HANDY TIP #8

Don't waste your time while painting.

I hate edging and it will stop me from painting for years so instead of spending time wrapping tape around door frames and windows, I bought this little number at the hardware store.








- Adjustable guide wheels for fast, clean trimming
- For clean, sharp trim lines on walls, ceilings, doors, windows and mouldings USES:
- Painting interior and exterior window sash and storm sash, trimming, ceiling lines, baseboards, door frames, window frames and mouldings

HANDY TIP #7 - Clogged Toilets

How to unclog a backed up up toilet.

First, some tips:
- Rubber or some sort of glove are recommended.
- Don't attempt with your best towels on the floor beside the toilet.
- DO NOT pour Drain-O or any other drain de-clogger into the watery mess, it will foam up and become even more disgusting.
- Prevention is key to avoiding a backed up toilet. Watch what you flush

1) Stop flushing the thing! It WILL overflow!
2) Buy a plunger
3) Stick the plunger in the grossness, aligning the suctiony part to the hole that the water goes into.
4) Push, SLOWLY down.
5) SLOWLY pull the plunger away from the hole, not coming out of the watery goop all the way.
6) Listen as the gunk releases, (sounds like a dog throwing up).
7) Repeat steps 3 to 6 until the water starts to move into the whole.
8) The grossness will probably drain into the hole. Say bye-bye!
9) If this does not work and you start to get vigorous with your pumping, call a plumber. You may have an "It".

HANDY TIP #6 - Changing Seasonal Tires

OK, here's a good money saving manly tip:

If you have a second set of tires for winter driving, I suggest getting another set of rims (start calling Rec yards for 2nd hand ones - I got mine for $20 each. They don't have to be pretty because they'll be covered in snow and mud in the winter - plus you can always paint them). This way, you can take the rims and the tires to a shop and get the rubber put on once (about $65-ish) and you're done. When the seasons change and you want to swap tires, you can remove and add the other set yourself.

Each time I went to get my summer swapped for winter rubber and visa versa, I was paying about $70. That's twice/yr because you need to swap tires twice. Now, I just jack up my truck (if you're really lucky, you have a neighbor who has a hydrolic-lift) and change the tires myself, saving roughly $140.

PS-make sure you have the e-brake on AND blocks behind the two tires on the ground.

HANDY TIP #5 - Tool Buying

A handy site for help in tool-buying...

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/powertoolprimer

HANDY TIP #4 - Save heat in your house

Save the heat in your house...

1. Clear-caulk (any hardware store - $10) along the trim of all windows and doors. There are, in some cases, some pretty good gaps from where the trim meets the wall, letting air in.

2. Cover all windows with plastic window wrap (any hardware store - $30). HUGE difference. In the spring, peel the plastic wrap carefully off the windows and fold it for re-use next year. Label which window it goes on; this saves plastic, saves time (re-measuring every year) and saves $$$.

READER COMMENT

I do not own any power tools. Or any tools other than a pair of scissors, a multibit screw driver, and some sort of tape. I still manage to fix things on my own. Real women fix things with their bare hands! Haha! Rrarr!

And ladies, don't feel bad if you don't know the names of tools either. Just because you don't know what that do-hickey with the thing-a-majig is, doesn't mean you can't figure it out and get the job done. I have fixed things like; a dishwasher, a lawnmower and a large closet door without knowing the names of parts or the tools required to fix them. Just get 'er dun!

PS - it is, however, beneficial to know the basic parts of a car. Mainly to avoid being screwed at the auto repair shop.

READER COMMENT

A little tidbit for those of us who love stuff from IKEA...you DO NOT need a man to put these items together. I managed to put together a double sized dresser with 6 rolling drawers all on my own. P.S. You will probably get it put together properly on the first try and much faster as we tend to read those white pages called "instructions".