With the quarantine still going strong, and us cooped up in the house, I’ve noticed more and more problems I need to tackle. Minor issues to be sure, but when you start spending all your time in the house, the little things start to get to you. Our kitchen seems to collect the most clutter, so I’ve been focusing my creative energies there.
I came up with 3 super easy and inexpensive projects to conquer some of the clutter I hadn’t tackled yet with numerous organizing baskets (Ryan says I’m obsessed with storing things in baskets).
Microwave Dust Cover With Pockets
Two things we constantly use when utilizing the microwave are kitted “mitts” for hot plates and bowls, and a Tupperware lid to prevent splatter inside the microwave. Before, they always sat in a pile on the side of the microwave and it drove me a little nuts. I had been trying to find a vintage metal tin to attach to the wall nearby to store them, but had never found the right size or color. Then, on Pinterest one day, I saw the idea for microwave dust covers with pockets. It adds a fun pop of color, keeps the top from collecting dust, and has handy storage pockets for your necessities. I could have bought one, but I thought it would be fun (and cheaper) to make one!
All you need is some cute cotton fabric, cloth napkins, or dish towels that you don’t want to use anymore, but you love the pattern and color. Just make sure its a fabric that is easy to throw in the wash. I used some cute aqua gingham napkins for mine.
All I did was measure the length and width of the microwave, to determine where I need to hem the napkins and fold over the slack fabric for the pockets. There is a seem at the top where you attach the two napkins, but I don’t really mind. Just took a couple hours and some needle and thread for me to hand-sew these together and make a dust cover with a pocket on each side.
Magnetic Frames For Fridge Photos
I don’t really decorate with family photos, I prefer lots of handmade art and travel photographs. Just my personal taste, never found anything wrong with family photos on the walls. However, my family is still important to me and I love seeing the photos of my nieces and nephews as they grow up. We display them on the side of our fridge, since the front won’t hold magnets.
Before, it was just a bunch of magnets haphazardly holding our family photos up, and a mess of the older photos in our junk drawer. I decided some magnetic frames would give the pictures more importance and bring some fun color and pattern to the side of the fridge.
I bought a bunch of small frames from the Dollar Tree and used Mod Podge to adhere decorative tissue paper to them. Wrapping paper would also be a good choice, just a paper that is thin and can adhere to the curves of the frames. Once I had trimmed the excess and let them dry, I tried super glueing strips of my old magnetic chalkboard menu to the backs. I discovered that wasn’t near strong enough, so I purchased these really strong magnets with adhesive strips. They worked great!
As for the photos I swap out, I now keep them in a plastic file folder with a snap closure from Dollar Tree, so they are all in one place and damage free.
Magnetic File Folders For Your Coupons
We like having our coupons on the fridge to remind us to use them when we grocery shop or order takeout. However, I always hated how cluttered they looked clumped on a magnet on the fridge. My simple solution was to buy these colorful file folders with snap closures, glue magnets on the back, and label them with printed text on printer paper. One for takeout, one for groceries. You could also use a vinyl cutter and make cute letters to stick on, but I went the super simple route. Now they look organized and I can bring the whole file with me to grocery if I like, so I have an easier way of carrying my coupons through the store if I have alot of them.
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