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An Easy DIY Garden Bed

Screwing the fasteners in place. An easy DIY garden bed.

Have you seen those cedar garden bed kits at Home Depot or Lowes? Or the really fancy ones on Amazon? Yeah, I did, too. Then I saw the price tag. Yikes! But cedar garden beds don’t have to be outrageously expensive and you don’t even need a full set of tools. I’m here to give you pointers and tips for an easy DIY garden bed that won’t break the bank, either.

person digging on soil using garden shovel

You’ve seen the simple garden beds I made the first year of my garden in it’s current location. In 2022, I expanded the veggie garden even more and really gave it an upgrade. Yes, I have some fancy tools, but you don’t need anything out of the ordinary to make your own garden beds. It’s a straightforward process to make these easy DIY garden beds, and I know you can do it, too!

The best thing about doing it yourself? You can customize it into a one-of-a-kind piece that works for you and the space you have. Below you will find an example of an 18″ tall bed I helped a friend make with minimal tools and the 6″ high beds I built in my own garden. Let’s get started!

The basic supply list:

  • Cedar fence pickets
    • Garden stakes
  • Fasteners

Cedar Fence Pickets

Head down to the home center and pick up some basic cedar dog-ear fence pickets. They are cedar and usually less than $3. They come in 6-foot lengths, which is great for a bed. It’s the cornerstone of this easy DIY garden bed and the piece that is often the most expensive in those kits.

So why cedar? For decades, vegetable gardeners have avoided pressure-treated wood products when building their beds, thanks to a 1991 paper from Cornell (the agricultural experts!). It brought to light the use of arsenic in the pressure-treating process. By the early 2000s, the manufacturing process changed and arsenic is no longer used. So is it safe to use? The risk is significantly diminished since then, but cedar is a fantastic, natural alternative. Cedar is rot-resistant and keeps bugs away.

Personally, try to avoid using any kind of pressure-treated wood in a vegetable garden. If it’s for flowers only, then I do recommend opting for pressure treated boards.

Garden stakes

In my previous post, I recommend some garden stakes like these 1×2 stakes. I also like these 2×2 stakes, which I used because my garden is on a hill and the soil is sand. I didn’t want them to move at all!

Garden stakes like these are great because they come in multi-packs. The length you need will be dependent on how tall you want your beds. Technically speaking, you don’t need to make them very tall, but, the beauty of a custom build is a custom design. I believe, for the most part, the garden stakes commonly available are untreated. If you can get your hands on cedar stakes, awesome. It’s possible you might have to replace the stakes at some point if you purchase the untreated stakes, but certainly not by the next year.

Fasteners

First of all, what are fasteners? It’s an all-encompassing word for things that fasten to or fasten things together – aka nails and screws.

As you will see in the next section, the type of fasteners you buy will depend on the type of tools you have access to. One thing that you do need, regardless of tool, is galvanized fasteners. These are designed to be used outside and in all weather. Screws are not the most ideal for this type of board, as it is quite thin and brittle, but it will work if you do nbot have access to a nailgun.

Below I have a couple of examples of ways to build your beds; regardless of your final design, the basic concept remains the same.

Before You Start:

Safety First

As always, take appropriate safety precautions. Gloves, glasses, and ear protection (with power tools) is a must. Take the time to scope out where you want your bed to live.

Recommendations

  • It’s very likely that the spot is not 100% flat so using a level is key to really making the beds look nice.
  • Having a garden shovel or trowel is a great tool to have on hand to help find level.
  • A mallet or heavy hammer will help make driving the stakes into the ground go by much faster.
  • If you do not have a saw at home, most home centers and lumber yards will gladly make cuts for you for free.
  • Measuring tape – you can attempt to eyeball it, but you might end up re-doing a lot of your work. Trust me, I know.
  • A second pair of hands! Many hands make light work and if you can find a friend to help it will make finding level a lot easier. BUT it’s absolutely possible to do this on your own.
  • Don’t be intimidated! This is an easy DIY garden bed and once you get the first board set up, you will fly through it. Take your time and if you mess up, then your garden will look like mine! A little wonky but totally authentic and made from my two hands.

If you don’t have a lot of tools:

Supplies:

  • Galvanized screws
  • Garden stakes
  • Fence pickets
  • Screwdriver or drill
  • Hammer or mallet
  • Level (optional)
  • Speed square (optional)
  • Saw (optional) – any kind will do if you have it

Step 1

Start by hammering in the first stake for one of the front corners of your bed. Take it slowly and keep checking that the stake is going in straight, or plumb. To do this, use your level by lining it up vertically alongside at least 2 sides of your stake. Hammer it in approximately as far down as the height of your bed.

Measuring the depth of the stake
Measuring up the depth of the stake

Step 2

Measure out the location of your other front corner stake. Before hammering it all the way in, you will want to see if it is squarely in line with the first stake.

Begin by pushing the stake into the ground far enough that it can just stand on its own. Then carefully hold up your board against both stakes. You can use a speed square or even your level to check for square – do both sides of the right angle on your square touch the wood perfectly? Then you are square!

The bottom board right before use it to check for square corners
Getting ready to check for square

If not, you can make an easy adjustment by moving around the garden stake that is not completely hammered into the ground yet. Once you know you’ve got your stakes lined up, sink that sake into the ground exactly as you did in Step 1.

Step 3

Take your board and place it right up against your stakes. It’s time to check for level. Using your level, look to see if that little bubble is right in the center. Depending on the size of your level, you may have to move it around to be absolutely sure that the board is completely level across the top. The smaller the level, the more you will need to move it around.

Use a level to be sure that your boards are, in fact, level.
Leveling with the level

This is where the trowel comes in handy. If you notice a gap between the board and the ground at one end, you can use the trowel to move around the dirt. Either dig into the ground where the board already touches the ground and slightly bury this end or transfer some dirt to fill in the gap.

Step 4

If you’ve opted for a short, single board bed, this part will be easy. If you are going for several boards, you might need some extra hands.

In Step 1, you made an approximate guess as to how far in the stakes needed to go for the height of your bed. You may need to push one or both of the stakes just a little bit further into the ground in order to match the top of your level board. This might mean that one stake is 6″ above ground and the other is only 5.5″. Once the tops of your stakes are in line with the top edge of your top-most board it’s time to fasten.

Screwing the fasteners in place
The top of the stake is at or slightly below the top of the board

Step 5

When fastening, use 2 screws, one above the other. This will help ensure a good fastening but comes in handy in a minute.

Begin with your bottom-most board and check again for level. Slowly, screw in your first fastener; ideally the top one first. Try to avoid getting too close to the edge of your board in order to avoid splitting it entirely. Going slowly allows you some control but also helps to prevent massive splitting of the dry board. Typically, this is why brad nails are the better option, but not everyone has access to a nail gun.

Start with the top screw; if your board goes out of level at this stage, you have essentially created a hinge that allows you to move the board up and down with ease.

demonstrating where to apply the fist fastener in order to create a hinge
Apply the top fastener first to create the hinge.

Step 6

After fastening the first screw, go to your other stake – this is where you will use that hinge you created on the other stake to confirm your board is level. Once it is, you can fasten both screws on this stake and go back to the first stake to fasten the board completely. If you have additional boards to install, you can repeat this process. All subsequent boards should be level after ensuring the first one is, but it’s always a good idea to check. If one board was cut crookedly and then sits funny, it might make the board after it also not level.

Step 7

Repeat this process again from Step 2 all the way around your bed! If you have lengths of board that are longer than 2 feet, add at least 1 additional stake to the middle. This will strengthen the board(s) to hold the dirt and also will help prevent any warping. And just like that, you’ve build this easy DIY garden bed!

If you’ve got access to a lot of tools:

Supplies:

  • Galvanized screws/brad nails
  • Garden stakes
  • Fence pickets
  • Drill or nail gun
  • Hammer or mallet
  • Level
  • Speed square
  • Circular saw

Step 1

Start by hammering in the first stake for one of the front corners of your bed. Take it slowly and keep checking that the stake is going in straight, or plumb. To do this, use your level by lining it up vertically alongside at least 2 sides of your stake. Hammer it in approximately as far down as the height of your bed.

Measuring the depth of the stake
Measuring up the depth of the stake

Step 2

Measure out the location of your other front corner stake. Before hammering it all the way in, you will want to see if it is squarely in line with the first stake.

Begin by pushing the stake into the ground far enough that it can just stand on its own. Then carefully hold up your board against both stakes. You can use a speed square or even your level to check for square – do both sides of the right angle on your square touch the wood perfectly? Then you are square!

Step 3

Take your board and place it right up against your stakes. It’s time to check for level. Using your level, look to see if that little bubble is right in the center. Depending on the size of your level, you may have to move it around to be absolutely sure that the board is completely level across the top. The smaller the level, the more you will need to move it around.

Use a level to be sure that your boards are, in fact, level.
Leveling with the level

This is where the trowel comes in handy. If you notice a gap between the board and the ground at one end, you can use the trowel to move around the dirt. Either dig into the ground where the board already touches the ground and slightly bury this end or transfer some dirt to fill in the gap.

Step 4

If you’ve opted for a short, single board bed, this part will be easy. If you are going for several boards, you might need some extra hands.

In Step 1, you made an approximate guess as to how far in the stakes needed to go for the height of your bed. You may need to push one or both of the stakes just a little bit further into the ground in order to match the top of your level board. This might mean that one stake is 6″ above ground and the other is only 5.5″. Once the tops of your stakes are in line with the top edge of your top-most board it’s time to fasten.

Step 5

Regardless if you are using brad nails or screws, plan to use at least 2 per either end of each board, stacked vertically. This will help ensure a good fastening but comes in handy in a minute. With any project using thin, brittle board and screws, be sure to go slowly and don’t place your screw too close to the edge, in order to avoid as much splitting as possible.

Begin with your bottom-most board and check again for level. Start at the top of your board and place your first nail; if your board goes out of level at this stage, you have essentially created a hinge that allows you to move the board up and down with ease.

Step 6

After applying your first fastener, go to your other stake – this is where you will use that hinge you created on the other stake to confirm your board is level. Once it is, you can apply additional nails to this stake and go back to the first stake to fasten the board completely. If you have additional boards to install, you can repeat this process. All subsequent boards should be level after ensuring the first one is, but it’s always a good idea to check. If one board was cut crookedly and then sits funny, it might make the board after it also not level.

Step 7

Repeat this process again from Step 2 all the way around your bed! If you have lengths of board that are longer than 2 feet, add at least 1 additional stake to the middle. This will strengthen the board(s) to hold the dirt and also will help prevent any warping. And just like that, you’ve built this easy DIY garden bed.

If you’re feeling creative and are looking for inspo:

Read about my vegetable garden upgrade or follow me on Pinterest!

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An Ode to Limonene

sliced oranges

The hydrocarbon you never knew you’ve been using a long, long time.

Commercial Citrus Cleaning Supplies

According to Science Focus, a 2005 Dutch study illustrated the connection in our minds of cleanliness and citrus. Not because we all know and understand some of the chemical compounds found in citrus peel (ahem, d-limonene), but because a lot of us were around and grew up with the growing trend of citrus-scented cleaners developing growing in popularity in the 1980s. TL;DR: we think “clean” when we smell citrus because it’s what we’ve been conditioned to think over the past 40 years. But it’s not all commercial baloney. There is real science behind the use of citrus in cleaning, just like there is for vinegar and baking soda, too!

cleaning and sanitizing counter

What is Limonene?

Limonene is a major organic component of citrus peels; in oranges it is, quite literally, the molecules that give off the scent you know as orange. In its concentrated form it is commonly used as a renewables-based solvent in cleaning products. That means it’s excellent at cutting through grease and grime. D-limonene, which comes from citrus peels, also can be found in trees such as cottonwoods, maples, and pines – remember Pine-Sol? It’s such a good solvent, you’ve probably seen CitriStrip at your local hardware store. And yes, it’s related to turpentine, through the terpene chemical compound family. If you can’t tell already, it’s a natural, renewable cleaning agent that cuts through grease and smells great.

orange fruit

Why You Should Love it

When I started down the path of reducing my plastic waste, I knew I really wanted to cut down on the amount of plastic soap and cleaning containers. It seemed like an obvious place to start. Chemistry is an amazing science and I knew if I could learn what already exists in nature and find the right combination of chemicals (because everything is a chemical – remember!). After doing a little research I discovered orange oil. It’s typically sold as a super concentrated cleaning supply. When researching how to incorporate it into a soap base, I learned (the hard way) that it should not exceed 5% of the entire soap mixture. Soap after soap would seize up before I could even get it into the mold! I’ve still got to work fast, but I’m really excited by my limited ingredient cleaning bars. I market them as dish bars, but they can be used for so many things because of that fabulous d-limonene. Dishes? Check. Scrub the floor? Check. Clean the grout? Check! And the tub? Hell yeah.

Take a Closer Look

I was cleaning my shower tub recently and I have used Scrubbing Bubbles or some variation for years. We have a white tub in the upstairs bath and as I was cleaning, even with my trusty scrubber, I could not get whatever greasy soap scum had accumulated on the bottom. In a light bulb moment, I went to the kitchen, grabbed my dish scrubber and cleaning bar and began to suds up. Sure enough, the citrus cleaning bar worked its magic and the scum was gone shortly after I started. Just look at the before and after below! Because the tub is white, it can be hard to see the scum in a photo, so I used the exact same filter and contrast level in the before and after so you could see.

I hope you have a new appreciation for citrus and the power of renewable cleaning supplies – I sure did after using it myself. I’ll share some other tips and tricks soon, including how I use my dish bar paste to clean my light-colored bathroom grout.

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Get that Goo Gone: A DIY Recipe for Your Own Sticky Residue Cleaner

a person holding popsicle stick

Ever find yourself in a situation where you’ve got this sticky mess on your hands? That price tag or child safety latch that just won’t give up the ghost? I’ve got a nifty trick for you to safely remove sticky residue that won’t damage the material underneath and is made from two ingredients you definitely have in the cabinet.

a person holding popsicle stick
Scrub away stickers and sticky goo with things in your pantry

Let’s cut to the chase

Oil and baking soda – that’s all you need. Yep, you read that right. And a little bit goes a long way, too! Just make a thick paste by adding oil to some baking soda. Any kind of oil will work – olive, canola, avocado, vegetable, baby, you name it.

You might need to experiment with your ratio, but a “little bit” is all you need. Baking soda is surprisingly good at scrubbing things up because it is lightly abrasive. The oil is great at getting that sticky glue and paper off because it does a great job at dissolving the glue. Put the two together and you have a fantastically easy way to get rid of stickers.

Leftover sticker residue after a brief soak of the oil and baking soda

How it works: my method

I threw together some goo-gone not long ago; I bought some labels that ended up being much too large for the lid on these tins I planned to use for my solid lotion bars. I just had to get them off! But they were higher quality stickers, so they were pretty well-adhered to the metal top, even right after putting them on.

Oftentimes, like in this case, I will give my items a brief warm soak in soapy water, just to start. Here I peeled what I could by hand before throwing my paste on.

I tend to start out adding as little oil as possible until I have a dryer paste. This is my personal preference because I almost always underestimate just how much oil I’ve actually got in the mix. Once I have a paste, I throw it on the spot, give it a quick scrub and let it sit for a few minutes, to let the oil do it’s thing. Sometimes, if i find that the sticker paper isn’t releasing it’s hold just yet, I add a little more oil to the mix. It might take a little elbow grease, but sure enough, this home remedy is one that really works. After a quick soapy rinse, the lids were nice and clean and ready for better-fitting labels!

Check out some of my more home DIYs!

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Returning the Nutrients

Photo of a lavender plant with leaves around the base

Part II: Putting the Garden to Bed

There is no better garden than next year’s garden.

Unknown quote, but it’s my favorite saying

But First, a Snack

Before putting the garden to bed, it’s always a good idea to give the soil and any perennial plants a snack before bed. They might not “eat” during the winter, but they will be awfully hungry upon waking and it saves you time and effort when you do it now.

Photo of the garden bed and my rake

For the garden beds, I give everything a good rake and add some all-purpose fertilizer. The soil put in a lot of hard work this summer, giving everything it had to my plants, so I make sure to mix in some fertilizer and compost at this stage. This gives ample time for the fertilizer to absorb and compost to decompose. I’ll do this part again in the spring, too.

The Perfect Comforter

After putting down some fertilizer and compost (don’t forget the compost around the base of your perennial plants like the lavender and hydrangeas!), I get ready to put down a thick layer of leaves. We have a ridiculous number of trees on our property and they don’t all lose their leaves at the same time. This means I am moving leaves for the better part of a month. When I get tired of blowing the leaves and bagging I take the opportunity to create the most perfect comforter for my garden. I like to use put the bag attachment on my push-mower and chop up the leaves before dumping them on the beds – but you don’t have to do that if you can’t.

Why Leaves?

First of all, they are bountiful – at least in the part of the country where I live. I find there is no point in buying anything expensive or fancy when Mother Nature is providing me with the best all-natural and organic mulch.

Second, as these leaves decompose over time, they prevent weeds from sprouting up and unwanted seeds from landing on the soil to sprout down.

Third, like any store-bought mulch, they do a great job of maintaining soil moisture and temperature.

Fourth, the leaves ultimately breakdown and add to the nutrients in the soil as another form of compost.

And just like that, you’ve put the garden to bed for the winter. Remember to turn off and unhook any hoses you have out and tidy up any trash. I’ll see you in the spring when we help the garden to wake up!

<<Part I: Planting the Garlic

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Say Goodnight and Sleep Tight

garlic and cloves on white surface

Part I: Garlic Planting

It’s November and getting quite cold in upstate New York, so it’s time to put the garden to bed. It was plentiful this past summer and the best gift I can give it is to give it a good rest and a treat.

But First, the Garlic

I’m still learning to be a better gardener every year. I make sure to jot down my notes in my garden notebook so I can implement changes in next year’s garden. Some veggies always do well and others, never. Some, like carrots, I am convinced can do well, I just haven’t found the right method or technique. Garlic is one of those plants for me.

Fresh garlic scapes from the summer

I am obsessed with garlic. I put it in everything, I make garlic confit and garlic olive oil. Next to salt and pepper, garlic is a guarantee in every dish I make. It was a logical next step when it came to expanding my garden. The summer of 2022 was my third season growing garlic. To date, the only thing I have successfully harvested and used has been the scapes. But I know I can figure this one out. I feel confident that this year would have been a success, if it were not for the extreme heat and drought of July and the fact that we were away on vacation during one of the hottest weeks, thus cooking my garlic to a crisp.

How to Plant Garlic

Garlic is a bulb, obviously, and like any flower bulb, they are planted in the fall. This is because bulbs need vernalization in order to root properly and develop bulbs come spring. Basically they need the cool temps to start growing roots before going dormant in the winter. This gives them the best chance to grow and be ready in late summer. Garlic takes a long time to grow.

Map of USA Hardiness Zones.

I live in Zone 5b, but you should take a look at your zone and decide the best time to plant. According to the USDA Hardiness Zone map, I should be planting garlic around mid- to late-October. However, I’ve noticed in the last couple of years I’ve had to push that back into November because of warm falls. I don’t want my garlic to prematurely sprout and, ultimately, rot or not develop properly. It’s become harder to guess when the ground will freeze, but my goal is to get the garlic in the ground 4-6 weeks before then. Typically this means the daytime temperatures are now in the 40s or 50s and the nighttime temps get close to or just barely dip below freezing.

What Kind of Bulbs Should I Use?

There is no law against using garlic from the grocery store, but you will probably be disappointed. I did that my first time growing garlic and, while the garlic did sprout, I didn’t get much in the way of scapes and the bulbs were microscopic. These garlic bulbs tend to be of poorer quality for growing and may be designed to stay small or not grow much at all. Think about it – the last thing you want to buy in the grocery store is garlic with green shoots coming out.

garlic and cloves on white surface
Choosing the right garlic can sometimes come down to trial and error

I’ve taken a couple of approaches. In the fall of 2021, I planted some garlic that had been gifted to me from friends who grew their own garlic. This was the garlic I was most excited about but then died in the drought. I did get some fantastic garlic scapes, however, so it wasn’t a bust.

This year I am trying out two types of garlic bulbs: one from the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds collection (German Extra-Hardy) and one from my local farm store, which specifically sells seed garlic. Both types are hardneck varieties.

When planting garlic, or anything in my garden for that matter, I don’t follow the rules of keeping everything far apart. Sometimes it works (like with potatoes or carrots) and sometimes it doesn’t (like zucchini). I absolutely take the approach of “well plants in nature don’t follow this rule and they turn out alright.”

Photo of a garden bed with leaves as a preparation for winter.

In this case I buried the garlic bulbs, points up, about 2 inches into the ground and a few inches apart, mostly in rows. This bed is entirely dedicated to the garlic, so I didn’t feel that organizing them was necessary. What’s awesome about garlic is that you don’t need a bed or formal garden to grow it – just a big pot, soil, and sun. You will want well draining soil to keep the bulbs from rotting. My natural soil in the ground is sand, but over the years I have added some garden soil and compost, so it’s a good mix.

Missed the timing for this year?

Don’t sweat it! Get ahold of some garlic bulbs ASAP and get a big pot. You can plant some garlic in the pot and keep it in the house or in your garage for a couple of weeks so it can get established, then put it outside to freeze.

Part II: Returning the Nutrients >>

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A Vegetable Garden Upgrade: How I Took My Garden to the Next Level

A vegetable garden upgrade

If you saw my post from 2021, you will remember my affordable and DIY alternative to those fancy cedar garden beds. I was so happy with my previous creation, that I decided to do an entire vegetable garden upgrade and add some more beds and put up a more permanent fence.

Vegetable Garden Upgrade Back to Basics

I’ll be honest, when I went back to my original beds from last year, I have no idea why I measured the depth of each bed less than 36″. To make things easier, I decided to go with 36″ because it was half a full board. Building more beds behind my original beds was super simple and only took 3 cedar boards per bed. I also decided to shore things up a bit more and add 24″ stakes as the main supports and one in the middle of the front boards to prevent warping.

The first iteration of my garden, two simple cedar beds.
My 2021 Garden

No More Free Lunch

I love where we live, especially the wildlife that pass through our property. I don’t love how they often think of my property as an all-you-can-eat buffet. Our biggest offenders are deer, rabbits, and gophers. Now that I think I have the final footprint of my vegetable garden mapped out, I am ready for a more permanent fence.

I put together a total of 8 garden beds, with some room for 2 more beds at the back for another year (I just ran out of time ahead of the growing season!). To solve for the gopher problem, I committed to digging a 24″ trench around the entire garden area. Why 2 feet? From what I’ve read online, 18″-36″ is the key depth to keep those pesky critters from digging into the garden.

A photo of a 4-foot long tree root that was cut from the ground to make the trench around the garden for the fence. All part of the vegetable garden upgrade
The first giant tree root

I purchased this galvenized fencing to put in the trench. I went with a 4-foot tall fence so that some stuck up above ground to dissuade any gophers that are inclined to climb and stop bunnies from nibbling their way in. This was a critical step in my vegetable garden upgrade. There is nothing worse than watching , waiting, and tending to the garden only to have it completely sabotaged by some furry friends who don’t even have the decency to finish eating that squash.

Let me tell you, getting this fence into the ground? This was the hardest part. And my soil is sand. But when I get an idea in my head, I go all out. I will NOT lose this game to some furry residents. I also had to contend with tree roots. Some of these roots were easy to remove with hand clippers, others required the Sawzall. But boy, oh boy, I was getting a work out removing some of the heftier roots by the biggest stump. It was completely unavoidable. This is the sunniest spot on the property where I can put a garden and I was all in on this vegetable garden upgrade.

The one that almost defeated me

The Deer Fence

From there, keeping the deer out was relatively simple! These green t-posts were perfect for the job. Because this fence is for keeping visitors out, I installed each post with the studs pointing out. Each post is also 2-feet below ground, leaving me with a 4-foot high fence. A simple deer barrier was hung on the posts. The barrier came as an 8-foot wide roll, so I just doubled up the fencing as I went around the garden.

The end-of-season result. Well worth the effort!

The Final Steps in the Vegetable Garden Upgrade

To get in and out of the garden with ease, I made a simple door by attaching the end of the barrier to a garden stake. This attached to the middle post with clips. You could get an extra t-post and make an actual doorway, but I’m not fussy and the deer don’t have that kind of dexterity!

Voila! My vegetable garden upgrade is complete. Just in time to plant the carrots, too.

What if I don’t have all of these power tools?

Come back next week!

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DIY Fabric Softener

plastic bottle of detergent in studio

I hate waste. In my household, we try to live by the three R’s; Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. There is a reason that Reduce and Reuse come first in the three R’s, too. And if you’ve been seeing the news over the past few years, less and less of our recycling is actually being recycled. This is where my DIY fabric softener comes in.

If you’re like me, you never run out of shampoo and conditioner at the same time. If you do – you need to tell me how because I can never line those up! I also get bored with my shampoos and conditioners and tend to change out the scents or the brands with some regularity. So what to do with all this extra conditioner? Make fabric softener!

Fabric Softener vs Dryer Sheets

There are so many arguments in favor of one or the other. But once again, I am trying to reduce waste and constantly having to throw away used dryer sheets just wasn’t in the cards anymore. Plus, dryer sheets can coat the inside of your dryer and reduce the efficacy of your lint trap. They also make your towels less absorbent.

Fabric softener from the store also has it’s problems, don’t get me wrong. It keeps your clothes static-free, but can affect the fire-resistant qualities of some children’s clothes. And there’s usually that big plastic bottle to recycle.

DIY Fabric Softener

I guarantee you have all of these ingredients in your home, so you can throw this together at any time. I also had a large drink pitcher that I wasn’t really using anymore, so I keep my softener in there. But you can always reuse an old fabric softener jug.

Ingredients:

DIY Fabric Softener
  • 1 cup of hair conditioner
  • 3 cups of white vinegar
  • 5 cups of hot water

The water absolutely MUST be boiled before you start this project. It’s not specifically required for the assembly part – rather, you need distilled water to kill off any bacteria in the water. This allows you to make a large quantity without it “going bad”. If you think you won’t go through the softener fast enough (as in a couple of months), you can always add phenonip to prevent mold and bacteria growth.

I toss all of these ingredients into the giant pitcher, give it a shake and BOOM – instant fabric softener. You will notice that the fabric softener will separate when left alone for a little while. Just give your container a quick shake and add to the machine.


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Strip that down for me

Stairs Update

I hate the stairs in my house. Like nearly every bit of wood trim in the house, they were stained a very dark, very dated brown. It’s hard enough to bring natural light into our home, living at the bottom of a hill in the woods. When we first moved in, I attacked nearly every bit of dark brown trim with off white paint (Swiss coffee). As we’ve remodeled, all of the new trim starts out as this color. Doors are painted (campfire ash) before they are even hung. But now I am ready for a DIY stair remodel.

The way before

I wasted no time painting the side trim of the stairs, but everything looked dark and dingy. While the sellers were aiming to do some quick and cheap improvements, most of them were superficial and just looked awful. I figured a little paint certainly wouldn’t make it look worse.

For some strange reason, the upper half of the stairs had been poly’ed. I have no idea if that was new or old, but in addition to being ridiculously unsafe (duh) it made the lower stairs look particularly like garbage.

The semi improvement

Painting the risers and the handrail spindles certainly improved matters. Whenever anyone is looking for a nice, dramatic improvement, painting the risers and spindles always looks great. This served us well for 6 years.

My current mess

The cheap carpet that was put down right before we moved in. In the past 6 years it has quickly become matted, stained, and no longer truly cleanable. I am counting down the days to a new floor. Before we did that, I decided it was time to attack the treads on the stairs. If I couldn’t rip them out and replace them, I was going to do my best to make them look completely different.

The lower stairs were fairly easily stripped. I bought this varnish remover from Home Depot. This stuff is no joke, so be sure to wear gloves, glasses, and ventilate your space. It probably helped that there was no finish on top of the stain. The second set of stairs proved to be much more difficult and it is an on-going saga. I was able to successfully remove the poly, but not much of the stain. That will be the next “step” (haha) in the project. So stay tuned!

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A Kitchen Spruce Up

The Backstory

The kitchen hasn’t been touched yet – but it was time for a kitchen spruce up. When we moved into our home in 2015, it was from a very tiny apartment and so the kitchen felt enormous to me. The new kitchen had about 5 times the counter space (I may have about 6 usable feet right now, so don’t be too impressed). We bought an island from Bed Bath & Beyond and we had a bookshelf that had been used as a pantry from two apartments ago.

The bookshelf was helpful; it housed some pantry items, but also cookbooks and other non-food items. When our daughter was born, we had to stop using the bottom shelf for storage for obvious reasons.

I thought it was finally tie to up the ante and make some floating shelves for the kitchen for storage.

DIY Kitchen Shelves

I ordered brackets on Amazon that look like pipes – I thought it would be an interesting aesthetic to bring into the kitchen. Plus all of the fixtures in the kitchen are a dark, bronze-y color. I purchased these.

I then went down to my favorite lumber yard, Hankle’s, out in East Nassau, NY. Last time I was there I saw these maple boards and I knew I wanted them for something. 2 x 12’s were ideal for my needs and they were kind enough to cut them down to size for me.

After bringing them home I sanded the heck out of them; I purposely chose rough cut because, well, I didn’t want to pay an arm and a leg while lumber prices were soaring. If you decide to save yourself the effort, definitely go for a more finished board.

Making sure everything is square and fitting properly.

Because of the width of board that I chose and the brackets I picked out, I did have to run it on the table saw to make sure it fit properly in the bracket.

After sanding, I conditioned the wood and then went with my favorite Danish Oil as a stain. I took extra care on these and let them dry out for a few days before applying my clear wax. I’ve become a huge fan of the clear wax finish this past summer. As time goes on, it hardens and protects.

Install time

When it was time to install everything, I had to double and triple check every measurement. I did NOT want my shelves to be crooked or out of level. I drew all over the walls. This was an instance where my 4 foot level really came in handy. I also made sure to drill right into the studs. This was going to hold quite a but of weight and I wasn’t going to mess around. As a result, it is a touch off center, but as time has gone on, it’s not even noticeable now.

I started out by finding my studs and marking the center of the first two. Then I repeated the process down the stud at each desired shelf location.

Moment of truth

I confirmed each pair of markings was level by using the 4 foot level and drawing right on the wall. Then, I grabbed the flange piece of the bracket and lined up the holes onto the stud and marked those. Some of the holes did go beyond the stud, so I drilled those out and installed anchors; but I made sure that as many holes as possible were lined up on the stud. I checked for level one more time!

Then the fun part – I screwed on the “pipes” and plopped the board on top, making sure everything fit properly. I checked for level again. Once all of my boards were loosely on the brackets, I took my 4 foot level and made sure they all lined up together. They may not be centered on my small stretch of wall as a whole, but I was absolutely going to make sure they were off-center together!

The final product!

After securing the boards to the pipes with the included under-mount hardware, I took a step back and admired my hard work. Good luck and have fun!

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DIY Room Renovation

Utility Room Makeover Edition

How it Began

We bought our 1977 raised ranch back in 2015. At the time of purchase, some of the rooms had been spruced up, but others not so much. Being a raised ranch, there is no dedicated basement space (the whole lower level is considered a “basement”). Thus began our DIY room renovation experience!

Now, when we moved in, we were just barely 30 and had spent the previous 5 years moving on an almost annual basis. We owned the bare minimum of stuff. But we also made the assumption that this would be our forever home and if our parents were any indication, we’d begin amassing “stuff” sooner rather than later. Thus, the need for a dedicated utility space. The junk drawer of the house, if you will.

This was our very first reno job. B had worked in home construction for a small contracting company in the summers from late high school through college, so he had some basic knowledge of putting together a room. My experience involved watching episodes of Ask this Old House and other home improvement tv shows.

The Before

This room had the least updating to it. Just a little bit of new carpet. That’s it.

I get the cheap white carpet and the disgusting brown trim – the owners were looking to sell the house quickly with a minimum of $$$ spent on a little facelift.

The photo above may look like a nice little room with some wood paneling, but you would be wrong. That “paneling” was glorified cardboard on the wall. And it was glued, stapled, and nailed to the drywall. Effectively destroying the drywall behind it.

The During

I really had no idea what I was getting into here.

Safety first! With hardly the right tools, we took to demolishing the room in mid-January 2016. I foolishly thought this might only take a few weeks. It was just us back in those days, so I also didn’t feel like I had to get it done quickly either.

The aftermath of the wood paneling take down
A complete gut
Replacing hoses and such

We took this bad boy right down to the studs. Good thing, too, as we found evidence of mold (which would continue to haunt us for the next few years as we renovated more and more of the downstairs).

Pro tip: when taking apart the baseboard heater, or anything that you may have to put back together, take photos of the process. You’ll thank me (and yourself!) later.

These heaters are tricky to take apart and those fins are very touchy

Our raised ranch has an exposed foundation half wall all throughout the downstairs. I think keeping it exposed was a stylistic preference of the 1970s and 1980s because I see it in other homes like this. At the time of this project, we decided to keep the wall exposed, as it does indeed make a good shelf. In our den, however, we covered over it.

Drylock for the win!

With every renovation downstairs, though, we’ve make sure to pay special attention to this feature. Each time we took the time to paint over the cinder blocks with Drylock. This helps prevent moisture and seals everything up. Vapor barrier and insulation was also added.

In fact, we insulated the heck out of this room. Both on the outside walls upping the R-value and also on internal walls. Eventually we started using the green, sound-deadening insulation in future renovations. Highly recommend!

The regular pink stuff. Works fine for sound-proofing, but the green stuff is better!

When it came to choosing paint, I knew I wanted a bright utility room. It was so dark in there; back of the house, one window looking out under the deck, on a piece of property without much light to begin with. I went with Behr “Bit of Sugar” and “Hidden Sea Glass”

I also recommend always taking a picture of the can top for reference

Pro Tip: When choosing paint colors, grab a lot of the paint chips and take them home. Hang them up in the room in different places and check the paint color over a period of a few days. Lighting will change in your room throughout the day and it’s a great way to see how the light in your space interacts with the paint chip. This method has never steered me wrong! It takes some extra time, but you won’t regret it.

The After

Eventually, time caught up with us and I was expecting; All the stuff that had been in the utility room originally had been moved into the downstairs spare bedroom. The upstairs room was the office/spare bedroom and everhting in there needed to go downstairs. I was due in December and by October I called in for reinforcements.

Vapor barrier and insulation. We were able to save a lot of the framing on this side of the wall, but we had to build all new framing on the other side.

My parents came and helped moved the furniture downstairs and helped to paint the utility room.

We turned the far wall into a workbench space

One of te very final steps was painting the floor. We didn’t see any point in replacing the carpet, especially if the room was going to be our basement room. We picked up some garage floor paint and it turned out great! Pretty stinky, though, so make sure to open up all the windows and wear safety gear.

It’s also easy to clean, too!

We finished with a month to spare. Whew! I’d say it was a successful first attempt at a DIY room renovation.

Voila!

Check out my other home improvement projects here!