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We've had a large Ruggable brand washable rug in Steph's house for five years. Every time she wants to wash it I kind of groan as it's a big deal to put back in place.
But not this time! We finally found the secret sauce to getting it easily back in place after washing. Along the way, Steph shares this tip and others about washing this rug.
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We are brand ambassadors for Wall Control and they provided the product we used.
If you're a collector of Lego, you know that all the tiny pieces are very hard to sort and store. Steph has tried many systems over the years to try to contain and control the chaos, but nothing has proven to be perfect.
By utilizing Wall Control panels to enlarge the Lego Wall, and using plastic Wallwerx jars, we think this is pretty much the perfect solution for all those small pieces. Take a look and see if you agree.
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These clear shoe boxes seemed to be silly until we noticed Costco staging them with items other than shoes.
We were intrigued so we bought a set of four! Steph immediately was flummoxed as to why the instructions had to be so difficult. She fixes that in this video!
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Our local library offers a "Library of Things" where tools, games, electronics, and more can be checked out free of charge.
We noticed that one of the tools that could be checked out was a Ryobi 2000 PSI pressure washer. We've actually had a lot of experience with pressure washing. We have a Ryobi 2300 PSI electric model that we've used for the past six years so we were curious how this lower PSI pressure washer would compare. The "Library of Things" is very popular so it took a few months of waiting before it was time to head to the library to pick up the pressure washer.
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Through a newsletter put out by our county library system, we were made aware of a new service offered at our main library. It's "The Library of Things!" There are pages and pages of things like outdoor tools, toys, electronics, and more that can be checkout, just a like a book, free of charge, for two weeks.
One of those "things" was an electric auger. We wanted to try out the service and decided on the auger since we've never used one before. Read on as we dig some holes for the first time!
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Summer is a great time to tackle projects that you can do inside, out of the heat. Rehabbing old vintage lamps is the perfect "beat the heat" summer project.
When I was in 4-H some 60 years ago, I had my own tools and made my own reading lamps. I've continued to like old and unusual vintage lamps. Since they are in vintage condition, they all need work of some kind. Most often, they need rewiring to be used safely. I'm up for the task! Restoring old lamps is a very DIY friendly project. Old lamps are usually very easy to disassemble and reassembly and often the parts of interchangeable so you can use old parts to make something new. In this video, I restore three of the old lamps I've had in storage for a while.
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Steph wanted a new bench for outside her front door. The design needed to be easy to build, easy to move, as well as something that would not collect rain.
This simple design is not original as you can find many iteration all over the internet. Ours is based on a design by our blogger friend, Home Jelly, who was inspired by Ana White.
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We've been using Wet & Forget cleaning products for around seven years now. We continue to use them because they work!
Wet & Forget products are for those who do no like the clean. But they are not for anyone who wants an instant clean, that's not going to happen. But if cleaning is not your thing, but you have patience, then Wet & Forget is for you. In this post we share our two "go-to" outdoor cleaning products.
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Cleaning table fans is probably not on anyone's to-do list unless you have taken a good look at the dust and debris that has accumulated. Then, cleaning becomes a high priority.
With hotter weather approaching, now is a great time to get those fans in tip top shape. Not only will they run more efficiently but they'll no longer spew dust into the air when they are on. Let's get to it! 
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We recently added another tool to our already large collection of Ryobi 18V One+ tools. This new tool is the Ryobi 18V drain auger.
With no shortage of drains to clean at both of our houses, we thought this would make a good purchase and would quickly pay for itself by bypassing the cost of a plumber visit.
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Both Steph and I live in neighborhoods with lots of trees. While it's nice to have the cooling shade of trees, the leaves and pollen they produce necessitates constant roof cleaning in order to maintain the roof.
So, short of getting on the roof, what can be used to clear the gutters and roof? Read on as we share our experience with a gutter specific cleaning tool.
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We've been users of the Wet & Forget family of products for many years now. They work, that's why we continue to use them.
Our first introduction to Wet & Forget was their outdoor product which we first tried at Steph's house many years ago. It has worked so well over the years that she's never had to have the outside of her house professionally cleaned. While working on this post, we marveled at how good the outside of her house looked six months after the latest application of Wet & Forget Outdoor cleaner! Now, we take you inside to share the results of using Wet and Forget Shower. text by Vicki Sign up here to join our weekly email newsletter! Here are 10 projects to get your screen porch ready for spring into summer. Let's get started!
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We've had our Ranger model Solo Stove for about a year and a half. In that time, we've accumulated quite a few tools and supplies to use with it.
In lieu of buying a premade storage station, Steph came up with an idea for a storage unit that would hold the fire pit, as well as all the gear. Wall Control metal pegboard helps to optimizes the space for efficient organization of all the gear.
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This is the last part of a four-part series on the retiling of the outdoor steps at Vicki's house. To recap, the steps are 12 years, but we discovered several tiles were loose which needed immediate attention for safety reasons. Ultimately, we found that all the tiles on the first step and most of the second were loose.
To fix them, we chiseled off the old mortar, cleaned the old tiles, cut new tiles, laid them on fresh mortar, and in this post, we do the final step: grout, sealing, and clean-up.
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When we first discovered a few of the tiles on the front outdoor steps were loose, but only one was broken, we thought we'd only have to cut one new tile.
Because of this we did not want to invest in a wet saw that we would probably never use again. We set out to find an alternative way to cut tile.
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In our last post, we shared an overview of the entire process of removing the old front door step tiles though the reinstallation of the tiles.
In this video, we take a closer look at how we removed all the mortar, cleaned up the tiles, and then reinstalled them. Products:
Tools:
In all, we removed all the tiles on the first and second steps. We also removed the four vertical tiles on the first step. The verticals on the second step were holding tight so we did not remove those.
We are using a Bosch rotary hammer drill with a chisel blade to remove the mortar. We own this tool, but rentals may be available at your local tool rental store.
It took a bit of trial and error to come up with a comfortable way to use the tool. Steph actually used it upside down while sitting on a short stool. She took frequent breaks as it is a fatiguing tool to use. It's effective thought!
We certainly could not control all the flying debris, but we were able to capture much of the dust that the removal produced. We are both wearing protective gear while we work to protect eyes, ears, and lungs. We are wearing respiratory masks.
Any tiles that were actually stuck in place, we gently removed with the Bosch. We wanted to reuse as many tiles as possible.
Removing the old mortar is the hardest and most fatiguing part of this process. Pace yourself!
All of the mortar on the old tiles had to be removed so we could use them again. I used a variety of tools to clean this including a Fein multi-master with carbide rasp. It worked really well.
All of the original tiles and a few new ones we needed to cut, were laid out on the driveway to be cleaned. Use Mold Armor Rapid Clean remediation to clean the outdoor tiles of algae, mold, and dirt.
We mixed up the mortar following the instructions on the bag. We added way too much water initially so we had to add more powder. Start with a little water and slowly add to it to better control the consistency. The mixer attachment to the drill was extremely helpful. Again, use appropriate protect equipment so you're not breathing in the mortar dust.
We mixed according to the instructions creating a nice smooth consistency.
Hint: before opening the bag, take a picture of the instructions so you can easily refer to them.
The mortar is spread in a skim coat with a notched trowel. This size was one suggested for the large tile we are installing.
The mortar is then notched
We set the tiles in place using plastic spacers.
We used a toothbrush to help clean up between the tiles prior to adding the grout. We wiped the face of the tiles clean of mortar with a damp microfiber cloth.
We repeated the entire process on the second step. A kneeling pad like this one from Husky helps to save your knees.
Finishing up the skim coat on the first step.
Trying to hold the trowel at a 45 degree angle for the notching. It was awkward but Steph got better at it as the project progressed.
The vertical tiles were tricky to keep in place. We used plastic shims for spacing and heavy objects to keep the tiles against the concrete step.
Putting the tiles into place.
Checking to see if the tiles are level to each other.
All finished and ready to grout which we did 24 hours later.
Whew! The mortar removal and tile clean up were very labor intensive, but the actual tiling process was fairly quick and very satisfying to see it all come together.
Please note: This is not a sponsored post. We are not professionals, and we don't claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first! Affiliate links are being used on this page. Purchasing via these links help support MDP. Related Projects
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Not going to lie, this project was hard!
What started with "oh, we can stick down three loose tiles" turned into a major undertaking. Once we started to survey the front steps and discovered it was way more than three tiles, we definitely were concerned we were undertaking something beyond our abilities. With a lot of help from an associate in the tile department of the Home Depot who gave us spot-on advice, and with his encouragement, we set out to undertake our very first tiling project... Here's how it went!
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In this video, we are going to show you how we utilized some parts from previous projects, wood from the scrap pile and a few purchased materials to create a mobile storage unit.
Steph has a growing collection of outdoor gear for hiking, camping, and kayaking. She had been using a variety of totes and an old plastic shelving unit to store these things in the garage. This old stuff was not working so she designed a unit that would hold all her stuff and would be movable.
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We made a sort of impulse purchase at The Home Depot of a Artika pendant light. I've been wanting to remove a ceiling fan/light from a space that doesn't really need a fan but it does need a light and this fixture looked like it would be great for the space.
We've actually installed quite a few Artika lighting fixtures. The instructions are clear and straight-forward making them relatively easy to install. text by Steph Sign up here to join our weekly email newsletter! Over the past three years, I have had many issues with the IKEA smart blind. And a month ago, it finally just stopped working. In the video above, I talk about what happened and where I am today.
Below I share some issues I had I had with the smart blind. I found through internet research, ways to fix them.
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Steph didn't love the traditional ceiling fan at her house and was ready for a change.
We and by we, I mean Steph, has installed a number of enclosed blade ceiling fans with integrated LED lighting. It's a fan but there are no large blades extending from the fixuture. We really like the streamline look. Steph had been looking for a replacement ceiling fan and when she saw this Artika brand one on the Costco website, she ordered it. We've installed a lot of Artika lighting and really like the modern, bright look of their fixtures. Take a look at how we installed this Artika Edwin LED Ceiling Fan Chandelier!
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We were send this circle jig by the woodworking store Woodcraft. We were excited to give it a try because we have never had a great way to make a perfect circle.
We also had the perfect project in mind that needed multiple circles. We did need a few extra items to go with the jig, but once we got that we were ready to go!
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Anyone with long hair can attest to the ongoing struggle to maintain a clog-free sink drain.
With her long hair, Steph is always on the lookout for the device that will keep the drain clear. In this video, she tests out two possible contenders. Take a look to see how each fared! |
Mother Daughter Projects
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