Operation Home

Any of you guys ever suffer from writer’s block? I have to say that I’ve been pretty blessed since starting Operation Home in that it hasn’t happened often… though it definitely has happened. And when it has, I’ve found myself at a loss for how to solve it. I’m such a DIY-obsessed person that the wheels are constantly turning with ideas for projects to take on and things to do. But sometimes, just… nothing. Empty brain. Nada.

And it’s an inner battle for me because I’m definitely a textbook Type A personality. I like schedules. I like reliability. I like trying to stay with a somewhat predictable posting schedule so that all you lovely folks will know what to expect from my little outlet here. But sometimes, life gets in the way… or, of course, the dreaded writer’s block. And I’m faced with the question… Do I find something to post for the sake of posting?? Or submit to the continued silence emitted from my little slice of internet??

Long ago, I decided that posting for the sake of posting wasn’t really my bag. It never really interested me. I felt like I wouldn’t be nearly as sincere or passionate in writing those posts and that ya’ll would see right through it. I also didn’t want to complete projects that wouldn’t really work for us simply because I needed something to post about. That just seemed like a waste of time and resources. So, I’ve never justified doing that either.

During these timeframes of utter brain blankness, I’ve asked myself “Self, how on earth do I find inspiration for useful projects that would benefit our family and home in the face of writer’s block?” Obviously, in the context of this blog, writer’s block also = project block.

So, I started to brainstorm ideas that might help get the wheels turning again. And, I thought I’d share what ended up working for me…

1. I started a running list. Every time I’d think of a project that I wanted/needed to happen, I’d write it down. It didn’t matter if I had writer’s block or not. Just any time something came to me, I’d add it to the list. I actually created a draft post called “project ideas” so that it’s right here for easy reference. Whenever I felt a loss of inspiration, I referred to the list to see if there was something I wanted to knock off. That way, I constantly had a useful list of projects that were applicable to us and our home. Upon occasion, the list ran short… Or only contained projects that didn’t suit our budget or schedule at the time. In those cases, I continued with the following steps…

2. I trolled Pinterest. Both my current boards and pins yet to be seen. I looked at my inspiration rooms that I’d pinned. Examined what I liked about them and didn’t. Different elements that caught my eye and aspects that would be practical for us and our lifestyle. I looked at my “Craftiness” board for potential projects, since I’d pinned those guys for a reason. I searched for new inspirations, DIY crafts as well as art inspiration ideas, etc. It’s during one of these searches that my alphabet art came to be…

2. I went through all of our junk. First of all, adding a little organization never hurt anyone. Plus, it also gave me a clear idea of the items I already had, ones I wanted to tweak, etc. Inspiration City, especially when you had a veritable Monica Gellar Closet to contend with. This process is how Lucas’s Lack Map side table was born…

3. I visited thrift stores. You never know what diamonds-in-the-rough may present themselves and throw project ideas your way. I can’t even tell you how many projects I’ve encountered simply by visiting a thrift store. My spray-painted trays for one…

My mid-century tables for another…

4. I visited my favorite “pretty” stores. Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, Anthropologie, and the less-expensive-but-still-totally-droolworthy Target. When I saw this bench on display, it churned in my mind for several weeks…

I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And it was during a period of writers/project block that I remembered the bench that we had in the attic and realized that I could transform it into my own version…

So, visiting the store gave me the initial inspiration, but really, the reason why this project presented itself at the time that it did was…

#5. I RELAXED. I decided to just forget about it. To stop trying to think up something brilliant. To just BE OKAY with the fact that I deviated from my posting schedule. To just be. Enjoy our house. Chill with my men. Do nothing. And BAM!!! DIY Bench was made. And I have to say, it was a project that improved our space. It prettied up the view into the bedroom. Provided seating. Was cost-effective (under $8!). And was an overall useful improvement in our home. And it happened because I didn’t force it. I think this was the hardest lesson to accept, but one of the most important.

After a bit of soul-searching, I realized that (for me) quality beats quantity any day. I thought of some of my favorite blogs, and realized that schedules don’t really matter. Some post daily, some 2-4x/per week, some once per week, some every few weeks. In every single case, I look forward to getting that email notification of a new post, regardless of what their schedule may be. A DIY diary is a DIY diary. Sometimes projects get done in quick succession, sometimes activity slows. Such is the case with inspiration. We can’t all be geniuses all the time (at least I can’t). All I can do is be true to myself and do what I can.

So anyways, these are some the techniques that have helped me find inspiration. I know everyone is different and what works for one may not work for everyone, but I figured this was worth putting out there. Just in cases (name that movie!).

Before I sign off for today, there’s one more thing I’d like to know… After 11 months of blogging, I realized that I’ve never really asked ya’ll your opinions… What do YOU want to read about?? What topics interest you the most? Project posts? Simpler decor ideas? Personal stuff? Any questions you have for me? Also, what helps you battle the all-consuming writer’s block? Leave me a comment and let me know your take on things. I’d sure love to ~~hear~~ read it. 🙂

Linked up at: Tatertots and Jello, Lines Across, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Anything & Everything Turn It Up Tuesday

Leaps and bounds.

This is the current position of the closet in No Man’s Land.

Leaps and bounds better than before.

Before, you ask??

I know… It was so bad that you’ve blocked it from your memories out of self-preservation. Allow me to refresh…

Let’s take a moment of silence for our closet’s previous state.

Since this point (ofsadness), I’ve organized No Man’s Land and made total headway on this closet. It’s not done yet, but here’s where we are so far…

Eh??… Eh????… SO much better, right??! (Enter cumulative sigh of relief)

While taking on this project, I kept in mind that I wanted a space for all of my craft supplies as well as gift wrap products and other miscellaneous items.

My goals were:

1. Reuse what I already had
2. Spend zero dollars

So, basically, stay true to myself and remain the cheapo that I am. And I have to say that I was successful on both counts.

As you can see, I reused this shelving unit from our master bedroom for storage…

I decided to use it to store gift bags, large and small, as well as miscellaneous knobs, handles and other hardware that may come in handy someday…

Yet another painted basket that I gave a coat of aqua to, holds my art supplies, glue, spray adhesive and craft paint….

On top of the unit, I reused a Boholmen dish drainer from Ikea to hold things like iron-on letters, cork tiles, prints that haven’t found a home yet, and sponges. I used the silverware portion for paintbrushes…

I won this desk organizer at a Keno game at my mom’s house a while back…

I forgot to take a before pic… Imagine it sans paint smudge. This organizer wasn’t really my style and I didn’t have space for it on our desk anyways. So, I decided to use it a little non-traditionally. I painted it coral with some craft paint, then topcoated it with some Polycrylic to protect the finish. And then I turned it into a gift wrap station…

It fits the gift wrap perfectly, along with folded tissue paper, gift wrap scraps, scotch tape, and markers for labeling. I had an extra slot, which I plan to fill with labels and tags, but until I refill my stash, I thought it would be a good place for my hot glue sticks.

Remember that time a while back that I created a drop-zone behind Lucas’s door? And I nixed the hook plaque for aesthetic reasons? Well, I saved it all this time and combined it with some leftover hooks from our bathroom makeover…

I painted it with some blue all-purpose craft paint, added the hooks, and mounted the entire contraption to the wall……

…to create some low-profile hanging storage for scissors and such. Our hot glue gun got its own little “holster” using a galvanized bucket and some picture-hanging wire…

Our previous nightstand (which is actually a cd rack) was repurposed for fabric storage…

I simply turned it on its side and removed the adjustable shelves (they would’ve cut the long slots in half to make perfect squares). I have to admit… I felt pretty brilliant when I came up with that one. It’s the little things, ya’ll… 😉 As for the blue buckets… I purchased these about a year ago from Goodwill. To maximize hanging storage space, I removed the hanging bar and threaded it through the basket handles, easy-peasy…

I’m currently using them to store various odds and ends such as corks, ribbon scraps, paint chips and random crafty items.

Another form of ribbon storage that I utilized was this idea that I saw on Pinterest…

I just threaded the ribbon onto a pants hanger. Super simple.

Lastly, above my new fabric storage I placed my sewing machine and sewing kit.

My grandmother gave me this kit when I got married and I love it. The pattern and color is adorable. I actually used this as my inspiration piece when it came to choosing paint colors for the smaller painting projects in the space.

Needless to say, I’m absolutely thrilled with the closet so far. There are a few more tweaks I’d like to add in the future, but as of now, it’s like a breath of fresh air. I know where everything is, and it looks kind of cute to boot.