Monday, January 30, 2006

Lining Drawers The Frugal Way

Measuring, cutting, and lining drawers is one of my least favorite tasks. Here are some tips I've learned after four houses' worth of lining:

--Never go to Walmart (worse yet, the grocery) to buy shelf paper. It's a huge profit maker for a traditional store. Big Lots usually has closeout rolls for up to half the cost.

--Dry applications can use leftover wallpaper cut and folded to size. I pick up pretty rolls when I see them at yard sales for 25 cents.

--Unusual size cabinet shelves are easiest to line with vinyl tablecloths, cut to size with pinking shears. A big piece of vinyl eliminates overlapping and bunching later. A few matching vinyl tablecloths bought on clearance give you far more yardage than several rolls of paper. You can use your staple gun or tacks to secure the corners if needed.

--The cheapest option for underused shelves is to paint them in a high gloss finish.

9 comments:

Mrs.Garcia said...

Meredith,thank you also for the tips on lining drawers the frugal way . I gleam alot of helpful tips,suggestions, and advice from your blog.
Carla

Anonymous said...

let's see closeups of your lined shelves and drawers. With and without "stuff". I assume by you telling us this, you think a lined shelf improves re-sale value. Why?

thanks, Debbie

Roberta said...

Excellent idea~the flannel-backed tablecloth! (I used contact paper, w/o taking the backing off for my linen drawers and the paper keeps rolling up.) Thanks for the tip! :)

MommyLydia said...

Site feed accomplished.

Didn't figure anyone coming to my little site would be dealing with site feeds.

Mrs. Darling said...

I had never thought of the plastic placemat in the toothpaste drawer. the kids drawer just gets so messy. I'm going to do that this very day!

Kristen said...

Great ideas! Thanks, Meredith!

Meredith said...

Debbie, you'll just have to use your imagination on the shelf paper :) I don't think *all* drawers need lining, but mine do. They have unpainted plywood bottoms, stained with who-knows-what and rough to the touch. Someone with white laminate shelves or new kitchen cabinets might not need to line. However, most new cabinets today have some type of fiberboard shelving inside, which will swell with spills and water drops. Bottom line for resale: do whatever you can to make your "hidden spaces" squeaky clean, even if it means wrestling all afternoon with Contact paper!

Anonymous said...

merci!

Debbie

Anonymous said...

Just had 3 bathrooms renovated with new cabinets. Glad I found your suggestions for placemats and vinyl tablecloths. Off to find tablecloths!

Jane