cleaning, de-clutter, organizational tips

Declutter Challenge for 2020

I hope everyone had a lovely Holiday and a thought-provoking New Years. Thought-provoking? Well, I always find myself thinking more than usual around New Years. How about you? I think about the past year and the year to come. And, like most people around this time, I think about any goals I want to achieve in the New Year. I’m sure you can relate to wanting to declutter. Welcome to the Declutter Challenge for 2020.

Declutter Challenge for 2020

I know a lot of us strive to be tidier. To clean our house, clear the clutter, and get more organized overall. I think the New Year is a great time to do this. In fact, it’s one of the first things I do every new year. I start purging with the Christmas decorations, as I’m taking them down to be put away. Any decorations that didn’t get used, and are not precious to me, get donated. I do this every year and my Christmas decor stash has stayed very manageable this way.

But that’s just one example. Today, I want to share with you a little declutter challenge that we can do together.

In this free printable pdf, you will find a list of areas to clean out each day. Feeling more motivated? Feel free to tackle two or three areas a day! Don’t forget to check the box when you have completed cleaning and organizing an area. And make sure to pat yourself on the back!

I also wanted to share a few tips to help you along the way in this decluttering challenge.

How to Declutter Your Home

Before you start on any area, collect three things:

a trash bag,
a box for donations
an empty laundry basket

Any items to throw away will go into the trash bag. Any items that should be donated, can go into the box. Lastly, any items not where they belong get put in that empty laundry basket to be put away later.

If you need an extra push, check out my list of 59 things you can get rid of right now.

Paperwork

The best way I found to tackle all that paperwork is to digitize it. You don’t have to create any elaborate systems. Simply switching to online bill pay and paperless billing will help a lot. Reduce mail by getting yourself off those junk mail and catalog lists! You can easily remove yourself using this free service on the Catalog Choice website.

Keep one small area designated for paper mail, and make it a point to go through this pile weekly. Keep a paper shredder handy so you can securely dispose of papers as they come in. It’s usually not necessary to keep product manuals and menus, most of these can be found online these days. Just recycle them and use the space for something else.

What about kids artwork? My philosophy has always been to keep the favorites and display them proudly (but recycle the rest.) You can display them as a lovely gallery wall of framed prints that your children created. There are also services like ArtKive that create a memory book or collage print of all their artwork for you.

Junk Drawer

Things are much easier to keep organized when we don’t have a lot of things. When you go through your junk drawer, keep only the bare minimum of items needed. Few of us really need twenty five pens and three staplers in one drawer. Use drawer organizers to keep items corralled in their own spaces.

I also love using those magnetic parts tray. They’re perfect for keeping those loose screws, paperclips, binder clips, and the like together and not rolling around in your drawer.

Closets

Closets tend to take up the bulk of our decluttering time. For most closets, I find it best to take everything out of the closet to see what you have. This is where you really need to be honest with yourself. Only keep those items that you really love. I don’t recommend saving clothing for the “ifs or maybes in the future.” Only keep what you wear now, the exception being formal wear and business attire. Shoes are another biggie here! It’s amazing how many pairs of shoes we can accumulate over time.

Where to Donate

We are probably all familiar with Salvation Army and Goodwill. Here are some additional ideas for donating your things to those in need:

Your local library will sometimes accept book donations.
Veterinarian offices are usually in need of old towels and sheets for pet beds.
Habitat for Humanity ReStore accepts used appliances, household goods, building materials, and furniture.
Local Shelters, Food Banks, and Churches
Hospitals, Police, Fire Departments, and Daycare Centers will accept used toys.
Local Schools will sometimes have seasonal clothing drives aka Coat Collections.

Don’t forget your donation receipt when you drop off your goods. These receipts help you save money on your taxes the next year.

So it’s official! Consider this challenge your excuse to declutter! Even if you end up crossing off just a few of the areas on your declutter challenge printable, that’s still a great start.

Don’t forget to download and print your Declutter Challenge Printable Right Here!

For more organization tips and tricks, check out Love your Home, Not the Stuff – Taming the Clutter.

Here’s to a more organized 2020!

~ See More of Karen’s Tutorials ~

Hello! I’m Karen, the creator of the Home Decor and DIY Blog: Decor Hint. I’m a Native of the East Coast, but I currently live in beautiful Seattle with my hubby, our two wonderful children, and our spunky wheaten terrier.

You can usually find me with some sort of craft in one hand and a coffee in the other. And I’m always rearranging furniture or moving lamps from room to room. I have a passion (read: obsession) for decorating, DIY, and gardening. In short, I love making my house into a home.

Like many, I’m inspired by what I see in home decor magazines, but I’m not so inspired by the price tags. Consequently, I love finding and creating beautiful budget-friendly home decor items. In a head to head competition, I bet you’d never know the difference between the designer items and my DIY creations! Many of my DIY projects focus on sewing, crafting, upcycling and organizing. Some of my favorite projects have been making pretty wreaths, sewing my own tassel hand towels, and crafting these trendy wood bead garlands. I can’t wait to inspire you and spark your creativity through my DIY projects.

You can always connect with me on Pinterest, Twitter or Instagram.

January 15, 2020/2 Comments/by Karen Decor Hint

Build It, organizational tips

DIY Mid Century Modern Inspired Shelving

Mid century modern inspired shelving is all the rage, and for good reason! It looks great in most homes, has clean lines, and definitely sparks joy in my house. The only downside to the mid-mod look is the cost. Even replica pieces are pricey, like this shelving unit from CB2 I’ve been eyeing for months. Worry not, because you can DIY mid-mod inspired furniture with a bit of vision and some elbow grease.

Follow along and learn how to make this mid-century modern inspired shelving for under $150! These plans are for a two-track unit with one shelf per level. You can alter the design to create a corner unit. For longer shelves, use a more intricate 3, 4, 5, or even 10-track system.

Watch the step-by-step, DIY Mid-Mod Inspired Shelving video:

Tools and Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

(2) 70” shelving tracks
(12) 2” screws and wall anchors
8 Shelf brackets (for your wall type)
(2) 1×10” boards cut to your specs
(1) 1×12” boards cut to your specs
Drill
Stud finder
Screwdriver
Level
Permanent marker to match the color of your tracks

Instructions:

Step 1- Make a plan

Determine the desired length and placement of your shelves. This is important because you are going to center the tracks to the shelves rather than to your wall. I used the dimensions below:

The distance between the two tracks should not exceed 36”, both for structural integrity and aesthetic purposes. Somewhere in the ballpark of 26” apart looks best. Typically, your shelves will be 6”-10” (3”-5” on each side) longer than the distance between the two tracks. The maximum shelf length that can be held by two brackets is 46 inches. If you want longer shelves, add more tracks and brackets to support the added length.

Cut your boards to the length you like, or have them cut at the hardware store.

Step 2- Attach the tracks

Locate the studs, and if you are lucky enough to have two evenly placed between the exact location of your future shelving unit, great! If not, don’t worry. Ideally, at least one stud will be placed 3”-6” inside either end of your shelves. If that’s the case, one track will be installed along the stud, while the other track will be installed with sturdy wall anchors.

Measure the distance from the end of your shelf to the location of one of your tracks. Use that measurement (with your shelf as the guide) on the other side to determine where the second track will be installed. If you absolutely cannot align the tracks to any studs, you can install both tracks with wall anchors, but be careful of the weight limits when you style your shelves.

Use a level to make sure your track is plumb and mark each hole along the track. This step is much easier with a helper. Using the level again, line the other track up so that the tops of both tracks are level with one another. Doing this right will guarantee that your shelves are perfectly level. Mark the second set of holes. Pre-drill each hole using the correct bit size for screws that will go directly into a stud and screws that will require anchors.

Starting with the top hole, drive in a screw to secure the track to the wall. I prefer to do this by hand so that I don’t over tighten, but be warned that it’s a lot of twisting. The tracks have some play, so if a hole is slightly off you can adjust it ever so slightly.

Step 3- Sand and stain your shelves

Before installing the shelves, you will want to prepare them. Give each a quick sanding, wipe off the dust, and apply a coat or two of stain. If you’ll be styling with plants, it’s a good idea to apply a coat of clear polyurethane for extra protection from water and moisture.

Step 4- Attach your brackets and place your shelves

This is the fun part and doesn’t require a whole lot of explanation. The deeper shelf is best placed at the bottom and is perfect for baskets and larger items. Depending on where you place your other shelves, you can create a framed space between the tracks and the shelves for a mini gallery wall. The sky’s the limit!

Thanks for reading, and good luck creating your own mid century modern inspired shelving!

~ Discover more Tutorials from Lara ~

Hi! I’m Lara, the creator of The Unprofessional blog and YouTube channel. I am an aspiring handy-woman with little to no experience building, tiling, landscaping, demolishing, and what have you. I’ve drilled holes in the wrong places, cut on the wrong lines and stripped more screws than I care to count. And yet, I’m on my way to customizing my home, project by project. I believe you can do pretty much anything with a few good tools, a stack of wood and a half-baked
idea.

I like to find challenges and solve them with my miter saw. When my 3-year-old son complained that he couldn’t reach the picnic table, I designed an easy-to-build folding booster seat perfect for camping trips and beer gardens. When the low ceilings in my cape cod wouldn’t accommodate a bulky barn door, I found an alternative approach to turn any interior door into a space-saving barn door. I love to share these solutions with others in hopes that the empowerment and love of power
tools spreads.

You can connect with me on Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.

February 20, 2019/0 Comments/by Lara the Unprofessional

arts and craft, decor, Decorating, Home Decor, organizational tips, storage

How to Make a DIY Wood Wall Organizer

Hello, Pretty Handy Girl Readers! I’m Karen and I’m the blogger behind Decor Hint and a new member of the Pretty Handy Girl contributor team. I’m so excited to be here today. Today, I’m going to show you how to make a simple DIY Wood Wall Organizer. There is something about the New Year that always motivates me to clean up and organize my home. I’m always looking for new ways to organize my things but I still want to have it look polished and well decorated. Only I’m not interested in spending a lot of money. (Which is why I tend to DIY everything!) I’ve been seeing these cute wall organizers everywhere and I thought: “I could totally make that.” So here I am with a new project! Let’s get started, shall we?

Materials:

Wood Garden Stake –
- This cost me a buck from my local hardware store! You could also use a regular piece of scrap wood and cut it down to the size you need. For dimensions, my garden stake is 2 inches wide by 24 inches long
Wood Glue
Wooden Clothespins
Q-Tip
Tape Measure
Spray Paint (Optional)

Wood Wall Organizer Tutorial

Step 1 :Take your tape measure and mark where you want your clothespins to be on your piece of wood. Two inches apart and alternated top and bottom is a good pattern.

Step 2 : Attach the clothespins to your piece of wood or garden stake using wood glue. Use your pen marks as your guide. Squeeze a little wood glue on your wood piece and a little glue on your clothespins.

Place the clothespins onto the wood piece and press firmly for a few seconds. Make sure the “mouth” part of the clothespin faces out. If excess glue squeezes out, use a Q-tip to remove the excess. Repeat this step with each clothespin. Allow to dry overnight.

Here’s what it looks like so far! Pretty cool, right?

<Step 3: Once the wood glue is dry, it’s time to paint it. Of course, if you prefer the natural look of your wall organizer, you can keep it natural. If you decide to paint it, move outdoors or to an area with good ventilation while you are spray painting. Place your wall organizer in a large cardboard box and spray paint it. This will save you from having white spray painted grass! A lesson I’ve learned many times – although mine was pink grass! My husband really loved that project! 🙂

You don’t want to spray too much paint on your wall organizer at one time or it will get drippy. It’s best to spray several light coats in a sweeping motion to get smooth coverage. Allow the paint to dry overnight.

Step 4 : You’re done! Now it’s time to hang your new wall organizer! I use mine to hold and organize stationary, photos, postcards, and my kids artwork. I don’t plan on hanging anything too heavy on it so 3M velcro sticky tabs work perfectly. You could always hang your wall organizer with a good ol’ hammer and nails too if you feel you need the extra support.

And that’s it! A stylish wall organizer that was made for just a few bucks. You can’t beat that!

I love having a wall organizer like this that can help organize my papers. However, this isn’t just for stationary! The DIY Wood Wall Organizer could be hung in your closet to hold necklaces or ties. Or try hanging it in your laundry room to hold all those socks with the missing pairs. Make one for Christmas and use it to display all those Christmas cards from loved ones. I was even thinking this could hold spools or ribbons or washi tapes.

I hope you guys enjoyed this easy tutorial and I hope it gets you a little more organized this year! To see more of what I’m decorating and DIYing, I’d love for you to visit me at my blog, Decor Hint. I’ll be back next month with a new project for you!

~ See More of Karen’s Tutorials ~

Hello! I’m Karen, the creator of the Home Decor and DIY Blog: Decor Hint. I’m a Native of the East Coast, but I currently live in beautiful Seattle with my hubby, our two wonderful children and our spunky wheaten terrier.

You can usually find me with some sort of craft in one hand and a coffee in the other. And I’m always rearranging furniture or moving lamps from room to room. I have a passion (read: obsession) for decorating, DIY, and gardening. In short, I love making my house into a home.

Like many, I’m inspired by what I see in home decor magazines, but I’m not so inspired by the price tags. Consequently, I love finding and creating beautiful budget-friendly home decor items. In a head to head competition, I bet you’d never know the difference between the designer items and my DIY creations! Many of my DIY projects focus on sewing, crafting, upcycling and organizing. Some of my favorite projects have been making pretty wreaths, sewing my own tassel hand towels, and crafting these trendy wood bead garlands. I can’t wait to inspire you and spark your creativity through my DIY projects.

You can always connect with me on Pinterest, Twitter or Instagram.

January 16, 2019/2 Comments/by Karen Decor Hint

Build It, Decorating, DIY, organizational tips

16+ DIY Built In Storage and Shelving Ideas

Built in storage and shelves are a great way to create an attractive home that is as functional as it is beautiful. Built-ins maximize the space you can use in your home and make it easier to keep organized and clutter free. Here is a collection of 16+ DIY Built In Storage and Shelving Ideas to help you come up with ways you can upgrade your home this year with built in storage!

16 DIY Built In Storage and Shelving Ideas:

Learn to build this modern and sleek a floating TV shelf that doesn’t take up much space but offers great storage.

Add some beautiful hanging storage to your wall by building this Coat Rack made from an Old Door.

Add warmth, character and display space by building this Scrap Wood Wall with built-in ledges.

Upgrade and organize your laundry or storage room with a Flow Wall cabinets and slat wall.

Add storage without sacrificing sunlight by building some Glass Window Shelves.

Organize kids books and keep them in view by installing these simple and functional Rain Gutter Bookshelves.

Add some small decor features to your room by installing these Industrial Display Shelves.

Repurpose your space and turn a Spare Closet into a Reading Nook.

For a quiet kid zone, build this Children’s Closet Library to make great use of unused wall space.

Tackle your sports equipment by building this Sports Gear Storage Shelf within a small unused space.

Build full Chalkboard Front Storage drawers for your pantry to organize and easily find any item you need.

Add some simple elegance to a room by building this Built-In Decorative Shelf.

Take your decor up a notch by adding gorgeous Shelves Using Corbel Brackets for storage. Don’t let a tile wall stop you!

Don’t search for missing shoes any longer, organize your closets by building these DIY Built-In Shoe Shelves.

Upgrade your office or kitchen storage by building a beautiful Wall-Mounted Hutch.

Th

Make great use of small space by building these Narrow Pantry Shelves with vintage ruler stops.

And here’s your bonus +1! Make custom storage for under your sink cabinet using scrap wood and dollar store bins!

I hope these DIY built-in storage and shelving ideas inspire you to maximize the space you have available in your home and create a more organized and clutter free space for your family to enjoy!

Hi, I’m Sheri from Hazel + Gold Designs. Here are a few fun stats about me: I ~~like~~ love chocolate and peanut butter (together of course.) If you like stats, I have been crocheting for about 16 years, crafting for 20, and woodworking for about 4 years. I found a passion in making and being creative and began documenting my projects online at Hazel + Gold Designs.

When not working on projects, I enjoy spending time with my husband, four children, perfect dog, and ornery cat. You can find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.

Read all of Sheri’s tutorials.

~Find more of Sheri’s projects here ~

August 13, 2018/3 Comments/by Sheri

Chalk marker, Chalkboard paint, Home Tour, organizational tips, Painting & Antiquing Techniques

DIY Chalkboard Wall Calendar

DIY Chalkboard Calendar | Pretty Handy Girl

Create this DIY Chalkboard Calendar to get you and your family organized. It will only take you about half an hour to create but it will save you the headache of double booking yourself and get the kids on board with upcoming activities and trips.

DIY Chalkboard Wall Calendar

I’m bring back this tutorial for those of you that may have missed it. Why? Because this DIY Chalkboard Wall Calendar has been in our kitchen for over four years and it has held up beautifully! This calendar is an important part of our daily routine. My kids look at it frequently to see what activities and trips are coming up. My husband and I use a Google calendar to stay current, but this calendar is a great way to keep the kids organized and to let me look at a glance what’s coming up while I’m on the phone. Seriously, this is one of the best things I created for our family. In the spirit of getting organized, I’m going to share with you my easy DIY chalkboard wall calendar. But, first here are some great uses for a chalkboard calendar.

Ways to Use a Chalkboard Calendar:

Keep Track of After School Activities
Menu Plan
Chore Reminders
School Lunch Menu
Holidays
Birthdays
Reminder for Pets Flea, Tick and Heartworm Medicine
Business Trips
Vacations
Date Nights
Family Activities
Blog Calendar
Schedule Meetings
Work Calendar
Project Planning

Have I left anything out?

Easy to Clean:

In the past I used to draw out the calendar lines, but trying to erase inside the lines was tedious and time consuming. What busy mom has time for that?! By using the vinyl stripes, I can easily erase the calendar after two months and add new dates.

To save extra time, I like to put recurring items on the bottom line so I can wipe around them and keep the items there from month-to-month.

I also use consistent color coding. One color per person and I use separate colors for school or trips. But, feel free to do what works for your family.

To create this quick chalkboard calendar you need to start with a chalkboard wall (or large chalkboard.) Then gather some supplies.

Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Chalk
Ruler
Level
Vinyl lines (cut your own on a cutting machine or purchase this one from Leen the Graphics Queen)

Instructions:

Using the level, make a straight (and level) line for the top of your calendar. (Mine is 28″ wide.)

Using your ruler, mark a tick mark horizontally every 4″ (more or less depending on your space availability) for the 7 days. Make 5 tick marks down from the top line vertically every 4″. Repeat on the opposite side. Then add your horizontal tick marks for the days at the bottom.

Use your vinyl lines to outline the calendar and create the horizontal lines.

Connect the vertical tick marks with vinyl lines. If you have excess vinyl, snip off the excess with a pair of scissors. (Our calendar is 20″ tall.)

In our house I added two calendars. It’s always nice to see a month ahead! Sometimes I contemplate moving the calendars up and added a third month, but for now this works well for us.

The chalkboard calendar lets you get creative and practice your chalk lettering. (It’s been fun for me to practice since picking up these hand-lettering books.)