10 Jul Stirring Things Up
At Guthrie Construction and Interiors we tend to be known for the large, extravagant homes that we build. Granted that’s not the only thing that we do but people normally associate us with just that. At heart though, we’re handymen just like a lot of folks. We have little projects of our own that we do just for enjoyment or because it’s cheaper/easier than going out and buying some prefabricated item, that’s probably just going to fall apart in a short time anyways. That being said, we have our share of leftovers; being scraps of wood, leftover paint or whatever. With paint in particular it’s almost always a guarantee that when you’re finished you’re going to have a bunch of those hardware store mainstays…the wooden paint stick/stirrer left over. Used or not, what could you be using those for besides their obvious intended use? We got a few tricks you might be excited to learn about.
Most folks would just throw those sticks out, used or not. You can always get more right? Well we’re the type that likes to use what we can. Waste is just money in the garbage, so why not find little reasons to keep things around to use down the road? One of the easiest things for us to keep them around is for practically ready to go door shims. This may sound easy for us since we are consistently building, but you may find use yourself in that pesky door you’ve had up for years that never really was truly plumb that just needed a 5 second fix with a little paint stirring ingenuity. In much the same fashion as our door example, you can possible do the same for a sagging book shelf. It can help tighten things up where age and gravity have begun to take over.
If you’re also the type who likes their fair share of small woodworking projects, this next one may be the tip you need. You have the new whatever it may be, shelf, jewelry box whatever, that you’ve worked so hard on to make nice and have all sanded down ready for some stain or paint but it seems like you can never get those little nooks and crannies sanded quite as good as you’d like. Grab yourself one of those paint stirrers and wrap a bit of your sandpaper around the end and you’ve likely got something that will take care of the small spots while saving your fingers some ache and pain. Silly you hadn’t thought of that one, huh?
The last idea we have is actually outside of the home and goes for all you green thumbs out there. Anyone who’s ever had a garden to tend knows the aggravation of plants not spaced out properly. It’s a nuisance and may cost some of your plants if they’re too close together or waste space if too far apart. Take a stirrer and drill quarter inch holes going down the length of the stick, spaced evenly dependent on what you’re planting of course. After drilling your “guides” take the newly drilled stirrer and use it as a guide to make your holes with an old pencil or gardening tool in your tilled dirt for where the new seeds need to go. This will give you quick/easy guide to make the act of planting go a little faster.
We’re obviously not using scraps to build the Sistine Chapel or anything, but waste is waste and if you can find a function for leftover items why not put them to use. In a throwaway society like many folks consider the world nowadays, it’s nice to see value in something someone else may sooner throw away. It’s cliche’ but another person’s trash may be anothers treasure or at least an excuse to do something cooler than throwing it away.
