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Baskets to save space

I think baskets, and specifically straw baskets and plastic baskets, are a GREAT way to save space, and keep your cupboards looking neat and tidy. I didn’t realise this until I got married, so if it’s something that all females know, I apologise. My wife organised my cupboards for me using baskets, and I think its engenius.

Here are the ways we use baskets in our house:

– Square Straw Baskets

The best use is, if you have built-in cupboards in your bedroom, and this is where you keep you socks or underwear, it can be a pain to get at them when getting dressed. But, if you keep your underwear and socks in a square basket, and you keep your basket in the cupboard, you can just take the basket out, and choose what you need. Almost like a drawer… Our baskets look very similar to the following:

straw-baskets.jpg

– Round Straw Baskets

My wife tidied the grocery cupboard, putting similar items in round straw baskets. Now, when I need a chocolate fix, I open the cupboard, and take out the chocolate basket. No digging around the soups and spagghettis and spices. Very nice. Looks pretty good too.

– Plastic Baskets

plastic-baskets.jpgWe keep quite a few things in plastic baskets. Our baskets generally have lids to keep out the dust and damp, but this isn’t necessary if you’re keeping things inside a room in the house, like the baskets below could keep toys in the kid’s room. But our baskets keep our photos, and my tools, turpentine, cloths, gardening gear, etc. out of the way in the garage.
OBVIOUSLY not all in the same basket… 😉

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Plasma TV in the bedroom

When travelling recently, I stayed in a hotel room that REALLY impressed me. Forget the fact that it had free hot chocolate in the room, or heated mirrors in the bathroom (something I REALLY want). The bedroom had a Plasma TV mounted on the wall.
Sunset-Plasma.jpg
In my mind, a Plasma Television mounted on the wall in a bedroom saves an ENORMOUS amount of space. ESPECIALLY if it has a built DVD player, like this one had, which slides out from the side.

Of course, Plasma TVs are not exactly the cheapest way to put a TV in your room, but if space is limited, you can very easily mount it on the wall. But, if you have cupboards in front of your bed, and you don’t mind a bit of manual labour, another method to make your bedroom look cool is to build in a TV INTO the cupboard, making the screen flush with the cupboard doors. I also saw this in a hotel room, and had to look closely to realise that we didn’t have a fancy Flat-Screen TV

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Conceal your dishwasher

If you have to have your dishwasher or washing machine in the kitchen due to a lack of space, how about concealing them. This obviously doesn’t JUST apply in the kitchen, but it’s a good enough reason to do it.

dishwasher-wood-panel.jpg

Anyway, the main way of doing this is to put a cupboard door in front of the dishwasher. As long as it keeps the theme of your kitchen, it might just finish the look off. Some looks that I have seen:

– Barn door effect
– Wood panelling on the dishwasher door (see photo above)
– Curtains

Definitely something of a personal choice.

Of course, you just might have a dishwasher or washing machine that fits in with the look of the kitchen already, like a metallic finish dishwasher. Let me know your ideas.

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Lawn Mowers

Lawn mowers are definitely a key tool in any gardeners kit. Or, should I say, lawn mowers are a key item in any lawn carer’s kit. There are a large variety of lawn mowers, and depending on your needs, there is sure to be one that suits you.

Riding Lawn Mowers

Pros:
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Herb Garden – Step 5 – Look after it

Well, I finished the herb garden, and it’s been growing for a while. Here are photos that I thought would show you what the herb garden looks like.

Herb-Garden.jpg

There are a couple of things to note regarding the herb garden:

  • It needs some water at least a couple of times a week in Summer, but it’s winter here, and it seems to survive on water once a week
  • You have to remove the weeds and other unwanted growth – this includes removing the grass that you’ll find growing in the actual herb garden
  • Be careful with what herbs you use – My mint is growing like CRAZY!!! Luckily still in it’s own section

If you have a herb garden and you’d like to share your advice, please do so in the comments section. I could use all the advice I can get…