Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Tool Time Tuesday...French Drain Organization

The word French sounds romantic...then the word drain, not so much. Just ruins it, but that's what they're called. What are they really used for? Well, they keep water away from the foundation of your home. A trench is dug, filled with gravel and the perforated pipe (French drain) is placed to carry water away from the area.

Hey, maybe I should put a French drain around my sewing room. Some of you already know my 86 year old, forgetful dad lives with us and has flooded the house 5 times and the last time was my whole sewing room...that's why my new sewing room is where it is now, out of harms way. I think. LOL Maybe I should also put up a fire wall around it too...the lady's voice from our smoke alarm system is all too familiar. I think he needs to stick to cooking in the microwave.

I digress...back to french drains.

This bookcase is in my sewing room. These canning jars are full of buttons. The shelves in the bookcase are permanent and can't be adjusted, so just look at all that wasted space above the jars.




Well, not any more...French Drain Storage at it's best!



This is a French drain pipe. 10 feet long and 4 inches in diameter. $5.41 each at Home Depot. (That store really should give me a gift card to the store so I can have a give away with it for all of you...seriously, how many times do I mention their name! I think I might contact them)


Here are the perforations for the water to enter the pipe. For me, they were the spots where I started to saw the pipe into sections.


Don't worry about 10 feet of pipe fitting in your car. The first piece went into my van no problem. Then we went back for another piece and it coiled up nicely in my husband's Jeep Liberty.


The first step is to measure the depth of your shelf. Mine was 11 1/2".



I cut the pipe a 1/2" shorter than the depth of the shelf...so 11 inches. Adjust to fit your shelf.



This is the perforated spot where you will start to saw.



It's a very soft plastic and cuts like butter or should I say buttah!!



The edges can be a little jagged, just use little wire snips to trim evenly.



Now just stack them up inside you bookcase or shelf. Hmmm...what to fill it with?



How about all your yarn that you have stored away in bags or baskets?



It's the perfect size for each skein.





They can also hold all your needles, except the ones you are carrying in your pvc knitting needle holders you made from last week's Tool Time. Click here if you haven't seen that project.



How about all your spray paint cans that we use in our crafting projects. All stored neatly away and easy to see the color on the cap. I also stored all the bottles of different glues that I uses.



Now, for my original reason to make more room...all those canning jars of buttons. This is a picture of all the canning jars that were on the shelf in the beginning. Look how much more room I have left over.



I've started to glue one of the buttons on the cap of the jar. Shows what's inside each jar.



Each pipe holds one large canning jar...just slides right into the pipe. Oh, wait...French drain, that sounds fancier!


Also holds 2 small canning jars. See that one way in the back of the pipe? That's the space saving part.



So, what will you put in your French drains?
  • great for a pantry...stores all your cans of veggies or soups. All the same kind in one pipe. Just mark the top of the can with a marker, so you know what's in there.
  • in a work shop for extension cords, wood supplies like long dowels.
  • in the garage or basement to store sports equipment, like bats even plastic play bats.
  • wine bottle storage
  • the possibilities are endless...

Have fun with your French drains. Not the ones for the "outside" of your house...the ones for "inside" your house. Although if you have a dad like mine, you'll need them for "inside" your house, LOL!
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Have a wonderful Tuesday. Don't forget to join in on the Sew Darn Crafty Blog Party. There are so many wonderful projects from beginning to end. You can add as many projects as you'd like.
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~Karen~

71 comments:

  1. I am so glad I recently found your blog, you are just sooooo clever!

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  2. This is another great idea! I am having problems finding the right storage for those darn ikea expedit bookcases without spending a fortune and this would be great. Thank you!

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  3. Qué idea má genial!!! todo queda en orden y se puede ver muy facilmente. Un besote

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  4. Love this idea - I have a lot of skeins of wool I use for Santa's beards, and can never find the one I want - this would solve the problem.. thank you
    Judy

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  5. Makes me wish I had yarn so that I could do this!!

    In stitches,
    Teresa :o)

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  6. This post has gone down the drain -ha, ha, couldn't resist :) You always have the most creative ideas!

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  7. We always called them a French ditch, but the same thing. Now, if only I had an empty shelf to put them on!! Great idea though. I got some of the letter punches yesterday at Harbor Freight. Looking for some copper washers now to make some gifts.

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  8. Wow. Does your brain ever stop working? You are by far the most creative person I've not yet met!

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  9. That is a great idea!!! I love all the things that you come up with!!

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  10. Truly, you do amaze me in how your brain works...does it ever sleep? Do your eyes pop open in the night with a new idea??? amazing!!

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  11. My goodness! Your creativity just blows my mind!!! You are amazing!

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  12. This makes me laugh! As a farm girl we loved watching the machine come in to lay weeping tile. That is what we called it.
    I think you should send Home Depot a list of the posts of ingenious things you have come up with and they could feature you to draw in a different clientele.
    I have said it before. Clever girl. You think outside the box and that is a good thing... (excuse the Martha Stewart comment)

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  13. How do you come up with this stuff? LOVE IT!!!

    More Than A Mom @ morethana-mom.blogspot.com

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  14. I love this idea. I was thinking it would be a great idea for all of the rolls of stabilizers, freezer paper, etc. I am definitely going to use this one. Thank you.

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  15. Ok, That was brilliant! Now I'm going to figure out how to use them in my craft room!
    Thanks for the inspiration!
    Susan

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  16. You outdid yourself this time! What a fab idea! jo

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  17. Now that has any number of possibilities! Great idea!

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  18. I see what can happen when you go looking for black PVC pipe! Fantastic ideas as always, Karen! Tres magnifique!

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  19. Amazing...I have a shelf just like that...thank you!

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  20. You are amazing! I would have never thought of anything like that. I just found your blog and have been browsing around. You have so much cute stuff! I'm becoming a follower!

    I'm new to blogging and would love for you to come check me out. A newbie like me would love some advice from a pro like you :)
    http://craftsandcrap.blogspot.com/

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  21. Smart move and another great idea.
    I love seeing what will come next. Thanks for the ideas.

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  22. So glad I met you on Twitter. Also love your blog and your great ideas. I'll be following.

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  23. Very cool...the possibilities are endless!!

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  24. This is a great idea! Just wanted you to know that in Ohio your french drain is called field tile. French drain sure sounds nicer. All the fields in our area are drained by it so we are not a swamp :) Thank you so much for all your time and ideas!

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  25. That is a brilliant idea.
    Micki

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  26. I love your organization ideas!! Wonderful blog and absolutely one of my favorites.

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  27. Great Idea!! Shared your blog with some quilting buddies of mine. I love it when I can bring things out of hiding and put them in plain view.

    Thanks Again!

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  28. I don't trust myself with a saw, but I have a husband who would enjoy doing that for me. Now, if I can only find a spare shelf on a bookcase?
    Great ideas, as usual Karen.
    L's 87 year old dad lived with him and us for a few years so I do understand.

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  29. I've used this French drain for part of my hedgehog's cage. I just cut it with kitchen scissors and didn't have a problem. Now I have a use for the rest!

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  30. Once again Karen that's a great idea. Love the jars with the
    buttons and the idea of gluing
    one on the outside. You read
    my mind, I was thinking o.k. how
    is she going to see what's inside.
    Good job!!

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  31. Every Tuesday you seem to know EXACTLY what I'm having trouble storing! I will be going to Home Depot soon to get my French Drain yarn storage!

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  32. Yours is the only blog I read regularly. You have great and useful ideas. Why not put the jars of buttons in backwards so you can see the buttons? It will save you the trouble of glueing a button to the lid. Just a thought.

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  33. This is a great idea. Thank you for sharing.

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  34. This is so clever! You have the most amazing ideas!!

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  35. That is one creative piece of work. I always beg my DH to take me to Home Depot or Lowes. There are so many cool gadgets that I just have to have!!!

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  36. Thanks for sharing your experience with us....

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  37. I love your blog. You are so clever!! I was thinking if you wanted or needed to put 2 jars in one of the "french drains" you could put both buttons on the lid of the jar that will be showing! That was you know what in the back!! You always get my creative juices flowing!!

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  38. Thanks for the education! That stuff is called "ag pipe" (or sometimes aggi pipe) in this part of the world - short for agricultural pipe, and used for creating ag drains. French drains sound so much more sophisticated than ag drains!

    Anyway, great storage idea.

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  39. How clever are you? I think this idea is great. And I have french drains in my hubs back yard pile as he does excavation work and puts in drains. Wow!

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  40. What a great idea! I'd love to see this at my linky party :)

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  41. drolement ingénueux et le gain de place

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  42. That's a cool idea, looks really cute with the yarn balls.

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  43. Stopping by from Under the Table and Dreaming. Super creative! Perfect size for the yarn too! Nice work
    Jen
    Scissors & Spatulas

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  44. Seriously, what an ingenius idea! Awesome and thanks for sharing!

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  45. GENIUS! What an amazing idea to take full advantage of your space!

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  46. what a super neat idea! I loveeee how organized all your supplies are :)

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  47. So clever! I just found your blog. I tis filled with great ideas. I would love it if you came for a visit and entered my vintage-y, handmade giveaway!
    http://meli-melo-art.blogspot.com/2011/02/vintage-fun-giveaway.html

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  48. Wow! What a clever idea! My husband was even impressed and is considering "French drain" applications for organizing the garage! Thanks a million for sharing this awesome idea on Under the Table and Dreaming!

    Blessings, -- Jill

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  49. The Treasurista said...
    Hop on over to the Party! Would love for you to link-up @

    http://thetreasurista.blogspot.com/p/treasuristas-thursday-treasures-come.html

    The Treasurista
    Finding and Creating FUN things...

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  50. Too cool and so clever. I'm hosting We're ORganized Wednesday through Saturday and would love for you to join the party.

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  51. Thanks for linking to We're Organized Wednesday. I'll be featuring this. Such a creative storage idea.

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  52. I just found you via Organize and Decorate Everything. I love this idea, fantastic! Thanks for sharing!

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  53. I love the French drain storage idea. I think I will be making one in a milk crate for my van. I keep my van stocked with one of those light weight blue blankets, umbrella's, ice scrapers, clorox wipes, wet ones and we always have toys and things to keep the kids busy. This project will make this mama a very happy lady.

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  54. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  55. WOW! This is a GREAT idea! I get so flumoxed at the wasted space in my pantry area and this just might do the trick to help stack my cans! I looked at containers for stacking cans and they were so expensive! But this is so great for so little money! Thanks!

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  56. OMG! You are so so smart! I love all your posts, but I think I enjoy your ingenious organizational style the most! Add me to the list if. You ever do a "Craft/sewing organizing Newsletter"

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  57. I came over from Facebook to see what this was all about... Wow,tanks for the great ideas! ~Heather at Gstudio

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  58. Great use of the unexpected. Having a hard time with my DH as we moved to a tiny unfinished house, and as 'I' fix it up he sits in front of TV but I 'must' make room for sewing and crafting. There is a unfinished basement room I already said is MINE MINE MINE...and a trickle of water so need this french drain stuff outside FIRST and inside NEXT. Work cut out for me. All my cloth and things in boxes waiting for my old body to finish everything. PRAY for me anonymous, in a sad situation at the moment. Too much to do and can't sew yet! LOVE all the ideas on your site thank you so much.

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  59. Does your house really look like the little pics we see? Really? I want you to post bigger pics of your whole house.(I just found this blog so forgive me if you already have but I am just in awe.)So now for the serious part. Will you marry me? Seriously Yea I get that I am a chick and already married so it might be a bit awkward but I assure you once my hubby see's what you will do for our house he will love you as I do. So really marry me. hehe.

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  60. Love this idea. I don't have a craft room but DO have a classroom. I make games and store them in used Clorox wipe containers. This would be the perfect storage for them. I'll write the name on top so it can be seen and easily accessible. Genius!
    Thanks for sharing! :)

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  61. I came by way of pinterest and this post interested me. My dad works for a company that creates and distributes that piping (he's works in the transportation department as a driver). We call it drainage tile and my dad often delivers to Home Depot/Lowes/Menards. I'll have to see if I can get my hands on some from him. :)

    Did you know, it also works great to put around your tomato plants in the garden to help keep your tomato cages upright.

    Thanks for all the wonderful ideas!

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  62. I saw a pin on "Pinterest" that showed jars held up underneath the shelf by painting the under side of a shelf with magnetic paint, and just sticking the jars with lids on to it. Might have worked really well for your shelf here, too!

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  63. Neither Home Depot or Lowes in my area carry this tubing ; I live in the desert SW and apparently this French Drain product is not used here for construction. Home Depot carries it on the website, but it cannot be drop shipped at the stores and shipping to me amounted to more tan double the price of the product. I understand that Menard's in the midwest carries it in stores but after checking local plumbing and irrigation supply vendors, I was about to give up as they only sell in 100 ft lengths. I checked Ace Hardware online and found they carry it but not in stores. The great thing is they will ship it to stores at not cost to you when you order it online. So instead of nearly fifty dollars for the product from HD, at Ace it cost me $14.40, shipping included.
























































    h

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  64. Neither Home Depot or Lowes in my area carry this tubing ; I live in the desert SW and apparently this French Drain product is not used here for construction. Home Depot carries it on the website, but it cannot be drop shipped at the stores and shipping to me amounted to more tan double the price of the product. I understand that Menard's in the midwest carries it in stores but after checking local plumbing and irrigation supply vendors, I was about to give up as they only sell in 100 ft lengths. I checked Ace Hardware online and found they carry it but not in stores. The great thing is they will ship it to stores at not cost to you when you order it online. So instead of nearly fifty dollars for the product from HD, at Ace it cost me $14.40, shipping included.
























































    h

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  65. I LOVE the way you have organized your spray paint! I have been asked by Hometalk to curate a board with ideas for organizing paint and paint supplies, and I would love to include this on the board. However, in order for me to do so, you would first need to share this idea over at Hometalk {I see that you have shared other projects there in the past}. If you are interested, please share it on Hometalk asap, and then email me the link to your Hometalk post at {blueistyleblog at gmail dot com}. Thanks!

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  66. Just out of curiosity - why didn't you just screw jars to the underside of the shelf? You have gained an extra 8 jars (staggered) instead of only 5 with the pipes? But I am going to use your pipe idea for my spray paints/glues..thanks for the idea

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