creative | ETERNALLY PLANTED

Tiny House Part 20: The Closet

February 16, 2024April 4, 2024Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Welcome to my closet! I’ll be honest, I was hesitant to share this one at first both because it was still a mess when I wrote the last post and because it’s a bit much. However, given the importance of a functional closet, it seems like it’s also a necessity. So here we go.

I’ve mentioned the closet curtain before. it’s the SMILE WEAVER Peacock Blue Blackout Curtains. It’s only 74″ long, which is obviously a bit short, but the next size up would have required hemming, so I’m still trying to decide what I’ll ultimately do about the curtain. Maybe I’ll add fabric to the bottom? I opted for a room darkening curtain specifically because I wanted something weighty enough that it wouldn’t be blowing in the wind (AKA, poofing out every time I walked by) so if you’re in search of a bedroom option, this would be a good one. I wondered what I’d think about the silver metallic accents; I was pleasantly surprised to find I really like the extra visual texture they add.

As you can see, the closet is right beside my adorable fridge (That link is in last week’s tour). It covers most of the wall between the kitchen and my door; you can catch a glimpse of my lingerie chest in the second picture above. Specifically, the closet opening is right at 50 1/2″ wide, with another 3″or so inside. When I moved, I culled my closet hard, so what you see here is most of what I’ve got. I do have a couple of coats elsewhere, and some more casual items and sweaters in my lingerie chest. When summer comes, those winter items will likely return to their original location under the bed, although space is at a premium there too.

If you study the wall inside the right end of my closet, you’ll see a few unexpected items. The silver strips hanging close to the front are my metal rulers; they’re leftovers from when I was really into art and crafting, and they’re too useful to get rid of. They’re on a simple cup hook I screwed into the side wall. The bags you see hanging up higher are also on a cup hook, though a sturdier one. After trying this location and that, I settled on this wall as the best option for my broom and dustmop. Those two things can be a pain to hide, and as you can see the shoe rack hides them well!

How did I do it? Take a look at this next photo.

I installed a tension rod that runs from the front to the back wall. I didn’t even have to buy it; I’d brought it over from the other apartment and hung onto it just in case. Then I pulled out more of those leftover shower curtain hooks and BAM, had the perfect hanging system for those two mess cleaners.

The shoe rack is the first thing actually hanging on the rod and it handles quite a few pair of shoes while others are safe on the floor. No link for this since it was given to me, but such shoe racks are pretty standard. So is the arrangement of long dresses to pants, to skirts, etc., as you make your way down the curtain rod. I did specifically put shorter items over the filing cabinet and crates. I even cheated, folding up my really long, LuLaRoe dresses so they could hang short in this area. (Those dresses will not hold wrinkles. I could pull one out now and wear it.)

The closet was the best possible option for my filing cabinet, which is on wheels. The two wood crates on top of the filing cabinet are filled to the brim.

The bottom crate contains my bed linens. The top holds my jeans. They’re folded into fourths and take up so much less space than if they were on hangers. This arrangement also saves me from having to mess with those doggone pant hangers, which always seemed to tangle.

My cowboy boots just fit to the left of the filing cabinet. This picture also gives you a glimpse of my backup package of toilet paper and a popup laundry hamper that I may or may not keep since I’ve yet to use it in this apartment. Then, going on up the wall, you see a couple more cup hooks. Those things are super cheap and great little helpers!

You may have noticed that I use black velvet hangers. I prefer these for two reasons. First, they take up less space than plastic or just about anything else. Second, shirts don’t slip off these hangers! Amazon sells theirs pretty inexpensively, or you can get these…

Utopia Home Premium Velvet Hangers 30 Pack – Non-Slip Clothes Black Suit with 360 Degree Rotatable Hook Heavy Duty Coat

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 13: The Kitchen

December 29, 2023April 4, 2024Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Yes, I once more fell behind on posting about my tiny house. Frankly, I knew what was coming and that it would take a lot of time to prep these next few posts. Ashamed of my procrastination? Undeniably. So, are you ready to head to the kitchen?

This part of the series will definitely be multiple posts, because there are tons of details in this kitchen.

The photo you see above is a close-up from a picture I posted earlier. I can’t remember if I mentioned it before, but I had to convince them that I really did want white walls. This picture shows why. I knew I would be bringing in a lot of color in my art, storage, and accessories! Much of it, especially the art, came with me in the move and I can’t tell you much about it, but many items were bought specifically for this apartment, and I will happily share those details.

Another thing that took a little convincing, though not too much, was the open shelving. I specifically wanted everything visible, looked forward to using my necessities to decorate and not be looking at cabinet doors all the time. Playing off the teak countertop, which I’ll share in a better picture later, they brought in an assortment of woods for me and sealed them for kitchen use. I love it!

One comment I’ve received from readers and visitors is that I have very little counter space. At first glance, this is true, but it’s actually not. My washer and dryer more than make up for the shortage of official counter space. I obviously don’t put anything super heavy on them, but I really don’t deal with super heavy anyway. I have never felt confined in my tiny kitchen.

The rectangular frames you see to the right of the mirror? Yes, this is an old photo, but yes, they are still empty, waiting on me. I have everything I need to teach myself watercolor, but I’ve not done it. It seems like every time I even think about pulling the supplies out I find something else to do instead. Still, learning watercolor is one of my goals for 2024 and those frames are going to hang there, staring at me, until I follow through.

One thing I’ll mention while I’m here, since this is the only photo it appears in, is the towel that’s hanging from the top drawer. It was the result of a lot of searching! Things were different when I had a dishwasher; I could grit my teeth and put up with my kitchen towels that weren’t absorbent and didn’t dry anything. I mean, seriously. Why have a kitchen towel that won’t dry dishes enough that you can put them away?!

So, I headed to Amazon and began my search. My requirements were pretty detailed. First, I wanted a solid color, preferably orange. That ruled out a lot; no surprise there. This towel comes in 26 colors, one of which was exactly what I wanted. I knew I wanted cotton. Also, the reviews had to agree that the thing really would dry well. If a towel wasn’t consistently praised for this one characteristic, I kept scrolling. Too, I wanted something small enough to be practical (this one is 12×12) and was really hoping for a loop I could use to hang it. I didn’t want to have to install a towel bar, but I wanted a towel to always be at hand.

So here you have the Homaxy 100% Cotton Waffle Weave Kitchen Dish Cloths, Ultra Soft Absorbent Quick Drying Dish Towels, 12×12 Inches, 6-Pack, Orange. (Don’t you love the highly detailed descriptions on Amazon? LOL!) The 6-pack sells for around $15. You can also get 4, 8, and 12-packs.

See you next time!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Tiny House Part 7: Desk Storage

October 27, 2023April 4, 2024Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

We’re taking a closer look at the desk today, specifically discussing storage.

This desk offers great upper storage with one large open compartment in the center and two on each side of it. I will note that in the desk I found for you on Amazon those three compartments appear to be the same width. That is not the case here.

Moving from left to right, you can see that I simply put boxed items in the first space. The center storage is made up of 6 plastic trays that I picked up at Walmart and spray-painted teal. You would be surprised just how much that set of trays holds. The white thing you see between two of the trays is my AC remote; I like to keep it handy. Finally, in the third compartment, I have a wood box that had been hanging around for years. It fit, so I spray painted it purple. Beside it, in case you’re curious, are a glass pen (in the box) and a bottle of purple India ink.

In case it’s not obvious just from this photo, I like color. I fell in love with all the colors while cruising the Caribbean with my sister. Consequently, from my absolutely amazing vintage-style fan to the artwork and decor you’ll see throughout, color rules. Be ready.

And since I mentioned the fan, I’ll point out that my ceilings are low enough that a ceiling fan is not an option. I didn’t even think about that fact until my third night of feeling like I was suffocating from the heat prompted a conversation with my sister. She reminded me that my bedroom ceiling fan in the other apartment was never turned off; I’m used to air that moves. Shortly after this conversation, we headed to Walmart where I almost embarrassed myself in my excitement over this gem. I love its vintage style and the fact it is an almost exact match for the color of my “kitchen” cabinets. I can set it to oscillate and it has a variety of speeds. It even has a fabric-covered cord like they used when I was a kid!

Down girl. Calm down. Yes, I love my fan.

Moving on. Heading back to the photo, if you look at the left part of the L you’ll see that there is a traditional desk drawer. It is huge. I filled it with a variety of desk organizers that I may or may not ever be willing to show. (I do not have a magazine-perfect home and the drawers prove it.) To the right of that, you can see another opening that can be used in a variety of ways. I’ve chosen to slide a bamboo tray into that spot. My pencil sharpener (and, in this photo, a tube of moisturizer) fits perfectly beside the tray.

Moving on to the next photo, I’ll hit quickly on what’s on top of the desk. (By the way, the book on the easel is the one I’m pulling the American Women biographical sketches from.)

The glass jar holding peppermints is one of a set of 12 I bought on Amazon when I was working on gifts for friends. It’s 20 ounces and has a bamboo top with a seal. It’s the perfect size when you need to hold something (like peppermints) but don’t need a huge container.

The “rainbow” to its left is a clear plastic box that holds seven smaller pill boxes, each marked “Mon.” through “Sun”. This is a huge help to me. I take several supplements, as well as a couple of prescriptions, and it’s much easier to set this case up for the week than it is to haul all those bottles out from the medicine shelf every single day. Each little pill case has two compartments, one for AM and one for PM. When I travel, or even if I just know I’ll be working an extra long day at the church, I snatch up the appropriate pill boxes and toss them in my purse.

Now to the floor. (I might get killed for letting you see this part of the concrete. Remember I’m the one who insisted on no flooring; the rest of the floor is gorgeous.) This is what I meant when I said this desk allows a wealth of under-desk storage. The two white boxes in the back corner are stackable plastic drawers. The top one holds my paper towels and the bottom is essentially my first aid kit; it contains all sorts of things from bandages to lotion to ice pack sleeves to the wrist brace I wear on (thankfully) rare occasions. I did find these boxes available on Amazon and about choked at the price, but in reality these are over five years old and have held up extremely well to continual use, so they’re worth it.

Next to this is a plastic basket I bought somewhere years ago, and it’s home to a variety of items having to do with my book and blog publishing. I hope to reach a point where I have a better place for these things, but for now it works. And then, of course, you have the shredder. It may seem counterintuitive to have a shredder in a small apartment, but it’s great not only for security purposes but also for keeping paper trash volume down as well. I snagged this one at Sam’s Club and it has been more of a help than I ever dreamed.

And that’s almost it for the desk. All that’s left is the shelf on the end. It’s perfect for the few DVDs I permitted myself to keep as well as my bank (Yes, the door is an old post office box front.), journals, my Bible and notebook (when they make it to the shelf; I use them constantly), and the binder that holds my Prismacolor collection. The three zippered sections of this pencil case have elastic straps that hold a total of 120 pencils, and it’s the best storage solution I’ve ever found for my art pencils.