Organized Clutter

 This year's summer covered patio is rustic but simple.  It has "just enough" stuff.

 This shelf used to hang on the wall at my mom's apartment, before she moved to assisted living. It is not an antique.  It has a tag that says Made in China on the back.

 Over Christmas, I purchased this 1980's wooden lap desk from a Goodwill store in the Twin Cities.  I paid $3.99. These little lap desks were quite popular for letter writing before email.

 I purchased this vintage ice cream chair a long time ago at an auction. I painted the iron parts with Rustoleum Heirloom White Paint.

This wood vase was one of my Goodwill finds from the Twin Cities.   It's in good condition but just not my style.

 This little tart pan and wooden goblet were recent thrift shop finds.  This metal pig was a Christmas tree ornament from Hobby Lobby in 2019. I removed the jute from the hooks on back and drilled a small hole in the top back of the pig.   My aunt gave me several packages of wooden bead in several sizes.  I used 1/2" and 1" for the projects I am sharing.

I paid $1 for this small, old washboard at a garage sale last fall. I think it had been used with Rit dye as there were several red stains on the wood, and the metal was pretty rusty.

I found this wooden bottle caddy at Goodwill over Christmastime.  I knew I would never use it as a stadium style bottle carrier, so it needed a makeover.

Dollar General is carrying these jar wall sign decorations again this spring.

I picked up this metal milk can shaped vase at a  Twin Cities Goodwill on Black Friday.   Everything was 50% off.   I did a little more research on the vase and found it was an Ikea Socker Vase.  It is no longer a current item, but is available online in the secondary market.

This tray was part of my  November Junk Finds post. I purchased it on Black Friday at a Twin Cities Goodwill.

 I paid $1 at a garage sale for this wooden recipe box.  It held a lot of recipe cards at one time. Since I won't be using it for recipe cards, it's time for a Christmas makeover.

 I picked up this old enamelware coffeepot at the thrift shop yesterday for $3.  It was missing the cover. I just love old coffeepots, and I have a lot of them. The bottom is pretty black.  I think it was a campfire coffeepot.  I scrubbed the bottom with an SOS pad and Krud Kutter Kitchen Degreaser All-Purpose Cleaner.    The greasiness is all gone but not all the charring.  It's a perfect piece for upcycling!

I purchased two of these antique cabinets doors at a garage sale this past summer.  I thought they were $1 each, but the tag said $1 for two. One has already been up-cycled, now for door 2!

I have a thing for old wooden levels, especially red ones, and levels that cost me a dollar at the garage sale. Great chippy red patina, and a little rust too.

A couple weeks ago, I was lucky enough to receive some free garden junk , including this watering can.

 Books are always in abundant supply at the thrift shops!  In fact, one of the local thrifts sell hardcover books at 25 cents each.   For this project, I tried to get older books, and three that would look great stacked.