Tonight, This Old House had an episode about painting Kitchen Cabinets. They went into detail about the process. Geeze, I wished I had seen this episode sometime last summer before I started painting my kitchen cabinets. It would have saved me some time and money. On the other hand, in the end, I pretty much did what they did, but I used a different kind of paint, and I’m satisfied with the job. However, if you’re going to be painting your kitchen cabinets, this episode is a must see. They recommended 5 coats (1 primer, 2 coats of acrylic and 2 coats of water based polyurethane), the home owner ended up doing 6 coats (1 primer, 3 coats of acrylic and 2 coats of water based polyurethane). The home owner also used foam rollers, just as I did.Â
January 25, 2010
January 18, 2010
Saving on Fabric Softener
With 7 to 10 loads of laundry a week, we go through a lot of fabric softener. I have an older washer and dryer, so that means that I do a wash, and then after the wash has been completed, I run a rinse with fabric softener. So basically the wash runs 1.5 times. And then last November, I saw the Bounce Fabric Softener bar. Just attach it to the inside of your dryer, and it lasts between 2 to 4 months. I bought the bar at my local grocery store for $8 and figured why not, it was worth a try. I fastened the bar to the inside of my dryer and said ”sayonara” to the liquid fabric softener that I loaded into the washing machine and the fabric softener sheets I placed in my dryer. Sure enough, it was still going strong in January.  I was still smelling the fresh smell of fabric softener every time I opened my dryer, and my clothes felt good and smelled fresh. So I figured this was the way to go. You don’t know how much time and water has been saved with the fabric softener bar. And then when I went looking for replacement bars, I found out that they don’t sell replacement bars. You have to buy the whole kit. That was a little disappointing. I hate the idea of having to purchase a kit again and again, but then once I realized that the the adhesive container isn’t really that much plastic, and when I compared that little piece of plastic to the amount of time, money and water that the bar saved, I thought it hands down worth it. There are a variety of opinions on this product however. Here, read some. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2557111/bounce_dryer_bar_review_fabric_softener.html?image=902987&cat=46. I also found a great deal on this bar at Amazon. With prime shipping, the replacement bars costs me only $6.07 a piece. However, a few days later found a better price at Amazon for $2.78 a piece with Amazon Prime, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BH4TTI/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img. Â
 
 The used up bar looks like a used up bar of soap. One reviewer stated that she puts the bars in her glove box to keep her car smelling fresh. That sounded like a good idea to me.