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Protecting the end of your faucet.

Protecting Your Sink FaucetThere are lots of ways to help keep your kitchen sink looking new. Here's one more.

 

A dish drainer with no bottom tray.

Finding A Bottom for a Smaller Dish DrainerI wanted to give myself some more counter space. My drainer took up a lot, and didn't prevent water from going under and sitting there for days. So today I found the perfect size. It's sturdy, smaller and will encourage me to do my dishes more often. However, it didn't come with a drainer tray. So before I went to another store to find the perfect one, I looked around at what I had at home.

 

A cord wrapped around a tension rod.

Wrapping Electric Cord for Under Cabinet LightsI have plug in LED under cabinet lights in my kitchen. The cord only needs to be about 12 inches, but it's about 30. I just had an idea to use a tension rod. Just wind the cord around the rod and snap into place. It cannot be seen by an average height person.

 

A faucet with a multifunction sprayer on the end, with markings in Sharpie.

Marking the Sprayer on your Kitchen FaucetI recently replaced the normal head of the faucet with one of those that you can change from one to the other. Sometimes I want the stream for filling water bottles, etc. Then sometimes I want the sprayer to clean the sink. But I don't want the sprayer when I want to fill a bottle and I too often forget which setting it's on.

 

A vinyl placemat being used a shelf liner.

Vinyl Placemats as Shelf LinersI purchased vinyl placemats from the Dollar Store to line my cabinets. Easy to measure and cut to your exact specifications. These liners can be wiped with a damp cloth and will last a lifetime. I have also placed these liners in my bathroom vanity drawers and on my refrigerator shelves and drawers.

 

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Wrapping Paper as Drawer LiningMany times I have thought there must be a cheaper and easier way to line drawers/cabinets. With my young toddler daughters determined to help, I began using inexpensive wrapping paper.

 

Raising a Cutting Board

Raising a Cutting BoardI got a granite cutting board as my first Christmas present from my then "new" son in law. I was thrilled. It was pretty and heavy and so easy to clean. But, sometimes things that are that heavy can make it hard to clean the counter right up to the edge.

 

Hang Flat Pans on Kitchen Wall

Hang Flat Pans on Kitchen WallI have a small galley style kitchen. For years, I have struggled with how to store my frying pans. This is our solution.

 

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Bubble Wrap as Refrigerator LinerI use bubble wrap as the liner in my veggie drawers in the refrigerator. Veggies keep better and when they get soiled just toss and replace.

 

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Reusing Leftover WallpaperI had a roll of wallpaper leftover and decided to used it to reline the drawers in kitchen and bathroom. It worked great and saved money.

 

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Use Place Mats for Shelves in FridgeI hate cleaning the shelves in the fridge. I've found that cloth place mats are generally the size of the shelves in the side by side fridges. I've learned by placing the cloth place mats on the shelves, when it comes time to clean, it makes cleaning the fridge so much easier.

 

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Cabinet Door ChalkboardI never had a place to make a note and could never find a pen and paper when I needed it. I purchased some chalk paint at Home Depot. I taped off a section on a pantry cabinet I have and spray painted the section with the chalk paint.

 

Kitchen sink with wooden cutting board cover

Sink Cover to Maximize Counter SpaceMy husband constructed two wooden cutting boards to fit my double sink to increase my counter space. The stove is to the left of the double sink; there is no space to the left of the stove for cooking preparation.

 

Custom Spice Rack

Custom Spice RackMy entire kitchen is blue and white. I really wanted a spice rack, but white is hard to find. I ordered a brown paper towel, saran wrap, foil dispenser from Lillian Vernon and had my husband paint it white.

 

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Ledge When Replacing Cabinet HingesWe have just completed an extensive remodel on our condo. We want to make it old people friendly while we can still walk around. DH (aka Joe) is changing out the hinges on the kitchen cupboards. The old ones have 30 years of paint and gunk on them.

 

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Use Cutting Boards to Save Counter TopsTo save my white counter tops in the kitchen, office, bath, and laundry/sewing room, which are expensive to replace as we know, I go to K-Mart and buy their clear acrylic or glass cutting boards in as close to the size of the area I need as possible.

 

A kitchen with cabinets painted different colors.

Paint Top and Bottom Cabinets Different ColorsIf you happen to be re-doing your kitchen cabinets, try using 2 different colors for the upper and lower cabinets. Try using a light color for the top cabinets and a darker color for the bottom.

 

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Line Kitchen Cabinets with Vinyl Floor TilesLine your kitchen and bathroom cupboards with floor tiles. It looks attractive and it provides easy clean-up. Apply a cork tile to the inside of your kitchen cupboard door to pin take-out menus, shopping lists, tips, anything really.

 

Painting a Faux Granite Counter Top

Painting a Faux Granite Counter TopI wanted to share my personal experience and tips for any of you considering doing this. I researched this project thoroughly before I actually took the plunge, and in my opinion, this method produced the best results.

 

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Restain Old Kitchen CabinetsIf you want to redo or give a face-lift to aged kitchen cabinets, here's an inexpensive way to do it. It does require your time and effort. Try mixing two wood stains together to about the color of wood your kitchen cabinets were originally or if you prefer you can change the wood color altogether.

 

Painted laminate countertop.

New Countertops for Less Than $100Well we did it. We went in head first and painted our laminate countertops. We were extremely nervous to try this, but were already considering replacing them with new ones. We thought, why not try it before we get new ones?

 

Bamboo Rod With Coffee Mugs

Bamboo Rod For Mug StorageSave yourself several cup hooks. Instead of one hook for each cup, use two to hold a slender rod. I used a disassembled bamboo placemat, cost:$1, and it has been used before for similar needs.

 

Faux granite countertops.

Directions for Painting CountertopsI just finished creating faux granite countertops and I'm so thrilled! It was easy and the total cost for each countertop was about $70.

 

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Beware Using Glitter When Refinishing Counter TopsI refinished my counter tops with granite spray and enviro and thought it would be a good idea to use glitter to resemble granite. What a disaster! The glitter stood straight up, made bumps all over the counters. I haven't tried sanding them, but plan to do that soon. If that doesn't work, I will try to pour another layer of the enviro over the counters.

 

painting a countertop

Repainting Kitchen CountersUpdated! I just finished painting my kitchen counter top with acrylic latex paint and polyurethene. It was a lot of fun and saved lots of money. I spent a total of $150.00!

 

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Giving Your Kitchen Flair and CharmWith a little flair and imagination, you can create a kitchen of great charm and character, and for relatively little cost. Give your cabinets a face-lift with a new coat of paint or stain (don't forget to sand off the varnish first).

 

Kitchen Towel Rack

Make Your Own Kitchen Towel RackI recently got tired of opening my cabinet doors under the sink to have my hand towel fall off. I came up with a great idea. I went to Walmart and got 2 over the door coat hooks. I slipped them on the "junk drawer" (you can also use a cabinet door)and put a leftover leg support from those plastic shelf units you put together.

 

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Use Magnets To Keep Cupboards ClosedI live in an older mobile home and let's just say, they didn't put in the best quality kitchen cabinets. I had a hard time keeping my cupboards shut whenever I closed them until I used magnets.

 

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Peg Board for Kitchen OrganizationAfter moving into a rented house with a narrow kitchen, I needed a place to store my many gadgets, strainers, etc. that wouldn't fit in the cabinets. One wall had space, so I hung a large square of pegboard, covered with adhesive paper in a coordinating pattern.

 

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Rope Lights Under Kitchen CountersI recently had my husband install white rope lights under my kitchen cabinets. The package actually came with hooks that could be attached to the underside of the cabinets with screws. The lights provide nice, soft, indirect lighting for the countertops.

 

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Lightening the Look of Dark Wooden CabinetsLiving in a rental apartment with particularly dark wooden cabinets, I have lightened them up by applying small flowered plaques from the dollar store (reproductions of classic art) with adhesive putty which doesn't mar the surface.

 

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Wax Paper as Shelf LinerUse wax paper to line your kitchen shelves instead of buying expensive shelf liner paper. It's easy and cheap!

 

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Refrigerator SealsYou should check the seal on your refrigerator every so often. You can do this by closing the door on a dollar bill. If you can pull the bill out easily, it's time to replace the gaskets. You can buy these replacement kits from either an appliance dealer or a home repair center.

 

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Creating an Appliance Manual NotebookAfter the umpteenth time of having to sort through dozens of loose manuals stuffed in a drawer, I have finally found a much better system for handling such materials. I purchased an Avery extra tough, locking rings 3" notebook (which holds up to 460 pages)...

 

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Protecting Your Marble SlabIf you use a marble slab for rolling pastry (which is recommended because the surface is always cool) never allow acidic food like vinegar, lemons or tomatoes to come in contact with the surface, acid corrodes marble. HAPPY MARBLING By joesgirl

 

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