Little Changes Make Big Results

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I began a series of house projects: hanging curtains in our bedroom, painting the dining room, and cleaning and organizing the garage and basement storage closet.  It's been extremely gratifying.

During the fall and spring semesters, I don't have the opportunity to tackle these types of larger projects.  (Next up is painting the girls' bedrooms.  We're currently debating the merits and drawbacks of various paint chips with our five-year-old, who's convinced that it would be lovely to paint her bedroom a shade of pink that would make Pepto Bismol blush.)

In the interim, I'm finding that little changes to our house can make a big difference, too.  For example, I recently bought an inexpensive oil and vinegar bottle to dispense my dish detergent.  Nice, isn't it?

I also recently found a small wicker basket to use as a caddy to stash our remote controls.  Those remotes look like they were made for that basket.  (At least this is what I think.  The remotes seem to think that there were made to burrow deeply between the couch cushions to escape the light of day.)

As for this functional, but rather bleh, tray table?  I've got plans to give it a little love, and I promise to post pictures once my work is done.  (Update: see the after pictures here.)

Have you done something in your house -- whether large or small -- that's made a big difference to you? 

If you're ever looking for home improvement blogs, consider checking out DIY Inspired, a blog that I recently discovered that has tons useful tutorials, and Living Rich on Less, which is written by a lovely blogging friend of mine, Susan Penning.