Solution for TOO many keys!

I only have two keys, which isn't as much as some people, but I like to be able to tell them apart.  It is especially nice when I need to loan one to someone and am not in a spot where I can make sure I am giving them the right one.  So I used nail polish to tell them apart.  All I did was paint the part of the key you hold onto when using it.  I painted the one for my house green because the front door is green and I painted the one for my lake cottage blue because water is blue.  You just have to pick a color that you will remember which one is which, like I did.

Bobby Pin Storage

My hair is crazy, so I am always in need of some bobby pins, but once they are in my purse they disappear forever!  I finally found a solution to keep them from doing that.  I took an old tic-tac container and just filled it up with them.  I keep it in my purse so I will always have some with me.  I want to put all of them in there though.  I kept some in my bathroom too for when I do my hair in the morning.  So now I have some in my bathroom and some in my purse (allowing me to have some where ever I go!)

Cheap Mail Organization

If you are like my family, when the mail gets brought in it gets thrown onto the kitchen table.  It gets moved out of the way for dinner, then put right back in the same spot, until someone finally does something with it.  Obviously, this system isn't working...so I came up with a solution!  I was looking around my house and found four cardboard magazine holders.  (If you don't have some of these, I heard you can buy a 5 pack at Ikea for around $3)  The cardboard holders were pink, and an ugly shade of it too!  So I thought about spray painting them, but decided to just cover them with scrapbook paper instead.  I chose grey and yellow, since it will match our kitchen.  I used some Elmer's Spray Adhesive, because I knew it would dry faster, but Mod Podge would work too!  I just cut the paper to the correct size and glued it on.  It was as easy as that!  Then I decided to add some labels.  We pay most of our bills online, so we don't get many in the mail.  And my sister and I are getting a lot of college stuff, so we are all getting mail at least a few times a week.  So I decided the best solution would be to give everyone there own holder.  I have seen other people label theirs as coupons, bills going out, bills coming in, and so forth.  Just label them whatever would work the best for you!  We also have a lot of newspapers that get delivered to our house, so I thought I should make a spot for those to go too.  Unfortunately I only have four magazine holders so I had to come up with something else, so I chose a shoe box.  I covered it in the same paper.  However the inside of the box was ugly so I decided to cover it in comic strips from an old newspaper.  I think it turned our kind of cute!  Now all I have to do is find a spot to put them!

They aren't perfect, but I don't mind

Side view

Newspaper box

Cupcake Paper Organization

I was trying to find cupcake papers the other day and realized that they were scattered all over the cabinet and kept getting pushed to the back, and we just kept buying more because we couldn't find them.

So I came up with a solution, put all of them in one big container so we can see how many we have and we will always know where they are.  It was super easy, and completely free! All I did was take all the cupcake papers and put them in a wide mouth mason jar (because they wouldn't fit in the normal one).  Then I just wrote on a note card "Baking Cups" and took clear packing tape and placed it directly on the jar. Easy peasy!

Cheap Pore Cleansing Strips!

 

My younger sister saw the Biore Pore Cleansing Strips in a magazine and decided she wanted some.  She ended up buying them (and I ended up using one, but don't tell her!) but they are crazy expensive!



This is what they look like, and they cost at least $8.00, sometimes more, which makes each strip over $1.00 each.  This is madness!

I was on Pinterest (as always) and found out how to make my own here.  It didn't cost me much at all either!  All you need is:

1/2 teaspoon powdered gelatin
3/4 teaspoon water
1 small microwave safe container
1 q-tip

My box of geletin was $0.86 and I am able to make at least three mixtures with it.  I just saved the extra powder until I am ready to use it.  Each (strip) or in this case more of an entire face mask only costs about $0.29.  It is much cheaper than buying the box!

Directions:

1. Mix the water and gelatin in the microwave container
2. Microwave for 10 seconds, or until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
3. Using Q-tip apply mixture to a clean face, make sure not to make it too thin on your skin or it will be hard to pull off.  The mixture does start to harden really quickly, so make sure to put it on your face right away.
4. Wait at least 20 minutes, the mixture will harden on you face, then peel off.
5. Wash face again to get rid of any remnants
 of the mixture still on there.
6. Wa-lah! Beautiful, clean pored, skin!


Note: This mixture does not smell that great, so if you want you could add some essential oils to it.  I didn't put mine directly under my nose and it didn't bother me at all.  It does hurt when pulling it off, so make sure to do it gently.  My eyes even started to water a little bit when I pulled off the mixture that was under my eyes.  You can put it on your entire face, of just your nose and chin.  It is up to you!

Cheap, Easy, Homemade Detangling Spray

I have crazy curly hair and brushing it is a nightmare, actually I never brush it but only comb it with a wide tooth comb when it is wet, but even that is still hard!  I usually use detangling spray from either Target or Walmart and always buy the store brand.  While that works and is fairly cheap I wanted to try to make my own so it wouldn't have chemicals in it.  It only uses two ingredients, and I'm positive all of you have these at home.  Just use a spray bottle ( I just reused an old one) some hair conditioner and water.  I learned how to make it here, all they (and I did) was mix 5 parts water to 1 part conditioner.  I shook mine up a bit and usually do every time I use it.  It is super easy to make and can actually save you money.  Have fun brushing your now easy to brush hair!

 I only had a tiny bit left in the back two bottles and wanted to use them up, that is why there are three bottles there!

Free Confetti

There are many ways to make confetti but this one is my favorite! You only need a few supplies too.  You will need a hole punch in whatever shape you want, a small container to put the confetti in, and a handful of paint sample chips.

All you have to do is use the hole punch to punch out holes in the paint chips.  Once you have punched some, empty the punch of the paper into your container.  Now you have free confetti.  When you are ready to use it, just put double stick tape where ever you want your confetti and sprinkle it on top.  It is   as easy as that!