Modifixes

This post was inspired by the lovely Moriya of the blog The Harpster Home. If you’re asking yourself, “what is a modifix?” I’ll let her explain, she starts her post thusly:

One cold and rainy Saturday I took a good look around my home and realized I have a lot of little house-related tricks that make my life a whole lot easier. I’ve always had this obsession with constantly trying to make things more efficient and less of a hassle. I get that from my mom; my dad calls her The Modifixer.

I read this and it really struck a chord with me; I’m definitely a modifixer too. And in the spirit of her blog, I’m going to share my top modifixes with you.

This one was very simple. These ‘waterfall’ or buttonless/zipless cardigan things are very in right now, but for me, it lacked versitility. Also, I’m one of those people who’s curves need emphasis and things which fall straight down do not really flatter my figure, I need to be synched in. So I just sewed on a black hook and eye fastening. Simple as that 🙂

This one is specifically related to my tea addiction. I like to buy loose teas, but I buy them as cheap as I can for the best quality, which is where the wonderful adagio website comes in. Great tea, lovely taste, cheap packaging. Because bags kept coming open (they’ve got those ‘press close’ fastenings) and exposing my tea to moisture and odours, I came up with the idea of storing my tea in empty jars. I paint the lids with nail varnish to make them an attractive colour and Bob’s your uncle – one attractive tea display.

Another kitchen fix – this one was so cheap and made such a difference, at our local pound shop you can buy rolls of rubbery plastic stuff (the black chequered-looking stuff in the picture) it is very non-slip and has proved essential in stopping my whetstone sliding about, keeping my cutlery dividers at the front of the draw (they used to whoosh to the back whenever the drawer closed) and stopping my sofa cushions from sliding.

I store my spices lying down in a draw so I can read the labels – no knocking them off a rack, no having to write on the lids.

I keep wet wipes in any place without running water (car, living room) they are great for damp dusting, and wiping up spills.

I use a documents folder for my paper craft supplies. Stops paper getting crumpled and keeps it organised, I have a partition for each of the following – embellishments, card, plain paper, patterned paper and tissue paper. Though I think I need to invest in a bigger one as this one barely closes!

Not a great picture, but this is a shoe rack. The bars are higher at the back and lower at the front, which is great for shoes with heels, but I have a lot of flats. My modifix here was to stick double-sided sticky tape to the front rails meaning my flat shoes don’t slip!

Cardboard boxes are great for storing stuff, and can even look attractive when painted (I haven’t had time to do the middle box yet! But it’s useful to show the contrast of before and after).

When wardrobe space is at a premium and you want to store things which can’t be hung, invest in a hanging shelf.

Now this one I’m proud of. Take one cork board, cover with pretty paper, hammer in nails and hang your necklaces. Stops them getting tangled and creates an attractive wall display.

Directly below my necklace hanger is a kettle. I like to keep one in the bedroom after working in hotels. It’s also useful for filling hot water bottles. FYI I’m not just really lazy, my kitchen is down two flights of stairs from the bedroom!

Another attractive display, this time for earrings using net fabric in a photo frame with no glass in.

As we live in a rented house there is limited scope for changing the furnishings. Our bedroom is small and the curtains were getting in the way, so I simply tacked them up to a better length. When we move out I’ll undo my stitching and the landlord will never know. (The curtains don’t usually look like this, I folded over the left one so you could see where I turned up the fabric).

Another bedroom fix courtesy of my wonderful partner, also a seasoned modifixer (though his fixes usually revolve around computers and software). As I said, our bedroom is small and does not allow for proper sized bedside tables. It was Dash’s brilliant idea to use these DVD stands instead, which usefully contain a lamp for each of us, our books, medication and other useful things.

The fix here is the rubber glove. It’s in the shower because when the shower is on for some reason the taps get so stiff I can’t manually turn them to alter the temperature. The glove is my fix for weak hands – everything from taps to jam jars can be tackled using the extra grip from wearing these!

My home made phone case is two fixes in one. Firstly, it solves the problem of getting a scratched screen, secondly, the button allows me to not lose my phone in a bag with no pockets – I simply sew in a little loop, and hook my phone on using the button.

My bag is a wonderful thing. I bought it for a holiday where I knew I would be on foot a lot and wanted something really light. Unfortunately a really cheap (£8) light bag comes without many useful conveniences, hence my internal and external pocket additions for my water bottle and phone/nail file/notebook etc.

I hope you’re not bored to tears by my ramblings – if you have any life-improving modifixes of your own, let me know.