31 Days Day 10 A Change of Plan - Bathroom

Visit Sandra's profile on Pinterest.


In anything you do I can't stress enough how important measurements are. A mere quarter of an inch can sink an absolutely wonderful plan and that's what happened to me. I had found a couple of very useful looking drawers and was using them to store DVDs but after seeing similar ones in a catalog used under the sink in the bathroom I quickly decided to put them there. I measured the width, they would fit, but the height, not so good.

 What a great idea!

Nope, not here.

Ok, on to Plan B

My version:

I'll be dressing it up a little as time goes on, but first the bones or foundation. I took the drawers away from jewelry storage (I have other plans for that) and moved them into the cabinet. Blow dryers curling and flat iron went into the square basket along with other bulky objects like lotion and hand sanitizer. The drawers hold tweezers, thermometer, bandages, extra toothpaste and make-up. The basket on top has tissues, hand mirror, soaps, etc. The bar in the middle limits how wide I can go, but I can see another drawer under the basket for more storage.

 Another very useful item is a stand or shelf that is narrow. If it has a shelf underneath so much the better. This stand is a mere 12' deep. It has a small footprint, 26" H x 31"W perfect for the limited size of this bath.

I plan to store bulky paper products on the bottom and cover it with a nice linen cloth. On the top will be Jars for storage and guest towels.

No bathroom is complete for me without a mirror for seeing the back of my hair and with a magnifying mirror on the flip side. It is so easy to put up and pays back dividends every day when you leave the house feeling well put together. So that's the bath for now. I still have to come up with a plan for towels, washcloths and hand towels because I have no linen closet. I know, hard to believe in a newer apartment, but I'm working on it.

As you can tell I'm just moving into this place and I am putting this on as I am putting things away and figuring out where and what and how so you are getting the ground floor tour. It is a challenge and, actually, it's been fun to see how things are evolving, but they may not stay where I put them or may get upgraded as my DH has time to work his particular brand of skill so I'll come back and add to these blogs as I go along. 

Tomorrow or days 11 and 12 will move around the house to different ideas I am trying out here and there. Thanks for joining me and I hope you'll check in again.

31 days day 2 Moving Back To The Future October 2, 2014

Visit Sandra's profile on Pinterest.

A while ago I lived at some lovely quiet apartment complex. It is a little like living in a condo without owning one. I pay monthly and they take care of everything. It was great. Then I got remarried and we moved out to some property my husband owned.
We lived there for a couple of years and decided it was time to sell all the things we didn't want or need and simplify and decide if we wanted to build a small place so guess what. We moved back to the same complex I lived in before and we got another apartment exactly like the one I had before so I knew all the flaws and limitations of this apartment already.
Loaded with information from memory and measurements from the past I started a binder and started laying out what I had and where I wanted it to go. And very quickly was reminded that 5 lbs of butter will not fit into a 2 lb tub no matter how you finagle.
So I started looking for storage ideas at

Ikea, Pottery Barn, Home Depot and Goodwill (what?) yes I said GOODWILL!  and I am not kidding when I tell you I found a lot of wire drawer rollers, plate racks and even some plastic bins for under the sink!
I started planning where I would put things in the kitchen before I ever went into the apartment. So I knew some of the things that would help.
But you can do it even if you haven't lived someplace. Take pictures, lots of pictures of closets, cupboards, how the doors open, any cubbyholes (trust me, they are some of the best places to find storage or design spots), ceilings and walls (try to include something to reference these picture to once you get home cause you'll be lost if you don't) and take them up high and down low so you know where that shelf or mirror will fit. If you have time measure...the closet, cupboards, bathrooms etc. Then go home and make a rough sketch of it right away before your memory fades.
When you lay everything out decide where things will go in general then when you're packing it will be easy to label the box to the room.
Tomorrow I'll show you how I got 2 Pantrys count 'em 2 PANTRYs into an apartment that doesn't have any.
 Due to the fact that we are waiting for internet hook-up I don't have my pictures yet, but bear with me they are coming. Lots of them.