Bathroom Makeover

Our downstairs powder room was super boring and inconvenient- completely covered in flat white paint, with nothing but a toilet, sink, and chipped mirror- nowhere to put anything, not even a toilet paper holder. I'm so happy with the changes we made with very little time and money- it is certainly overflowing with personality and has so much more storage now!

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Here's a quick video tour of the space before and after (don't mind the terrible "before" video at the beginning- per usual I was a bad blogger and forgot to take before pictures or video so I had to use what I had):

The first thing, of course, was to give the walls some color. When I saw this removable peel and stick wall paper I knew this was the place to use it- it's a very bold pattern I wouldn't use on a huge wall but for this tiny bathroom it is perfect! And the colors coordinate with the wall color of the dining room/ kitchen that leads to this powder room, so it all flows together really nicely. Plus I already had a few pink bathroom items, like the little corner trashcan and toilet brush, a vase, and some artificial flowers from our the powder room in our old place that had a lot of pink in the wallpaper, so it would fit with those as well! I picked out the light blue color for the rest of the room to match the wallpaper as well, and I love how it all came together. The wallpaper was exactly as hard as I thought it would be- the first piece was a little frustrating to figure out how to put up, but once I did it once the rest was pretty easy.

Next up was getting some storage in there to make the space more usable- not having a toilet paper holder on the wall got really old really fast! I moved the small shelf in from my daughters' old bedroom and used that to hold extra toilet paper, some scented candles, cleaning supplies (in a pink bin at the bottom) and some decorative items that I already had from our old bathroom. Because the room is relatively small I knew I wanted a wall-mounted toilet paper holder that could also store some extra toiletries for guests- this one I got has been perfect and it was pretty easy to assemble and hang!

I was prepared to keep the old mirror, honestly out of laziness more than anything else, but my mom (who helped us paint the walls) talked me into getting something a little more updated, especially since it was getting corroded at the bottom. I tried to look at a couple of hardware stores to pick one up but couldn't find exactly what I needed in stock so I ended up getting this one from Amazon- it arrived in perfect condition and I definitely like the oval shape better than the old rectangular one. This room also desperately needed towel holders! This one that I got has 2 bars but is still pretty compact which is great for this small room.

The pink towels we found at IKEA- I actually took a small piece of the wallpaper to the store so I could make sure the colors matched! And we ended up finding these small artificial potted plants in a set of 3 similar to these on clearance- one of my daughters had first picked them out for her bedroom, but when I saw the price we got a few more and put some in the bathroom too! They're small but I think they make the space feel so much more fancy- my daughters said it looks like a fancy hotel bathroom now :)

The moral of the story is, if you like the idea of a bold pattern or color scheme but you're scared to do it in your house or worried that the next people won't like it... Do it. I smile every time I walk past our bathroom now, and we will definitely be enjoying it for a long time even if we eventually decide to change it for one reason or another.

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Kids' Hair Accessories Storage Solution

I'm back with one of those simple organization tips that I love, this time for my daughters' hair ties and clips! If you have little girls (or boys) who care about what goes in their hair, you'll know what I mean when I say that those tiny little clips and elastics can create an organizational nightmare in the bathroom. I've had several different storage / organization solutions over the last few years, but this new system has been really helpful for our current stage, now that the girls have more specific opinions about what they want and like to be able to get things out by themselves.

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So there are a few reasons for my need to organize the girls' hair accessories:
1. with two girls in the house, we have quite a few bits and bobs to store,
2. the two of them were getting into arguments over who the pink clip belonged to, and who had left the coveted purple bow at school yesterday etc,
3. at almost 5, they have very specific ideas about what color hair tie or clip they want to wear, and
4. they like to get out their stuff themselves.

When the girls were younger, I kept all of the hair ties in one place and it was great- it saved a lot of time and space and I could quickly get what they wanted for them. I just used a pill box from the dollar store to keep all of the colors separated:

I was finding, though, that the girls had trouble getting those little boxes open and closed without spilling little elastics all over the bathroom. It worked fine when I was using it, but it was not good for little preschooler hands.

Then the Dollar Tree came through yet again when I found these little organizers:

They have tiny little compartments, they come in different colors (so I can get a different one for each child), and the lids are easy to open and close! The clear tops make it easier for the girls to see what they have and find what they need before they open it too! I was even able to separate out the hair ties by individual colors so that they can still pick out exactly what they want.

The organizers fit nicely in our bathroom cabinet, and I put the bigger clips and bows in a ziploc bag for each of them:

*sigh* It makes me so happy to see everything in its place :) We've had this system for a few weeks now and so far the girls have kept everything organized on their own. I'm sure when the girls get older our needs will change again, but for this stage that we're in right now, I am thrilled with these little organizers! If you have littles in the same stage at your home, see if you can find these at your local dollar store or drugstore- they have worked perfectly for us! Here's a link to a similar item on the Dollar Tree website, and here's a similar item on Amazon if you can't find it in stores.

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Mommy Monday: a mirror for the shorties

I made a small update to our bathroom this week and it has made my 3-year-old girls so happy! It took me about 30 seconds and cost $1. Presenting: the girls' own bathroom mirror!

Last week I shared my girls' current set of chores, which includes personal grooming like washing hands, brushing teeth, and combing hair. I usually do those things right along with them, and I realized that they often saw me looking at myself in the mirror while fixing my hair, for example, and wanted me to hold them up so they could see themselves in the mirror. You can see my mirrored cabinets above the sink in the photo- it is way too high for the girls to see, even with their step stools and lots and lots of stretching! It took me a few weeks but it eventually hit me that they would enjoy having their own mirror so they can see themselves in the bathroom like I do. Duh, but it's amazing how often I fail to see the world from their perspective!

Anyway, I already had a dollar store mirror on hand (I had planned to use it for another project long ago- it didn't work out...), so I pulled it out to try to figure out how to mount it in the bathroom. In my case, I have a little ledge where the mirror can rest perfectly, but if I didn't have that I would just use some command strips made for the bathroom (trust me, you can't use regular command hooks/strips in the bathroom- I've tried multiple times. sigh.).

And there you have it! My girls absolutely LOVE being able to see themselves without help, just like Mommy. And I love watching them grin every time they catch a glimpse of their reflections- too cute!

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Mommy Monday: 3 ways IKEA Trones can be your home organization hero

So, a few months ago, I came across these little things called Trones at IKEA:

They are plastic shoe storage cabinets and come in sets of 3, but they are each separate so you can arrange them vertically or horizontally to fit your space. OR so you can use just one at a time instead of all 3 together. Once I saw this thing I immediately thought of this space in my girls' bedroom:

I'm almost too embarrassed to even show you this picture, but there it is- I had been keeping their pajamas in a pile on the floor because I hadn't found a good place to put them! All of their other clothes are in a hallway closet, but since they get ready for bed in their bedroom, I didn't want to put the PJ's in there, and their bedroom is pretty small so I hadn't found an easy place to put them. A little plastic cabinet that easily pulls out and could be wall-mounted sounded perfect! Anything that clears space on the floor or counters is a win for me. 

But wait a minute... what about the other 2? Once I started thinking about ways I could use the 3 cabinets in the set, my mind was spinning. It is quite possible that I will soon be going back for another set, because I have a few other places I would LOVE to put these! But for now, here are the 3 ways I have used the Trones cabinets in my home and fallen in love!

1. Pajamas and books in kid's bedroom

Remember that pile of pajamas?

Here's that space now:

I love that there's a little lip around the top so you can use it as a shelf! It is the perfect height for the girls to reach inside the cabinet, and it's also the perfect spot to keep a few of their favorite potty time books! :) The girls love it too- it's like a magic box. 

2. Toilet paper

So, I was able to solve another never-ending organization dilemma: toilet paper storage! My problem is that most toilet paper storage is too easily accessible for curious little hands, and I wanted to avoid that all-too-familiar scene with 5 rolls of paper stuffed in the toilet and 1 very guilty looking toddler. Until now, I had been keeping extra paper in my storage closet. You can imagine the awkward scenes that sometimes ensued when I was on the toilet without paper in reach, or worse, a guest! Enter the Trones:

Doesn't it just fit right in with the bathroom? And bonus: I am keeping my deodorizing spray on the shelf as well. Inside the cabinet I was able to fit all of my extra toilet paper:

Pretty sure I'm set for a while! *sigh* Isn't it wonderful?!?

3. Fruit basket/bread box/pantry

So this one was a great way to get rid of some random little things that were annoyingly taking up space on my kitchen counters, and put some of the things I use regularly from my pantry (which is around the corner from my kitchen) within reach.

Before, I had my bread and bagels over in the corner of my kitchen counter:

Not only does it take up premium space, but it looks cluttered and messy. Then there was my fruit. I had thought about getting a fruit basket for a while, but the wall-mounted ones were a lot more expensive than I wanted. So my bananas and avocados just rolled around on my kitchen counters too:

Enter my Trones, mounted on the wall next to my command center:

In addition to putting my produce on top and bread inside, I was able to get my potatoes from the pantry and move them in here too. I was a little worried they would be too heavy but so far (a few weeks in) the cabinet seems very secure!

And guys, these things are $39.99 for a set of 3. That's under $14 per cabinet. Not bad, huh? 

Of course I have a lot of ideas for making them pretty, but for now I am enjoying the freedom they have brought to my floors and countertops, and the white blends in so well with my white "rental space" walls that I may leave them plain for a while. I still hear choir angels since every time I catch sight of them! 

How would you use a Tronet cabinet in your house? Have you used one already? Leave a comment!

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Mommy Monday: nail polish kit

Welcome back to Mommy Monday! Today I'm excited to show you how much I love this little bag that sits in my bathroom storage:

I was looking for something to corral my nail polish supplies a while back and found this little bag sitting in my parents' attic from years ago. I used to keep everything in a ziploc bag and that just got really annoying. It was way bigger than what I needed, looked ugly, and it still took forever to sift through and find what I needed. 

Just take a look at the storage compartments inside this beauty:

I love having lots of little pockets and zippered storage to keep things separated and organized. So inside this bag, I am able to keep everything I need to make my nails colorful and pretty:

I have 4 colors of nail polish in regular bottles, 3 nail polish colors in a "pen" shape, 1 clear top coat bottle, nail polish remover, and cotton swabs. The key to creating a little kit like this is to find the small, travel/sample size nail polish remover. Does anyone else get super annoyed with how large and bulky the nail polish remover bottles are? And does anyone ever actually finish one of those bottles? Those things are just waiting to be spilled on grandma's antique wooden furniture and I could never understand why the bottles were so huge. So I practically broke out in song when I saw these small ones at the grocery store! Now THAT'S reasonable. And it fits in my little bag with everything else, so I only have one thing to grab if I am changing my nail color!

Here's how it all fits in the bag:

The cotton swabs are in the zippered pocket. The nail polish bottles fit perfectly in the small little side pockets, with the pen-size ones in the larger side pocket. The nail polish remover fits right in the open space in the middle. 

And there you have it- the perfect little bag to grab any time I get the urge (and the time and energy) to paint my nails! I love having everything together so I can find things easily without cluttering up my behind-the-mirror storage or sifting through other toiletries to find what I need.

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