diy – Kirby's Kabin Blog

Spice Jar Fruit Fly Trap

Published on June 4, 2022June 4, 2022 by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin BlogLeave a comment

Fruit fly traps

You need:

Old spice container

Dish soap

Vinegar (ACV or homemade fruit scrap vinegar work best)

Directions:

Tape off all but a couple of holes in the lid.

Fill the jar about halfway with vinegar.

Add one drop of dish soap.

Put the lid on the jar.

Place in area where fruit flies have been seen and wait.

Empty every 1-2 weeks, or as needed.

You can also use an old cup with a lid and a straw that has been cut in half.

Place the vinegar and dish soap in the cup.

Put the lid on.

Secure the straw with tape so that it is suspended above the liquid.

The flies will get in but won’t find their way back out… just make sure to label it so no one gets curious and takes a sip… yuck!

Quarantine Project: DIY Bookshelves

Published on April 15, 2020 by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog1 Comment

As you all know we moved recently and you may know that our bookshelves didn’t make it. This was a serious problems because we had no place to put the books and they were cluttering up the dining room as they had been temporarily piled there.

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I flooded the kitchen again!

Published on March 26, 2020March 26, 2020 by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog3 Comments

Yep, I did it again. I also put a hole through the side of a cabinet… on purpose!

You might be wondering what in tarnation that I’m doing but trust me it was all for a good reason… well flooding the kitchen wasn’t planned but it all worked out.

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A ‘Like New’ Kitchen With Product Links Part 2

Published on March 9, 2020March 5, 2020 by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog1 Comment

As you all know we have been so busy working on our new house. We never dreamed that we’d still be working on it and we are anxious to get completely moved in but it has truly been one thing after another.

Be warned… this post has a TON of pictures! It will also have quite a few affiliate links to the products that we used but please feel free to go directly to the product web sites for exclusive coupons and deals. This post did get a little bit long so I split it so make it easier for reading. Be sure to check out the first post HERE and the last post HERE.

First, let’s take peek at what we started with:

We had your basic 90s kitchen package which is similar to many other mobile home kitchens. Plus we had 20+ years of dirt and grime caked on these babies!

The flooring, stove, and dishwasher are new so we wanted to make those work. We also have a new fridge for here but have found that it is a tad too big for the space so we will be keeping the old one here for now. We plan to fully renovate the kitchen in a few years so we didn’t want to sink a whole lot of money into this project. All in all, I think we stayed just shy of $400 with the biggest single expense going to the new hood range. Continue reading “A ‘Like New’ Kitchen With Product Links Part 2” →

A ‘Like New’ Kitchen With Product Links Part 1

Published on March 7, 2020March 5, 2020 by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog5 Comments

First, let’s take peek at what we started with:

We had your basic 90s kitchen package which is similar to many other mobile home kitchens. Plus we had 20+ years of dirt and grime caked on these babies!

Quarantine Latrine: An Accidental Bathroom Makeover

Published on March 5, 2020May 26, 2021 by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin BlogLeave a comment

I can’t believe this one never got published either!!!

Whew! I’ve really been trying to get back into the habit of blogging on a regular basis, or at least when I have a little bit of energy. I am really grateful to all of you who have stuck around while I’ve been MIA so frequently, it really does mean a lot!

So you may be wondering how one accidentally does a bathroom makeover… let me tell you about it.

Back in this post, HERE, I mentioned that I had accidentally broken the bathtub which ended up being a blessing in disguise. I had been hanging the bathroom shower curtain while Mr. Awesome was putting on the new toilet seat.

We were actually in the process of getting things finished up so we could start moving in when this accident happened. It has been one delay after another with this house… you can read more about it HERE, HERE, and HEREas well as in almost any recent post. Once the power was turned on we finally thought we were in the clear but then we almost had a house fire and our kitchen flooded due to improper wiring/installation of appliances!

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DIY Corner Entertainment Center

Published on January 23, 2019September 30, 2019 by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin BlogLeave a comment

I guess its better late than never. As I was going through some of my drafts I’ve found a few posts that never made it to be published and this is one of them. I know I’ve shown a few pics of this little masterpiece before but here is the story of how it became to be.

Before the trip to PA last year we had been working on the house, as we have been doing pretty regularly lately, and had just finished up a new project:

I had been having a lot of trouble sleeping which leads me to write or sketching in my notebook. This was one of the sketches I came up with.

I must say that Mr. Awesome nailed it! Hopefully, we will get around to completing some of our other many projects when we get back on track. Continue reading “DIY Corner Entertainment Center” →

Weekend Warrior Project: Old Window Transformation

Published on September 20, 2018September 24, 2019 by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog2 Comments

**This post contains affiliate links to products that we use. These links help to support my family and our blog.

We have been working a lot around this little house just trying to make it feel more like ‘HOME’. It’s been a little over a year since we moved and we are finally starting to really get settled. I feel like I can finally relax and put my feet, at least every now and then. This past weekend was not one of those times.

When I was doing my major cleaning this past summer I had thought of the idea of doing a faux stained glass window in the kitchen but haven’t found the time to do that yet. I did, however, decide to do something with this one BIG window that we have in the main room. It is so dirty on the outside that it has been driving me completely BONKERS!

I’m sure some of you are thinking that I should just get out there and clean it and trust me I would if I could. This window is over the pond and I have no access to it of any kind so cleaning it is IMPOSSIBLE right now. The inside has been cleaned and cleaned but it hasn’t helped a lot as the window is OLD and has seen a lot.

Before we moved in the window had been boarded up for many years, I guess someone else didn’t like the dirty view either. After we built the sleeping loft and got rid of the bunkbed that had been in front of the window we couldn’t ignore how dirty it was. Then comes the fact that I moved the dining table in front of the window and we now had to see it a few times a day. Mr. Awesome didn’t really like the window and wanted to cover it up again but I like light, lots of light, and I wanted to have the window clear so that it would help to illuminate this rather dark little cabin. Continue reading “Weekend Warrior Project: Old Window Transformation” →

Loop Scheduling Made Simple With An Easy DIY Post It Note Loop Schedule

Published on August 24, 2018August 29, 2018 by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog7 Comments

**Although I try to provide as many FREE resources as possible this post may contain affiliate links alt no extra cost to you. We may earn a small commission, if a purchase is made through these links, which helps to support our blog and our family. Thank you!

Instructions for the Easy DIY Post It Note Loop Schedule at the end of the post.

Many of us have started back to school and some of us started and then quit…errr… well, maybe I’m the only one that did that but I am happy to say that we are well on our way to getting back on track. The big project I have been working on is finished (YAYYYYY!!!!) and I am hoping it will be ready to post this weekend so keep an eye out for it.

In preparation of our new school year I pulled out our old Loop Schedule so I could change it out for this year. What a better time to show you how I do it?

Last year one of the sanity savers I used was this Loop Schedule. You may have heard of Loop Scheduling and I thought it was something new but actually it was something I had already been doing and you probably have too!

I always start the year out with all kinds of fun activities, games, and ideas for us to work on. Before our Loop Schedule I was always trying to make sure we got the ‘meaty’ subjects like Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science finished before we moved on to anything else. If we didn’t get those areas completed we would just not do the other areas.

(These links will update soon and take you to our first Kirby’s Kids Academic Adventure!)

I always felt like we weren’t getting everything done that I wanted to get done. Our days got so BORING! We would be doing the same things over and over and never had time for the fun activities that I had planned for us to do. There’s only so much time in the day so what is an overwhelmed Momma to do? Continue reading “Loop Scheduling Made Simple With An Easy DIY Post It Note Loop Schedule” →

DIY Giant Tic-Tac-Toe Game

Published on August 20, 2018August 29, 2018 by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog2 Comments

**This post may contain affiliate links to some of the products and resources that we have used. These are provided at no extra charge to you and help to support our blog and family if a purchase is made through these links. -Thank you!

My kids love to play Tic-Tac-Toe and they love to be outside so this combines both of their loves into one great game. It’s really simple to make also. I really like the fact that most of the items can be found at the dollar store too!

DIY Giant Tic-Tac-Toe Game

Materials Needed:

Shower curtain or liner
Permanent marker
duct tape, you will need three different colors
a few old cereal boxes
dried beans
ruler or measuring tape

**Note: You can omit the boxes, beans, and two colors of duct tape if you happen to have 2 sets of bean bags (four of each color)

Directions:

Cut a 5 ft x 5 ft or 4 ft x 4 ft square out of the shower curtain liner. Lay it flat and draw lines to divide it into 9 equal sections with the marker. Use one color of duct to cover the lines.
If you don’t have bean bags you will need to make some really simple ones. Cut the cardboard into twenty 7 inch x 7 inch squares.
Place two pieces of cardboard together and use one color of duct tape (different from the liner grid) to seal three sides. Fill the ‘bag’ with beans and seal the remaining edge. Cover any visible cardboard with duct tape. Repeat to make a total of 5 bean bags for this color. (You can mark these with x’s, if you want.)
Repeat Step 3 with the remaining squares, beans, and colored tape. (Mark with o’s, if desired.)
Grab a friend and start playing by standing a bit away from the ‘board’. Take turns tossing the bags and try to make a row of the same color/symbol. The row can go across, up or down, and/or diagonal.
Have fun!

If you have a sidewalk or concrete you could also draw the board with chalk and use chalk/bean bags to play.

Not a DIYer? No fear you can buy something similar from Amazon:

Toysmith Giant Tic-Tac-Toe Game Cardinal Toss Across Game

Homemade Poopourri Spray

Published on December 26, 2017December 20, 2017 by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin BlogLeave a comment

**Please note this post does contain affiliate links to which I may, possibly, earn a small commission from if you click on and purchase an item. For full disclosure click here.

Homemade Poopourri Spray

Ingredients:

20-40 drops of your favorite essential oil or a blend of oils (my favorite for this spray is Purity Blend) **you can use more or less depending on your own preference
1-2 t. alcohol
8 – 12 oz of water (just enough to fill your spray bottle– I use one like this but ones like these may work better but you would divide this recipe between them)

Directions:

Add the oil, alcohol, and water to your bottle and shake to mix. You may need to shake this a little before each use also.

Keep the bottle somewhere close to the toilet but out of reach of little hands.

Spray a couple of squirts in the toilet before you go and give it a try.

Homemade Poopourri Spray

Published on December 21, 2017November 13, 2019 by Susie @ Kirby's Kabin Blog1 Comment

Recently I was asked to purchase some ‘Poo Spray‘. We have one small bathroom to share among all of us and the idea was a good one however when I researched the prices on Amazon they were rather expensive. So rather than flushing all that money away, I decided to make my own. Continue reading “Homemade Poopourri Spray” →