DIY Magnet Organizational Board

Magnet Organization Board
the place to put all your coupons/reciepts/notes and more...

I don't know how you keep track of all your coupons, notes, shopping lists, receipts and all the other little odds and ends that seem to get stock piled collected on a day-to-day basis but at our house...all those little "things" kept piling up in stack on my kitchen counter or written on sticky notes and slapped on the fridge or cabinet door or sometimes to Mr. AKMs forehead :) 

There was no true rhyme or reason to how it was handled.  It was more of a bad habit than anything.  Well, I decided it was high time to put the bad habit to rest!

I absolutly LOVE how colorful it is...and that EVERYTHING is in one place!  LOVE IT! 

So here is how it came to be...

I had the black frame already and had been trying to figure out what I wanted to do with it.  Then my sister mentioned wanting to make a magnet board for her daughter...and I thought "I can do that!"  But I honestly didn't know where I would put one...then my mom purchased the AWESOME Michael Miller fabric from Hypernoodle.  She has the CUTEST fabric like EVER!  If you are into sewing you must go check out the stuff on her website.  You won' be dissappointed.

Anyway, back to my story...the minute I saw the fabric I knew what I had to do...so I ran to Lowes to get me a sheet of metal.  And then it went something like this...

AKM Note:  Please wear gloves when cutting the sheet metal as the edges can get pretty sharp...not that the new blood stain on the work bench is mine or anything. 

Then step back, smile and admire all your handi-work!

 

I am excited to finally have a little organization going in my life...and a bright, happy place to put it all!

What are some of your favorite ways to organize your clutter in the kitchen?



You may find this post partying in the following places:

Monday:  Debbie Doos - The Girl Creative - Skip to My Lou - Craft O Maniac - Lisa's Craft Blog - The DIY Show Off -Everything Under the Moon

Tuesday:  Not Just A Housewife - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Clean and Scentsible - Crazy For Crust - recipes - Uncommon Designs

Wednesday:  Savvy Southern Style - Blue Cricket Design - Seven Thirty-Three - Someday Crafts - Michele Raven Designs/

Thursday:  Delightful Order - Something Swanky - Recipes - The How To Mommy - A Little Nosh         

Friday:  Finding Fabulous - Chic on a Shoestring Decorating - Fingerprints on the Fridge - Shabby Nest - Whipperberry – Miss Mustard Seed - French Country Cottage - Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom), Friday Favorites (Simply Sweet Home), Latest & Greatest Friday (Days of Chalk and Chocolate), Bacon Time, Fusion Friday (Jane Deere Blog). 

Organization = Life Simplified

Dry Erase Love

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(meal planning…SIMPLIFIED)

Dry Erase...its like the greatest thing EVER invented.  I mean seriously...who doesn't love it?  Its a board that you can write on and wipe off of endlessly.  There is NO waste involved what-so-ever.  See!  It's even ECO friendly.  Sooo many reasons to love dry erase boards.  My reason for loving THIS dry erase board is because it makes it easy for me to plan our weekly meals...and if something changes (as it always seems to) I can just wipe it off and write in the "update" to our menu.  SO SIMPLE!  I don't have to print out a new menu sheet or have to deal with cross outs (I'm fairly anal about things like that).  Its like whatever was there before never. even. existed!  Sah-weet!

I know that everyone loves to make printouts to help keep themselves organized and I'm all up in that too but I found that I never really "did" print out that menu planner that I created.  I was always writing it on a sticky note and slapping it on the fridge and then it would fall off and slide under the fridge.  I got kind of tired of getting down on my hands and knees and looking under the fridge to see what was on the dinner menu for Thursday night.  It wasn't fun people.  And lets face it...my knees aren't as young as they used to be so that tile floor was getting a bit hard for me to handle.  

So the other day when I was wandering around Target all by my lonesome, I found myself wandering down the calendar isle (I have a mild addiction to day planners...but that's a whole different story).  When out of the corner of my eye, I spy this.

I knew in an instant that it was meant to be mine.  We were destined to be one.  Love at first site.  I will not lie, the first thing that caught my attention was the pink and the red of it all.
 

The 2nd thing that caught my eye...the price tag!  For $6.99 I could own this little piece of pink, red and white dry erase heaven AND it comes with a pad of paper for me to stick on the fridge next to it or under it or wherever I want to keep track of the grocery items that I need!  SCORE!  Dry erase AND a pad of paper...its a total win / win in my book! 

Just check it out in it's new home...

Maybe it's because love is in the air with Valentines Day coming and all but there was just something about the pink and red flowers that drew me in.  Are you feeling the love too??

 

DIY Homemade Pallet Wood Tray

Vintage Wood Tray

keep track of all your remotes, magazines and whatnots...

Do you have one of those coffee tables that seems to accumulate "stuff" no matter how hard you try (beg, plead, nag...complain) to get everyone to STOP putting everything that touches their hands on top of it?  Do you ever wonder what to do with all the stuff that seems to gravitate to your coffee table?  The magazines, the remotes, the drink coasters, kleenex boxes, toys, books....This has been a battle in my household, well, since I got married to be honest.  Then it got worse once I had kids.  I mean seriously guys, how hard is it to put the TV remote into the drawer NEXT to the couch?  I mean you just have to lean to the right instead of to the front.  Its not THAT big of a stretch.  You might get a little oblique action going on.  I'm just sayin'.  My guys, they just don't get it.  Everything must go forward.  Reading a book...leave it on the coffee table.  Playing with your Ipod Touch...leave it on the coffee table...blowing your nose, throw the dirty kleenex on the coffee table.  UGH!  (I'm so not kidding about the dirty kleenex either).  YUCK!  I still love them though...and I'd blame it on their mom, but thats ME!  Oh where did I go wrong?  It's not MY fault...they belong to their dad.  It's his gene pool that they get it from.

I made the decision to STOP the madness.  As in end it completely...cease it's existence.  I removed the coffee table!  Problem solved!  Ok, I didn't really get THAT dramatic, but I wanted too :)  Then my husband stomped his feet and said (in his demanding voice, snicker snicker, snort) that he would not stand for that!  Yea, whatever!  But I did have his attention so he was willing gritting his teeth to help solve the problem.

In came the idea...I saw a tray in a magazine that I thought was really cool but they wanted something like $75 bucks for it!  GASP!  For a tray...that is made of wood?  I'm sorry folks, that is RI.DIC.U.LOUS!

We can make it for FREE!  Oh yea bay-BEE!  That's what I am talking about!  F to the R to the E.E!  All yo need is some leftover pieces of wood...or an old pallet.  But just cuz it was free, don't go thinking it was all easy or nuthin like that.  Mr. AKM did have to pull apart some pallets to make this happen.  And from what I hear (due to his grumbling) that THAT is no easy task.  OH WELL!  Nobody said FREE came easy.  In the end, this is what we have...

The PERFECT place for everything...except dirty, snotty tissues! 

Don't you just love the variation of color?  And the rope handles?  Be still my heart.  I'm in deep...deep LOVE with this! 

You could even add a cool stencil and then sand it a bit to jazz up the top or use some decorative pulls for handles, or paint the tray a fun color and add some pretty pulls for a little girls room!  The options are endless!

What do ya think? Could you find a way to use this simple pallet tray for a space in your home!?  I'd love to see/hear your ideas!

Tomorrow I will be posting the tutorial on how to make these if your interested in the how to's of it all.

Update:  Find Pallet Wood Tray Tutorial here.

Linking up to the following parties...go check them out

The Girl Creative

Skip to My Lou

Craft O Maniac

Lisa's Craft Blog

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Savvy Southern Style

Blue Cricket Design

Michele Raven Designs

Finding Fabulous

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Fingerprints on the Fridge

Shabby Nest

Whipperberry