{"id":481,"date":"2012-02-15T20:16:40","date_gmt":"2012-02-16T01:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=481"},"modified":"2014-09-03T22:19:13","modified_gmt":"2014-09-04T02:19:13","slug":"tools-you-can-reuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=481","title":{"rendered":"Tools you can reuse"},"content":{"rendered":"

As some of you may know I have been focusing on how to reuse more and throw away less at home and in the Kelly Sherman Design world. \u00a0Sometimes this is easier said than done of course, especially when there are so many\u00a0convenient, disposable things out there to use. \u00a0 But I have kind of made it a challenge to myself to see just how clever I am and come up with ways to do it.<\/p>\n

So today I will share some of the ideas I come up with in the shop. \u00a0My main focus for the design business is to sell healthier, more eco-friendly sustainable products but the process is important too. \u00a0If the paints are better but I throw away so much unnecessary waste am I really doing much good after all?<\/p>\n

Here is a pic of some of the tools I use with this in mind.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So starting at the left on the top row-<\/p>\n

1. Art paint brushes – I got these for a dollar or two in the clearance section of Michael’s. \u00a0They are great for touch ups and fixing the places where there is supposed to be a straight line but because of your (my) inability to use blue painters tape there isn’t. \u00a0Something like these<\/a>. \u00a0The main thing is the bristles are stiff \u00a0to give you better control.<\/p>\n

2. Foam brushes – These are usually thought of as disposable but they shouldn’t be. \u00a0They hold up to numerous washing and can be reused over and over. \u00a0I label mine with what I used it for with marker on the handle. \u00a0That way I can reuse it to apply clear finish without having to worry there is still a bit of paint I didn’t wash out still in there.<\/p>\n

3. & 4. Foam rollers and roller handle – I know these aren’t biodegradable etc but they hold up well to washing and reusing. \u00a0 If they would make something I could use and compost I would be all in, but they don’t. \u00a0So I use what I can reuse. \u00a0These are great for getting a very smooth coat of paint and they come in a bunch of sizes for all different projects. I label mine on the edge in marker so I know what I used it for. \u00a0I use a lot of white paint so there is no reason to use a new one each time.<\/p>\n

5. Sanding sponge – This looks slightly like a scrubby pad you would wash dishes with but it’s actually like sandpaper. \u00a0These come in different grits and I use the fine grit<\/a>\u00a0 in between coats of finish to get the rough stuff smooth. \u00a0These are also great to use when paint stripping and can be squished into little corners. \u00a0And when cleaning up and some paint has dried and it’s hard to get up, use this.\u00a0 The best part is you can wash and reuse and they last a long time. \u00a0I usually have at least two in rotation – one marked “poly” and the other “paint”. \u00a0I try to keep things separate so I don’t get paint flakes in my clear finish.<\/p>\n

6. An old spoon – This is a spoon that has lost the rest of it’s set. \u00a0I use this daily. \u00a0Paint stores love to give you handfuls of paint stirrers that you use once and throw away. \u00a0Use this instead (or a bigger serving spoon for gallons of paint) then wash. \u00a0It’s very handy for scooping out small amounts of paint into a small roller tray without having to pick up a whole gallon and worry about spilling. \u00a0 It doesn’t soak up a lot of paint and is easy to wipe off so you waste less paint. \u00a0And it’s easy to clean. (p.s. – That is not paint stuck to the spoon. \u00a0That is the reflection of the ugliest neon yellow fleece you will ever see that I paint in)<\/p>\n

7. 5-in-1 tool – There are way more than 5 uses for this thing. \u00a0Mostly I use it to open paint cans and strip paint. \u00a0But it did help me gently scrape off a glob of dried paint off a drawer and loosen a screw the other day. \u00a0This is also very washable.<\/p>\n

8. Metal bristle brush – This brush will save you lots of money. \u00a0Really, you say? \u00a0Yes, I say. \u00a0When you have paint that has dried on your paint brush bristles take this and comb the bristles while you rinse the paint out. \u00a0When you have dried paint on your spoon, roller handles trays, anything really you can use this to scrub it off. \u00a0It will keep all of your tools in good shape and clean of paint which means you don’t throw it out and have to buy a new one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Other tools that I didn’t take a picture of:<\/p>\n

9. Good paint brushes – If you buy good quality paint brushes, clean them when you are done (or taking a break) with the help of your metal brush, you will have them for a long time.<\/p>\n

10. Jars with lids – Currently the half a gallon of primer I have is divided into 2 glass pickle jars I had saved. \u00a0After opening the paint lid 400 times it was dented and useless. \u00a0I put the primer in the jars so it won’t go to waste. \u00a0(I used a sheet of plastic between the jar and lid to get a tighter seal). \u00a0Once I use the primer I can reuse the jars in the shop. \u00a0Jars are also great at holding lots of stuff while letting you see it making it easier to find.<\/p>\n

11. Rags – I use rags for cleanup, for wiping off stain, for lots of things. \u00a0Any kind of fabric will work and may give new purpose to those stained shirts. \u00a0I highly recommend using \u00a0shirts from old boyfriends. \u00a0Cutting them up and wiping up paint is cathartic.<\/p>\n

12. Shower curtains – if yours has seen better days use it as a drop cloth. \u00a0Mine has stood up to my stripping furniture on it and is easily wiped off.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I could go on and one but these are some basics. \u00a0Many of these come about because I didn’t have the things I wanted to use (paint stirrer) and looked around for something that would work instead (spoon). \u00a0Many times I find I like the new fangled contraption better and keep using it. Or maybe I’m just cheap. \u00a0I am Scottish as TB likes to remind me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As some of you may know I have been focusing on how to reuse more and throw away less at home and in the Kelly Sherman Design world. \u00a0Sometimes this is easier said than done of course, especially when there…
Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[20],"tags":[67,68,66],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/RidiculousRedhead-tools.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1J4KT-7L","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":152,"url":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/?p=152","url_meta":{"origin":481,"position":0},"title":"The Green & White Drum Table","date":"September 19, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm not sure of the exact year this little gem was made but it was definitely in the Era of Ugly. You know the type. 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Today we will start with these personalized cedar sachets I made as a small gift.\u00a0 These are pretty eco-friendly\/sustainable since everything but the filling was stuff I had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Green Ideas"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ridiculousredhead.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/IMG_0463.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=481"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":509,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481\/revisions\/509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ridiculousredhead.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}