Hallway Paint Job

The days before I start work are quickly disappearing, so I have been trying to cross things off of "my list" before I don't have so much free time anymore.  I actually have a really long list of projects that I would like to accomplish, but at the moment we don't have the funds to do any fun extras, so that left me with things I could do for free ... or cheaply.  The only part of the house that I had left to paint was the stairway and the upstairs hallway.  I had been putting it off because I was really nervous about painting all the way to the ceiling in the stairwell.  Somehow I managed to do it, and I am really happy with the results.  I chose the color because we had paint left-over from the dining room and I was trying to avoid buying any more.  However I did run out of paint after the first coat, so I ended up buying a little more anyways.  Oh well, I am sure I will find a use for it at some point.  Here's the goods ... Before:
The only pictures I have from before are just of the stairwell, but you get the idea.

 

After:

I love how the color makes the window picture frame stand out.

I have plans for this dresser too ... I would like to paint it or at least re-finish it.  I might also hang a mirror in place of this picture so that I can use this area for doing my hair.  The dresser would be convenient to store my hair dryer, curling iron etc, and at the moment, there is not a lot of room in the bathroom (the mirror is also too tall for me, which is really annoying!) and I don't have an outlet right near my vanity in the bedroom, so I need to come up with a solution sometime.

While I was working on the hallway I decided that I should re-organize the linen closet.  I started out with this:

Which actually wasn't too bad ... except I always had trouble finding washcloths and pillow cases.  I also like to buy "backups" for all of our toiletries/cosmetics and I was having trouble keeping track of what we had and what we needed.

I spent about $10 at the Dollar Store for plastic containers, and organized all of our toiletries.  I organized the sheets by putting each sheet set into its own pillowcase (I tip I found on Pinterest), and then the towels were easy from there.  Kevin and I just have two sets of bath sheets that we I rotate on a weekly basis, which works well for now.  We also have 4 guest towels, and then just standard hand towels, bath mats and wash cloths.  The top shelf has my "hair tools", I put my hairdryer and straightener (things I use often) in the basket that I can just pull down when I need it without getting cords tangled and messy.  My curlers and other curling irons are just up on the shelf.  I labeled everything for good measure (which Kevin laughed at), but now I can find EVERYTHING and I love it.

 

On the bottom shelf I put bins for cotton balls, q-tips and teeth stuff (brushes, whitening, toothpaste) ... these are things we only need when we have to "re-stock" so they didn't need to be readily accessible.  Kevin's stuff is in the blue basket ... it amazes me that all of his grooming supplies can fit in one place .. one shampoo, bars of soap, razor blades and deodorant.  Then the obvious toilet paper and the dog's shampoo.

My stuff is in the middle shelf, and I divided it all into "hair", "body" and "face" .. pretty self explanatory.

 I am satisfied for now ... like I said, I want to paint the dresser, and I also want a new rug on the stairs.  I would tear that one out right now, but I don't think the dogs would be able to walk up and down the steps without it.  Actually area rugs for the rest of the house are on my "list" of things to buy when I start getting paid ... the poor pups slip and slide all over the place, plus it would be warmer on the feet in the winter I think.

So that's it for projects for the immediate future.  My Christmas List does have an orbital sander, a jigsaw and a Kreg jig on it so hopefully I can get some more accomplished after the holidays :)