Category Archives: Household Tips

Household Tips for Cleaning and Organizing

Restoring auto trim

Posted on by March 13, 2014avatar
Restoring auto trim - The DIY Girl

Sheesh — I’ve been so bored waiting between house showings that I’ve worked on all sorts of weird projects that were easy to quickly put away. Here’s another one. I have a 2006 Xterra. I love my little SUV and plan to drive it until it drops. I bought it used in 2008 and it has been a trooper requiring very little in the way of repairs. The fuel gauge sensor died around 50,000 miles, a known failure, and that’s been about it except for normal maintenance. Plastic trim While I love the vehicle I have not been happy with … Read more…

What’s living in Your keyboard? How to clean a keyboard

Posted on by September 21, 2014avatar
What's living in Your keyboard? - The DIY Girl

I do a lot of typing so when my space bar started missing about half the time it became incredibly annoying. I have a wireless keyboard so I checked the batteries and they were in good shape. I was typing an email this morning and I was missing almost every space in a sentence and out of utter annoyance I got a small screw driver and popped the space bar off. My jaw dropped. There was so much dog hair and so many crumbs under it I had no idea how it had been able to function at all. Yes, … Read more…

Best knife sharpener

Posted on by September 21, 2014avatar
Best knife sharpener - The DIY Girl

My son thought the Accusharp was the best knife sharpener you could buy. I’ve researched and he was correct. On his recommendation — he actually bought one for me — I have used the thing for years. I don’t have great, high quality knives. I have the knives he purchased for me as Mother’s Day gifts when he was little. The aren’t the best quality — they ARE the best knives as far as I’m concerned, due to sentimental value. Recently they have all become pretty dull so I got out the Accusharp to sharpen them. It occurred to me … Read more…

How to whiten yellowed pillows

Posted on by March 6, 2014avatar
How to whiten yellowed pillows - The DIY Girl

Man — I can’t believe how boring it is to have a house up for sale. I have all my projects either completed or put on the back burner so everything can be put away and the house look perfect all the time. I don’t have anything to do. Hence the experiment to see if you really can whiten yellowed pillows without bleach. My pillows are in good shape so no need to replace them, but they were due for a bath (pillows should be washed a couple of times a year) and they were definitely yellowed. I didn’t just … Read more…

Dripping faucet is an easy fix

Posted on by March 4, 2014avatar
Dripping faucet is an easy fix - The DIY Girl

I have a Moen kitchen faucet that suddenly started dripping right after I put my house on the market to sell. Not exactly the look I wanted for showing – a spattered sink and dripping faucet. A failing faucet cartridge is almost always the reason for a dripping faucet and is usually not a difficult fix. Figuring out what cartridge you need In the past I have taken bathroom faucet cartridges to the hardware store and they have matched it up to the correct replacement. This time I couldn’t even get the handle off and needed directions on how to … Read more…

Tips on preparing house to sell

Posted on by March 13, 2014avatar
Tips on preparing house to sell - The DIY Girl

Maybe some things you might not think of in the flurry of activity to get your house on the market… Clean Windows — clean them and keep them that way checking before each showing to make sure dogs or kids haven’t left smears behind. If bright and sparkling sells houses, letting the light in through clean glass is the first step. Clean fans blades — you don’t want everything else to be sparkling clean and have a prospective seller look up and find caked on dust layered fan blades. Get up there with a ladder and give the entire fan … Read more…

Surge protection for appliances – do it now!

Posted on by April 19, 2015avatar
The DIY Girl - Surge protection for appliances - do it now!

After a repairman told me a surge probably fried the electronics controlling the compressor on my refrigerator and suggested I get a single outlet surge protector I started doing some research. Which appliances are at risk? Appliances used to be a lot simpler than they are now. Now everything is digital and electronic. I found the following comment on BobVila.com: Interesting how refrigerators have changed… Now 2013, leading OEM’s include leading electronics manufacturers, Samsung, LG, etc. Today they are laden with electronics, motherboards, digital displays in the door, LED’s, etc. all subject to surge damage, especially in those regions that … Read more…

Refrigerator repair – DIY or not?

Posted on by May 29, 2015avatar
Refrigerator repair - DIY or not? The DIY Girl

This Sunday I returned from a nine-day camping trip to find a totally dead refrigerator. In fact, the inside of the refrigerator was much warmer than the house since I’d turned the heat way down. Apparently the fans and other parts heat things up when the compressor stops cooling. Oh joy. It must have died several days before because everything was completely thawed and stinky and all the food was a total loss. The good news? It was a terrific opportunity to clean the fridge and freezer since it wasn’t cold and full of food 😉 Trying to look on … Read more…

Ladderless window cleaning

Posted on by April 19, 2015avatar
Ladderless window cleaning - The DIY Girl

Bucket + extension pole + brush + rags = no ladder My house sits on very hilly terrain so figuring out a flat surface to prop a ladder is nearly impossible. Mix that difficulty with my lifelong fear of ladders and I was pretty committed to figuring out a way to clean my windows without risking my life. Needed tools My goal was to do it without having to go purchase a bunch of stuff. I have had one of the Mr. Long Arm Pro-Pole Extension Poles for years. This pole has allowed me to do a whole lot of … Read more…

Cheap Magic Erasers

Posted on by September 29, 2013avatar
Cheap Magic Erasers - The DIY Girl

Do you like using Magic Erasers to clean? Are you aware they are simply melamine sponges? How they work “Rubbing with a slightly moistened foam may remove otherwise “uncleanable” external markings from surfaces. For example, it can remove crayon, magic marker, and grease from painted walls, wood finishings, plastic-adhering paints from treated wooden tables, adhesive residue, and grime from hub caps.[3] If the surface being cleaned is not sufficiently hard, it may be finely scratched by the melamine material. The foam wears away, rather like a pencil eraser, leaving behind a slight residue which can be rinsed off.” ~source Wikipedia Buying bulk quantities You may have known how … Read more…