Here is my first installment of a photo (or two) a day.
{Jan. 1} Friend’s Nasa Space Grant Project
{Jan. 2} Precious Cat
{Jan. 3} Precious Cat’s Attempt at Ferocious
{Jan. 4} Me and Books
{Jan. 5} Precious Peeks
{Jan. 6} Monkey Cat and a 3d Printer..on the living room rug
{Jan. 7} My Ukulele and New Ukulele Book
When I decided to do this project, I didn’t think there’d be so many cat pictures.
Here is our kitchen before:
And, here is our kitchen after (even more appropriate that it is messier):
As I mentioned in my previous post about this, Jess came home with backsplash materials one day. We looked at a bunch of online designs and decided to have a go at it ourselves. In the first installment, we installed the extruded aluminum edging that boarders the tile. This time we will talk about the tiling itself.
The toughest part of this whole ordeal is figuring out a good pattern for your tiles. We spent hours trying to get a good random look in the tiles we used. We went with the glass and stone tiles that come on a 12×12 inch netting material. Most of these pieces are in a nice random pattern, but some are not. We had to manually cut out some pieces and replace them with other colors to keep the pattern pseudo-random.
Once we had our pattern laid out, we prepared the wall for the tiles. First, turn off all the breakers that power the light switches and outlets in the area you will be working. Remove the light switch and outlet covers and check to make sure the breakers have turned off the power to those areas. Breakers may be labeled incorrectly as I found out when it shocked the $#!+ out of me… so I highly recommend getting an electronic sensing pen like this one to use to make sure the power has been turned off. It works without having to be in the circuit. Just place it near the hot wire (black or red wires) on the sides of the outlet or light switch boxes. If an electric charge is detected, it will turn the tip of the pen red and beep at you. Once you’ve ensured the power is off, go ahead and cover these with masking or painters tape. When we go to grout these areas, we want to make sure they don’t get all clogged up.
It’s important to note that tiling isn’t as hard as it used to be. Instead of having to put layment on the wall to stick the tiles into, we used these sheets that are basically like 2-sided tape. The flat portion sticks on the wall and the other side had what looks like hot glue in a grid pattern on it. The hot-glue-looking stuff is a pressure activated adhesive so to place tiles you simply press them into place on this material.
You can see the glue in the background in these pics:
We started our tile design at the bottom of the wall, where it meets the counter top. this is a good place to start because people will see this part more than directly under the cabinet. In our house, the cabinet and counter are not perfectly parallel. Starting with a full-sized tile at the bottom where the wall meets the counter will ensure any half-cut tiles or extra space will be hidden under the cabinets. Also, we have about 1/4 and inch of play since we used the metal edging. This will allow us to fudge a little if we need to.
We began with the shortest wall we had as a test. We had a 2 x 1.5 foot section of the wall we wanted to test on. This was critical to the learning process! We learned how to lay the tiles so the ends match up with the corner of the wall well as well as how to hide the edges. We also figured out the best method for cutting the tiles around an outlet in the middle of this small section. I suggest practicing like this on a small area before doing a big area.
For cutting the tiles, we bought a tile cutter. (This little guy looks reliable too. There are lots of $20 options and in our experience, it did the trick. I don’t plan on needing a tile cutter often so I didn’t need a workhorse.) Don’t use a tile nipper if you are using glass tiles because they will shatter or crack unpredictably. It helped to cut draw out where the outlet met the tile sheet, then laid the entire sheet in the manual tile cutter. Scoring and snapping each tile separately produces the best results. We did find that sometimes the natural stone cracks on veins of impurities rather than the scoring line. In most cases that was OK since it can be filled in with grout later, but sometimes we ended up cutting that tile out and replacing it once the sheet was on the wall.
When using the sheets of tile, you need to make sure you grout it within 24 hours from when you set the tiles. Otherwise the tiles can fall off the wall due to their own weight.
On track with my plan for simplification, this month I am focusing on simplifying my kitchen and living room. I am focusing on these two spaces first because I think they’ll be the easiest, they are a combined space, and they are high trafficked spaces. Here is my plan of attack.
Kitchen – There is a lot of motivating organized eye candy here and here and here. I’m going to declutter and organize:
Living Room – I’ll read “Get in the Right Mindset for a Truly Clean & Organized Living Room” to put on my game face. Then I’ll declutter and organize:
My plan lists each space individually because it is motivating for me to cross off each one.
P.S. I just finished reading Simplify
With my aim to simplify, I am setting up a manageable timeline for decluttering my space The two major areas I want to simplify is my space and how I spend my time. Decluttering my home is a huge step in this process. A post that provided a huge inspiration showed before and after pictures of cleaning in a decluttered home.
First, I have set a goal to finish majorly decluttering my home by the end of July. I am going to take small steps now so I don’t have to do it all during summer. I have summers off, so this make sense for me time wise. Each month I have a different focus planned.
If anything doesn’t get finished before July, that means I will have to spend summer time finishing it, so there is a HUGE incentive to stay on track. I am also going to reward myself anytime something gets finished by or before the scheduled month.
Most items will be given away. I’m giving myself a two week deadline to sell any items of significant value on Craigslist or Ebay. If it is not sold in that time than I am going to also give it away. My goal is a simple house.
I have a list of musts for each space.
I want to do this right so I do not have to do it again. I don’t want to be shuffling objects from one place to another. It is not just the act of decluttering now, but it is the act of instilling habits that will continue to keep my home and life simple.
For the past two years I had a word of the year to help guide the changes I wanted to make that year. 2013 was the year to “be” and 2014 was all about focus. 2015 is my year devoted to simplifying.
Simplifying goes hand in hand with minimalism, so I’ve been reading a lot on Becoming Minimalist. Here are a couple of resonating snippets to inspire some reading.
Purge distractions so you can focus on what is most valued.
…purging not just possessions, but, in Becker’s words, “anything that distracts me from the things I most value.” For some, this means not Facebooking after dinner or binge-watching House of Cards. For others, it’s resisting the siren call of eBay. (Source: Success – How Living with Less Can Give You More)
Place limits on yourself to increase awareness.
Start with a week of no spending, or a month. Once you start, you’ll recognize where those temptations are for you. That awareness can really help people. (Source: Forbes – The Buy Nothing Year: How Two Roommates Saved More Than $55,000)
Whether they be social, financial, or moral, boundaries provide structure and a framework for life. They promote discovery, invention, and ingenuity. Boundaries motivate us to discover happiness in our present circumstance. (Source: Becoming Minimalist – 9 Stress-Reducing Truths About Money).
Be active in your life, not a passive participant.
Watch less television…Be intentional about planning something else…Try to eliminate specific shows. (Source: Becoming Minimalist- The Single Easiest Habit Change to Improve Your Life Forever)
Seize the opportunity of every moment.
Make the most of every opportunity. Forgive who needs to be forgiven. Express love and gratitude to those who deserve to hear it. Live lives of significance. Each new day is an opportunity to make a difference. Don’t waste it. (Source: Becoming Minimalist – In the Blink of an Eye).
For me, simplifying means being intentional – intentional about my actions and habits so my time is well spent. This requires reflection, awareness, and change. I am looking forward to the growth that will result from this word. Simplify!