Below are the 5 most recent journal entries recorded in doncruz1024's InsaneJournal:

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
1:37 pm	Organize Your Garage walls with A Peg Rack or Two I have garage jealousy. I had a garage once. Then I moved to Tennessee. The builder had the wonderful idea to save costs by not building a garage. Hello!? This is America, we all have garages. Where are we supposed to put all our stuff. You know - stuff, like the old fixer-upper car that has been cited by your pest service as the source for the neighborhood dust mite infestation, or the collection of sporting goods equipment for sports and activities you used to be good at, or at least - were going to be good at - someday. It is the place where you put those things your lovely wife asked you, kindly, to, "get out of my sight." It is the place for your weekend-warrior yard tools, its where you keep your very clean, not rained, hailed, or pooped on automobile. Its where you maintain, under vigilant eyes, all your precious tools. There is a clipboard on the wall for your pesky neighbors to sign out that tool they want to "borrow." The list gives you the right to knock on their door three years later and say, "Hi neighbor, I was just looking at my list and noticed you still had to plumber's snake coil, have you finished using it? No hurry, I just have an empty, outlined space on my pegboard." Have you ever wondered how that stuff got there? What made you buy it in the first place? I had the privilege of cleaning out my garage once - when I still had one. Of course it was a privilege, my wife told me that with marriage came certain privileges, and this was one of them. Sigh, I didn't really mind, after all, all the good stuff that I wanted to keep would be much safer if I did it. I found lots of wonderful things, memories really. One of them was an old relics known as a peg rack. I actually found two of them. They still make them, people still use them, people are happy to have them because they help keep the closet organized. I had them because I am a man. Men wear ties, or used to wear them. I don't wear ties. Haven't in years, if I need a tie I will ask one of my friends who is not yet liberated if I might borrow one. They will have plenty. Once people know you wear them - especially nephews and nieces, a man is never without ties. But I have long since given away all of mine. wall mounted coat racks Still, here I find these two old servants. Quietly, patiently waiting for the strands of multicolored, or paisley printed fabrics to be hung across their chromed steel pegs. I can't seem to part with them for some unreachable reason in my deepest thoughts. Maybe it is because of the beautiful stained oak that holds the pegs. Maybe it is because of the symmetry of the pegs, neatly rowed and shiny. I should give these away to a friend. Silently, feeling some measure of defeat, I carefully placed them back on the shelf. (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 9th, 2011
6:26 am	Quaint Basic Shaker Style Beautifying Concepts Do you love quaint, simple styling? Have you considered Shaker style decorating? Simple, beautiful artisanship is the hallmark of Shaker style. Many have used Shaker style decorating in a favorite room or their entire home. The simplistic beauty of this rustic decor gives your home, or room, that country feel with restrained easy style and relaxing qualities. Shaker artisans were known for the simple, practical and durable furnishings they hand produced. Shaker style offers those subtle, simplistic details in items from a coat rack to cabinets. Giving your home or room a roomier easy energy and a calm setting. Shaker Style Decorating Ideas for Your Home. Shaker style decorating should be simple but beautiful. Using natural materials extensively, for a clean and understated look with wonderful stained woods and traditional joining methods. The Shaker decor is simplicity beautified, making it simple to construct, durable and easy to maintain. The use of this decor in the kitchen, from cabinetry to countertops, and entire dinette sets, adds that 'old-time' usefulness that is so attractive and homey. The uncomplicated styling draws upon natural stained woods. With simple peg racks for storage, and cupboards of flat panel, and flat squared framing, in rich woods such as cherry, ash, hickory and maple. This approach can be repeated throughout the entire home. The simple but beautiful, versatile Shaker style has a charm all its own. Incorporating this decor in apartments, modern homes and of course country homes is practical and simple. With the wood grain brought out with translucent stains or vanishes, any home can have that 'old time' feel. Wainscots, built waist high, used to break up broad surface walls, and the use of deep baseboards are a signature of Shaker style. Natural stone and terra-cotta style tiles can be an attractive and complimentary addition to Shaker style decorating methods. However, if authenticity is your cup of tea, hardwood floors are a must. Shaker furniture is simplicity beautified. Chairs, angular in design with ladder style backs, and in some cases, woven seats, can be hung upon peg racks allowing more floor space and adding the effect of roominess. Broad wood-topped tables with sturdy legs, simple in design, add that 'good ol days' authenticity to your kitchen. Shaker peg racks are of particular importance in Shaker style decorating. Used for hanging chairs, pots and pans, cooking utensils, coats and hats, or any manner of things, they can be used throughout the home just as they were by the Shakers in times past. Any fabrics used should be natural fibers, such as flax, cotton, or wool, and silk can be used as well. Gingham will find a comfortable place in Shaker decor. Shakers used these materials, and many others of old time, for table linens, curtains, bedding as well as other uses. For authenticities sake, use wooden candle sticks, woven baskets, and tin ware throughout to add charm to your home. Decorating in this fashion need not be an act of absolute authenticity however. Simply styled, sofas and chairs, upholstered in fabrics of appropriate plain or checkered materials will look right at home. Set your imagination free, and make the Shaker style your own. (Comment on this)
Friday, July 8th, 2011
3:19 am	Immediate Organization By Having A Wall Mounted Coat Rack you come home from work it is a good idea to have a place for your coat and bag. Putting these things away upon arrival will set you up to keep everything else in it's place. But where does one set a coat and bag? We all have our spots, on the bed, on the counter, or heaven forbid, the floor? There is a stylish and practical solution. A wall mounted coat rack, or a series of hooks acting as wall mounted coat rack. Remember back in school when your arrived to class and the first thing you did was hang up your coat and backpack on your own special hook? Our teachers instilled these good habits in us for good reason. Not only did it keep the children organized, but it also kept her from tripping all over her students' things. I have a nice wall mounted coat rack hanging in the mud room across from a bench so that you can take off your coat, then sit down to take off your boots. Boots and shoes are stored in a tray that sits below on a mat. It's a nice coming-home-from-work ritual that keeps everything in it's in place. Besides your entry way, a wall mounted coat racks is a great addition to a laundry room, for air drying delicates, or a closet, for items you use more often, scarves, hats, belts or long necklaces. It certainly saves time in the morning to see your things all nicely lined up at eye level to chose from. Bathrooms are also a great place for wall mounted coat racks, especially those less sturdy models, they're great for hanging towels. Guests can each have their own towel and hook. Wall mounted coat racks are more versatile than traditional standing coat racks. You can hang anything on a wall mounted coat rack, provided it is installed properly. standing coat racks are notorious for falling over when thrown off balance by a heavy coat. To properly install a wall mounted coat rack it's a good idea to use a stud finder to make sure you are nailing it into a beam. Nailing your mounted coat rack to a beam will ensure that you don't end up with chunk of your drywall coming off the wall with the coat rack if a too-heavy backpack should happen to be hung on it. Wall coat hooks come in a variety of styles, most consisting of a set of hooks attached to a board that you attach to the wall. Some have the hooks set in blocks of wood that slide from side to side to facilitate differently sized objects like hats and bags. When shopping for a wall mounted coat rack look for one with sturdy metal hooks that are attached at the base with four screws. Wooden pegs and small screw-in hooks will not stand up to hanging heavy things and in my experience the lower quality hooks have snapped. It's always embarrassing to have to instruct a guest not to use one of the hooks because it is defective, or worse, have their item fall to floor. (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 7th, 2011
3:43 am	What Could You Do With A Cutting Edge Section Of Wall Art There's something you don’t see much anymore in our modern homes with large front door closets - the old fashioned coat hook. They seem to have gone the way of mud rooms and cast iron door stops. People wrote them off as making the entryway look too cluttered. Then there was the problem of those ugly hooks themselves. They just didn’t fit into the décor of the rest of the house. The problem is that kids think it’s too much trouble to hang up coats in the closets. Outerwear ends up draped across kitchen chairs; slung across living room couches; or just thrown on the floor. Hallway closets often end up as storage units for just about everything. There just isn’t any room to hang a visitor’s coat what with the collection of junk that is already there. It’s time to take another look at the venerable coat hook. A line of coat hooks by the kitchen door are perfect for an active family. That’s where family members are going to hang coats they use on a regular basis. After all, why hang it up in the closet when you are going out again in a few hours? Placing the coat hooks close to the back door in the kitchen puts them at the center of activity. The kitchen, not the living room or TV room, is really the center of family activity. Coat hooks at the back door also keep the clutter out of the hallway going to the front door. It’s not hard to fit coat hooks into your décor. A quick look around your local big box store or hardware store will show a number of different designs. If you really want to find unusual designs then browse the Internet. You would not believe the multitude of wall mounted coat racks that are out there. These are not your grandmother’s coat hooks. You can get everything from Old Fashioned, to Art Neauveau and Modern. I’ve even found “fold outs” that pull back against the wall when not in use. One thing you have to be careful about is mounting coat hooks to the wall. Remember, coat hooks will have to take a lot of weight. Wet winter coats are heavy. Don’t be surprised at the other items that will end up being hung there as well. Those hooks are just too convenient for things like backpacks and shoulder bags. Kids also have a tendency to grab and go rather than picking up the item off the hook. That puts a lot of strain on the mounting. Screwing the coat hook into the drywall isn’t going to work for long. You are going to have to either screw the hook into the stud behind the drywall or use expanding screw anchors. The best idea is to mount the hooks on a length of 1x4 wood screwed into the studs. With a little imagination you can work these into the trim design of the room. This is a project that anyone can do and the cost is lower than you would expect. Now, about those cast iron door stops…. (Comment on this)
Friday, July 1st, 2011
1:14 am	Just What Might You Do By Using A Innovative Section Of Wall Artwork My son came home from his high school art class today looking quite elated. When I asked why this was so, he produced a work of art from behind his back. It was a beautiful portrait of our cat Fred. I could see every hair in his pelt and could have mistaken the portrait for the real thing at any time of the day. So when my son asked if he could display his masterpiece on the wall I immediately replied with the only answer that could have come from my mouth, of course. There were two problems however, one was that I didn't have space on the wall for the work of art, and the second was that I lacked a frame to properly display it. This being said I decided to tackle the second problem first as it was the most easily solved. I figured that the best place to look would be at wal-mart. When I got to wal-mart I had no idea were to begin searching for a frame. You must understand that I had never had need of a picture frame before as my stingy uncle always re-gifted me them for every holiday. I would have used one of those had they been the right size. So I strolled up to the customer service desk and unlike any man, asked for directions. When my question had been answered I walked to isle 19 with my son in tow. Now at the correct isle which also contained coat racks I had to decide which picture frame to buy. There was one that I saw that would have left me working an extra job, and based on this I decided to buy the more humble of the two that would fit my sons portrait. When I got home I realized that I had solved but one of my problems. The one at hand would require some effort. I traveled to the lair of my husband (the basement) and began to search for the screw driver. After hours of searching the tool bench I realized that my husband was no exception to the general rule of male cleaning "out of sight, out of mind". I was just heading upstairs as I noticed the head of the screw driver next to the xbox. Typical. I headed upstairs and began to remove the wall mounted coat racks that was currently in the way of my sons art work. once that obstacle was out of the way I gently affixed the painting to the wall. I stepped back and the darned thing was crooked! I ventured back to the basement and retrieved the level, which hadn't made it downstairs sense we replaced a deck railing. I tromped back up the stairs and began to level the painting. once done I calmly walked to the kitchen and took a Motrin to calm the head ache that the sight of the basement had caused. I was definitely going to have to talk that man into cleaning th basement for my upcoming birthday. (Comment on this)