the space between

upcycle, repurpose and reinvent your space

$2 landing zone and how it will save me time

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Ok, so the husband is not going to give this project the credit it is due, but this little contraption is going to save me YEARS of my life.

See, is your husband a good looker?

I don’t mean “is he a looker”. Because, believe you me, my husband is a looker. He’s just not a GOOD looker. 🙂

I’ve literally had to drive home to find his keys for him so he could meet me out with friends. Kind of defeats the purpose of meeting out don’t you think? 😉

Oh, and yes, they were in the pocket of the pair of shorts he had on the day before which I told him to check while we were still on the phone and he thought he had checked but he was mistaken as to exactly which pair of his shorts strewn on the floor were the ones from the day before. Sigh.

GoodNESS, would it have just made too much sense to check the pockets of every. stinkin’. pair. you decide to leave on the floor? (I never did get an answer to that question.)

And it makes me laugh out loud (now, not then … definitely not then) to picture it. Me on the other end of the line giving suggestions for where to look …

me: “did you check your night stand?”
joel: walks to bedroom, looks on the nightstand and says “not there”

me: “how about the coffee table?”
joel: “don’t you think I already looked there”
me (thinking to myself): ‘one can never be too sure’

me: “what about your pockets of what you had on yesterday?”
joel: walks in the closet, looks at his pile of clothes on the floor, thinks and ponders which one could possibly be from the day before, decides on one pair, checks the pockets and replies “nope, not there either … I think I’m going to need your help”
I always tell him it’s a good thing he’s cute. Seriously. It is a very good thing. 🙂

Now you may have first seen the clipboard and now black wooden boxy thingy here.
That, my friends, is a picture of all kinds of pretty things great deals I got at Goodwill when I was in the states in January.

If you’re new here you might like to see what I did with the Ooh la la canvas here, the horse picture/frame here, the cross stitch and frame in the back here and the 2 other canvases here. Those 2 other canvases are still my most viewed post evah … about 5 times over. A HUGE thank you for that. 🙂

As for the how-tos of the $2 time saver … I just sanded down the clipboard and put a clear coat of spray varnish on her and tossed a few coats of black spray paint on the wooden boxy thingy.

And, because I can’t seem to do any project without a touch of driftwood, I glued a little piece onto the bottom of the clipboard to give a thick enough base to screw in my cute little hooks that my mom gave me (Thanks Mom!). And once I glued on the now black wooden boxy thingy, I had a $2 time saver.
She makes a great landing zone to hang keys and store pens, golf tees, wallets and other randomness husband brings home on a regular basis and leaves scattered around at will. And I can clip on things I need to remember … like prescriptions to refill and a number I need to call. You know, because if it’s in my face I’m bound to do it, right?!? Ummmmm, no.

And husband’s only comment …
… I don’t see myself putting my wallet in there.

It really is a good thing he’s cute.

I’m going to share this Thrifty Treasure at Southern Hospitality.

Comments

  1. Great job, Karah! Lucky you that Joel will {mostly} embrace your new organizing system. It doesn’t matter what I put near the door, everything still gets deposited throughout the kitchen. Just yesterday I was saying he needs a homing device for his hat!

    Claire @ alittlesomethinginthemeantime.blogspot.com

  2. I think our husbands must be related {not a good looker but good lookin’} and maybe you and I are too {since we have “remote vision” installed in our brains and can guide the not good lookers to the “missing” item when we’re not even home}. Great idea the command center you created. Just to let you know, there is a possibility Joel will use it for his wallet … a while back I set up a command center and showed my guy how easy it was to find keys & wallet when he always put keys & wallet (and phone) there, and my goodness, it worked and he uses the center! Now I think I need a clip-board at the center because that looks really handy 🙂

  3. HAHA! No my hubby is not a “good looker” and it seems my son has caught the same disease!! We have a bowl in the kitchen where the keys ‘should go’! I really like this idea, just the clipboard part would really help me out! btw.. The new block look is fantastic!

  4. I love it!!! Great idea!!! I have those exact black things from ikea except the are natural. Gonna make me one of these!

  5. I love this! I need to do this project for me, though! My husband is much better at finding things than I am!

    blessings,
    karianne

    PS I would marry that crate….in a Caribbean Island ceremony.

  6. I was having a flashback from a couple of weeks ago with my hubby while reading this. Basically same scenerio, but with his wallet instead of keys. So funny! Love your ingenious time saver project!

  7. That crate is awesome … and I need to go and read that particular post that I missed when the internet was down here earlier this week.

    And I’m with Kari. I’m the one who needs the little box and the hooks. Especially for my reading glasses because I desperately need them but refuse, refuse, refuse to wear them aroiund my neck on a chain!!!

    🙂

    Linda

  8. This is so funny cause I have so been down this road-I have tried trays, baskets, covered boxes and even an entire drawer in my entry way with a nice comparmentalized drawer thing and still no luck-but I have to admit I was all about the look more than function oh here’s one I even found the cutest Longaberger basket with handle fit on the door knob payed over 100.00 and still he could not drop his keys into it!!! Those failed attempts were with my EX husband did you get the EX part??? Ha Ha Ha

  10. What’s a girl to do when the husbands beauty has started to fade with age?

    ~Bliss~

  11. Karah, I thought you were talking about my husband when I read this. He is always losing his wallet, keys, phone, etc. and then going bonkers when he can’t find it. I always try to give helpful suggestions like “did you check your pants pockets” and I get the same “Of course I checked there” response. Well sorrryyy for trying to be helpful. lol. But seriously that “contraption” you made is so creative and so cute! Love your stuff.

  12. Oh my gosh – I laughed so hard. At first I was so confused b/t “looker” and “good looker”, and then I thought WAIT, SHE’S TALKING ABOUT my HUSBAND!!!!! LOLOL I totally get it!

  14. My husband is the same way! He doesn’t even bother looking! “Honey, where are my pants?! Did you check your pants drawer? Which one is the pants drawer?!” How did they survive before us?!?! 😉

  15. Love your organization solution!
    Been there. My husband wouldn’t have had me come home. He would have found some insane other way to get there. Taxi, perhaps. Sigh.

    I got tired of my husband losing his keys. And, wallet. And, phone. And, bluetooth. And, you name it.

    So, I put a small shelf (hand me down) up near the door (on our non-existent foyer). The shelf is where we not charge all the phones and bluetooths. (Teeth? *shrug*) Then above it, I put an outdoor stone sun-cloud garden face thingy (that always reminds me of the mouth that Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant put their hands in in Roman Holiday.) It has a little shelf under it’s chin.

    “This is where your keys go,” I told him. And, he’s never lost them since. (Well, that I know of. He might have but I would just ask him, “Aren’t they in the monster’s mouth?”
    Click here to see the “Monster.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6af1dAc9rXo

  16. That’s a great little clipboard-hold-all that you’ve made. I have a clipboard, I could make one of those if I had some hooks and a cute little box to put on the bottom of it. Hmmm…you’ve got my mind churning now! Thanks!
    Hugs, Cindy

  17. I have the same problem in my household with the not looking issue and I am afraid that gene might have been passed down to one of my kids! It is frustrating but I know what to expect every time. This is a great idea. It will help in time – it has to!

  18. This project is so cute and handy — but the whole time I was reading, I was wondering whether your husband would use it. 🙂 In my family, my husband is the one who can find things and I’m the annoying useless one who doesn’t see anything. I hate being that person. I’m just glad I married someone who’s the opposite! 🙂

  20. absolutely amazing and SOOOOO YOU!!!!! do tell me if it all works out!!! : ) it is more me that looses though — so it is probably meant for me!!! : ) hugs and i will catch up soon…still in recouping stages! : )

  21. THIS SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE MY D!! So I assigned him a decorative bowl right inside the door so he could drop all his paraphernalia into it and never lose anything ever again.

    It did not work.

    Maybe it’s time to ramp up my efforts again a la: Karah!

  22. This is great! In our relationship I’m the one who is always misplacing things. My husband has now trained me to use the little shelves he uses to put all of the essentials for getting out the door. But they are so high up that I can’t always see up there and just have to grope about on tip toe. I should make one of these for me!

  23. This is a really cool idea. I pinned this to Pinterest board. Thank you so much for wonderful comment ont my earring holder. It was fun and quick to do.

  24. Hahahahaha oh gosh I LOVED this!! I have to ask my husband every time we go out whether he has his keys, wallet, phone, and whatever else he’s supposed to take with him. I may take longer to get ready but he takes forever to get out the door because his stuff is strewn all over the apartment 🙂 Great idea!

  25. LOL! I had to do the same thing – create a landing space right inside the door for the exact same reason. I love how your idea came together. Great job!

  26. Our husbands must be related! In every other house I have hung up a hook and told mine that that is where the keys go. And he listened. His wallet he keeps losing. This house, he refuses to hang the keys up (no idea why) and so he is constantly losing his “toys” (keys, wallet, phone, phone headset, scissors, sunglasses…)

    It’s so bad the kids make fun of him. even the two year old. I mean, really?

    Jessica
    stayathomeista.com

    Oh, and I love the new look! Very organized so you can find anything and everything.

  27. What a cute product out of those little finds! I hope it does end up helping. Though, I confess, my first thought (even before reading your hubby’s response) was, “Yes, but can she train the hubby to actually use it?” Because I know it would be a lost cause in my house. :S

  28. Oh my gosh…I’ve had sooo many of these same conversations with my husband!! Sheeeshh! I do not know why he needs my ovaries as a tracking device, but he does, and as you said, it’s a good thing he’s cute!

    I love the “landing spot” you have created for him, and I almost spit out my coffee laughing when he said that he did not see himself really leaving his wallet there. Classic! That is SO my husband. I hung a Pottery Barn thing on the wall next to the garage, much like the one you created. It collects all kinds of junk, but rarely his keys or wallet. *sigh*

    Awesome job making yours!! I think it looks fantastic!! I would totally put my keys and wallet there. (Even though my ovaries always seem to know just where everything is anyway!) 😉 Hehe.

    xo-Lisa

  29. Ha! I seem to remember that search for the missing keys while we were there. Or has it happened multiple times? Our Joel. You’re right; it’s a good thing he’s cute.

  30. Ok I don’t want to make you jealous or anything, but Mr Quirky is a good LOOKER. Between that and the computer skills…uummm baby. He remembers where everything is. When I put things away (which means I may never find them) I tell him where I put them. Then 2 years later (or two weeks) when I need it again he knows where it is. I make a good effort at finding things, but then I have to stand shamefully by his desk and say “i need you to help me find something….. The first time he found something when we were dating, I asked him to marry me….

Trackbacks

  1. […] review the following day’s plan and make sure everything is accomplishable (not a word?) and I’m in a position to make it happen (is the dry cleaning in a bag by the door? do I have my grocery shopping list ready? are my keys and sunglasses on our landing zone?) […]

  2. […] … and goodwill finds updated to create a little $2 landing zone. […]

  4. […] review the following day’s plan and make sure everything is accomplishable (not a word?) and I’m in a position to make it happen (is the dry cleaning in a bag by the door? do I have my grocery shopping list ready? are my keys and sunglasses on our landing zone?) […]