5 Useful Tips for Off-Season Storage

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ZiplocSavesSpace #CollectiveBias 

Recently, I was at my parent's house when I noticed a sneaky pile of cushions and blankets in the corner of the living room.  Being a neat freak, I immediately noticed it, even though my mom had scooted a bookshelf over to try and hide it.  :)  You have to understand that I am such an organization aficionado, that as a kid I would organize the kitchen, garage, closets, and every other room in the house for fun.  Basically, she's used to me poking around in her closets!

So when I asked my mom about what was going on, she told me that the storage closet was already full!  When the holidays come around, my family loooves hanging out here because there are three couches, plus lots of comfy pillows and blankets.  That means she has a stash of guest blankets that only need to come out for the big holiday parties.  Also, this summer she bought new cushions for her patio chairs.  Now that winter is rolling around, she decided to store them inside to avoid weathering

Well that explains it!

I suggested that we maximize the space in her closet by using Ziploc® Space Bags®, which create three times the storage space.  Get this... my mom has never used them before!  Immediately, I decided that I needed to share a few useful tips on how to use Ziploc® Space Bags® with both her and all of you.  After I show you how well they worked for my mom, then I'll share those helpful hints.  First stop, Lowe's!  You can find the Ziploc® Space Bags® in the Home Organization section, in the Storage aisle.  Easy peasy!

So here are the items that I started off with in the Ziploc® Space Bags®.  I stuffed them in there a bit, so I thought they were already compressed.

Nuh uh!  I always feel like it's magic when I see HOW MUCH space is saved!  I mean, on the box it says it compresses up to 3 times the space compared to uncompressed storage volume.  I believe it!!!

Now, are you ready for the tips?  Let's get started!

Tip #1: Utilize Your Sizes

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Gift Guide for the Home

Welcome to my sixth gift guide of the season, with more than 25 presents for the home!  (Psst...  Check out these links if you missed my other five gift guides for Travel Bugs, Men, Kids, Dogs, and Everyone!)

If you are looking for a few items to add to your shopping list for a gracious hostess, something for your own home, or a few holiday decorations, this list is for you!  As usual, I have included a few favorite shops from Shop Small Saturday and a few other fun finds.

Let's get to the guide!

Home Decor & Furniture

• Handmade Birch Magazine / Book Stand from Workshop Honey, $275 :  I adore this piece and wouldn't mind one or two for my own house, hint hint!
• Mini Icosahedron Vessels with Copper from Concrete Geometric, $50 for set :  Anyone would love these mini succulent planters from one of my favorite Shop Small Saturday Showcase shops!
• Crystal Cactus Print from Cactus Club, $25 :  I just adore this colorful print, wonderful for any blank space!
• Edison Vintage Style Bulb, $14.99 :  I'm sooo in love with Edison bulbs, and this one is extra sparkly and pretty, right?  I'd pick up a couple for myself too.  :)
• Lovable Livable Home: How to Add Beauty, Get Organized, and Make Your House Work for You, $17.18 :  Get some advice straight from the fab home bloggers of Young House Love!
• Porcelain Ceramic Butter Dish from Tricia Ree Ceramics, $75 :  These one-of-a-kind pieces are so awesome.  Check out the honey jar too!
• Hanging Monster Planter and Air Plant from Clay and Fabric, $30 :  The monster planters are so whimsical.  I especially love how thee hanging ones look like they have tentacles!  :)

Pretty Decor

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DIY Industrial Pipe Stools

This week, I have a fun DIY that I first saw on another blog and knew I had to try it out!  I am all about spreading my love of handmade to others, so when I found out that someone was in the market for new stools, I immediately suggested these pipe stools!

Small disclaimer:  I did not take a picture of the final DIY because the price tag stickers were not removed at the time and the wood round was eventually swapped.  Still, I'm pretty proud of how these turned out!

For the full tutorial, head on over to Love Grows Wild and check it out!  I have a few additional tips for you, so read on!


Here are the majority of my starting materials which cost a little more than expected, but not nearly as much as a similarly-styled stool.

Next, came the building process!  Before you start, here are a few items that I suggest you use as well to make life much easier:

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Making Good - DIY Repurposed Succulent Planter

This week, I am bringing you an unexpected crafty post on a Monday!  Why?  I was invited by Agatha Lee of Green Issues by Agy to join the Making Good Repair Blog Train.  Since May 1st, a bunch of talented bloggers have been sharing their repairs and fixes for items, because we believe that  we can use our creativity to find a solution to a problem instead of just throwing it away.  Definitely check it out!

For my project, I originally had something else in mind... and I'm wondering if I bent the rules a little, now that I'm sharing my post.  That's me, always a rebel, even if by accident!

The item that I decided to use is the lasagna dish that had a hairline crack in it, after I made my fantastic Vegetarian Lasagna with Spinach, Mushrooms & Soy Crumbles.  It just was not safe for the oven anymore, so I decided to repurpose it into something completely different!

Here's a view of that crack.  So sad.  :(

So now that I think about it, I completely broke the rules and did not repair my project.  However, I did prolong the life of it, in a second career!  Instead of the kitchen, it now hangs out in the garden!

When my mom plants succulents in her fabulous garden, she likes to nurture them from little tiny cuttings in separate small containers (check out the applesauce containers on the left), then group them together in larger planters, before releasing them into the garden!

Voila, I had a new item for her to use!

Now here's what I did to transform something broken into something good!

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What My Future Dream Home Looks Like – and How I’ll Get There

As you may remember, about a year ago I made an announcement that there was a new home in the works... but due to some unforeseen circumstances, my living situation is still the same.  It's certainly disappointing that I don't have more home DIYs to share, but it ended up being the right move overall.  So while I tackle the realities of the home buying process and how I'll win next time, I thought it would be fun to share a few pictures of my "dream home" as well!


Speaking of the home buying process, it is certainly not simple (especially for first-time home buyers), but the Capital One Home Loans Online Neighborhood site breaks it down with easy-to-understand articles and helpful videos.  It's a completely free online resource for potential home buyers to learn all about home buying.  All the stages of the home buying process are covered, such as deciding if it's the right time to buy, how much you can afford, and the documents you need for a mortgage once it's time to buy.  Take a peek!

Source

Question:  How much can I afford?

One rule of thumb is to look at houses that are 2.5 times your annual salary.  For example, to afford that $2.5 million dollar beachfront dream home, I better be making a million dollars a year.  Hm...

Ideally, your monthly housing payment should be less than 28 percent of your gross household monthly income.  For example, if you take home $5,000 a month, your monthly housing payment should be less than $1,400.  For help with your budget, use an online mortgage calculator!

Source

Question:  How much should I budget for a down payment?

The traditional estimate is 20% of the purchase price of the house.  A larger down payment will lower your monthly payments, which is always preferred!

Bonus Tip:  In the model home I toured below, the kitchen below had tons of upgrades, which were all gorgeous.  However, that meant the purchase price increased dramatically and that would increase the down payment and monthly mortgage payments.  Think carefully about upgrades that you have to make vs. want to make, if you go the new home route.

Question:  What information do lenders want?

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Weekly Wrap-Up: Lots of food & celebrating!

This has been a ridiculously busy week with a ton of restaurants, home decisions, and wedding planning!  Let's get to the recap!


Precap (jump to):

• Sights:  Izalco, AnQi Gourmet Bistro & Noodle Bar, Utopia
• Eats:  Woodburning, Picking out home upgrades, Taste of Downtown Long Beach, Make Collectives

I was buying some supplies, and found myself next to Michael's.  I couldn't help but popping in, especially because I had a gift card!  After hemming and hawing, I bought this woodburning tool since I thought it would be an interesting way to decorate my woodworking projects.

My man made this bullseye.  Not bad!

You might remember from this week's announcement that we found a new house!  It was time to pick a few new finishes, but we decided to keep everything pretty standard and DIY projects along the way.  YESSSSSS!  Oh, can you tell that I'm excited?

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Two HUGE Announcements!!!

On Wednesdays, I usually share a sewing project or craft, but I have been sitting on two MAJOR pieces of information for a bit of time...  Seriously, it is life-changing news and I have been so antsy to share with you all that I just could not wait!

Now for those of you who follow me on Pinterest, you might have caught wind of at least one of the announcements.  I recently reorganized my boards because they were getting pretty disorganized and added some titles, see?

Also, I added a few more boards to each category, but I'm still in the process of moving all of my older pins to the appropriate categories.

But back to the exciting news!  You might have guessed from some of the changes I made to my Pinterest boards, one of the items that I'm announcing today...

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Weekly Wrap-Up: Nashville, Gaucho Grill, and TONS of Travel Planning!

Thankfully, this week was less action-packed but on the flip-side, I was definitely more stressed out!  A combination of time zone ping-pong and poring over travel details all weekend had me falling asleep at 8pm last night.

But I admit that I had some fun while out of town and during a dinner out with the whole family before my stressful weekend.  :)


Precap:

• Sights:  Nashville!
• Eats:  Arnold's, Cupcake Collection, Loveless Cafe, Gaucho Grill

Little Miss in Nashville again!  If you're wondering who this is, click here!

Wednesday

Last I left you, I was in New York headed to Nashville.  I had less than 24 hours until my flight home, and even with a half day of work, I was able to squeeze in the most of a city that I used to know (enter Gotye & Kimbra).

Side note, I got to Nashville at about 11pm, and rented the silliest looking car ever.  Have you ever seen the inside of a Kia Soul?  It's like an advertisement all over the seats and inside the car doors.  Ridiculous!

Immediately after my obligations the next day, I met up with my Little Sister from Big Brothers Big Sisters from when I used to live here. I was starving, so we went to Arnold's Country Kitchen for a late lunch!

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