Alternative Home Watering for the Lazy and Forgetful

If you have ever had a beloved (or, let's face it, forgotten) houseplant die on you while you were away on vacation, you will want to read on. 

We have a great garden in our backyard but don't for a second think that we have the time to go out there everyday and water every plant. We have anywhere from 20 to 40 different varieties of plants out there, not to mention our fruit and nut trees. It would be very inefficient and time consuming to water with a hose, so we spent quite a bit of time when we set up our garden to create an automated drip irrigation system.

With potted plants, indoor or outdoor, you generally have to rely on hand watering from a can or hose. But why couldn't we do the something similar with our potted plants that we do with our in-ground garden?

What do you do when you have to leave your precious potted plants for a few days or what happens when you cannot seem to remember how often to water your plants?

Lets look at some of the options that we were able to find online.

Here is a tried and true stand-by. The inverted staked water-er. Plunge the stake end into the soil of the potted plant and fill the tube with water.

We wanted to see if we were just trying to "re-invent the wheel" so we were sure to buy a pre-manufactured pot that claimed to be "self-watering".

Here is a simple version that we found at Walmart where you simply pot your plant and add water down into the base compartment.

The next option we looked at was an interesting idea of creating a well of water in direct contact with the dirt at the base of the pot.

We start with two nesting containers, a plastic water bottle, a few big rubber bands, a utility knife and a power drill. 

Our container nested a bit too well. There was not enough room between the two containers for any sizable amount of water so we added a few rubber bands to shift the inner container upwards a bit. We had about and inch or so of space at the bottom. 

Take the inner container and invert it on a steady platform (not the carpet like we did). We cut the empty water bottle in half and placed the cut edge on the bottom of the inverted container to be used as a stencil. 

Use the power drill to start the hole and the utilize knife to clean out the bottom of the inner container.

Take the bottom of the cut water bottle and poke several holes in it. Place it into the bottom of the cut container with the opening facing the top of the container. This inner container/water bottle contraption will be filled with soil and draw the water through the holes in the cut water bottle.

Next, we had to figure out how to refill the water reservoir without taking the whole thing apart. We decided to create a hole in the cap of the inner container with which to run a flexible tube from the top to the bottom of the outer container.

Be sure to cut a hole for your plant as well. This one was a little hard to fill with dirt, but was fully contained and did not have to be taken apart every time you had to fill the water reservoir.

The cap is optional. You could just as easily fill the soil around the tube without placing the cap on top.

And you are set to go.

When we were doing our research for these watering systems, capillary action came up often. This Next option shown here has a water reservoir at the base with the container of soil directly above. A water soaked rope runs from the bottom of the soil-filled container and into the water reservoir below.

You will need a large empty plastic bottle with the bottom trimmed off, a length of cotton rope, a cup to fit the inverted bottle and a few tools. We used scissors and our trusty power drill.

First, drill a hole into the cap of the plastic bottle big enough to push the rope through.

We taped the end of the rope into a tapered shape in order to get the rope to fit snugly in the hole.

Next, trim the rope so that it will have around 3-4 inches on either side of the cap. Place the cap back on the bottle and invert the bottle into the cup. Fill the cup with water and the inverted bottle with soil and you are ready for a plant.

The last system we found that utilized capillary action, consisted of a water soaked rope wrapping the interior of the planter with the other end in a container of water (whether it is in the planter or outside of it).

Start with a standard pot (we got ours at Ikea), a length of cotton rope, a small refillable container and a pair of scissors.

Don't get thrown by the color of the pot, we changed our minds part way through and went with a simple green pot from Target. We had other plans for the white one.

You want the rope to be situated about mid-height in the pot. We recommend only wrapping it once around the circumference of the pot. Too many times around and you will need to be out there everyday to refill the reservoir and that is not the point of this exercise. 

Take the end of the rope coming out of the pot and insert it into the refillable container. The rope works best when pre-soaked.

After we had all five pots ready to go, we started planting. We are trying to propagate our lavender and some other herbs so we planted some cuttings. We filled up all the water reservoirs and waited to see what would happen.

Every day for a week, we checked the water levels and the soil moisture to see which setup did the best.

Here is the list from best to worst:

1. Wrapped Rope Capillary Pot

2. Inverted Staked Water-er

3. Pre-Manufactured Self-Watering Pot

4. Inverted Bottle Capillary Pot

5. Nested Container Pot

By the end of the week, there was algae growing the bottom of the nested containers. Nasty...

The wrapped rope pot did the best by far. If you find a big enough water reservoir, you may only need to water once a week. Sounds perfect for a forgetful indoor gardener!

Now repeat after me...No more dead plants! 

Now go out there and buy that cute little plant you have been eyeing but thought that you would kill inside a month. You can do it this time because now you have a plan.

Place it in a bright windowsill and setup one of our top three watering systems and you will have beautiful plants all year long! Throw in a little plant food every once and a while and your plants will love you even more.

Now go out there and surround your live with a bit of greenery!

Ottoman/ Coffee Table

My husband has been angling for a new coffee table ever since...well, ever since he lost the battle for  choosing the first one.

Our current table was looking a bit worn and dinged up, so I gave him free reign to come up with our next one. He had pinned this DIY Ikea table blog a while back and it seemed like a good fit for our living room.

 You can follow the link to the original blog by clicking on the picture above.

First, we started with one of the Lack Ikea tables for $8-$10. The black/brown color that matches our tv stand was the more expensive of the two (a fact that we learned only after we walked 3.75 miles around a one-way Ikea-shaped maze).

The other blogs we researched showed how to cut the foam from large sheets sold at Home Depot, in order to save money; however, what we didn't like was the wasted foam edges. Enter Joanns! During one of our weekly trips, we noticed they stocked pre-cut foam,and best of all, the size was almost perfect! (the lack table is 21-5/8" x 21-5/8", and the foam was 22" x 22") We decided on the high-density version of the foam as it would deflect less for placing plates and glasses on it.

After aligning the foam and table top, we discovered that the slight difference in size gave the table a flared effect which we kind of liked. We used a spray adhesive to fix the foam to the tabletop, which provides a secure fit.

Need to be sure that it is comfortable... ahhh!

Next, we bought some batting to soften the edges of the foam and the tabletop.

We used the staple gun to mount the batting on the underside of the table.

Be sure to trim the excess batting on all edges and around the mounting holes for the legs.

Next we chose a heavy duty fabric to finish the ottoman.

We started stapling the material on one edge. Then pull the material taut opposite the first side and staple into place. Be sure the material is being pulled evenly so you do not end up with any strange creases in the top.

My hubby knows his way around a staple gun!

How to finish the last two sides? Here are a series of pictures showing how we folded the corners to ensure a smooth and neat finish.

First we pulled the material flat around the corner.

We stapled the material down to the corner to fix it into place.

Next we pulled the material taut along its long edge.

  

We folded the material along the edge of the corner.

We then folded the material over to the bottom of the tabletop.

Staple in place.

Repeat on last side.

Be sure to trim the excess material away and the clear the material from the mounting holes for the legs. We had to use a utility knife and a hole punch to clear the holes sufficiently.

Next, mount the legs according to the IKEA instructions.

We chose to cut our legs shorter to match the height of our couch. FYI, the insides of the LACK legs are hollow. If you want to prevent the legs from scratching your floors, you may want to look into using adhesive furniture pads or cork boards. Ours are on a carpet, so it was not an issue for us.

These work great as an ottoman, a coffee table or even a stool (though IKEA would disagree).
They are very functional and a great addition to our living room decor.

DIY Roman Shades

When we moved into our new home, the first project we undertook was to cover all the open windows.

We get alot of light in our kitchen and living room, but as much as we like looking out of the windows, we don't need people looking back in.

We came up with a simple set of curtains made from a cute shower curtain and an old curtain rod. We made a matching set for the kitchen as well. Unfortunately, they are not super-great on blocking light. Also, if someone is at the front door, they can usually get a peak inside. Not great if you are trying to avoid salespeople or other weirdos.

See all that light? Not very private.

We found a few ideas on the internet, but in the end we combined a few ideas to come up with our own.

First we gather up our supplies:

wooden dowels

29" mini blinds

white plastic rings

two kinds of fabric

 (one to face the inside of the house and the other to help filter out some of the light)

sewing thread

We also used an iron and a sewing machine. Basics like pencils, rulers and glue will also be needed.

As with any fabric project, we begin with ironing all the fabric to get out all of the sharp folded edges.

Whilst I ironed, my husband laid out the mini blinds. We really only want the strings and the main raising and lowering mechanism, so we needed to separate it from the rest of the blinds.

Starting at the base of the blinds, he started trimming the connecting strings to remove the individual blinds leaving the two longer strings at each support.

In the end, after the individual blinds are removed, this is what you will end up with.

Next, we cut the fabric to fit the size of our windows. We needed to make it about 1.5" to 2" wider than the window to allow for folding the fabric to create clean edges. When determining the height required, we had to do some math. 

You need to decide how many folds you want to have in the shade overall. For each fold and for the bottom of the shade, we used between 1.5" to 2" in additional length to account for the material wrapping around each dowel. We had the fabric covering the face of the mini blind mechanism at the top of the shade, so you will need to account for this dimension as well.

We always have our project manager on hand to make sure we are staying on task. 

Once we have the two fabrics cut to size, we sew three edges together inside out (like a pillow).

To get the most accurate dimension for the fabric wrapping the dowels, we measured the dowel in the fabric. Buzzed the line in the fabric and double checked that the dowel could still fit in the sleeve.

Once we had the accurate measurement down, we made the appropriate lines for all the folds in pencil on the fabric and started buzzing (sewing) all the lines together.

Here you can see the folds and the lines that we used to sew the folds together.

Here are the views from the front and back. 

Next, my husband got to use his favorite toy and cut the dowels down to size. We made them slightly shorter than the width of the shade so they would not be visible.

Next, we need to locate where the support lines will be attached to each dowel. Measure the distances between the support lines on the mini blinds.

At each support point on each dowel, using a simple needle and thread, sew a single plastic ring to the dowel within the fabric. The orientation of the ring should allow for the support lines to run smoothly through them running up and down behind the shades.

Finally, we get to mount the mini blind mechanism and support lines to the front door.
You will need to refer to your particular mini blind packaging to find out how to attach this all to the door. Wherever your mini blind mount ends up above the window opening, be sure to take this into consideration in the overall length of the shades.
We mounted ours a little high the first time around, so we had to mount it a few times.

Once the mini blind mechanism is mounted in the proper place, we need to attach the fabric shade itself. We decided to go with velcro since we did not want to deal with messy glues, clamps and the like. We attached one side of the velcro to the face of the mini blind mechanism and the other to the back side of the top of the fabric shade. Attach together.

Once the fabric is in place, we need to run the support lines through the plastic rings and tied into the last rings at the bottom dowel. Now you can use the pull strings from your mini blind mechanism to pull the fabric shades up and down! Like store bought Roman shades!

The great thing about the velcro is that you can take your time in getting the fabric in just the right place to hang straight.

The extra fabric makes for more light filtering. The extra width prevents anyone from peering in around the edges.

Huzzah! A professional-looking, workable privacy cover for our front door! Beautiful!