commonwealth

a thrifted DIY planner

It's the same story every year.  

I know I need a paper planner.  I know how I want to use the planner and how it has to be organized.  I know what size is most convenient and how much I want to spend (very little.)

And every year around the end of October, the hunt commences for the perfect planner.

I made my own planner a few years ago, and while the organization was what I wanted, it ultimately was a little unwieldy and, admittedly, time-consuming to make.  But after once again failing to find a pre-made planner that had everything I wanted, I resolved to make my own again, but with a twist.

You see, for the last year or so, articles and photographs of creative planners have been popping up in my Pinterest and Instagram feeds.  Some of the planners out there are just gorgeous - each page like a small piece of mixed-media art, with stickers and journaling cards and lots of color and tags and pockets and all kinds of tchotchkes sticking out of or dangling from beautiful leather-bound binders.  

They're all so pretty.  And I wanted a little bit of pretty too.

But then I started calculating what the leather planner and the custom inserts and all the embellishments were going to cost me, and...

...I decided to walk toward the light.

Because, while those planners are really beautiful, they aren't really what I need.  I need something I can write in and cross out and draw arrows and circle things and generally, MESS UP.  And the prettier the planner was, the less room I had to do that, and the more constricting it began to feel.  So this is what I did instead.

I kept the idea of a leather-bound book, as it could be the size I needed and would be plenty durable.  After looking online for day planners (wow, some of those can be expensive!) I decided to see if I could find one at the thrift store instead.  As people have converted to digital calendars, things like old Day Timers and Filofax planners often end up getting donated.  After a quick trip to my local thrift store, I had what I needed: a burgundy Day Runner, and two black Franklin Covey planners.  All three are leather with zip closures, and take A5-size inserts (roughly 5.5"x8.5"), with the Franklin Coveys having 7 rings and the Day Runner, 3 rings.  

While I could always punch holes in my inserts using a single hole-punch, I knew it would be faster and easier to find hole punches that were either designed for those styles of planners, or that could be adjusted.  Sure enough, a trip to a new-to-me thrift store yielded just what I needed.

Total cost for 3 planners, a 7-hole punch, and an adjustable 3-hole punch: less than $10.

I decided to use the larger of the two Franklin Covey planners for my daily planner (brain).  This is where I plan my week and block out my daily calendar.  I also use it to keep track of general housekeeping tasks and to capture important paperwork.  The other two planners will be used for blog planning and tracking home and garden projects.  But "the brain" needed to be functional for the first of the year when my old planner was finished, so I worked on that one first.  

In November, I drafted inserts that would be used for weekly planning and daily DIY lists, and tested them out for a few weeks.  I found that while I wanted to be able to see my week's appointments or most-important-things on one page, I also needed space to capture a weekly to-do list for chores or other activities, and additional room for meal planning.  So the weekly planning page was refined accordingly.  The daily pages were designed to capture both lists and time blocking for appointments and to help with planning my day (I prefer to organize tasks into "chunks" of time as I get more done that way.)  All of the inserts are word processing documents, printed two per letter-size sheet, and cut down to A5.  

For the monthly calendar, I downloaded a free, blank calendar page from here, and accordion-folded it to A5 size. This is where I record things like birthdays, holidays and vacations. I also included a "Goals and Notes" sheet after each monthly sheet for long-term planning and memory-keeping.

Without a doubt, the best part of designing and printing my own inserts is that I could design the planner for writing on the right-hand side only.  No more banging into the binder rings when I'm writing in my planner (lifelong pet peeve.)  It seems like such a small thing, but I like it sooooo much better.  Also, while I'm still experimenting with the style and weight of paper that I prefer for this planner, I do find that a 24lb paper designed for high-color printing is preferable to regular copy paper to prevent bleed-through from my favorite pens.

Many of the planners I liked on Instagram and Pinterest make heavy use of the pockets on the inside of the leather covers to store planning supplies and other accessories.  I've tucked some washi tape and stickers in the pockets, as well as some page flags and mini-binder clips, but I find that I don't use a lot of embellishments in this planner.  Since it's mostly to help keep me focused and productive, I find it preferable to keep the pages relatively bare, and only occasionally add some inspiring quotes or color. 

Where I have embraced color is in designing the dividers.  I used some of my favorite scrapbook papers to add a touch of "pretty" and laminated them for durability.  I used my labelmaker to label the 4 sections in the planner, and applied the labels after laminating so that they can be removed and re-labeled if I find I want to reorganize the planner at a later date.

I spend about an hour each Sunday planning my week.  At the beginning of the month, I print the daily planning sheets for that month and fill them out along with the 4 weekly planning pages.  Having a planner designed with just what I need - no more, no less - feels like such a luxury.  And knowing that I was able to do it at a fraction of the cost for a new, not-perfect-for-me planner, is even better.

If you're looking for planner resources, I have quite a few on my "Organization and Helpful" Pinterest board.  Feel free to pin anything here that you find helpful, and as always, "sharing is caring!"

 

a free, found, or thrifted room of my own

(Full disclosure - this is going to be a long one.  Grab a beverage and settle in for a visit!)

You hear a lot lately about "she-sheds".  It seems every major shelter magazine has had at least one story of a woman's desire to carve out her own niche to offset the over-masculine influence of the "man cave" in her garage.  You know the drill: blaring headlines of how a she-shed can save your marriage or your sanity accompanying glossy photos of lace-draped windows or fluffy animal print chaise lounges.  And if you have such a shed, and it's done wonders for your outlook on life and brought new excitement to your marriage, then I'm very happy for you.  And I hope  you'll invite me over for a drink so that we can both enjoy those chaise lounges.

But when I started thinking about making over the small shed in our backyard, I really just was looking for a place to put my stuff.  

More specifically, I wanted a space that I could store my craft supplies and be able to work on on-going projects.  Our main living space in our new house is an open concept, and I didn't want to have a mess everywhere, and piles of quilting fabric wasn't exactly the mood I was looking to achieve in the master bedroom either. So I decided to look further afield.  Literally.

This was what I started with:

The shed is approximately 10'x12' with an upper loft area.  We're totally stumped as to why it was ever built, as it wasn't dirty enough to have held animals, but not clean enough - or wired - to work as an office.  But no matter, I knew it could be what I needed - a light-filled, clean, dry, space to make things.  And best of all, I could decorate it to my tastes by re-using things we already had or found, or thrifted.

After giving the shed a thorough cleaning, every surface was primed and painted a glossy white.  Gallons and gallons and gallons of white paint.  Then came the fun part.  

Since I wanted to be able to do a lot of different things and work with a lot of different mediums, I tried to establish "zones" that held supplies close to where I'd need them.  The large white work table was made by Mr. Commonwealth from a hollow-core door that we removed from the guest room closet and I painted.  The table holds my sewing machine and the tools I use most frequently, while accommodating bins for fabric underneath.  Additional sewing supplies are on the shelves above the table that were made from laminated particle-board and shelf supports we found in the garage.  The supplies are housed in my collection of thrifted tins and baskets.  The tins are lined inside with wax paper to prevent any rust transfer, as they're quite old.  

To the left of the work table, just inside the door, is a drop-leaf table that's been in my family as long as I can remember.  It originally came from my grandparents' beach cottage in Rhode Island, and then my aunt inherited it and stripped it of its turquoise green paint.  It was the first dining table Mr. Commonwealth and I had when we were married, and had worked hard duty as a craft table for the kids in our home in Illinois.  Now it holds my machinist cabinet (thrifted) of jewelry-making supplies and has had its paint job restored to the shade I remember from my childhood.

To the right of the work table are several rolling shelving units that hold things like glue, paints, stamps, and stamp pads, as well as baskets of planning supplies and my washi tape collection.  The tallest unit also holds a thrifted granny-style wastebasket that corrals paper rolls and vintage wallpaper.  

The bookcase opposite the door was found after months of stalking the thrift store.  I needed one short enough to fit under the window, but with adjustable or varied-height shelves to accommodate tall books and magazines.  Imagine my delight in finding just the perfect piece, and upon cleaning it, realizing that it had once stored someone else's sewing supplies (as evidenced by the pins and needles caught behind the adjustable shelves.)  $20 for the perfect bookcase, complete with crafty mojo!

The bookcase holds the rest of my paper, old books that I use for craft projects, blank books and planners, instructional books and patterns, and a small collection of my favorite magazines.  Paint brushes, tools, and markers are stored in thrifted vases on top.  The two small chairs are thrifted vintage school chairs, and they stand ready should my inclination to spread out my supplies when I'm working overwhelm the work table.

I have high hopes of one day stretching out on the daybed in the loft, but so far it hasn't happened.  The afghan up there was on my childhood bed, and is one of a pair that my grandmother made for me and my older sister.  The magazine rack was thrifted and the Beatrix Potter figurines were given to me on my first birthday.  

The two exceptions to the all-white background are the turquoise green steps and the back of the front door.  I'd originally painted the stairs white, but then realized that they'd show dirt pretty easily, so I painted the centers to hide wear.  And the back of the door I painted, just because I wanted to :).

Once I had found a place for everything, it was time to give it a little more personality.  Favorite photographs and artwork are scattered around. I hung my collection of vintage aprons and set out my collection of silver baby cups.  Over the years I've found tourist pennants from places we've lived, and I hung those over the window.  And since I'm a sucker for colorful lights, a few strings of those went up as well.  

Ultimately, while I didn't set out to create an anti-"man cave," I now have a space that's undeniably feminine.  But more importantly, it's a space that holds things that I love and use and that I find inspiring.  Colorful, without sacrificing airiness.  Functional, without being overly sterile.  Cozy, without feeling cluttered.

In the end, it is, undeniably.  

Me.

 

 

(If you'd like to save some of these ideas, feel free to Pin this.  And as always, sharing is caring!)

Onward. Slowly.

No, as a matter of fact, I'm not ready to put Christmas behind me.  Not the twinkly lights, not the relaxed mornings,  not the copious amounts of food and drink.  

I don't want to (stomps feet).

But school started back up again for the kids, so sayanara relaxed mornings.  And my jeans are threatening a full-scale revolt, so buh-bye feasting and drinking.  

But the twinkly lights stay, darn it!

I've negotiated a truce with the beginning of the new year, so while I packed up most of the holiday decorations over the weekend, the tree remains.  And those twinkly lights in the background may be up for a good while longer still.  

I may be ready to embrace 2016 with open arms, but I'm doing it  s  l  o  w  l  y.

And while I'm acclimating to a new, non-twinkly season, there's been some planning and making happening already.  Because nothing eases the sting of alarm-clock mornings like new office supplies and the anticipation of twelve blank months to fill with good things to see, make and do.

And much of that making will happen in the little shed studio I've been working on over the last few months.  I will have her all spiffy and ready for her close-up this week, so stay tuned for a tour of my little home away from home.  I also want to tell you about a really exciting program we're participating in through our school, so look for that to happen this week as well.  

2016, folks.  It's gonna be a big time.

 

 

 

the state of here

 

:: Finally tackling the piles of paperwork from buying and selling, because the tax man waits for no one.

:: Lots of green stuff to be found at the farmers' market these days.  Word on the street is, not too much longer and we'll have strawberries.  Strawberries!!

:: Clear, cool nights and warm sunny days.  

:: My annual January houseplant-buying spree.  

:: Close on the heels of my houseplant spree, baby herb plants at Trader Joe's.  Hopefully the soil will be warm enough in a few weeks that they can go right in the ground.

:: Mr. Commonwealth has been at it again: new lantern for the front of the house and a twinkly arch for the front walk.  Love them both (and him).

:: We traded tree work for some of the resulting wood, and have plenty left over.  Looks like the fire pit will be getting a workout this summer.

:: The perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

working days

And just like that, Halloween is gone.  

Sunday was spent gathering Halloween decorations from the far corners of the house and generally spiffying things up a little (spiffying - I might have just made up a new word there.)  

This may have culminated in the consumption of far too many fun-size Snickers bars as a reward for getting off my duff this early into November.  

I generally dread packing up holiday decorations, so left to my own devices I'd be moving aside fake bloody appendages and sparkly skulls to make room for the Thanksgiving turkey.

But the subsequent spiffying I can get behind.  

I come from a proud line of women who can spend hours fluffing pillows, re-arranging knicknacks and creating little vignettes all over the house.  Years ago, when my parents were getting ready to sell their house, their realtor gave them a DVD to watch which included helpful tips on "dynamizing" your house (basically making it look lived in and comfortable without it actually looking like you, personally, live there.)  My mother was in heaven, finally free license to fluff and stage to her heart's delight, and it quickly became family shorthand for when one of us spends an inordinate amount of time arranging the contents of our shelves, coffee tables or counters.

A bit of dynamizing or spiffying (I'm going to make that stick, yo) was in order, as we're expecting said parents for Thanksgiving.  There are a few small projects around the house that I'd like to complete before they arrive, so I've been working over the last few weeks to build more structure into my days so as to be a little more productive.  

Over the last few months, I'd started feeling like my days were disappearing without me accomplishing very much.  Logically, I knew I did accomplish things.  We were fed and clothed and the house was in good repair, after all.  But other things were taking too long to finish or just weren't happening at all.  

And whenever I start to feel like that, I know I need to take a hard look at how I'm spending my days.  

What I realized was that I was spending a lot of time running.  Running kids to or from school, going to the market (sometimes daily - never a good habit), going to the post office, running to the hardware store.  None of those activities, by itself, is particularly time consuming since most are within 15 minutes of home, but scattered throughout my day and throughout my week, they were draining both my time and focus.  

Like most people, I accomplish a lot more with a block of time that I can devote to a particular task.  Some activities, like painting a bedroom for example, simply require a chunk of time to be completed.  Trying to paint a room in 20-minute increments would make you crazy because you'd constantly be setting up or breaking things down.  But other activities, like food preparation, are typically spread out over a day and thus, the week.  But these are often tasks that can be accomplished much more quickly and efficiently if done all at once, or only done a few times during the week.

So I've been trying to schedule blocks of time into my week for specific tasks - food prep, house projects, cleaning and maintenance, and yes, blogging.  So far, it seems to be working pretty well.  I will still have some of those tasks each day (food prep and cleaning for example), but having a designated time for  working on labor-intensive or messy projects, has been really helpful.  

Putting some parameters around when and what I work on each day does require a little more advance planning.  

I spend some time on the weekend mapping out my week's work, and making sure I have any needed supplies.  I also keep shopping lists on my phone so that if I'm out running errands I can bundle them together and make sure I'm picking up everything that I need.  

As an added bonus, I'm spending less time in the car and therefore using less gas, always a good thing.

I have a few more blog posts planned with a little more detail about how this is working for me.  I'm always looking for new ways to make things run more efficiently, it's just the way my mind works, so this has high geek-out potential.  If this makes your eyes glaze over, take heart.  More efficient blogging time means I've also had time to come up other content as well, including a little wine tasting series I'm particularly excited about.  

Have a great (productive) week, friends!

 

chalkboard awesomeness

I love checking things off my list.  So satisfying.  Sometimes I put things on my list that I've already finished, just to have the thrill of the check.  You do that too, right?  

I'm in the midst of a flurry of list-making and checking right now.  Lots of little things that have finally been finished up.  This is how I know it's fall - home projects.  

And pumpkin spice candles.

So this was a quick project that got completed last week.  We have a metal door between our garage and our main hallway.  At some point I'd like to explore finding a replacement door with raised panels like the other hallway doors, but we're living with it for now.

The hallway-side of the door got a fresh coat of white paint when the trim in the hallway was painted, but the back of the door was still a grungy industrial gray.  Normally I probably wouldn't notice a garage door too much, but this door opens into our laundry area, and I go in and out of it several times a day.  Frequently enough for the stains and hand funk to really start grossing me out.

The whole laundry area is in need of freshening up, but the door was a small, very do-able project.  Just the thing for a little DIY fix to tide me over until we have time to tackle the larger issues there.  And please forgive the notsogreat photos, I was dealing with an interior hallway and garage, so you can imagine the lighting situation. :)

The trim around the door was a mix of yellowed white paint and unfinished wood, so the first order of business was to tape off the door hinges and give everything a few coats of white paint (Behr's UltraPure White).  I usually buy the formula with paint and primer together for all my painting projects anymore, for the extra bit of coverage and adhesion, so that saved me the step of having to prime everything first.

Once I finished the trim, I could start on the door itself.  Mr. Commonwealth removed all the shiny brass/gold door hardware and I gave it all a few coats of spray paint (Rustoleum's Universal in Oil-Rubbed Bronze).  Eventually all the door hardware in the house will get this treatment, so this was my opportunity to test it out on a door that gets a lot of use.  

While the hardware dried, I washed down the door and gave it two coats of black chalkboard paint.  After the paint is fully dry, it's recommended that you wait a few days to let it cure before writing on it.  You also need to prepare the new chalkboard by rubbing chalk all over the paint surface, and then wiping it off with a dry cloth.  This seals the paint surface so any future writing can be easily wiped off.  It's also a super dusty job, so I recruited Patrick to help with that step, which meant that he had the honor of leaving the first message on the door.

Once the surface was fully prepped, Mr. Commonwealth reattached the door hardware and we were back in business.  All told, it took less than three hours of active work time that I spread out over five days to allow for paint drying and curing times.  And now I have a fresh, clean door and a means to entertain myself while I fold laundry.

 

 

living area before and after (and apparently we have a style)

Mr. Commonwealth and I are magpies, we collect things we like and are immediately attracted to, with little regard for provenence or utility.  Having now spent over 25 years together, I can see trends emerging, but early on, things could sometimes feel a little mish-mashy.  I used to jokingly refer to our style as "early attic" since so much of what we liked and bought was from flea markets, thrift stores, and yes, the occasional attic.  But the other day I stumbled across this article via Pinterest, and whaddyaknow, it's not a mish-mash, it's "California eclectic."  Whew, what a relief.  

So, the living area in the new house has been painted, and there's stuff in it.  "California eclectic" stuff apparently.  Not too much has gone up on the walls yet, but we're slowly getting there.  For now, there's a lot of "lean it over here and see how it looks" going on.  

Mr. Commonwealth and I both grew up and have always lived in older homes with very traditional floor plans.  Which is to say, there were rooms.  With walls.  This house was built in 1985, and like a lot of homes in this area, has an open floor plan with lots of windows.  And while I love the feel of this house, all that openness  can be a little challenging in terms of decorating.  So there's been quite a bit of rearranging, and reshuffling, and "fortheloveofGodHeatherdecidewhereyouwantit."

So let's see what we started with:

Are you enjoying the wall color?  Couper kept referring to them as "cheese walls" in homage to those blocks of swirled monterrey jack and orange cheddar.  And since we were on a tight move-in schedule, all the furniture and boxes were delivered before the walls could get painted, so they resided in a pile in the middle of the room for...a while.  

But that's all behind us now.

Here's the lowdown:

• The walls are now a creamy stone color (Behr's Cozy Cottage) to tie in a little better with the kitchen tile, and the boxes are gone.
• The floors are a travertine tile, which has kept this south-facing area nice and cool this summer, and I'm hoping will get warmed by the woodstove in the winter to keep things toasty.  I'll have to update you on that when it starts cooling off here.
• The sofa is Restoration Hardware, bought ten years ago when we moved to Illinois, and wearing like iron.  Best. Investment. Ever.
• The prints leaning along the railing around the woodstove are vintage Maxfield Parrish.  There are more buried in boxes in the garage, and eventually they will all be arranged artfully on that wall and around the television in a vain attempt to make the giant black box "blend."  Wish us luck.
• The pillows on the sofa are new from Cost Plus/World Market.  
• The big glass "bubble ball" is from Crate & Barrel (probably 5 or so years ago), the blue glass paperweight was made by Mr. Commonwealth.
• The winged skull (Freedom) is from a shop in Wilmington, DE and the kaleidoscopes have been gathered from various art galleries here in Northern California.
• The jointed lamp behind the cube chair is from Restoration Hardware, the stained glass lamps are from a shop in Geneva, IL.
• The quilt is heathermade.
• The tea set on the mission-style cabinet was a Mother's Day gift from Anthropologie.
• The pottery collection inside the cabinet is Nelson McCoy.
• All other furniture and artwork is "early attic."

I think that's everything.  I'll be back next week with a few updates from the kitchen.

Have wonderful weekend, friends! 

the details

There was a time that Mr. Commonwealth was the director of security at a fancy hotel and spa.  If you know someone who ever worked in the hotel industry, then you know that this was a job that resulted in some of the best “crazy day at work” stories ever.  Seriously, there’s a sitcom here, I’m sure of it.

For a few years, Mr. Commonwealth reported to a fellow by the name of Gunter.  Gunter was, in every way, a German engineer.  He was precise, methodical, driven, and an unrelenting perfectionist.  On any given day he could tell you where to buy the cheapest gas, the shortest route to wherever you were going, and how much of his department’s budget had been spent on light bulbs.  To. The. Penny.

 Gunter was someone who believed that small things mattered.  He believed that our minds register and catalog every detail of our surroundings, even if we don’t consciously recognize them, and inconsistencies in our surroundings create a subconscious tension. 

At least this was the explanation he gave for why the screws in every light switch plate and outlet cover in every room of the hotel had to be set exactly perpendicular.

I was thinking about Gunter a few weeks ago when I was contemplating the state of the switch plates and outlet covers in this house.  Not because the screws aren’t at 12 and 6 (something I did notice), but because not only are they not a consistent color or style throughout the house, they aren’t even consistent within each room.  Every room is a smorgasbord of ivory plastic, wood, and “themed” designs, and some of them looked like this:

Poor Gunter would have had an aneurism.

Fortunately, I found a bag with most of the original ivory switch plates and outlet covers.  Why the previous owners kept them, I can’t imagine, but I’m sure happy that they did.  Replacing a switch plate or outlet cover here or there isn’t a big deal, but it can quickly get expensive when you’re contemplating replacing every one in the house.

So I’ve started replacing the switch plates and outlet covers, and I’m surprised at how happy this little change makes me.  Maybe there’s something to that “subconscious tension” thing after all. 

I don’t know, but just to be safe, I’m setting the screws perpendicular.

 

 

some clear space

I was a really messy kid when I was growing up.  

The stories about the condition of my room are the stuff of family legend.  I was notorious for piling up books, drinking glasses, dirty clothes and freshly-washed laundry on every available surface of my room and under the bed.  When my mother would put her foot down, I'd binge-clean and for a few few (brief) days, my room would be somewhat presentable.  But it never lasted, and it never seemed to bother me.  

That started to change when I was in college and the only living space that I had was my dorm room.  Gradually, I started to get frustrated with the piles and the disorder.  I began to realize that the state of my surroundings affected the state of my mind, and a messy room made it hard to concentrate, and even harder to get my schoolwork done in a timely, organized manner.  I also began to see that my environment could be either nurturing or depleting, depending on the general state of things.  

I was thinking about this evolution last week when I found myself feeling more than a little irritable and frustrated.  Everything was annoying me.  From the clothes on my back to the behavior of my pets, it was bugging me.  

It wasn't until I took a good look around that I realized what was really bothering me. 

We've been making huge progress getting unpacked and settled.  Truly.  But boxes remained in every room, and I hadn't found a place for a lot of things yet.  Everywhere I looked, there were piles.  So rather than continuing to unpack new boxes, I spent a few days straightening up and clearing some space.  Anything still awaiting a home was sent out to the garage, and anything that we'd already decided was not going to work here has been donated to a local charity.  

Creating this space in our rooms makes us feel more settled, makes our daily lives easier, and it has given me some much-needed perspective on what else we still need and want to do.  Over time, these spaces will surely fill in more. But for now, it's enough to start with a cleaner slate as we go about the business of making this place home.  

 

(thunk, thunk, thunk) Is this thing on?

Well, that was a little more of a blogging break than I had anticipated!  This feels akin to coming home after a long trip, pushing aside the small mountain of junk mail that's accumulated on the kitchen counter, rushing to open windows and blowing the dust off the furniture.  And like the pleasure of anticipating a good night's sleep in your own bed, logging on here lowers my shoulders and slows my breathing.  It feels very good to be here again.

So let me bring you up to speed:  We've moved into our new house in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California and are slowly getting unpacked and settled.  The enormous pile of boxes is dwindling - or at least has been shuttled out to the garage where I don't have to look at them all day.  We've been trying to balance the work of getting settled (see referenced boxes) with the fun of getting settled (oh, the places we can go!) which has slowed us down a little, but has been tremendously helpful in retaining our sanity and sense of humor throughout this process.  

And day by day, this place starts to feel more familiar and more like coming home.  

For those of you who checked in here during my absence, thank you for sticking with me.  And if you're new to Commonwealth, welcome.  I'm new somewhere too, and I'll be telling you all about it.