Household Archives - Bigger Than the Three of Us

Our 2016 Renovation Plan

January 18, 2016 by Ashley Mayes 15 Comments

I couldn’t let January get away from me before I wrote down our plans for this year. I meant to do this weeks ago, but better late than never, right? We started and finished quite a few projects last year. I’m so proud of the loft, magnetic wall, Greyson’s room, eat-in kitchen and guest bedroom. Those rooms feel like us and feel fresh compared to the other non-tackled rooms in the house. So, what’s on the agenda for this year?

I’ve told Luke over and over that this is going to be the ‘year of bigs.’ What does that mean exactly? Well, it’s our 10 year anniversary so I want to take a really cool trip, get a really cool gift (not kidding! #unfortunately), buy seating for the living room, install wood flooring and buy a zero turn with a bagger!

Luke asked me if I was going to win the lottery. I told him he just needed to pick up a few programming side jobs and we would be fine. lol.

Actually, to be honest, if we cut down on all the little decor items and ‘extra’ things that we spend money on… then that list probably isn’t too far off.

Let’s get on to what is on our house renovation list.

1 :: The kitchen absolutely tops the list.

We still have to tile, replace the dishwasher, replace the sink/faucet, install open shelving, replace the flooring and figure out the ceiling issue. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but it will probably take us ’till summer to get it all finished.

I’m excited because, today, we are going to a custom wood store to look at shelving options. I’ve gone back and forth on wanting something live edge (see this inspiration for what I’m talking about) or something more stream-lined (see this example). I guess we shall see once we see some in person.

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House Updates

March 16, 2015 by Ashley Mayes 4 Comments

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend! This was our first weekend without basketball on Saturday morning, which was nice! It was nice to be able to just relax in the morning. We had a birthday party Saturday afternoon, Church on Sunday, I had a photoshoot Sunday afternoon and a parenting class on Sunday evening. So, this weekend ended up being pretty full! We did squeeze in a bit of DIY though, which was nice.

Today, I thought I would just share some house updates. I’ll come back to them a bit later when we have actually made some substantial progress.

I’m taking the pictures from my IG account today… call me lazy. =)

First up is Greyson’s room.

We finished the loft last month and, this month, we are working on the walls in his room. I had originally planned to paint over all his walls with a bright white, but then I went dark on one wall and LOVED it. So, the one wall is going to be an accent wall and the others will be bright white. We are working on one project in his room that may top the loft build and I just can’t wait! #soexcited

Next up, is the kitchen. We have multiple projects going on in there right now. We finished the drywall over the main countertops (yay!) but still have to mud the cracks. We are working on building/drywalling the opening between the dining room and the kitchen. Nothing pretty to show there, but we have made progress.

By the eating area, I have been playing musical chairs (literally!). I bought the West Elm striped chairs for the kitchen, but they work really well in the dining room too. I just can’t decide where to put them. They roll extremely easily which is a bit of a problem in the kitchen, so we moved this rug into the kitchen until we can get a different one in there to help with the rolling.

I know for sure that I’m keeping the chairs that came with the table (the right one) but they need reupholstered. The fabric I picked last year has not held up well. I’m thinking about reupholstering them with the rug (sitting on top), but am undecided.

I think that’s about all! Well, actually I have one more thing. I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I’m now a contributor for Designer Trapped in a Lawyer’s Body. What does this mean you ask? Well, every few months I share a new DIY project over there. I just finished my first project and will be sharing it in the next few weeks. I’ll make sure I post a teaser here where you can check it out.

Enough jabbering… hope you have a great day and I’ll see you on Wednesday!

Hide those Cords (hiding tv wires, etc!)

October 29, 2014 by Ashley Mayes 59 Comments

*Edited 04/05/2016 to add: There’s a new HUGE post on this issue. Make sure to check out all the ways to hide those cords after reading through this post.

This is another installment of “Naptime Projects.” Basically, as its name implies, a project that can be completed during one nap. This project has been on my mind for 6+ months! Can you believe that something that can be completed in an hour or so just never got done? Man, I hate those types of things.

Alright, let me back up. We have moved our television and console around a few times, even changing consoles completely. We finally found a set-up that works for right-now (until we find the perfect console). The “console” that we are using is actually the sideboard from the dining room. The sideboard has higher legs than our previous console so you can see underneath it.

Do you see my issue?

THOSE CORDS!!

Part of the issue of not taking care of it was that I never sit down to watch tv until after the little guy goes to bed. By that time, I’m done with projects and cleaning. So, every night I get reminded about this ugliness but never take care of it. Well, last week I actually remembered during the day and started working on it. My set-up ended up being pretty easy.

*This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

First thing that I did was zip-tie the cords together. I did that in three different spots with multiple different cords.

The second thing I did was to hunt the house for a multiple prong electrical outlet that either would mount to the wall (with holes for screws) or plug directly in to the socket. I found the latter one.

With those two changes, the cords were no longer visible. It seriously makes quite the difference not seeing that extra junk. Then, I motivated myself to decorate just a bit on top of the console and, low and behold, that helped as well.

If you want to get your media console organized, you might want to get:

– Zip Ties

– Multiple Prong Wall Mount

Seriously, hiding tv wires and all the other stuff around your console looks so much better! Just do it!

It seems pretty silly, but it’s just one of those things that helps make spaces feel put together and clean. Also, I pinned this awesome trick for mounting electrical power strips and thought I’d share.

Cleaning Schedule and Tips

May 13, 2014 by Ashley Mayes 6 Comments

Do you remember my “30 Before I’m 30” list from last month? If not, I’ll remind you. One of the things that I wanted to accomplish was to make a cleaning schedule and stick to it. Well, I’m going to cross that off the list! I made a cleaning schedule a few weeks ago, tweaked it a bit here and there, but am consistently trying to stay on top of it. By no means am I hitting everything on the list for the week, but it has allowed me to be more in a groove.

I made my list and then found this free printable. I inputted my cleaning items on the printable and then I printed it out. Easy peasy!

Free Printable via A Pair of Pears

*Please pin from the original site of the printable!

Having a daily “chore” item has definitely kept me more on target with cleaning. I would probably say that our house is more cluttered with stuff right now (because I’m cleaning more regularly but not picking up as much), but is definitely more clean that it has been. Does that make sense? lol.

I also have found an easier way to keep the shower clean, so I thought I would share.

I bought a little scrubby that you can fill and I filled it with vinegar and dish soap. Every other day or so, I just spend thirty seconds and clean a part of the shower. Right now I’m trying a 50/50 mix but it should probably have a little more dish soap. It works and is so fast! I’m all about fast and easy!

Laundry Soap : Review

April 16, 2014 by Ashley Mayes 7 Comments

Do you remember when I made the homemade laundry soap? Well, I’m back (10+ months later) with my thoughts about it.

Just to rehash you memory. Here’s what the jar looked like before:

It cost me $27.88 for the soap.

Here I am 10+ months later:

I averaged 16.5 loads (wow, call me crazy but this seems like a lot!) a month. 166 loads for the last 10.5 months. I now know why I always feel like I’m doing laundry.

I went ahead and scooped out the remaining soap to see how many loads I was going to get out of it. I’m going to get 85 more loads (or about 4.5 months more).

So, the recipe made enough for 251 loads. Now, this all depends on how much you use per load. When I made the recipe (the OxyClean came with a scoop in it and I use that scoop at the 2 line). Sometimes, if it’s a smaller load then I use a bit less or if it’s muddy clothes then I use a bit more.

$0.11 was the final cost per load.

I had been using Tide which I know is one of the most expensive (at around .18 per load). So, compared to the tide this is a pretty big savings.

Ok, so onto what I think about it. I think it cleans our clothes the same as, if not better than, the Tide. I love the fact that I don’t have to pick up laundry soap at the store. I haven’t had any problems with the mixture getting hard, but I did put a small mesh bag in the bottom filled with a bit of rice (to absorb moisture).

I added the scent beads to the mixture when I made it. I haven’t noticed a difference in the smell of the clothes (they smell clean but I don’t necessarily smell the scent), so I will probably save myself the $6 and skip the beads next time. When I skip the scent beads, the total per load will go down to .08 a load. Which is pretty substantial, especially if you compare it to the original .18 for the Tide.

Would I make it again? Yep, definitely.

Have you ever made laundry soap or would you? I’m thinking about making some other cleaning-type products. So, if you have one you love… make sure to let me know!

Our 2016 Renovation Plan

House Updates

Hide those Cords (hiding tv wires, etc!)

Cleaning Schedule and Tips

Laundry Soap : Review

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