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Salvation Makeover: Magnetic Makeup Drawer-Shelf

I took a break from kitchen organization this weekend and actually finished a project! And it was one that I can really use, because my bathroom is out-of-control messy. It's a little better now though! ;-)

Using an old drawer that I got at the Habitat ReStore, I created a magnetic makeup shelf for corralling all my makeup and keeping it accessible to me. I wore eyeshadow that's not taupe to work today because I was able to get my hands on my other colors! Read on for the details and how to.

A couple months ago, my friend Erica (check out her blog here!) and I went to the Habitat ReStore on our lunch break, and Erica had one of her brilliant ideas: take one of their million old, mismatched drawers and make it into a shelf! I immediately fell in love with the idea and decided to take it one step further. I had seen this framed magnetic makeup board on Pinterest and wanted to incorporate that concept into my drawer-shelf. 

I scrubbed it down and removed the probably 30-year old contact paper lining the bottom. Then, using my handy-dandy birthday sander, I got to work sanding and smoothing.

I filled in the holes where the pulls had been, then re-sanded after the spackle was dry. 

I asked Big Tex to remove the little lip that hung over the bottom (now back) of the drawer. That way it would lay flush against the wall once I hung it up. 

I sprayed it with three coats of Valspar Premium Spray Paint (I think the color is called Exotic Sea). I sanded lightly between coats. Then I sprayed it with a coat of clear acrylic sealer. 

I cut out a piece of this cute fabric I got on sale at Hobby Lobby and Mod Podged it to the bottom of the drawer-shelf. Then I totally dropped the ball on my photo documentation and forgot to take pictures of the metal I put on the inside back of the shelf. It was decorative sheet metal that I got at Hobby Lobby. It was really easy to work with (I was able to trim it with scissors, but I would use tin snips if I did it again because it was hard on my hands to cut it with scissors). I hot-glued the metal onto the back of the shelf but, as usual for me, the hot glue didn't really work, so I had to rely on the screws that I used to hold the shelf on the wall to also keep my metal on (no biggie really, the screws had to be there anyway!). 

Ta-Da! My finished makeup shelf! I got a roll of trimable, adhesive magnet to put on the back of my makeup, but supplemented the adhesive with super glue because the adhesive backing on the magnet is not very strong. But now those little magnets aren't coming off my makeup and it's living happily on the shelf!

I also Mod Podged some scrapbook paper onto two little tin cans (I've become a hoarder of tin cans and it finally paid off!), and put my makeup brushes, lipsticks, etc. in them. And there's plenty of room on the inner and top shelf for my perfumes and pretty smelling lotions and sprays! 

I love my new makeup shelf! What do you think?

Happy Easter from Widgapae!

Major Kitchen Organization Overhaul

I'm kind of scattered when it comes to all of my projects. I just get so excited about the possibilities and then I don't stick to one thing. I really want to get all of the rooms in my house super organized, but I have to learn to focus. I work full time (40 miles from my house!), so my weekends are really the only days that I have a significant amount of time to devote to major projects. Therefore, I decided to pick the most used room in the house and just focus on getting it as perfect as possible. I chose a room combo actually: the kitchen/laundry room (they're basically one). These are the first rooms we walk into (from the garage) when we get home, and a lot goes on here. They have a tendency to get really messy because they're used for so many different things. 

I don't want to rush because I really want everything to be done right and I want to have time to figure the best way to do it all. Today is April 2; I'm giving myself until July 31 August 31 to completely organize and beautify these two very important rooms. Since this is my first really big undertaking, this is a total time estimate. I could take less time. Or a lot longer...

I don't have any super major changes to make in the kitchen; the paint and appliances are fine in there. The appliances in the laundry room are great, but I wouldn't mind painting the walls. It's a small area, though, so that's not a really huge undertaking. Structurally, the laundry room will require the most work because I'd really like to build a folding & ironing counter. Gonna have to get Big Tex involved in that part!


Here is a list of things I'd like to get done:

1. Take some good Before pictures!!!
2. Clean out clutter and get rid of crap we don't use.
3. Re-assign the cabinets in both rooms to make smarter and more efficient use of space (Super inspired by two of my favorite blogs: this and this).
4. Create design boards for both rooms.
5. Remove current cabinet liner and put pretty liner in the drawers.
6. Decide on and buy small organizational additions for all cabinets (e.g. baskets).
7. Build big organizational additions (shelf risers, cabinet drawers).
8. Install dream pot rack.
9. Have an electrician install a plug in the cubby above the oven so that we can put our microwave up there and get it off the counter.
10. Move items to newly assigned cabinets with appropriate organizational additions.
11. Deep clean laundry room in preparation for panelling and painting. 
12. Install beadboard panelling on laundry room walls.
13. Install molding and chair rail in laundry room.
14. Paint walls, cabinets, and trim in laundry room.
15. Build washer/dryer pedestal.
16. Build a folding & ironing counter in laundry room.
17. Install clothes hanging rack in laundry room. 
18. Change door hardware on cabinets in laundry room.
19. Make or buy matching curtains for laundry room door window, window above sink, and window in breakfast nook. 

That's the preliminary list! I know I'll add to it, but it's a good start. Wish me luck!

~Liz