No-sew diy charging station part 2

Fabric is now all attached with the adhesive spray. All that's left is to cut out 3 circles for cords. This is partly why I chose this particular fabric--circles are already there for me. ;) That and it's not to girly for Tom. The colors go well with the green on the walls in the kitchen too.

Total cost was ~$15, since I had to buy the adhesive spray($8) & buy a multi-outlet plug strip($7) for everything to go into.

A no-sew diy charging station

I've been inspired by today's IHeartOrganizing blog post on using what you have but re-purpose it, as well as another post she wrote on covering cardboard boxes in fabric so it looks nicer.

The idea hit me today when I found an empty shoe box.

Starting materials: Shoe box, 4 pieces of foam from a jewelry box,  2 pieces of 12x12 scrapbooking paper cut to size, 1 piece of fabric a little bigger than the bottom of the box(to cover foam), and outside fabric

Using double-sided tape, I taped down the 5 pieces of scrapbooking paper that I had measured

Added one layer of foam(2 pieces). The foam is to help it sit higher in the shoe box.

Added the other foam pieces, this time, upside down. I had contemplated putting the  phones & ipod just on the foam, but needed contrast, hence them upside down.

Ended up covering the foam with the fabric, just tucked the excess in & under the foam

Testing out width. This'll hold what it needs to: ipod & 2 cell phones

All that's left is cover the outside of the box(need to run & get spray adhesive from Home Depot) & cut 3 holes for the chargers to reach through.

Recent happenings

Family updates. Got a new/used car a couple weeks ago. Tom's 16 year old compact(we've had for 13 years) was needing about $1500 worth of repairs and the car was worth a lot less than that. After a couple weeks of looking, bargain shopping online(and awesome timing of federal tax return) we got a 2011 Hyundai Elantra and have already paid for over half the cost.

Tom wanted a farewell shot.

Here's the newer car:

The kids just had Spring Break--one of the longest weeks of my life! Collin also started up with his new therapy company this past week. Starting this next week through mid-June, I'm going to be taking a free class from the local community college once a week that's a Parent & Me style class for Brent. Obviously, Drew will be tagging along too.

What else? It's becoming more & more obvious Brent is quickly approaching the 2 yr mark. One minute he is so sweet, the next minute he's so beyond disagreeable that I'm not sure what to call it. He had/has the Ornery Ones, quickly approaching Terrible Twos. I sure hope we have the Terrific Threes instead of the Trying Threes.

I don't think I've sat in all of Relief Society at church in months(we switched times our ward meets after Christmas, and now naptime is supposed to be during sacrament meeting which usually isn't happening & someone's having MAJOR separation issues). Which means, I have got to put more effort in at home if I expect to have any semblance of spirituality left before the end of summer. Any tips from anyone who's able to squeeze it in with kids who need almost constant attention/redirection while they're awake?

Project update

So, haven't finished this latest project before starting up something new. Typical of me. I got tired of our incoming papers almost taking over the house, so right before the kids' Spring Break started, I made a mail sorter. After a couple weeks, the paper piles are almost gone--old habits die hard.

I give complete credit to this blog post on the 'A Bowl Full of Lemons' for the idea & set-up. Though, in my opinion, her mail sorter station looks better since it's not as stuffed as ours is at the moment:

Entering the Land of DIY(yet again)

Went to a friend's yard sale this afternoon, and got all these for a grand total of $1.50. Saw this tutorial(via a friend's Pinterest board) and my wheels started turning.

First order of business was the baskets. Removed the handles to get rid of the picnic basket vibe. Next order of business, do something about the red & green stripes. Stayed tuned.

New cleaning schedule

Found a cleaning schedule online, and giving it a test run this week. After this week, I think it will be less work to do each day. I have to admit though, this first week I am having to do a deeper cleaning on things than I think is intended. For example, the toilets were a lot of work since they really needed it. I'm talking sitting overnight in an acid based cleaner bad. I'm thinking next week won't be so much to clean them. The sinks & counters too, but after the first day I haven't had to clean them much--just spot clean.

The schedule can be found here: http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-cleaning-process-and-500-give-away.html?m=1

I'm modifying to add laundry to more than once a week, since there are 6 of us contributing to the laundry in our home. Also, had to add sinks(bathroom & kitchen) to daily since it wasn't spelled out. I also noticed this month has 5 Fridays, so have to decide what I'll be doing that day.

Medicine cabinet done