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Steph is becoming quite the expert when it comes to installing faucets! She says it's quite straight forward with the only real problem is trying to get comfortable in a very tight working space. 

Come along as she shares how she installed a new faucet in the guest bath makeover at my house. 

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As you can tell from the "before" picture, this little half bath was in need of a refresh!

Take a look at the budget makeover of this guest bath or maybe if you're fancy,  you call it a powder room! 

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Once we learned how easy it is to fake a live edge, we were hooked. We've been looking for another project where we could use the technique and found one in this half bath makeover. 

We will be adding three "live" edge shelves to this bathroom. Here's how we did it.

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I have two leaf blowers at my house. One I keep in the garage, and one I keep in my outdoor storage box for quick access. My backyard is covered in trees so it's nice to grab my Ryobi leaf blower anytime to clear the debris (although I do keep the batteries in the house).

Over the last few weeks the blower trigger switch has been intermittently not working. So I searched to see if there was a fix, and here is how I fixed it!

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Summer time activities with my grandkids included teaching the two younger ones to sew. Although, I have a Janome sewing machine that I use on a regular basis, I have a few vintage ones as well that I like to use.

Many years ago, my mom passed along her vintage Singer 401A to me. She purchased the machine in 1960 for the sum of $298.70. (That also included the wood cabinet). In today's dollars that would be equivalent to $3,078.92! This is the machine that my sisters and I learned to sew on as 4-H members. 

While teaching the grandkids, I decided to get the 401A out and let them use it to practice on. It was actually quite an emotional moment seeing them use this machine that I had learned on almost 60 years ago!

We were humming along quite nicely with it when I decided it was time to learn to use the zig zag stitch. Well, I turned stitch selector knobs or at least tried and nothing happened!

After, they left for the summer, I did a little research to see if I could fix what was wrong. Spoiler, yes, I did get it working once again over the course of three days. But it was not a quick fix!

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My daughter-in-law needed a place for all the things the grandkids bring into the house after school. She needed some kind of landing zone for backpacks, shoes, school supplies and more!

This is what we came up with. Since she is in an apartment and plans to move in the future, we built it with that in mind. It can easily be taken apart and moved to a new location. 

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We have two amazing used bookstores in town. When my grandkids come to town, we have to visit the bookstores multiple times.

During their six-week visit this summer, all the grandkids accumulated so many books! All three of them love to read so I can't say 'no' to more books.

The middle grand had run out of room for books in his room so he asked if we could make him bookshelves.

​So plans were made, lumber was bought and bookshelves took shape! It was fun to work with him on this project. 

This is a perfect beginner project. 

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Steph wanted a way to store her growing collection of miniature board games as well as a way to elevate a piece of greyhound art.

This fun project accomplishes both of those objectives! Plus, there's a surprise splash of color inside. 

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Using picture frame ledges is an easy way to arrange and display artwork in your home or office. You can rearrange anytime and never have to put another hole in your wall!

These are easy to build requiring few tools and with no waste. 

Skip the Gallery Wall and make these instead!

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Inspiration for DIY projects can come from almost anywhere! This project inspiration was from a quick clip from the movie, Princess Diaries 2. 

While watching this movie with my grandchildren, the middle child spotted a cat on a hammock and wanted us to build one for their cat, Axel. (They also now have new kitty, Bella.)

To us it looked like a PVC project so we told him we'd try to recreate it for him. 

This is how we did it.

What better than a DIY project for your pet? Well, 10 of them to choose from! Take a look at some of the pet projects we've done over the years.

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Tosh, the greyhound, has LOTS of toys because greyhounds playing with toys is super cute!

But unlike most dogs, Tosh does NOT tear up or destroy her toys. So because the humans keep buying cute toys, the toy situation has gotten out of control.

Time for some new storage to accommodate her growing collection. And, because of the design of this storage, her collection continues to rotate as she plays with them. No boredom for the grey!

We are continuing our compilation series of like projects and this week, we are spotlighting projects for the kitchen and bathroom!

All are quick and mostly easy improvements, maintenance, or repairs. 

​Take a look, maybe there's a project here that you need to tackle at your house. 

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One of the things we learned through our recent partnership with the Sunjoy Company was becoming aware of all the replacement parts they offer. 

We have a Hampton Bay grill gazebo that we got at Home Depot a few years ago. We discovered that many of the gazebos on the market today are actually made by Sunjoy and sold under various brands. But! Even if your gazebo is not branded Sunjoy, replacement canopy parts may be available. 

Replacing the canopy parts certainly extends the life of your gazebo. 

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This easy DIY may just save your life!
​
​Radon gas is the second leading cause of lung cancer. It's naturally occurring and can be found in homes and other building everywhere.

Testing is a simple way to discover if your home is at risk.

The time has come to wash the Home Reserve couch cushion covers since it's been a year. Although, the covers don't look dirty, we know they are as dogs and humans have made daily use of the couch.

Prior to attempting to wash the cover, Steph contacted Home Reserve to get first-hand information on exactly how to safely wash the cushions. She made the graphic below which summarizes their advice. (click on graphic below to download and print)

In eight years time since starting MDP, we've done a lot of home maintenance projects. Some have been massive, but others, like these, are simple and can be started and finished in the same day!

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This is a sponsored project by Sunjoy.

This is the perfect time of year to be thinking about your spring into summer outdoor living space. 

By partnering with Sunjoy, maker of outdoor structures, Steph and I were able to transform her backyard into a personal retreat with a soft-top gazebo as the centerpiece. 

While scrolling through the Sunjoy website to determine which gazebo to choose, we were immediately drawn to this one.

As we live in Florida, I think you can figure out why! (Mosquito netting!)

Storage seems to be an ongoing struggle for many people. Just how do you store all the stuff that you need or want to keep? By DIYing storage you can create exactly what you need, for the stuff you need to store.

Here are five unexpected DIY solutions to try out!

One thing you can always count on as a homeowner is always searching for better and more efficient storage! We are no exception.

Here are a variety of storage options for garages; especially if your garage is also your workshop like ours. 

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Steph is an original Harry Potter fan. We have fun memories of staying up till midnight to purchase the original books. Good times!

With her love of all things Harry Potter, she wanted to share that with her niblings once each turned 10.

This past December was Andrew's turn when he turned 10. To celebrate and to introduce him to the Harry Potter series, Steph purchased the entire book collection for him for his birthday.

To make the gift even more special, she designed a book crate especially for him to store his books. 

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* We are brand ambassadors for Wall Control and they provided the product.

With almost any hobby, sport, or fitness activity, there is always stuff that is needed which then must be stored!

Steph has been utilizing Apple Fitness + for yoga and other exercise and has accumulated a storage tub full of essential gear. Up to now, she's stored that stuff in a storage tub in the living room.  It was not a pretty sight!

She came up with a clever idea to create a mobile storage unit utilizing two panels of Wall Control to store and to hide away her exercise gear. Take a look at how it all came together. 

The unofficial title for this post should be "no more metal wire shelving!"

Each one of these closet makeover started with the same wire shelving. We've lived with this type of closet shelving to know we really don't like it at all. You've probably come to the same conclusion if you have it in your closets as well.

For each of these closets, we removed the wire shelving and customized the space in a variety of ways to meet specific needs in our homes. 

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The MDP van has been great to haul furniture, boxes, full sheets of plywood, as well as our bikes and the greyhounds. What it lacks is a center console with cupholders. 

It's a small thing, but after spilling full cups of liquid including hot coffee and water, it was time to fix the cupholder situation!

This project is very unique to this vehicle, but it might spark your imagination as to how you can customize your own car or truck to make it function better for you.

Plus, this build features some really cool adjustable cupholders that you just may want to get for your own beverage transportation. 

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One thing you can count on during January are fitness resolutions and the pressing need to store all the things!

Well, this build shares both of those things:

1. We bought e-bikes to up our fitness game
2. We built a stand so we can transport those bikes, as well as store them in the garage when not in use.

​Read on to see how we built it!