diy

Litter Box Hacks: How to Make Your Cats Happier and Your Space Neater

October 3, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

This post brought to you by Fresh Step Lightweight Extreme Litter. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Stuff Parents Need.

After I finally let go of my cat litter workout equipment a few weeks ago, I started using Fresh Step® Lightweight Extreme in the litter box for our two cats, Hattie and Rose. We noticed right away that the litter did an excellent job with clumping and with odor control. We have also noticed that when it is time to change out the litter, the removal process is easier on account of it not being as heavy. That’s a nice perk for the pet owners, especially when you consider that there just aren’t too many perks to be had when it comes to changing the litter. Take them where you can get them!

One problem we have been encountering with our cats ever since having them share a litter box is that they are quite messy. I’m not sure if they just don’t want to be near each others waste (which is fair) or what, but they are going NUTS with tossing litter around. Here’s what’s happening:

Ok, then. Since we already improved the litter situation for the humans in a few key ways (less weight, great odor control, aweome clumping) let’t go ahead and make some other improvements to deal with cats who play with litter like it’s the best toy ever. Since Fresh Step® Lightweight Extreme is available at Target, we headed that way to pick up another box of litter, and to get a box that we could turn into a litter palace for our kitties.

Then we reached for some tools! Always striving for perfection and precision, we created a circle using our salad plates, which aren’t even perfectly round. This is how we DIY, people. If you attempt to make this litter box, just be sure that your hole leaves enough room at the bottom to block a significant amount of litter that the cats might try to throw out of the box. YOU KNOW HOW THEY DO. You might also find that you need something sharp to get the cutting process started. We used a thingy that was on Tim’s multi-tool thingy. You’re welcome for the very specific suggestion.

Hattie served as the overseer during the construction of her new throne. Getting the hole started was kind of tough, but once we got going, it actually didn’t take long at all to finish. We got the new litter box in place, filled it with Fresh Step® Lightweight Extreme Litter, and added the mat at the bottom to catch litter that might be on the cats’ paws as they exit. MUCH better, don’t you think? And so far, so good. The litter is tototally under control now; the party stays IN the box. Fresh Step® Lightweight Extreme Litter, combined with a newfangled litter box system, have pretty much revolutionized our whole litter experience! 🙂

Celebrate National Coffee Day and Friends 20th Anniversary with a Central Perk Body Scrub

September 29, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Thanks to Eight O’Clock Coffee and Mom It Forward for partnering with Stuff Parents Need to make this post possible. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own, as always.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate all things coffee. Did you know that today is National Coffee Day?! To be honest, I thought that every day was National Coffee Day, but it turns out, it does have one day when we are to honor our favoite beans even more than every other day. So…5 cups instead of 4? 😉

If you happen to be in the NYC area between now and October 18th, you can head to 199 Lafayette Street and treat yourself to a free cup of Eight O’Clock Coffee at a fun pop up coffee shop. But this isn’t just any pop-up shop, friends. It’s a recreation of Central Perk, the beloved coffee shop frequented by Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Monica, Chandler and Joey on the “loved by pretty much everyone” show, Friends. It was 20 years ago this fall that season 1 debuted!

And now that you feel extra old, go ahead and make yourself another cup of coffee. I’ll wait, no worries. You’ll feel better in a few minutes. 🙂

To celebrate all things coffee and all things Friends, I thought it would be fun to put together a Central Perk-inspired gift for a friend. This would be a really fun “no reason” gift to surprise someone with, or it can just be a nice little treat you make for yourself.

Some of you shower before you have your coffee (how do you do that? seriously?) but you can change that and have some coffee WHILE you shower. Best. Idea. Ever. 🙂

Central Perk Roast, which is a limited edition roast out right now, has a medium flavor which makes it a roast that will please a lot of people. It is made with 100% Arabica beans, smells divine and is a great choice for a scrub. While this particular roast is new, the brand has been around for over 150 years, so that means it’s doing something right and is definitely worth trying if you aren’t already a fan! Ok, so let’s start by gathering our ingredients:

Ingredients:

1 cup Eight O’Clock Central Perk Roast coffee grounds
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup grapeseed oil

Add your coffee grounds to a large mixing bowl. Isn’t the color of this roast lovely? It smells great, too!

Now it’s time to add your brown sugar.

And now you need to add your oil. You can opt to just add 1/2 cup of coconut oil or 1/2 cup of grapeseed oil, but I like to mix things up. I also wanted to let the coffee scent shine as much as possible, so I used grapeseed oil for half of what I needed to help dilute that coconut scent. But I didn’t personally want to do all grapeseed oil because coconut oil is so good for your skin! So just know that you have options here and can do as you see fit.

All that’s left to do now is to mix it together. You may need to use your hands just a bit toward the end to help break up any smaller lumps of coconut oil or brown sugar. Now add it to a cute container of some sort (mason jars are perfect) and you are all set!

I did a quick test on my arm yesterday when I made the scrub and instantly loved it. It feels SO good, and it smells incredible. My arm was really soft after I washed the scrub off, too.

So naturally I couldn’t resist using the scrub in the shower this morning (I know…I’m a terrible role model of how to be a great friend because I stole this gift for myself!). But y’all. It. Was. AWESOME!!! It woke me up and made me feel so soft and smooth. I’ll be making this again for my friends, and yeah, also for me. If you like coffee, this is a little DIY you need to try immediately!

You can get more information on where to find the Central Perk Roast blend at www.EightOClock.com/friends. The bags are a very reasonable $6.99! And you most definitely will want to go to the Eight O’Clock Coffee Facebook page today for a chance to win coffee prizes and even a trip to LA to visit the Warner Brothers studios. You can also hang out with the brand on Twitter!

Let me know if you try the scrub and the Central Perk roast! I hope you like them as much as I do!

DIY Dish Soap Uses:Ice Pack for Lunch Boxes (#Palmolive25Ways) (#CBias)

August 11, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 11 Comments

This shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

We’ve been talking a lot over the past few weeks about lunch box possibilities for back-to-school. Thanks to Pinterest and Foodie, I’ve put together quite a nice collection of ideas from which to draw inspiration over the coming months. But what to do about those foods that need to stay cold before lunch? Not being able to send those items removes a good chunk of fun foods that my daughter loves (such as yogurt…she is a yogurt connoisseur!). It turns out that the solution is simple and only requires some Palmolive, a bit of rubbing alcohol, and a quart size freezer bag.

Dish Soap Uses: DIY Ice Pack

Palmolive and rubbing alcohol make a beautiful combination for this particular life hack because when they join forces, they will not freeze into a solid block. However, they will make this really cold gel that will be perfectly pliable for sticking in a lunch box, or should you need it for boo boos, for applying to an injury.

Ok, so let’s get started. Do you have your ingredients ready? You need Palmolive Ultra Dish Soap, rubbing alcohol and quart size freezer bags.

Start by measuring out 1 cup of Palmolive Ultra Dish Soap. You can use any color Palmolive that you want to customize it. I went for this snazzy Passion Fruit because of the fun pink color; I knew Darah would love it! And bonus…IT SMELLS AMAZING so I’m more than happy to use the leftovers in the kitchen!

Pour the Palmolive into the quart-size freezer bag. Now add 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol. Using your hands (and NOT a straw…trust me, breathing in alcohol fumes is a bad idea), try to get out as much of the air as possible.

Now give the bag contents a little squishing to get everything mixed up. Then place it inside your freezer laying flat.

Your ice pack will be ready to use in a few hours! When you child brings it home from school in the afternoon, back in the freezer it goes to be ready for you to use the following day.

More Ways to Use Palmolive

The DIY ice pack is such a great alternative use for Palmolive for anyone out there who needs to brown bag a lunch, or who wants to be prepared for when anyone in the house gets bumped or bruised and could use something to help with the swelling. But there are other great ways to use Palmolive that you should check out, too. Be sure to buy at least 3 bottles while you are at Walmart: 1 for your ice pack, 1 for your dishes, and 1 for one of the other #Palmolive25Ways uses you’ll find from the link above! Palmolive Dish Soap is “tough on grease, but soft on hands” and that’s what makes it such a versatile product. I LOVE when I can find things that will multi-task for me and handle lots of different jobs. That save me time AND money.

Sweepstakes!

Palmolive is a fantastic dish soap for so many reasons. Just browse the dish soap aisle the next time you are at Walmart and see if you don’t want to put at least 4 different Palmolive dish soaps in your cart due to all the amazing varieties they offer! Palmolive is also a wonderful choice because they know how to celebrate WITH their customers. That’s why you need to check out their latest sweepstakes so you can enter to win a $2,000 Walmart gift card, as well as other fun weekly prizes.

Let me know if you give the ice pack a try. And PLEASE let me know if you win that $2,000 Walmart gift card! 🙂

Shelf Liner Hack: How to Make Slip-Resistant, Washable Placemats!

July 1, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 1 Comment

This post brought to you by Duck Brand. All opinions are 100% mine.

Earlier this week I was cleaning the kitchen table after dinner. I had also cleaned it up that day after breakfast and after lunch. My family gets to eat most meals together, at our table. Yes we are lucky. Most definitely. We are also MESSY. After spraying down my kids’ eatig area it occurred to me to take a picture for you so you can see what I’m working with 3 times a day, every day.

Obviously I need to start using some placemats. I’ve actually tried placemats before. And guess what? They pretty much fly right off the table because they move so easily. FAIL. I needed something with staying power that would also rinse off really easy (the last thing I need is one more thing to hand wash 3 times a day!). And that’s when I turned to Duck Brand’s Shelf Liner.

That’s right, friends. I made placemats out of shelf liner! And it was the absolute perfect choice for several reasons, not the least of which is that it didn’t involve anything harder than drawing a straight line and using a pair of scissors. That’s my kind of craft! I also love that they come in a variety of colors and patterns, so you can keep your design as simple as you like, or customize it to your color scheme already in place.

I did do a little bit of research (which really just means Googling) to find out standard placemat dimensions. My key takeaway is to pay close attention to the space you have on your table and go from there. My girls sit super close to each other. Their chairs touch, as a matter of fact. So they actually have a pretty small area for their personal space. The smaller Duck® brand shelf liner in the picture above was12 inches wide, so I kept thing easy and went with that for my width. And for length, 16 inches was plenty. You may feel that you need a little bit more for your space, so just measure it out and see what you think!

Once you’ve determined how long you want the placemats, turn them over and grab some sort of a ruler. There are grooves on the back of the placemat, but I can tell you from experience that if you cut along those grooves, you will realized when you flip your placemat back over that they actually weren’t straight lines. So just trust me…get a ruler and make your own straight line!

Once your first placemat is finished, you can use it as the measuring guide for your other placemats. I made 4 to start with, and I’m actually going to go back and make 3 more. If I hadn’t screwed up the first placemat I could have made 8 placemats with one small roll, but I’ll settle for 7.

And I’m happy to report that I was able to wash these on the gentle cycle of my HE washing machine without incident. Maybe you are not as lazy as me and will hand wash yours. That is a great idea, and one that I aspire to, but for now, I’ll just throw it in the laundry pile, thankyouverymuch.

Duck® brand’s Shelf Liners are saving me time (and LOTS of all-purpose cleaner) every day. The girls love them and they stay in place nicely. If you have little ones at home, or even just messy eaters of any age, this is a great hack for making truly functional placemats.

Want more great shelf liner ideas? Check out and follow Duck® brand’s pages on Pinterest and Facebook. After checking those out, did you see any ideas you’d like to try with Duck® brand shelf liner?

DIY Shower Disks to Help Support the Lungs

February 25, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 81 Comments

If you are struggling to make it through cold and flu season unscathed, take a moment to read through this great DIY shower steamer tutorial from my good friend (and blogger extraordinaire) Kayla. She and I share a love for essential oils. I can’t wait to tell you guys what they are doing for me!

(edit: I’ve had a ton of requests for where to buy a board like the one pictured above. This particular one was sold by DaySpring but is no longer for sale. Here’s a link to a beautiful dry erase board that is very similar!).

I am so not a fan of cold and flu season. This winter has been one for the record books and it’s certainly brought along it’s fair share of the sniffles. I’m currently on the lookout for products that can help support the lungs and sinuses, so when I saw a few tutorials online on how to make a DIY version of shower steamers I thought that would be a great place to start! After all, a steamy shower is my go-to weapon for supporting the immune system, and especially the lungs.

If you’ve never seen these, they are basically little pods that dissolve in the shower and they may help clear your head (and your nose!) You can totally whip these up quickly at home with ingredients you most likely already have on hand. I played around with the recipe a bit until I found one that worked well for us. The whole project only took 30 minutes, start to finish!

Here is what you will need:

A muffin tin + liners (or a silicone muffin pan if you have it, that would be super easy)
Baking soda
Cornstarch
Water
Essential Oils: Eucalyptus and Lavender (You can also add in Rosemary or Peppermint if you like)
(When working with essential oils, I recommend using a glass bowl)

Mix 1 cup of baking soda with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and about 1/3 cup of water until it forms a thick but slightly pourable paste. You might have to add a little more water, just go slowly until you reach the consistency you want.

Mix with a fork and spoon in to muffin tins. I typically fill them about 1/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. Let cool and then add about 3-4 drops of each essential oil to the top of each disk. I had peppermint oil on hand and added a drop of it to each because I really love the smell of it.

After a lot of research, I use Young Living Essential Oils for our family so those are what I recommend.
(You can check out my thoughts and routine and favorite oils here).

When dry, remove the shower disks from the tin and store in an airtight container. Like a mason jar. I’m southern. We put everything in mason jars, y’all. We drink sweet tea straight out of them. We just can’t help ourselves. But look how cute!

diy shower disks for lung support

At the first hint of the need for some nasal function support, pop one of the shower disks onto the floor of the shower when you get in. There is nothing like the scent of eucalyptus in a steamy shower when you aren’t feeling well!

I use the lavender essential oil in our diffuser every night to help promote a relaxed feeling so that was one I already had on hand and I plan on making some DIY chest rub with the eucalyptus oil so I should get some good use out of it! Packaged up in a pretty container, these all-natural shower steamer disks would make a great “Get Well Soon” gift to accompany a bowl of chicken soup to a sick friend!

-Tiffany, here. After reading Kayla’s tutorial I’ve actually added Eucalyptus to my list of oils that I’m going to order next month from Young Living. I’m a member there, which means I can order at wholesale pricing. If you would be interested in trying any of the oils listed here, I’d be happy to place an order for you so you can get a better-than-retail price. I got a membership so I could save, and it’s a joy for me to extend those savings to others! Just email me at stuffparentsneed@gmail.com with your interest and we’ll make it happen!

OR, if you hate saving money you can just order the oils retail here ;-).

If you are totally pumped up about the concept of essential oils and want to just go all in (which is what I did…I go big or go home, you guys) then you need to check out the premium starter kit, which offers $300 worth of oils and a diffuser for a smokin’ hot deal.

And of course, you can always leave a comment here with any questions you might have and I’ll try to get you an answer or follow up with you directly over email. I’m new to using essential oils myself, but so far, I’ve been quite impressed with what I’m able to do with them!

*I am not a medical professional, I’m just sharing a natural remedy that has worked for our family. As always, if you have any allergies or medical conditions, consult a physician before use.

** Eucalyptus is generally not recommended for children under the age of 10. Therefore, these shower disks are best for older children or adults.

You might also want to give this homemade vapor rub a try for after the shower.

Need another cheap and easy DIY gift idea? Try these gorgeous peppermint bath salts with candy cane stripes!

More essential oils posts:

Halloween Costumes: To Make, or Not to Make, That is the Question

October 27, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 11 Comments

This post brought to you by MrCostumes. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

Can we talk about kids’ Halloween costumes for a minute? By this point, you’ve either got yours all ready to go, or you are scrambling to put something together. And some of you are burning the midnight oil to make the perfect creation.

Sound Off

So I want to hear from you: have you ever made a cute kid’s costume? And if not, is that something you would be willing to consider doing in the future? I don’t want this to turn into any sort of judgement over whether or not OTHER people should or shouldn’t make their kids’ costumes. Lord knows we all deal with enough judgement or perceived judgement from others every day of the year (sort of goes with the title of “parent”, unfortunately).

So I’m happy to share my own thoughts with you since I’m asking for yours. I have ZERO sewing skills, and on a scale of 1-10 for how interested I am in learning how to sew, I’d give it a 3. Which means IF I ever learn to sew, it probably won’t happen until my kids are too old for Halloween costumes!

Now, when you combine the fact that I don’t have BASIC sewing skills with the reality that to make a rockin’ Halloween costume, you likely need ADVANCED sewing skills, well, then the odds of me ever making a Halloween costume for my children went from highly unlikely all the way down to “better odds of winning the lottery than of sewing up something fabulous.” Which reminds me…I should play the lottery!

For me, it just doesn’t make sense to sew a costume for my kids because the learning curb is so steep. It does, however, mean that the options for Halloween costumes for my kids aren’t limitless. They get to choose from what is available for purchase online. But with the popularity of Etsy, and the AMAZING skills you can find there, I could even order a handmade costume in most any design my kids desired, if the budget allowed for it (which it pretty much doesn’t, but I digress).

Acts of Service and Love

And I’ll tell you truthfully, I used to think that parents who poured dozens of hours into making costumes for their kids were kind of ridiculous. Because it didn’t make sense for me, I assumed it couldn’t make sense for anyone. But I’ve matured quite a bit when it comes to that view, thankfully. What I have come to realize, is that for some people, that creative process is therapeutic and relaxing (sounds crazy, I know, but it honestly is true!). And it is a true joy to get to do something like this for their little ones. An act of service and love, if you will.

And don’t we all have those? I certainly have spent an unnecessary amount of time turning meatloaf into a mummy in order to see that sparkle in my daughters’ eyes. And I choose to cloth diaper, which for me is an act of love for my kids, the environment and for my budget. But for some, that’s just straight-up crazy! I get it, I really do. I don’t think it is the right choice for every family just because it is the right choice for mine.

Your Turn

So you tell me: where do you fall on the question of whether or not to do DIY Halloween costumes? I’d love to hear how you have come to the decision you have made. Also, feel free to share any other areas where you make choices for your kids that are an act of love and service, even though other people may not fully understand the choice. We all have them, so dish!

How to Clean Makeup Brushes: Simple DIY Formula

October 22, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 8 Comments

I try to take good care of my makeup brushes, since they play the most significant role in whether or not my makeup looks decent. I have researched how to clean makeup brushes and have found MANY different approaches. One stood out to me as simple, very inexpensive, and highly effective, though, and I’m going to share it with you today!

All you need to clean your makeup brushes is some water, a washcloth or paper towels, 1 Tbsp shampoo and 1 Tbsp olive oil. You are ready to go!

First, mix your olive oil with your shampoo. I just used the back of one of my makeup brushes to get them mixed together.

Then, dip your dry makeup brush into the solution. Now it is time to get to work. Use your fingers to gently but firmly massage the mixture down into the brush. That’s where all the makeup is trapped! Don’t move past this stage too quickly. For my large kabuki brush, I spent about 2 solid minutes massaging in the solution to really get all that makeup to come loose.

Then run your brush under water. I am using a cup of water here because the lighting by my sink is atrocious. But I do recommend running water over a cup of water. But do what ya gotta do!

One tip: try really hard not to fully submerge the brush in the water. Your brush bristles are glued onto the brush handle, and if that area gets too wet, the glue could come loose. Don’t freak out over this…just be aware and therefore, don’t try to get the handle super wet.

Blot your brushes dry with your washcloth or paper towel. If you are seeing as much residue coming off as I did in the picture above, then you need to go back in for another cleaning session!

Allow your brushes to dry overnight and they will be ready to go in the morning!

So why the olive oil, you may be wondering? The olive oil does play a role in the cleansing process, but it also conditions your brush bristles to help leave them in even better shape than they were in before! Clean and conditioned…that’s the ideal outcome for any time you clean your brushes. No need to go buy expensive makeup brush cleaner; this works wonderfully!

I hope this helps you learn how to clean your makeup brushes in an affordable and effective way! And if you are looking for some new, affordable makeup brushes, I make mention of my favorite (and crazy cheap!) bamboo concealer brush here.

You might also enjoy:
What’s in my makeup bag?

Best Dark Circle Concealor

Try This: DIY Valentine’s Day Fabric Door Wreath

January 29, 2013 · by Tiffany Merritt · 5 Comments

I am tickled pink to be bringing you guys an awesome crafty post today! I don’t have a crafty bone in my body, but fellow blogger Elisebet from My Life: A Work in Progress does, and she has put together this awesome tutorial for you. Enjoy!!!

I have a newfound love for holiday door wreaths. To be honest, I never cared about holiday decorations (especially on the OUTSIDE of the house) until I started staying at home with my son. The home is my domain. Yes, it’s usually a messy domain, 🙁 but my recent domestication has me embracing sewing and crafts as my new hobbies. One thing I learned very quickly, you can usually make something much cheaper yourself, rather than buying it.

See this cute door wreath? It cost me about $7 to make.

Valentine’s Day Fabric Door Wreath:

Supplies-

1/4 yard of red fleece
1/4 yard of pink fleece
1/4 yard of white fleece
18″ wreath
ornament of your choice (optional)
3 hair pins (or ornament hooks or paper clips)
yarn, extra fabric, or rope (at least a 15’5″ strip)

Notes: I purchased a straw wreath on sale for less than $2.50 from a local craft store. The fleece was 50% off from a fabric store. Fleece is an appropriate fabric for this project, because it does not unravel when cut, so it doesn’t need to be serged or zig zagged stitched on the edges like other fabrics.

Step 1- You need a long thin strip of fabric or rope or yarn to be the base of the garland (approximately 15′ 5″). If you don’t have anything long enough, you can tie strips together.

I started with a 5′ strip from an old fleece blanket. When I came to the end of it, I just cut more and tied the strips together. Whatever you decide to use, make sure you tie the end into a knot, so your fleece “bows” don’t slip off.

What I started with.

Step 2- Cut your fleece fabric into thin 6″ strips…about 1/2″ wide.

12″ strips Cut the 12″ strips in half, ending with 6″ strips.

Step 3- Tie your 6″ strips one by one around your garland base. I did one red strip followed by a white strip and then a pink strip. I recommend tying the strip loosely first; push the knot down against the previous bows; then tighten.

Tie loose knot Push knot down against other bows, then pull tight.

Step 4- Continue until you’ve used up your fleece strips. Your garland needs to be somewhere around 15 1/2′ to cover an 18″ wreath. If you purchase a larger wreath, buy 1/2 yard of fleece instead of 1/4 yard.

Make sure you knot the end of your garland.

Knot the end of the garland.

Finished fabric garland

Step 5- Wrap garland around wreath. Use hairpins to secure both ends of the wreath to the garland.

(I left the plastic on my straw wreath. I’ll use it again for a spring wreath in a couple of months.)

Use hairpin to secure fabric garland to wreath.

Push hairpin in all the way.

Step 6- Attach ornament to bottom of wreath with hairpin (optional).

Secure ornament to bottom of wreath with hairpin (optional).

Step 7- Tie a piece of fabric, yarn, or rope around the top of the wreath. Use that to secure your wreath to door hook or wreath hanger.

Step 8- Hang, fluff, and admire!

A note about this DIY Valentine’s Day door wreath: Yes, it’s time-consuming (but easy!) to make the fabric garland for the wreath, but well worth it in the end (I think!). I suggest spreading out this project over a couple or few days. If you have a favorite TV show in the evenings, you could work on the garland then. I found it strangely therapeutic to tie my little fabric “bows.” As well, you can remove the garland to store until next year and then reuse the wreath for another holiday. The fabric garland is also washable (provided the knots are tight) on the gentle cycle, hang to dry. There are a lot of possibilities for this fabric wreath, making your money and time well spent!

About the author:

Elisebet is an Army reservist, Navy wife, former English teacher, and mommy to a squirmy, mobile 8-month old baby boy. With a background in writing, journalism, and public affairs, she now enjoys blogging at My Life: A Work in Progress about parenting, motherhood, baby, family, food, life, cloth diapers, eco-friendly products, product reviews, giveaways, and more.

Easy Mason Jar DIY: Parmesan Cheese Container!

October 24, 2012 · by Tiffany Merritt · 3 Comments

I have a very simple DIY project for you today. Let me first say that I did NOT come up with this idea on my own! I found it on Pinterest (of course!). I found the idea here, but there are several different bloggers who have posted this idea, so I can’t say with certainty who blogged about it first!

If you have a plastic container of Parmesan cheese in your fridge AND you have a mason jar handy, then you can reduce some of your plastic and ugly packaging in your fridge and replace it with something much more lovely in about 30 seconds.

The lid of the Parmesan container will screw onto the mason jar. Oh heck yes it will! This morning I took a very small amount of time and finally transferred my cheese from that ugly plastic container to the super cute mason jar. I love it!

I know it isn’t a major project that completely changes the aesthetic of my home, or anything, but it’s a little win for beauty. And some days, you really need a little win!

Have you done any great Pinterest projects, lately?