Monthly Archives: September 2011

Thresholdin’ It Up

Posted on by
2

We’ve recently made some small-to-large improvements in our house’s flooring by putting down FLOR carpet squares and then pulling up old carpet in another room. After we made these changes, we were left with weird carpet-to-hardwood and hardwood-to-linoleum doorway transitions. Or non-transitions. So until now, we had carpet squares that just kind of hung over the hardwood in our hallway and a bare spot that shows three (!) levels of linoleum on top of the hardwood flooring in our kitchen to dining room doorway. Instead of continuing to look at these poor transitions, I figured we could put down some simple thresholds to make the rooms seem a little more finished.

The thresholds are the ribbed metal sort that, to be honest, aren’t the best things to look at, but they’re at least a step in the right direction. Today, I got a gold metal threshold to transition between the carpet squares and the hardwood hallway and installed that bad boy.

Now, the metal thresholds come in two lengths: 36″ and something much longer (I didn’t look because I knew it wouldn’t fit). So I also had to pick up a metal hacksaw blade so I could cut the threshold to fit our doorway. Cutting almost always means measuring, so I had to do some measurements to make sure I cut the threshold to the right length. This particular doorway also has a little doorjamb piece that meant the threshold had to be one length over the carpet and a shorter length over the hardwood.

I needed the carpet side to be 30″ and the hardwood side to be just a little over 29″, so I took off a little less than 0.5″ in the middle–this is turning out not to be as clear as I want, but I think the pictures will make it easy to see what I mean.

you can see my marks for where to cut the bottom right corner off

After I measured the doorway and made some pencil marks on the underside of the threshold, I went at it with the hacksaw. A few minutes of awkward holding the threshold over a work bench to keep it steady enough to cut, I had the threshold sawed up so it’d fit in the doorway.

and here it is cut. turned out to be a little more than 0.5"

Then it was as easy as nailing it down to the floor. Ain’t nothing to it.

It might not look super fancy, but at least it’ll keep the edge of the carpet from getting pulled/messed up. There’s been talk of painting the thresholds so they aren’t so bright gold. We’ll see how bad it is to live with the gold first, I guess.

We’re thinking of using a hardwood threshold for the doorway between the kitchen and dining room. Maybe a weekend project.

Share

Alpacas Make Laundry Fun, or I Now Want a Pet Alpaca

Posted on by
6

Ed and I recently went to the Prairie Arts Festival, a fairly large arts and crafts festival held each year in West Point, Mississippi. In my 6 years as a Mississippian, I had never been, and this year I was determined to go. So we headed to West Point one Saturday morning to meander through funky crafts booths and mingle with Mississippi artisans.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by booth after booth of tacky, factory-made junk. You know what I’m taking about: no-name cosmetics bags that are lime green with big pink polka dots, comforter sets in plastic bags, sports memorabilia that is meant to look cute and girlie, etc. It was a disappointment to say the least. We must have walked by over 50 booths of this crap. Nothing was handmade. Nothing was even made in the US, much less Mississippi. A happy camper, I was not.

Then we rounded a bend and started seeing less plastic and more quirkiness. And we had found the real arts and crafts. We walked among these booths and saw a guy selling paintings that I totally wanted but couldn’t afford, a lady selling jewelry made from scrap buttons and cloth, some glass works, and more. I didn’t love it all, but I did love some of it, and it definitely had a better homemade feel.

I didn’t find anything I couldn’t live without (or that I couldn’t live without and could afford) until right before we were getting ready to leave. As we were walking back towards the entrance, we passed by this booth with scarves and lotions and such and this big basket of these funny-looking balls. Then I noticed the chalkboard sign advertising a natural alternative to dryer sheets. I’ve long felt a little guilty about using a one-time-only sheet for every load of laundry–a sheet that isn’t very biodegradable and not so sustainably produced. But what can you do, right? (Aside from hang a clothesline out back for drying, which I have seriously considered but haven’t actually done yet–nor have I run this idea by Ed.)

Anyway, back to the basket o’ balls. I stopped and talked to the vendor, and she explained that they were dryer balls made of Alpaca hair. You throw around the words “all natural” and some adorable furry animals and hand-made products from nearby and I’ll go weak in the knees in no time.

Here’s how it works: She sells them in packs of four. You put all four balls in the dryer when you dry a load of laundry. Your clothes get dry, soft, and static-free.

Here’s the good stuff: There are no chemicals or other bad stuff in them. She felts and knits (right word?) the balls herself. She (and family, I think) raises the alpacas herself right here in good ol’ Mississippi. Your clothes dry faster than when using dryer sheets, and the dryer balls last forever. Really, forever.

True story (in play form)

Me: Hmmm, how do these dryer balls work.

Alpaca Lady: (Explains process detailed above)

Me: So how long does each ball last? (Doesn’t understand that all four are used at once)

Alpaca Lady: (Explains that all four are used at once)

Me: Weeeelllll, then how long does the set last (Mentally guesses somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 months)

Alpaca Lady: Well, really forever, but I hesitate to tell people that because forever is a long time.

Me: (Mentally guesses a couple years max)

Alpaca Lady: So I feel comfortable just saying 50 years

Say what?! I know. That is forever, right? I mean, 50 years from now, will we even still have dryers? And her phrasing makes me think that they will probably last longer than 50 years, she just doesn’t “feel comfortable” verbally committing to longer than 50 years. I was sold. Twice.

I bought a set for me ($22) and a set for my mom ($22), and $44 later I left with the one purchase I couldn’t live without at the Prairie Arts Festival. She packaged them up in a little bag tied with string and a handwritten business card inside. She said, “Here’s my contact information, so you can order some for someone else because you’ll never need any more.” Now that’s someone confident in her product.

Here’s a picture of the cute package in our newly de-cluttered laundry room.

It’s only been a few weeks, but Ed and I are loving them. They’re so soft, and they do exactly what they’re supposed to do. They dry, de-static, and soften our clothes. Cathy (Alpaca Lady’s real name–I love these dryer balls so much I feel like we’re on a first-name basis) said that over time the balls will get a little fuzzy on the outside. When that happens, we’re just supposed to trim off the fuzz. No biggie.

Oh, and Cathy claimed less lint in the lint tray, about which I mentally thought “yeah right,” but she was right! There is less lint in the tray, meaning the dryer runs more efficiently. All in all, these four little balls may be the best purchase we’ve made in the last six months. And when I consider that we will likely not need dryer sheets ever again, it may be the best purchase we’ve made ever.

And here are the balls out of the package. They’re just the softest thing you’ve ever touched. It’s hard to tell their size in the pictures–they’re a little bit bigger than baseballs.

If you like your clothes to smell like something, Cathy suggests adding a few drops of essential oils to the dryer balls. We don’t particularly care about flowery laundry smell, so we haven’t done that yet. We may eventually though. If you have a dryer (and I know you do), I suggest you get yourself a set of Cathy’s alpaca felted dryer balls. You can buy them at her Etsy shop here, or you can read up on the Coldwater Alpaca Ranch (where the alpacas live) here.

Do you have any natural home product that has knocked your socks off like this one did for us? Or a DIY idea for what we could do with the box of dryer sheets we no longer need for their intended purpose?

UPDATE: In response to Jess’s comment below, I e-mailed Cathy to ask about cleaning the balls and the possibility of mildew. Here is her response:

They should not need to be washed and should not mildew. However… If you put wet clothes in the dryer and forgot to start the dryer and they laid there for a couple of days then mildew is possible. Normally they will dry with the clothes and would not mildew. They shouldn’t get dirty because you are putting them in with clean clothes. I am going to put  additional instructions on my blog as soon as I get a chance. If you ever needed to wash them you could put them in a lingerie bag and wash in the machine with hot water and soap only.

If you want to check Cathy’s blog for updates, you can find it here.

 

Disclaimer: We weren’t paid or perked for writing about this product. We just love it so much we wanted to share it with you!

Post is linked up at One Project Closer’s DIY Link It Up #1. Check it out here.

 

Share

Bathroom Envy

Posted on by
5

Big Announcement (well at least big to us): We’re planning our first bathroom (bath in the addition) update for the week of Thanksgiving (because we’ll have a few days off) and our second bathroom update (main bath in hallway) update for December (because we’ll have a couple weeks off).

We’re pretty excited–and a bit overwhelmed. And I’ve spent way too much time on Pinterest looking for inspiration.

Because I’m not quite ready to commit just yet, I’m still pinning like crazy. Here’s what has me giddy right now.

1. I’m in love with this shower enclosure. I’m pretty sure it’s out of my DIY league, but isn’t it just lovely!

2. There isn’t a single thing I don’t love about this bathroom. The bright wallpaper, the natural wood and cute little porcelain sink, the geometric mirror, and the stylish bronze light fixture. Everything.

3. If I were rich (and in possession of an old farmhouse), I’d love to have this rustic sink and vanity area. Alas, my midcentury house isn’t quite going to allow for this charm. I might be able to pull off the bead board though.

4. The back bathroom only has a shower (no tub), and we aren’t planning to change that in the remodel. I would like to open it up a little, and I think one of these hanging panels might be fun. I’m not so into the colors, but I like the idea.

5. Like in #3, I’m not sure my 1950s house can pull this off, but maybe. Oh and if I had a barn door. Isn’t this just fabulous?

As you can see, I’m not quite ready to settle on a color scheme or style for the bathrooms, but I’ll get there. We aren’t planning any major demolition–we’re keeping the tub and toilet in one bath and most likely the toilet in the other (at least for now). Most of our changes will be cosmetic, but I’d love to do at least one structural change. Maybe add a window in the shower or remove a partition and hang one of those neat panels. We’ll just have to see what strikes our fancy. And fits our budget.

What has you giddy lately? Any bathroom eye candy I need to see while I’m still gathering ideas? 

All images linked to source.

Share

Cleaning Out the Basement: Part 1

Posted on by
2

Probably one of the largest projects on our list right now is cleaning out our basement. After living here for 2 years, the basement’s gotten to be the place where things go to be out of the way. Except now pretty much everything in the basement is in the way. Plus, the basement occasionally floods when it rains hard and for long periods of time. The most recent time it flooded, we noticed some mold growing on a small divider wall midway into the basement. Now, we are not fans of the mold, so the mold had to go. So the first step in cleaning out the basement quickly became getting rid of the mold.

Before I got in there and just started tearing things down, I did a little preparation. First, I called the professionals who get rid of mold in homes to see what they would do, how much it would cost, and if I could get rid of it myself. After talking with one of the owners of the business, I felt pretty good about taking care of the problem myself as long as I did step two. Step two: I had to make sure I took all sorts of safety precautions. Since I’m not currently in possession of a hazmat suit (not that the pros suggested I use one or anything), I used a facemask to keep me from breathing in any mold, rubber gloves that kept me from touching it, and clothes that I washed as soon as I was done. I also sprayed the parts of the wall I planned to knock down and get rid of with water (so less particulate moldy stuff would be flying around in the air).

Here’s what I started with:

That’s just the bottom half of the divider wall where the mold was. I took off the board with the holes in it for hanging tools, and then basically slowly pushed the sheetrock off of the wall. The bottom half of the wall came off much easier than the top half, but none of it took too much convincing to let go of its nails.

Also, on the other side of the wall you see above was a work table that we’d put some saloon swinging doors (longish non-related story), windows, and yard equipment on. I had to move this table before I could knock the mold wall down, and when I did (move the table) it pretty much fell apart. I was freeing up space left and right.

The trash pile at the side of the road included: mold wall, saloon doors, two old non-working PA speakers (which I’d already taken apart (another longish non-related story)), and leftover linoleum rolls.

There’s still quite a bit left to do in the basement, including sweeping (which will happen this week, I promise), but at least the mold wall is gone:

You can kind of see the the end of the table that fell apart. It’s hitting the road this week too. Next up for cleaning out the basement is getting rid of things we don’t need/use/are broken. Kristen (whose favorite thing to do is get rid of things) will be a big fan.

So getting rid of nasty stuff (mold) in your basement doesn’t have to be hard, but you do want to make sure that you talk to the professionals first, and, if you’re able to get rid of it yourself, make sure you’re using the appropriate safety attire.

Share

DIY and Home Improvement Books

Posted on by
2

We’re kind of into books at our house, and we recently picked up a few home improvement/DIY books to help us get some ideas and/or instructions for our projects. Admittedly, I’ve only started one of the three books, and I’m only about halfway through with it. So I can’t really give you a good rundown on the content and usefulness of the books. Yet. But I can explain why we chose the books we did and how we hope to use them. Also, if you’ve actually read any of these books and have an opinion one way or another, tell us about it.

Book 1: The Carbon-Free Home: 36 Remodeling Projects to Help Kick the Fossil-Fuel Habit by Stephen and Rebekah Hren

I don’t remember how I came across this book, but the title pretty much sold it for me. We’ve got plenty of ideas for renovating (remodeling would be cool too) our house, and if there are ways to do that and use less energy (and save money) then we’re all about it. I flipped through this book when it came in, and the only thing I can remember about it is an outdoor summer shower project.

 

 

Book 2: Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual: Completely Revised and Updated by the Editors of the Family Handyman

The first book actually led me to this one (via Amazon recommendation or something). I read plenty of reviews that spoke highly of this book, and it seems like something any and every homeowner should own. This book is arranged by categories of home repair/renovation. The contents page looks extremely similar to English Comp handbooks (e.g., the Little, Brown Handbook), and it’s organized about as well. I’m thinking this book will be pretty helpful with lots of peripheral stuff that pops up during some of our bigger projects (so even though we might not plan on rewiring outlets when we redo our bathroom, if it looks like we’ll need to, this book should help us out).

Book 3: Super Natural Home by Beth Greer

This last book seemed, at first, to be about home renovation, but I’ve realized (because I’m about half way done with it) that it’s not really so much about renovation as getting rid of things in your house that are dangerous. The main objective of the book is to point out everyday things that contain toxic chemicals or are produced unsustainably. (This is easily the most hippie-ish book I’ve ever bought.) And there’s lots of good information about avoiding certain nonorganic foods, plastics with BPAs, and furniture containing VOCs. What I like about this book so far is that there are lots of resources listed as support and further reading.

So I’ll do more of a book-review type thing for each of these books after they’ve been read and used (to some extent).

If you’ve read/used and of these books, what did you think? Are there any other books that have been useful to you in working on your own home?

Share