Truth be told, I’m not a big fan of doing laundry. On the other hand, having a full laundry basket is one of my least favorite things and I love the feeling of knowing the dresser and closet are filled with fresh, clean clothes neatly folded and put away. When it comes to laundry around here, Greg and I are what I guess you could call a tag team. Sometimes, I put a load in the washer, but he ends up being putting it in the dryer. Other times, it’s the opposite. Today’s quick tip is of the housekeeping nature and something Greg and I do to make our laundry life a little easier.
This may sound crazy at first, but bear with me for a second… We keep a dry erase marker on the windowsill above the washing machine and leave laundry-related notes and reminders for each other. For instance, if I put a load in and there’s a shirt in there that needs to be hung up rather than put in the dryer, I just leave a note on the washer reminding Greg (or myself!) that it doesn’t go in the dryer. Yes, we leave the notes right ON the washer/dryer itself. Its slick surface basically makes the washer a huge box-shaped wipe-off board, so our notes come off very easily. This messaging system is really handy, and it helps answer all of the “laundry-related” questions for this washing and drying duo.
UPDATE: A few of our readers have notified us that they had some issues with this tip. When they went to erase the marker, it didn’t come off! We’ve suggested a few solutions in the comments below, but, as with most tips, tricks, and products, you should definitely try this in an inconspicuous place before you start using it in full force! If anyone has had this problem and has found a solution for erasing the marker, please leave a comment!
How about you… Do you have any laundry-doing tips to share? Tell us about them!
Even though we’re (almost) done with our kitchen renovation, we still love finding little nuggets of style inspiration. When this awesome budget-friendly kitchen renovation came across our inbox, we were floored. It wasn’t just a “little nugget” of solid and inspirational design. It’s an absolutely awesome kitchen at a fraction of the cost you’d probably think. Without further ado, here’s Jesse’s email:
We absolutely adore your kitchen renovation and thought your readers might enjoy ours as well. We bought a 1950′s ranch a few months ago, and with the approaching birth of our second baby, we knew we had to kick it into high gear to get it ready. The kitchen was in desperate need of some love, with linoleum floors, laminate counters, dated cabinets and the original 18′ oven (not the cute kind, ha!). We completely gutted the entire space down to the bare studs and even removed a few enclosing walls. My husband is an electrician and quite the handyman, so he re-wired and re-plumbed the space. We hung new drywall, laid new hardwood flooring, installed new cabinets, a subway tile backsplash, and DIYed a butcher block island. We penny pinched on nearly every aspect (spent just under 10K) to get the kitchen of our dreams and even saved enough to splurge on soapstone countertops! After two months of late nights and weekends spent renovating we were finally able to move in… Just three days after coming home with new baby! With all the hard work we’ve loved every minute of it and would do it again in a heartbeat. Nothing compares to a space you’ve built on your own from the ground up! Hope you can enjoy this space as much as we have!
(Keep those recipes coming. We’re loving them over here!)
Are you ready for this kitchen renovation awesomeness?!
To open up the space, they took down a wall between the kitchen and living room. So smart! They also reconfigured the layout of the appliances to make for a more functional kitchen.
We’re really digging the dark soapstone countertops and the butcher block island. For the butcher block countertop, they purchased maple butcher block from Lumber Liquidators, cut it to size, then stained it using Minwax Dark Walnut (our personal favorite as well!) followed by Minwax Water-based Polycrylic.
To add some color, they brought in cheerful green and yellow accents. Like with most all-white kitchens, they can easily change up the color-scheme later down the road if they wish, simply by changing accessories.
They also brought in a white and yellow striped rug. We love having rugs in the kitchen (we’re thinking about bringing one into ours down the road). It gives the kitchen a nice, cozy feeling, and it’s a great way to bring in more color.
For the roman shade above the sink, Jessie took a mini blind, fabric, and glue to make a no-sew roman shade (using this tutorial). Genius!
I really like how the black window frame pops against the white subway tile and cabinetry. It also ties in the dark lighting hardware.
We’re huge fans of industrial lighting, and these are 100% total awesomeness. They add yet another darker element to a light kitchen, and add some visual interest to bring your eye to the great DIY butcher block counter.
Now that’s great before and after, right? For more information about Jessie’s renovation, including a source list and full budget breakdown, check out her blog, Cape27. Ashley loves the dark countertops and the addition of the runner and I’m really digging the industrial touches in the lighting and barstools. We still need barstool for our kitchen, maybe we should add these to the maybe list?
By the way… Do you have a home project, house tour, or DIY project you would like to have featured? Email your submission to submissions@7thhouseontheleft.com. When sending your submission, include up to eight photos along with a description and important details (paint colors, materials needed, instructions, budget, etc.). By sending us your submission, you are giving us permission to post it on the blog – don’t worry, we won’t post your email address or any personal information. That’d be bad. Please Note: Not every submission will be published. If we decide to publish your submission, we will send you an email letting you know when it will be on the blog.
Happy June everyone! It’s the first of the month, which means it’s time for our monthly installment of His + Her Favorite Things. For the past few days, Ash and I have been drumming up ideas for our outdoor patio and carport. We rarely, if ever, park the car in the carport and the attached patio is just sitting there. Therefore, we think it has a lot of potential to be more of an “outdoor living space” rather than just a place to keep the grill and garbage can. With that being said, for this edition of our monthly favorite, we’re going to share our favorite picks for our future outdoor living area…
1. Industrial Outdoor Lighting - When upgrading our exterior living space in the near future, we’d like the style to include some industrial elements. Ash and I were at Jersey Mike’s the other day (they have good turkey subs!) and we noticed their light fixtures (very much like these). Later that night, we were going over our outdoor plans and we both thought of the “Jersey Mike’s lights” for a lighting option. While we’re not dead set on this particular design, this is definitely in the right vein.
2. Smoking Meat: The Essential Guide to Real Barbecue - The internet is a great resource for outdoor cooking, but sometimes, you just want a book in your hands; one definitive way to do something, rather than a bunch of people throwing out 30 different techniques. I think if my loving wife ever lets me get #3 on this list, I’ll probably pick up this book to get me started. I’m anxious to try my hand at some good ‘ole southern pulled pork…
3. Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker – …which brings me to the Weber Smokey Mountain smoker! This is one of the most popular smokers out there, and with good reason. The previous iteration had some minor problems (It still worked great, according to reviews, though!), but Weber listened to their customers. The two main improvements are the built-in thermometer (essential for smoking) and larger charcoal loading door. As I write this, Ash and I just ate dinner (OMG Chicken for the win!), and my mouth is still watering at the mere thought of the culinary concoctions that I could whip up in this bad boy!
4. Allen + Roth Eastfield Patio Furniture - Two of these chairs, along with the matching coffee table and loveseat, are currently #1 on our list of things to save up for this summer. The picture really doesn’t do it justice. We really want to replace our existing wicker-ish (the “wicker” is plastic) patio set with something a little nicer. We were at Lowe’s the other day, we stumbled on their selection of outdoor furniture and decided to take a look. We ended up sitting inside one of their pergolas on this furniture until closing time! Actually, we didn’t realize they closed early on Sundays, so it was only about 15 minutes. We’ve since been back to Lowe’s three times (yes, since Sunday!) and every time we go by to look at it and sit for a minute. I’m pretty excited about the prospect of this furniture sitting outside our backdoor in the near-ish future.
5. Cowboy Charcoal - Technically, this could be paired with #3, as well, but I actually already use this with my charcoal grill on a regular basis. I’m a huge fan of using real, honest-to-goodness chunk charcoal when I grill, and this is my brand of choice. The only time I use regular briquettes anymore is if I’m in a real hurry. (I just use the match light type at that point.) Otherwise, I absolutely love the flavor that chunk charcoal gives the meat. If you’ve never used it, you definitely need to check it out.
1. Outdoor Pillows - Greg already talked about the outdoor furniture we’ve got our eyes on. Once we upgrade the outdoor furniture, we’d also like to add lots of outdoor pillows to the space. Having pillows would make it feel so cozy and a great way to bring the indoors out. I really like these pillows in particular because I’m a sucker for a good graphic pattern. Though I’m not sure how the navy color would look with the particular green fabric on the patio furniture, but we shall see when the time comes.
2. Hanging Ferns - Our carport has got the perfect space for about four hanging ferns. Greg wasn’t too keen on the idea at first, but I’ve slowly but surely warmed him up to the idea. Adding a few ferns to our carport/patio area would really brighten it up and bring some much-needed greenery to the sea of concrete and aggregate. On top of that, they’re only about $8 a piece at our local Lowe’s! That’s not a bad price tag for instant “patio appeal”. Image from here.
3. Barrel Outdoor Drink Dispenser - Aside from having a space to lounge, we’d also like the area to be good for entertaining. Being a big pink lemonade fan (I’m literally drinking some right now actually), this drink dispenser had me at hello. I love the simple rustic design and can totally see it on a rustic outdoor buffet table – which is another want on our outdoor list. I also love the Hobnail Outdoor Drinkware sitting next to it!
4. Tony Bennett Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook - This is without a doubt the best album for outdoor relaxation. Greg and I listened to the album the other night while working on a project outside and it was perfect! My favorite song on the album would have to be his version of “Mountain Greenery”. Even if you don’t usually like the “I Love Lucy era music”, you should definitely consider this album for the background music for your next night of entertaining!
5. Decan Lantern – A few of these on an outdoor coffee table – or on that rustic outdoor buffet table I’m dreaming about – would look so awesome. Coming in at almost 10″ wide and 18″ tall, it’s a good size for a large pillar candle and sure to make a statement.
6. Smith & Hawken Herringbone Patio Rug - I’m really loving this rug because it’s neutral but has a fun herringbone pattern on the border that brings a little touch of style without going over the top and being too trendy. Yet another great way to bring the indoors out!
That wraps up our monthly favorite things – outdoor living edition! Do you have any favorites this month? Any particular must haves in your outdoor living area? Share them with us!
Btw… Yesteday, we were having some “technical difficulty” and the blog was offline for a the majority of the day. Therefore, we’re keeping our current giveaway (brought to you by Whippy Cake!) open until Monday to make sure everyone gets a chance to enter! So, if you haven’t entered yet, click on over!
