Blog Post

4 DIY Solutions for Your Bathroom Space

Katherine Martin • December 1, 2017

All of us are looking for ways to make our living spaces more efficient whilst keeping the style intact; and certainly the bathroom space is no exception. The question becomes, “How do I do this without spending a small fortune on renovations and upgrades?” The answer is simple…You get creative!

The following are four stylish bathroom hacks that will help you declutter and organize, all for the cost of a few cups of coffee (or tea, if that’s your thing!)

Creative Shelving Units

The first (and most obvious) solution for getting your bathroom clutter organized is by way of conveniently placed, ideally designed, and most definitely inexpensive shelving units. This may sound daunting, especially if you, like me, lack meaningful shelves in any and all of your bathroom spaces. But never fear! There are easy and effective ways to make this happen!

Wicker baskets (and the like)

This image is from diyready.com and can be found here

Baskets (of various sizes) can be hung from any wall in your bathroom via a drywall anchor (or two) and a simple screw (or two). This technique will not only showcases a classic, rustic homestead piece (the basket); it will also give you ample room to store whatever it is that you need to store.

Obviously, if you don’t have baskets, other items can be utilized here. The key is the shape. If it’s deep enough to hold that which you need it to hold, and “the look” is there, than go for it!

The Hanging Shelf

Nothing beats the satisfaction of framing your own shelf. Now, before you get scared and run…relax. This job includes only a few tiny pieces of lumber, a small length of rope, a small can of wood stain, and a hanger (with another drywall anchor/screw combo). This piece can be easily hung over a toilet or on an empty wall. Plus, not only does it provide shelf options, you can beam with pride when you tell your guests that you fashioned it yourself, out of a tree that you found in the forest, and cut down, yourself…right? Too far?

Custom Towel Rack Solutions

Related to the shelving units, we find ideas related to hanging towels. Simply, you’d be mistaken if you stopped at the classic rack; because there’s a world of options out there for you to try out.

The Ladder Rack

An old wooden ladder, properly restored, can act as a great hanging rack for towels, face cloths and clothing items fresh out of the washer.

This image is from charmbraceletdiva.blogspot.ca  and can be found here

“His” and “Hers”

His and her towel racks are not only interesting design wise; they’re functional. No longer will your spouse have rights to your towel because he or she didn’t know that it was yours. Those days are over.

Wine Rack/Towel Rack

This image is from hubpages.com  and can be found here

Yes! The wine rack has uses for things other than wine. namely…towels! In all seriousness though, these racks can be very inexpensive and can hold several towels at a time; all the while looking classy, interesting and unique to boot! What’s not to like?

Vanity Organization

Most bathrooms that I’ve seen (and experienced) contain drawers that are simply overflowing with stuff. Avoid this travesty at all costs by dividing (and therefore conquering) the drawer’s contents. Kitchen utensil holders work fabulously here. These pieces are simple, functional, and nobody has to see them but you, so the questions surrounding kitchen organizational tools in your bathroom will be minimal.

Continue with your vanity realignment by adding some simple hanging shelves into the inside the cabinet door. A simple magazine rack can work well here, and can be attached via a couple small screws (just make sure you don’t go so far as to pierce the outer side of the door).

The Mason Jar (For all your hipster storage needs)

This image is from thediyplaybook.com  and can be found here

Mason jars are useful for lots of things: storing jams, holding pickled items and also dispensing soap…That’s right! Also (and perhaps a little more seriously), these jars can be formed into wonderful mini storage units. They look great, too!

There are obviously lots more ideas out there, but hopefully these few have gotten your creative juices flowing, and have ignited your imagination. There’s lots you can do; so what are you waiting for?

Katherine Martin


Origin Mortgages

Phone: 1-604-454-0843
Email: kmartin@planmymortgage.ca
Fax: 1-604-454-0842


RECENT POSTS

Improving Your Credit Score

By Katherine Martin • February 19, 2025
Your credit score and how you manage credit are huge factors in qualifying for a mortgage. If you want the best interest rates and mortgage products available on the market, you want a high credit score. Here are a few things you can do to improve your credit score. Make all your payments on time. Making your payments on time is so important; in fact, it might just be the most important factor in managing your credit. Here's how credit works. When you borrow money from a lender, you agree to make payments with interest on a set schedule until the debt is repaid in full. Good credit is established and maintained by making your payments on time. However, If you break the terms of that schedule by not making your payments, the lender will report the missed payments to the credit reporting agencies, and your credit score suffers. It’s that simple. The more payments you miss, the lower your score will be. If you fail to make payments for over 120 days, the lender will most likely send your debt to be recovered by a collection agency. Collections stay on your report for a long time. So the moment you realize you have missed a payment or as soon as you have the money for it, make the payment. If something prevents you from making a payment, consider contacting the lender directly to let them know what happened and work out an arrangement to make the payment as soon as possible. It's good to note that lenders only report late payments after a payment is 30 days late. If you miss a payment on a Friday and catch it the following Monday, you won't have anything to worry about - except maybe an NSF fee. Now, just because payments don't report until being 30 days late, don’t get comfortable with making late payments; the best advice is to pay your debts on time, as agreed. Stop acquiring new credit. If you already have at least two different trade lines, you shouldn’t acquire new trade lines just for the sake of it. Of course, if you need to borrow money, like to purchase a vehicle to commute to work, go ahead and apply. Just remember: having more credit available to you doesn’t really help your credit score. In fact, each time a potential lender looks at your credit report, it may lower your credit score a little bit. With that said, if you already have two different trade lines and your lender offers you an increase on your limit, take it. A credit card with a $10k limit is better for you than a credit card with a $2k limit because how much you spend compared to your credit card's limit impacts your credit score. This leads us directly into the next point. Keep a reasonable balance. The more credit you use compared to the limit you have, the less creditworthy you appear. It’s better to carry a reasonable balance (15-25% of the card’s limit) and pay it off each month than to max out your credit cards and just make the minimum payments. If you have to spend more than 25% of your card limit, try to remain under 60%. That shows good utilization. Paying down your credit cards every month and carrying a zero balance will undoubtedly improve your credit score. Check your credit report regularly. Did you know that roughly 20% of credit reports have misinformation on them? Mistakes happen all the time. Lenders misreport information, or people with the same names get merged reports. Any number of things could be inaccurate without you knowing about it. You might even have become a victim of fraud or identity theft. By checking your credit regularly, you can stay on top of everything and correct any errors promptly. Both of Canada's credit reporting agencies, Equifax and Transunion, have programs that, for a small fee, will monitor and update you on any changes made to your credit report. Handle collections immediately. When checking your credit report for accuracy, if you happen to find a collection has been registered against you, deal with it immediately. It could be a closed-out cell phone account with a small balance owing, a final utility bill that got missed, unpaid parking tickets, wage garnishments, or spousal support payments. Regardless of what it is, it will harm your credit score if it's registered on your credit report. The best plan of action is to handle any collections or delinquent accounts as soon as possible. Use your credit card. If you have acquired credit cards to build your credit score, but you rarely use them, there is a chance the lender might not report your usage, and that won’t help your credit score. You'll want to make sure that you use your credit at least once every three months. Many people find success using their credit cards for gas and groceries and paying off the outstanding balance each month. There you have it. Regardless of what your credit looks like now, you will continue to increase your credit score if you follow the points outlined above. If you're looking to buy a property and you’d like to work through your credit report in detail, let’s put together a plan to get you qualified for a mortgage. Get in touch anytime; it would be a pleasure to work with you!

How To Establish New Credit

By Katherine Martin • February 12, 2025
If you’re new to managing personal finance and you want to learn about credit, you’ve come to the right place. Establishing new credit is a bit of a catch-22. To build a credit history, you need credit. But it’s hard to get credit without having a credit history. So, where do you start? Well, the first thing you should know is that building credit takes time. It’s not something that happens overnight. If you’re looking to secure mortgage financing, you will want to have a minimum of two trade lines (credit cards, loans, or lines of credit) with a minimum limit of $2500, reporting for at least two years. If you don’t have any credit yet, the best time to get started is right now. However, that may be difficult because, as we've already identified, without a credit history, most lenders won’t feel confident about taking a chance on you. What’s the solution? Consider a secured credit card. With a secured credit card, you make a deposit upfront that matches the amount you want to borrow. A reasonable amount would be $1000 deposited on a single secured credit card. You then use your secured credit card to make household purchases and regular utility payments, paying off the total balance each month. If you default on the money borrowed for whatever reason, the lender will retain the money you put up as collateral. When looking for a secured credit card, be sure to ask whether they report to the two nationwide credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion. If the credit card company doesn't report, the credit card account will be useless for your purposes; move on until you find a company that reports to both credit bureaus. Once your secured credit card begins reporting to the credit bureaus, you begin to have a credit score; usually, this takes about three months. Now you can start to seek out a second trade line in the form of an unsecured credit card. Don’t forget to ensure that this card reports to both of the credit reporting agencies. Another option at this point could be a car loan. From here, you simply want to make all your payments on time! But what happens if you’re looking to secure mortgage financing before you have a fully established credit report? Well, if you have someone who would consider co-signing, you can certainly go that route. The mortgage application will depend on their income and credit report, but your name will be on the mortgage. Hopefully, when the mortgage is up for renewal, you’ll have the established credit required to remove them from the mortgage and qualify on your own. Although establishing credit takes a minimum of two years, it really begins with putting together a plan. If you’d like to discuss anything credit or mortgage-related, please get in touch!
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