I have been wild about stationary ever since I was a kid pouring over the Sanrio collection. My tastes have matured since then but I am still crazy about all things paper and pen. I particularly like making my own stationary with found paper like maps, graph paper, wrapping paper, etc. For this eco-friendly stationary, I have been collecting security envelopes (from bills and bank statements) for the past few months. I try to go as paperless as possible but things still find their way into my mail. You may have noticed the envelopes from Big Brother and his goons are lined with a dense pattern to prevent your snoopy neighbor from checking out your personal beeswax. Well, some of these are actually kind of awesome when seen from a stationary perspective. This project is fast, easy and will make you feel good knowing that the envelopes were on made on The Man’s dollar, not yours!

TOOLS OF THE TRADE:

- security envelopes

- double sided tape

- mailing labels (not necessary but handy).

That’s all? That’s all!

1. Get a little batch of security envelopes going. Sadly, these are way too easy to come by!  Carefully, slowly, pull the seams apart. You can dampen them with a wet sponge to break down the adhesive but I’m too impatient to let them dry again so I just pull them. A little paper may tear but as long as the edge is clean, you are good to go!

2. Turn the envelope inside out and start by taping the bottom flap on to the smaller top flap.

3. Then tape one side flap and leave the other open for your letter, of course!  For the mailing address you can be a smarty and write it on the letter in the right spot or just stick a large mailing label on there! Voila! All done!!

I have no idea how my laptop screen gets so smudgy. For years I have been battling the dirty screen, going through boxes of those LCD cleaner wipes that you can get at office supply stores. Until last week, when I discovered I had run out. And I had a meeting. A meeting that I had to bring my laptop to. And I don’t live anywhere near an office supply store. Google to the rescue! I not only was able to find out how to make my own cleaner, I have now figured out how to save myself trips to the dreaded Office Max and some precious dough.

What you’ll need:

• Distilled Water: available at any drugstore, distilled water doesn’t have the minerals that can cause streaking like tap water
• Rubbing Alcohol: it’s most likely in your medicine cabinet anyway
• Spray Bottle: most drugstores sell these in the travel section, this is what you’ll store your solution in
• Measuring Cup: you’ll want a 50/50 combination of distilled water and rubbing alcohol, depending on the size of your spray bottle, measure your equal ounces in the measuring cup then transfer to the spray bottle

To use:

• in order to avoid scratching your screen, dust first to remove any larger particles
• spray your cleaning solution onto a non-abrasive cloth rag (like an old t-shirt), rather than directly onto the screen
• use a circular motion to clean screen

And there you have it! Easy and cheap and your laptop and TVs will thank you!

Within the past six months, I have completely taken over the fiscal duties from the beau. In this time, I am happy to announce, spending has gone up and the deficit has come down (pause for applause). With 100% household employment (amongst the humans, at least), we’re lucky to be comfortable and even in this tough economy, we have not had to make too many sacrifices. BUT, in order to make sure of this, getting in complete control of our money has been crucial and it has definitely taken some time and some work.

First off, we have automated all of our payments via our online bank account, and synched them with our bimonthly paydays. Certain payments, like car insurance, do not need to be made every month, but in order to make sure it’s in our budget and we’re not faced with a huge payment every few months, I set up an automatic monthly transfer to savings, so I always know I’ll have the money when I need it. By really looking at what goes out every month, we’ve become much more aware of what we have left over and what other regular expenditures we have that we need to mentally budget for, like hair appointments, groceries, gas, and nights out. Understanding what we have, what we need, and what’s coming in, has also made it easier to save and invest, another thing we’ve automated on a monthly basis.

And then there are credit cards. I don’t like waiting for the statements—I want to know what’s on there at all times. At first, logging into all the different accounts to check balances on a biweekly basis was driving me crazy. I had a notebook full of numbers of projections and scribbles. Then I discovered Mint.com.

Mint.com is a website that allows you to look at all your accounts and account balances in one place. I set up an account, and by providing my online log-in info for each one, added the bank accounts, credit cards, IRA, 401k,  car loan, student loans, and the like. Now I only have to log into one site to see exactly what I have and what I owe on any given day. It’s a great snapshot of our finances and helps ease my mind.

I recommended Mint to a couple of friends and they  did ask me about security. From what I know, Mint only allows you to see your money, not access it, so it should be secure. However, don’t take my word for it, here’s a statement from the company.

Mint also allows you to set budgets and enter the values of assets, like art and jewelry, but I haven’t gone that far yet. Have you? Please let us know how it’s been working for you.

Anyway, money management isn’t something that comes naturally to me, but I’m working at it. And Mint’s been a big help in that.

I was recently inspired by the folks at Design Sponge to makeover my filing cabinet. Since I also use it as the end table in my living room, I wanted it be as attractive as it is functional. My original intent was simply to spray paint the whole cabinet white and change the hardware. Easy, right? But I messed up and picked out hardware that didn’t quite fit the holes that were already there. Instead of buying different hardware, my husband decided to add wood paneling to the fronts so we could drill new holes. Not quite as easy, but the end result was worth it. The lesson: measure twice, purchase once!

To Get This Look

The Basics:

• File Cabinet $40
• Cabinet Hardware $5 – $50
• Spray Paint $7

The Extra Step (Wood Fronts):

• Plywood 1/8 – 1/4″ thick. I recommend Lauan plywood because it’s cheap, light and easy to work with. $10
• Combination Wood Stain/Polyurethane $12
• Liquid Nails Construction Adhesive $3
• Clamp and Duct Tape
• Drill

Measure the size of cabinet fronts, but take off ¼ inch all around. You want the wood to be a little smaller than the door. When you buy the plywood from Home Depot (or any lumber yard) you can have them cut it to your measurements. Make sure you tell them that you need an EXACT cut. Otherwise, they will cut a little too big. As we’ve learned the hard way, this is something all lumber yards do. It’s incredibly annoying.

Stain the wood with the combo stain/polyurethane. Two coats is fine, but let the stain dry completely between each coat.

The glue will work best if it’s the same temperature as the wood and the filing cabinet. So keep everything in the same corner of the room for a day or two before you start. Then apply the glue to the center of the fronts, avoiding the edges. Clamp it down with duct tape, heavy-duty binder clips or whatever you can find. Leave the clamps on for a day. The tape will come off easily since the wood has been varnished.

Once the wood is securely attached, drill through the wood and the metal door to insert the hardware. Find the center point of each door, then you can eyeball where you want handle to be. Drill one hole first, then carefully measure to figure out where the second one goes. Like I mentioned before: measure twice, cut once.

The End Result!

Ever wondered why some of your friends have mix CD cases that look much better than yours? A lot of it has to do with their fancy fonts.

Dafont.com is my personal favorite free font website. There are a lot of options and some of them are just silly, but among the plethora of over-embellished graffiti letters there are some real gems. Take an hour while enjoying some VH1 Celebreality to browse all the options and download your favorites and you’ll be whipping out snazzy invites in no time.

How to install your new font on your Mac:
Inside your Library folder is a folder called fonts. After you have downloaded the font you want, drag and drop the .TTF file into the font folder. The next time you open Word, Photoshop, or the like your new font(s) will appear as an option in your font menu.

How to install your new font on your PC:
Open the start menu, go to settings, then control panel, then the fonts directory; in the fonts directory go to the file menu and click “install new font.” Choose the font(s) you downloaded. The next time you open Word, Photoshop, or the like your new font(s) will appear as an option in your font menu.

OFFICE TOTE
Back in my 9-to-5 office days, one tote bag filled properly and stashed in a drawer in the office saved my ass on countless occasions. Pack an office survival kit and you’ll pretty much always have everything you need. (However, if you can avoid working in an office at all, all the better).

Keep in mind that to stock this entire bag, I didn’t purchase anything specifically for it—it consists entirely of things from around my house, including the bag itself, which was free with my subscription to Domino magazine (RIP) and lived mostly unused, along with countless other free totes, on my “reusable shopping bags” hook. I bet that you can put most of this stuff together tonight and have it ready to bring with you to work tomorrow morning.

Feel free to customize this list for your particular work-related needs, but whether you think you’ll need this stuff or not, take my word for it—it can’t hurt to have it handy.

1. Tote Bag: Comes in handy for getting everything to the office, containing all these items so your office stays at least semi-organized, on its own in case your purse strap breaks on the way in to work, or for a quick getaway with all your personal items the day you finally tell them they can take this job and shove it.
2. Spare Cell Phone Charger: Do not underestimate the importance of having a spare charger at work. Even if, unlike my (former) shitty Razr, your phone holds charge pretty well, nothing’s worse than heading out to meet friends for some after work boozing only to discover that your phone’s dead and you don’t have anyone’s numbers anywhere else and everyone’s already out having a great time and wondering where you are.
3. Hand-Sanitizer: Because germs are crawling everywhere and you can’t run to the restroom every time you shake hands with someone.
4. Umbrella: Even if you regularly carry one with you, it never hurts to have an extra.
5. Deodorant: Have you ever gotten to the office and realized you forgot to put deodorant on after your shower? Well, one day you will and you’ll be very happy you have this on hand.
6. Dressy Shoes: Depending on your job or office dress code, the definition of “dressy shoes” could vary significantly, but you get the idea.
7. Flip-flops: You’ll need something comfy to wear home when your “dressy shoes” shred your heels.
8. Makeup Sack: Read on for tips on stuffing your makeup sack.
9. Lady Supplies: Tampons, pads, pantiliners—it can’t hurt to have all varieties on hand for yourself and you’ll earn brownie-points with the other females in the office.
10. Shirt: Something that won’t wrinkle easily and can go with most outfits will work in a pinch if you ever get a stain, tear, or lose a button. I have a fashionable but not too formal black, long-sleeved, jersey knit top with fabric rosebud appliqués that has always served me well in a pinch.
11. Pants: Like with the shirt, something that doesn’t easily wrinkle, is neutral in color, but is not anything your closet will miss should do. Tan cords have always worked for me.
12. Mirror: Check your teeth for poppy seeds before the big meeting or use to peer around cubicle corners to see if the coast is clear.
13. Framed Photos of Loved Ones: A glance in their direction can alleviate anxiety on the most stressful of days. A collage frame can hold several photos but keeps them contained.
14. Tights: Pick a neutral color that will go with any outfit; there’s nothing worse than getting a snag and not having a back-up pair when it’s time for a bare-legs-aren’t-appropriate kind of meeting.
15. Socks: Because spending all day in wet socks really sucks.

MAKEUP SACK
The idea here is to have everything you need to “do your face” at the office for those days you need to cut a step out of your morning routine, forget about an important meeting on a day you decided to go for the “natural look,” or in case you need a touch-up for a late meeting or a post-work date.

Do not go out and buy a bag full of new products to keep at the office—you’ll never use them quickly enough. Instead, replace your foundation, blush, powder, lipstick, or concealer before they’re completely empty and use the 80% depleted products for your office makeup stash. Free samples—like the ones you get at Sephora with your rewards card—can also be good for stocking an office makeup bag, but make sure everything’s something you actually like to wear that flatters you.

1. Make-up Bag: Use anything that closes to keep everything contained—a quart-sized Ziplock could even do the trick.
2. Hair-ties: Depending on your length or style, a headband or bobby-pins might be more appropriate, but the idea is to have something that can tame the wildest of tresses on the worst bad hair day.
3. Comb or Brush: I’m a big fan of my switchblade comb—small, compact, and a little bad ass—but you can use whatever floats your boat.
4. Tweezers: They don’t have to be top of the line—they just have to do the job in a pinch.
5. Eyeshadows: This palate of colors is good because there’s a variety for any occasion. I got this in a holiday gift box that was sent to me by a vendor—not something I would buy for myself or use at home, but perfect for the Office Survival Kit.
6. Brushes: A mini travel set should work for application of everything here.
7. Mascara: This isn’t my regular brand, but it’s good mascara and it was also from the holiday gift box, so it was free. Can’t beat that.
8. Lipgloss: A nice, “respectable” color, although not my absolute favorite, so I don’t mind not having it at home or in my purse.
9. Lipstick: Ditto.
10. Blush: I am a big fan of blush and this is one I nearly used up at home and added to the mix here when I replaced it.
11. Powder: Ditto.
12. Foundation: Ditto.
13. Concealer: I don’t normally use concealer, but I figure it can’t hurt to have some at the office.
14. Perfume: I bought this sweet Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume solid ring and loved the scent so much I bought a whole bottle of Daisy, so the solid got added to the office mix. Samples from department stores work well too—they’re small and they’re free!
15. Toothbrush: Sometimes a girl just needs to clean her mouth.
16. Toothpaste: Free sample from the dentist’s office—perfect size for this little sack.
17. Floss: Ditto.
18. Lotion: Offices tend to be over air-conditioned or over heated, both of which dry out your hands and legs.

There are a few items I haven’t included here because you should have them in your purse at all times and the assumption is that you’ll have your purse at work, but feel free to add them either way:

1. Safety pins
2. Pills for headaches, cramps, and heartburn
3. Breath mints/gum
4. Nail file
5. Band-aids

After noticing that all the monitors on all the computers in the all cutest house tours on Apartment Therapy looked like vintage flip-clocks, I googled “vintage clock screensaver” and found one for myself.  I am now one step closer to my very own apartment tour on AT, a not-so-secret dream of mine.  Maybe I’ll just have to start an OMFG house tour feature…

Anyway, it’s free, easy to install, WAY less annoying than pipes or your vacation photos (and dare I say, it’s more grown up).  Hell, it even does double-duty by functioning as a screensaver and, well, a clock…
click the image to download the Fliqlo screensaver for yourself