From Messy to Managed!

There are a few times of the year that I feel like organizing things.  One of them of course is in the Spring for traditional Spring Cleaning.  But, I also like organizing right before the holidays - kind of out with the old and in with the new - and also the feeling of starting fresh after the holiday decorations are boxed up and put away.  So today, I tacked this little red metal vintage cabinet in my kitchen.

Here's the mess that I started out with -- I hate that I ever let it get this bad.

I know - awful right?  So, my stategy was basically to take every single thing out - sort it - then put back only the things that I needed/wanted in this cabinet.  Here is the final result:

And the bottom half -

So much better.  I will be tweaking it a bit here and there as I go along, but it feels so much lighter.  Isn't it amazing how much better organizing a mess can make you feel?  And it doesn't even cost any money!  Even better.

How about you?  Do you just do Sping cleaning or do you have other times of the year that inspire you?

Interesting Wooden Box Turned Spice Rack

I went junking the other day and I found this very unique wooden box.  It has an odd shape and random holes drilled in it.  But . . . it had character, so I grabbed it up.

So, I don't know about you, but when I find something unique I think in my head that I don't know where this is going to go, but I know it will have a place some where.  Sometimes it might take me a few days to find the right spot for it.  I have been known to take an item and literally walk around my house with it trying it here and there until the right spot just kind of happens.  I finally decided that the little spot right above my stove was the perfect spot for a little "shelf" to keep my spices in.  When I took my little wooden box into the kitchen and tried it in that spot, it just seemed to fit.

So, now my spices are handy and the little wooden box has found a home.  I'm not sure what it's original purpose was, but it works great as a spice rack!  Do you walk around YOUR house looking for the perfect spot for something?

Window Screen

This started out as a curbside find.  It was originally a wooden picture frame (I think).  It had no back or picture when it was found.  It would have made a nice mirror, or even a great picture frame, but I saw something completely different.  I have a small kitchen and have tried different window treatments over the years.  I've found some I like, but none that I love.  I've seen so many kitchen windows left bare which I really like.  In fact, the window above my kitchen sink is bare and I love being able to hang a grapevine wreath in the window instead of a curtain of some sort.  My back door is made of glass panes which was purchased from Habitat for Humanity Restore and it is also bare of curtains.  The remaining window needed SOMEthing, but what?  I wanted light to come in through the window, but didn't quite want to leave it bare either.  So, I took my curbside find and painted it the same color red as my kitchen cabinets.  Then, I took some fabric that I had stored in my craft supplies and attached it to the back of the frame.  A staple gun would have been great, but I didn't have one, so I just used packing tape.  I told myself that would be better anyway in case I ever want to wash it, sure.  After that, I just simply propped it in the window and hung another picture on top from the window frame.  It turned out very shabby chic and the perfect fit for my kitchen window. 

Here is the view of the window screen alone.

Here is the view of the entire window.

Here is a close up of the detail at the top - so cute.

Have you used some odd creation for a window treatment?  Do you like your windows bare or with curtains?