My closet demon is messiness, that tends to get worse over time.
I have to make a conscious effort to get rid of old, ill fitting, or worn clothing, and find time to try on everything in the closet that may not fit right, or look right.
Some favorite shoes in a pile, that are way past their usable life? – I had to learn to let go.
You also have to put everything away when it comes back from the wash or dry cleaners.
Too many hangers? gotta go, gotta go!
Get bins for camera stuff, accessories, coin collections, etc. Clear things off the floor, get a shoe rack, tie rack, etc. Whatever makes sense.
It may not happen in a day (without extreme measures), but it can be done.
If necessary, get a closet organizer (from the big box store, container store, etc.) and carefully look at everything before putting it away. Strong lighting helps identify stained, worn, aging or discolored goods. Be ruthless – you can always get more.
Good luck with taming your closet demons! Fight the good fight!
I use a larger battery, like the 3 or 4 amp, and it has a laser guide to cut right on a pencil line. Or I spring clamp a board to the work as a guide for the saw shoe.
Let me tell you why it’s my favorite – I do a lot of work with 3/4 inch stock, and 1/2″ – 3/4″ plywood. (This little saw is not really suited for cutting larger 4×4’s or 2×6 boards)
No cord to get stuck on the work and pull you off the pencil mark; larger Lithium-Ion batteries give this little baby some power, and it is lightweight and quick – just grab it and go. Mine has the depth preset at about an inch.
Best part about this tool, is that it is carried at all Home Depot stores. If I manage to break it, I am 20 minutes away from picking up a new one. and yes, it is primarily a “homeowner-grade” tool, but it is accurate and well suited enough for my day to day woodworking. It is also available in the Ryobi Combo kit, like this one, where you get extra tools and batteries for big savings.
As there are improvements in the technology coming all the time, I expect to have new favorites, but this baby is a keeper. (Update: they just released the 7 1/4″ version. I may need to upgrade).
On more point; Don’t forget safety – just because it is quick and easy, keep the glasses, mask, and apron handy. And sweep up! don’t be tracking sawdust all over! Keep the dust broom and pan handy.
I hope you found my point of view enlightening and informative.
The best way is to stop 90% of the dust before it settles in the garage! Use a dust collector, sweep the sawdust and chips off your bench and tools into a dustbin or onto the floor, where you can sweep it up.
Make sure you wear a mask, you don’t want dust piling up in your lungs either!
There are devices like “cyclones” that allow the dust to collect in a barrel.
Cyclones pull out most of the dust and debris before they enter the shop vac or dust collector, and keep the bag or filter from pre-maturely clogging, by making your dust collector a “two-stage” dust collector.
When the dust piles up, you have to stop and take a minute to clean the shop (safety first). When your shop is a garage, you have a lot more than tools in there – bikes, food storage, shelves with assorted car/sports/cookout “stuff”, etc. You can’t always brush all this off in a quick and easy manner. So you may want to use a compressed air blower, or leaf blower (on low power), to blow the dust away. You can also throw a drop cloth or garbage bag over things to keep the dust off. I once leaned a 4×8 sheet of plywood against some shelving, to deflect the dust. When you have a lot of parts, or christmas lights, etc., you can consider putting things in bins like these Storage bins on Amazon.
Remember to label them, and try to buy uniform sizes. They will definitely keep the dust out! Not everything may fit (like golf clubs), but it keeps things clean and less messy. Wait for them to go on sale if possible, so you can save money on storage.
Sometimes dust builds up, and this is bad – dust is explosive because it is combustible and has a lot of surface area. see Dust explosion – Wikipedia
So use air (compressed or leaf blower), brooms, hand brooms, and dustpans, and eliminate the dust.
TIP: If you have clean sawdust, like pine or hardwoods, you can use them around the garden or in the composter (if you have one). Don’t use particle board or treated lumber sawdust in the garden, as they have chemicals that can leach into your plants. You can also use the dust to fill small holes in the ground too.
When you collect the dust to put in the trash, I highly recommend using a contractor grade trash bag. Dust gets every where when the sanitation men dump it in the truck, and the bag keeps it contained and easy to handle. It will also keep small sticks and any nails or debris from getting loose and puncturing a tire.
After you clean the dust out of the garage, you may find a lot has stuck to you! make sure you clean it off with compressed air or a brush. especially before you go in the house (consider this helpful marital advice).
I hope you found my point of view enlightening and informative. Consider sharing it
Let me say that I love my Keurig.
I can make one cup at a time. With friends we can have different coffees, and I can even grind and brew a cup using a refillable my K cup basket.
The Keurig is convenient, quick, and easy to maintain.
But there is a growing problem.
Recycling the K Cups.
A foil or plastic top, sealed to the cup
Ground coffee
Coffee filter made of paper or hybrid synthetic
plastic cup
In it’s entirety, K cups are not recyclable due to having different materials that are hard to break down. The only way to effectively deal with this is to break apart the k cups individually, and recycle each component, or send them to a facility that does this for you.
If you can’t be bothered, since convenience is the reason why we use store bought K cups in the first place, there are special services:
Keurig had a mail-in program for recycling K-cups, but since they are switching from #7 to #5 Plastic for the cups, here is their recommended procedure, from Keurig Recycling:
“Since we began working with Preserve’s Gimme 5 program for our Vue® pods in 2013, curbside access to recycling for #5 plastics has increased significantly. With increased access, we are now asking that beginning in April 2016 you drop your brewed Vue® pods in your regular curbside recycling, after removing the lid and coffee grounds, rather than mailing them back through the Preserve program. Please check with your local community to confirm.”
Even with the recycling tool (which has recessed cutters) saving the grinds for recycling or compost is a messy affair. After you remove the lid, digging out the grounds can be messy and rinsing off the filter and cup is necessary to prevent excess mold buildup in the recycled cup.
Being a woodworker gives me an advantage in prototyping a device to make emptying the K cup easier. Here is my design, Which can be duplicated by you or anyone with basic carpentry skills.
It is my pleasure to show you my K cup recycler prototype:
The device consists of 3 pieces of 1 x 4 pine, assembled with glue and screws (nails would work fine too). This model fits neatly over a dollar store reusable plastic container, to hold the grounds.
It measures approximately 8 – 1/2 inches wide and 7 – 1/2 inches in height.
Here it is in use:
TIP: Let the K cups sit for a day to dry out, the coffee grinds come out easier.
The hole in the top was made with a 1-1/4 inch hole saw. This image is of me emptying a reusable K cup by tapping it on the block, with the grinds falling through the hole into the container. An open plastic bag can be placed over the container, so that you can pick up the grinds without pouring them into the bag, so you won’t get grinds all over.
This simple device eliminates the need to spoon or use a popsicle stick to get the grinds out. All you do is tap the K cup over the hole, and then rinse the reusable k cup. A regular k cup would require rinsing, cutting out the paper filter, and then tossing in the recycle bin. The best part is that the grounds are compostable and will really help out the gardeners tha want to have rich coffee grinds in their soil. Rose bushes really like them.
I plan to make some improvements in the design, and consider selling them – any thoughts? Does it need a kickstarter, or GoFundMe?
Thank you for reading this, and helping recycle some of the 6 billion k cups that are out there!
Carpentry is a great skill to learn. Observe carpenters at work, and read “how to do it” websites. This will show you the basics.
Accumulate some hand tools, and a good tool bag or apron. Always remember, “safety first”. Look for apprentice or helper jobs, what you learn will be invaluable. Carpentry encompasses framing, concrete forms, roofing, siding, sheetrocking, finish carpentry – you have a lot of choices for your “niche”.
I found this book indispensable, and keep a copy around so the ideas are fresh, especially on layout and project planning:
It’s all about Primary colors. As an example, mixing orange is a base of red with yellow copiously added. it is good to understand the “Color Wheel” when you need a specific color. Here is an article on it: All about Paint Color Mixing: Chart the Wheel & Mixing Guide – Artists network
My mother was an art teacher. She really emphasized the color wheel, and it was a great tool for understanding the primary colors and their relationship to all the colors. Her students became little Picasso’s!
When matching colors, you can bring your color wheel to a store, and get the paint mixed spot-on!
Here is a University of Tennessee bottle carrier I made for a friends birthday:
They have adhesive strips, hooks, and velcro. Just make sure you use the right ones for what you are hanging, to ensure they can support the weight. I usually clean the wall first, so there is no grease or anything that will cause the command strip to fail. I buy them on Amazon, but you can get them at Home Depot, Lowes, Target, Ace, and other stores.
Because the command strips are not permanent, you can pull the adhesive off the wall when you move – with no damage.
double sided tape should be used with care, as it may permanently adhere and cause problems when you try to remove the item (like pulling paint of the wall).
Sometimes you need to cut loose – and you want to have a really cool place to do it; so you do what any self respecting carpenter does – you build a Tiki bar!
I had some treated wood left over from some projects, and some waferboard from a siding repair. Perfect for a basic bar! Plus I had some exterior paint and a set of casters, so the bar could roll out of the way. Here is the basic bar:
I rabbeted the landscape ties for the bar rail, and used simple butt joints and exterior screws for almost everything else. The shelves are fixed and fit buckets and covered storage bins, for extra glasses, napkins, bar tools, straws, and giveaways for kids (tiki necklaces, porpoise bracelets, and stickers, From Amazon).
The important thing to remember is that you are using scrap wood, leftovers and pallet pieces. there is no “wrong” way to build a Tiki bar.
The important dimensions are as follows:
Bar height = 42″ (pl;us or minus an inch or 2)
bar width = greater than 36″ depending on available material
Bar depth = greater than 14″, Top should overhang and be supported to prevent falling forward (see the “foot” extensions on my design)
Bar stool height = 30″ or so
Bar stool seat = big enough to support someone’s bottom
Make sure you sand everything smooth, so your guests don’t get splinters, and paint the bar to get the appropriate Tiki look. Here is a Tiki bar I built for a client on Long Island, complete with roof, Back bar and a salvaged ceiling fan:
The author and his Daughter at the Tiki bar. Yum!
Now you have no excuse, but to get ready for the spring and summer with a neat Tiki bar of your own design and some cool tiki drinks!
If you are cutting LARGE sheets and have sawhorses (and a good “reach”), a track saw will be faster and easier than passing a 4′ x 8′ sheet of plywood over the blade of a table saw, and give a decent cut (provided the blade is sharp, with the correct number of teeth, and the operator is skilled).
For almost everything else, a properly aligned and set up table saw will do Much much more than a track saw. Here is my bias – I view a track saw as a “one trick pony”. I use an aluminium guide or a really straight board when I cut a plywood sheet. It’s fast and easy, and you can “dress” the edge afterwards. I also don’t have to store a single purpose tool just for these occasions – my skilsaw, guide, and clamps are easy to get to.
Some of them even have a mount for a router, (or you can convert it), and you get very high quality cuts.
I owned a cabinet shop, and your plywood could slide vertically into this saw (it just takes up wall space), and you can stack the finished parts on a cart, ready for the next step
To Recap, either saw will cut clean if it has a sharp blade and is setup and used properly, but you have to determine your needs based on what you build. I have a bias towards the table saw and a good panel saw.
Best of luck with your cutting, and remember to wear a mask and eye protection!
Irish coffee never appealed to me, until Father Adams himself explained that I was doing it “All Wrong”, and set me on the path to a righteous cup of Irish coffee, like a dram of Irish mother’s milk.
You will need
Irish Whiskey – Jamesons or equivalent
Irish Cream Liquor – Baileys or any good brand
Fresh brewed coffee, medium roast, without any flavors or adulteration (that means a plain cup of Joe)
Whipped cream – Fresh or from a can
Optional: Green sugar crystals – for decoration and “sugaring the rim” Irish coffee Glasses– get a mess of ’em, invite your pals and kinfolk!
Preparation: Wet the rim of the glass, and either rub green sugar crystals on it, or prepare without the sugar garnish.
Pour in a shot of Irish whiskey
Pour in a shot of Irish cream liquor
Pour in fresh brewed coffee, filling to about a 1/2″ (one or two fingers) from the top of the glass
Add a dollop of whipped cream to the top
sprinkle some green sugar crystals to add some color.
SERVE AND ENJOY.
Depending on your artistry, cleverness, and sobriety, the measurements are not “exact”, and you are invited to adjust the ingredient mix to your individual taste. don’t be afraid to add nuts, food coloring (to the whipped cream) and more. Be creative and enjoy this wonderful beverage!
I hope to have truly inspired you to create a drinkable dessert which will elevate you to a new level of respect and glory with your peers. Make yours an Irish Coffee! -Alan
sweep the sawdust and chips off your bench and tools into a dustbin or onto the floor, where you can sweep it up.
, you don’t want dust piling up in your lungs either!
or garbage bag over things to keep the dust off. I once leaned a 4×8 sheet of plywood against some shelving, to deflect the dust. When you have a lot of parts, or christmas lights, etc., you can consider putting things in bins like these 
– for decoration and “sugaring the rim”
