Monday, August 13, 2012

From College Cubes to Wire Shelves

It's been a while since I last posted.  In early April, I got a second part time job in my field– graphic design.  So, I cut back my hours at UPS Store job to 2 days a week with the occasional Saturday and started working an 8-5 job 3 days a week. 

Usually those Saturdays are spread out and I don't mind working them even though it means a one day weekend.  However, it's August and everyone is moving and I ended up taking someone else's Saturday shift along with my own.  After three weeks of working 6 days a week, this normal two day weekend feels amazing.  

So what's been happening?  Well, it's summer now.  My law student husband had an internship in Germany for 7 weeks. (Oh and did I mention this is the first summer I've ever not had a vacation or break from work/school??)  He's back now and starting school soon, but that was really rough on me.

I've been busy.  I still work on knitting, baking, crafting, etc but usually don't have time to photograph them or post (even this post has taken me most of an afternoon!). Hopefully I can get back on some sort of schedule—or at least do some mass writing and post date them so it appears I'm on a schedule!

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Everybody dislikes something about their house.  I dislike many things in my house.  Case in point: the master bathroom.  It's about 3 feet wide.  My feet touch the wall when I sit at the toilet.  The only storage space provided was an ill-fitting medicine cabinet and likely because it was there when the landlord began fixing up the house - if he did not bother to install any sort of towel racks or toilet paper holders, I can't imagine that a medicine cabinet was a priority.  When we moved in last year, we put some of my old college modular cube storage in there because we had it and needed something to put our toiletries on in the bathroom.  I was against this from the beginning.  The cubes are ill-fitting in that space and not very usable.  However, it was what we had. 

Fast forward to this April.  Our lease was up and after negotiating with our landlord, we were able to secure the same rate we were currently paying for the next two years. As much as we dislike certain things about our house and our landlord's management, it was worth it to us.  So the first project I tackled when I realized we were going to be here another two years was our bathroom.

The before.
A wee bit crowded- mostly my stuff.

When I was at the RE Store (a Habitat for Humanity store full of all sorts of fun building type stuff), I found an 84" piece shelving wire looking lonely and tall in a corner.  Wouldn't you know, it would fit perfectly in my little corner space if I cut it in half!*  I took it home and then gathered the appropriate hardware from a big box store to connect it to my wall. And also a hack saw.** 

While the husband was studying hard for exams, I got all handy and cut/installed the shelf. 

I actually really like the white on cream look.
I chose to install the top shelf slightly high because I wanted it to double as a make up shelf.  I'm blind without my glasses. They are useful when applying stuff to your face, so it helps to have a mirror about two inches away from eyes. Leaning over a sink that has a high likelihood of getting my shirt wet because the faucet sprays too hard and soaks the entire tiny counter space is not ideal. I put down a clear shelf liner from the modular cubes in two places. One so our toothbrush chargers won't fall through and the second I have a small place to put the earrings/necklaces I wear too much to have a permanent "away" place.   

much better!


I also found a glass jar with lid (possibly used to have a candle in it?) at a thrift store to put my cotton balls in.  It makes me feel like I have a fancy, organized vanity space.  I looked for a while for an equally nice looking glass jar to put q-tips in, but eventually gave up. A salsa jar ended up being the perfect size.  At some point, I'll get around to painting the lid.*** I'm pretty sure all q-tips are "mild" and I don't need to be reminded.





* Technically, due to the stellar construction of my house, it only fits perfectly at the back near the wall.  It widens out about .5" by the front of the shelf. 

** Young married people have no basic tools.  Next time you are invited to a wedding and forgot to buy a present, consider dropping by a Big Box hardware store and picking up a gift card.  It will get used eventually.  They have no idea what they need right now.  

*** Honestly, it'll probably be a couple of years if it ever gets done.  I have very realistic expectations from some projects.