Gotta Love IKEA!

On a recent trip to Ikea, I picked up a booklet showing these cool, sturdy shelves that have a diamond grid surface. In-between the diamonds, is open air. I had thought it might be nice to install these shelves in our office closet, for our computer and associated gear. They will be unlikely to overheat, sitting on the mesh-like shelves.

We did have a melange of little tables stuck in there to hold everything, as I did not want it sitting on the floor. The little tables served well, but it was messy and cramped. The printer faced sideways, and opening it to scan something was not easy.

DH liked the idea and we ran to Ikea Saturday to pick up the pieces we needed. We (well, HE) installed the shelves yesterday. We re-connected all the computer stuff last night and everything is in place.

While we had the computer out and disconnected from everything, DH took it outside, opened it, and blasted it with air from the air compressor. VOILA! Nice and clean inside and out.

I am so pleased. Not even a cable is on the floor; I can vacuum all the way under it all, keeping our stuff nice and clean.

DH has velcro wraps and will straighten all the cables today. :)

The Ultimate Calendar

I've had this calendar for about 2 years now and it is amazing. It measures 5 feet wide x 5 feet high.

It is made of 4 square metal panels and installing the thing is a total booger. However, once it's up it is a lifesaver, definitely worth the work. The beauty of it is that it is both write-on/wipe-off AND magnetic, so you can write in your dates and magnet on your reminder cards from the doctor, tickets to events, whatever. Of course you can get creative and do the events for different family members by color, etc.

I was disappointed when it arrived to see that the day headers at the top, preprinted on the metal, ran the week from Monday through Sunday. I prefer Sunday through Saturday. I complained about it and my DH said, "I bet you can do something about that." Until he said that, all I knew to do was whine. Inspired by his coaching, (he really is motivational) I used some magnetic paper for the printer and, using a really big font in Microsoft Publisher, made magnetic days of the week and stuck them right over the preprinted ones.

The calendar came with 3" round numbers you apply for the days of the month. I place the dates on the calendar, fill in all our appointments, and roll. As one week passes by, I erase the appts, remove the dates, and add the next week in the 4-week sequence. So the calendar never ends. It's perpetual.

It has room to keep 5 weeks going, but I use the row at the bottom as a place to stick on papers and markers, so I don't use it as a calendar week.

Particularly at this time of the year, when school and sports and music lessons and PTA Board and Band Boosters are all gearing up at the same time, the calendar is critical to our success. On top of all that we have the normal orthodontist appointments, volunteer hours, crazy work schedule, interviews & photo shoots for my articles, dog groomer, well, you get the idea. You have your own crazy litany of appointments.

All I can say is if you have a 5x5 space, this calendar is well worth the investment.