pine panel to just a hair bigger than needed, then sanded it down until it was a snug fit. After cleaning up the edges, it got a coat of Acrylacq just like the cabinet counter.
Countertop: $35
Lumber & fasteners: already on hand
Acrylacq: left over from the concrete countertop project
I used these brackets with this white melamine board to create out-of-the-way kitchen storage. It's as easy as hanging the brackets in the studs, then screwing the top to them. Simple dimple. We use this counter space to get the microwave out of the main part of the kitchen, store some small appliances, and plop things that are going in and out of the house. It's such a helpful spot to dump stuff, but over time, the board started to sag. See it bowing in the photo? It also started to tilt forward, so we had to reinforce it with some L brackets. Not a big deal, but it certainly doesn't have the floating cleat counter look.
Shelf brackets: $26
Melamine board: $13
L brackets: $6
For a grand total of $166, we gained 10.5 feet of additional counter space (and a few shelves)! While we were lucky to have lots of room to expand, I’m certain that even adding a 6” shelf between the range and the counter in a small space would do wonders. Each of these projects can be done in a weekend and are great for a rental. How would you upgrade the work surface in your kitchen?
To see how I skim coated tiled countertops with concrete and to see more kitchen progress, click here. To follow along with how the rest of the home renovation goes, subscribe!
Ashley has been restoring her craftsman bungalow since early 2015. The Gold Hive chronicles the journey of DIYs, restorations, renovations, and stories.
I'm Ashley, a type-A homebody fixing up my historic home at a snail’s pace in California. I share home improvement DIYs, tips for sustainable living, and renovation stories - all while aiming to add more color and present real, lived-in spaces.
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Margot is getting an upgraded room to make space for baby sister in the nursery.
With an additional family member, we want to shuffle the rooms of our 3-bedroom house around. The one off the living room was being used as my home office, so now it’s time to convert it into an actual bedroom. The initial thought was to give this room to baby sister and keep Margot in her room. But we ultimately decided to put the baby in the room designed to be a nursery, then convert the home office into a space designed for a bigger kid. Plus, the office has more windows, and is right off the living room (Margot’s playroom) so it’s better suited for all the daytime play, whereas the single-window nursery is cozier for lots of daytime naps.