As a new DIYer, here are my recommendations for basic tools you should own, whether you're a new homeowner, renter or beginner DIYer.

A beginner's guide on how to put together a basic DIY starter tool kit. All the essential must-have hand tools and equipment that you need for those simple DIY jobs and minor repairs around the home such as hanging pictures and building flat pack furniture.

Awesome tricks for home renovation | home improvement

Hand tools are great, but they're even better when you use them creatively for things they're not designed to do.

Don't overspend on tools you don't need. Here are the 5 best budget power tools for beginner DIY home projects. Let's get started and grow your DIY confidence!

Whether you’re changing the color of your walls, polishing jewelry or ripping a long board, these painting tool hacks will make the job a lot easier.

REMOVE OLD SEALANT & RE-CAULK USING THE SAME TOOL! Easy Caulking Tool Set is smartly designed to combine 3 practical caulking tools into 1 – Can be used as a silicone trowel, residue scraper or a sharp blade. The v-shaped sharp blade helps easily remove tough, hard-to-reach grouts from corners, joints and edges at any angle. Also you can apply scraper to gently remove glue residues. Not just for caulk removal - Comes with 6 different trowel tips to fit your needs, letting you make the sealant smooth and spread evenly for a perfectly white, clean caulk line! FEATURES: 3-in-1 Caulking Tool: Designed for either applying or removing caulk. Can be used as a silicone trowel, gentle residue scraper or a sharp blade.  Effortless Caulk Removal: The v-shaped sharp blade helps easily remove tough, hard-to-reach grouts from corners, joints and edges at any angle. Just push to remove entire caulk line without leaving residue. Universal Tips: Comes with 6 different trowel tips to fit your needs, letting you make the sealant smooth and spread evenly for a perfectly white, clean caulk line! Damage-free: Won’t cause scratches/any damage to the wall surfaces. Ergonomic Design: Anti-slip handle provides stable gripping. Also comes with an easy push-pull button for quick switch between scraper and silicone trowels. Wide Usage: Applicable for home, kitchen, bathroom, tank, window, door, sink and so on. SPECIFICATIONS: Material: Silicone, Metal, ABS Plastic Round Radius (Round silicone tips): 3R, 6R, 10R, 13R, 15R, 17R Size as below: PACKAGE INCLUDES: 1 x Easy Caulking Tool 6 x Round Silicone Tips

It's a tool you shouldn't be without

These life hacks will make your daily to-dos (plus a few random projects) so much easier! Check out what you've been missing.

If you are new to the game or dabbled for a bit then these practical must have items will make your life easier when refinishing furniture!

Whether you’re changing the color of your walls, polishing jewelry or ripping a long board, these painting tool hacks will make the job a lot easier.

You'll never know if you need these tips until you do. These hints are the ones we use every day – they're difference between a fun time in the shop and a frustrating one.

No. 4 is a must for renters.

A Recipricating Saw is one of the most versatiles tools. Here we cover 14 very different ways to use a reciprocating saw.

Tool hacks usually happen on the fly, when you’re in a situation that calls for a tool to be modified slightly or used in a way that’s different than its intended purpose. Many of the following tool hacks were created for those reasons—and some were just stumbled upon while tinkering in the shop.

Tools are usually designed and built with one job in mind, but most tools can be used for all sorts of jobs. Here are some great examples.

Here are my favorite DIY supplies, that all happen to be cruelty-free. I'll be adding to this list as I find more products, so check back often for updates!

Most homeowners can get used to outside noise, like airplanes, trains and the neighbor kid's garage band, but those persistent little sounds in our own home are what will drive you crazy. The good news is that most home noises are easy to eliminate without spending hours on repairs or a ton of money. Here is a collection of fixes for the most annoying squeaks, creaks, gurgles and bangs.

Learn my tips for painting cabinets from 15 years of experience! Paint cabinets like a pro with this list of supplies for your DIY cabinet painting project.

You probably have a couple of bungee cords in the garage, but did you know they're great organizational tools. Here's 16 bungee cord uses!

Last year when I finished painting the argyle wall in my son's room, I posted the full tutorial, and then buried down at the bottom, I shared my best tips and tricks for any painting

After sharing my paint secrets last month, I was so excited to find out how much ya'll loved them! Your enthusiasm reminded me that many of you are still learning just like I am....and I love that. I thought I would share a few more tips today, and hopefully answer a few questions that I frequently receive from readers. Some of these you might know, some you might not. Maybe you'll even have a few lightbulb moments like I did when I figured this stuff out. So, here are my 10 paint secrets...round two! #1: Make a paint chip key ring I recently made my own paint chip key ring, and it's so useful! I wish I would have done this long ago! It's just a simple key ring with all of my paint colors and paint names attached. It really comes in handy when I'm out shopping for fabric, furniture, or decorative accents like pillows, etc. To make this, I used the paint chips from all my wall colors, a key ring, and some key tags. You can find the key tags in the key department of most home improvement stores or here (Amazon affiliate link). I cut out a small square off the paint chip, glued it to one side of the tag, and wrote the name of the paint color and room it goes in on the back of the tag. I have it in my purse and take it with me whenever I go out. You could also do this with popsicle sticks, or even just laminate little pieces of the paint chips and hole punch them. *To see the paint colors we used in our house, go here. #2. How to choose a paint finish When you've never painted anything before, that first time to the hardware store is a doozy. Paint comes in a bunch of finishes and it can be really confusing when it comes to which one you're supposed to get for which project. So, after years of using different paint all over my house and my furniture, here's what type of paint I usually get for different projects: Flat paint: use for walls in living rooms, bedrooms, ceilings, or furniture Eggshell: use for walls in hallways, dining rooms, kitchens Satin: use for walls in bathrooms, or furniture Semi-gloss: use for windows, trim, doors, and cabinetry #3. Use Tack Cloth I love tack cloth. A lot. Have you ever sanded down your furniture or wooden trim before painting it and then ended up with a million bits of fuzz and dust in your paint job? It can be so frustrating to paint a piece so perfectly and find out after it's dried that there is a giant tumbleweed stuck right on top. Tack cloth is the solution for that. It's basically like a kinda sticky rag that doesn't get it's stickiness anywhere. You just wipe down the surface of whatever you're painting and it picks up everything. I use it on every single piece of furniture that I paint. #4. Furniture touch up pens These things are definitely on my list of awesome inventions. I am well known around these parts for being heavy handed with a vacuum cleaner and scratching up the legs of all our furniture. Plus, Tootie and Cheese take care of the rest of the furniture with their claws. Once a month or so, I go around the house with one of these Minwax pens and color in the scratches. I have an espresso one for our couch legs, and a black one for our desk and table. You can find these here (Amazon affiliate link). #5. Save time with artist brushes While I usually take the time to remove outlet covers, etc., sometimes (if you're like me), you've painted for endless months by yourself and you just run out of steam. This can save you some time, and the brushes are so small that you can really paint a small very precise area. I've done it in a couple rooms, and it truly looks like I took the outlet cover off. Not only does this tip work for outlets, but it works for doorknobs and hinges, and for touching up small knicks and marks on your walls, too. #6. Prime before painting wood I painted a lot of furniture before I learned about primer. It was the MOST annoying learning lesson I've endured yet, as most of those pieces ended up having to be redone. I'm sure it's common knowledge to any of you seasoned furniture painters, but for those of you just starting out (like I was a few years ago!), hopefully this tip will save you from the trauma of peeling furniture. Hopefully by now, we all know that you're supposed to sand furniture before painting it. However, unless you sand it down like you have the arms of a powerlifter, your paint won't last forever. This is where primer comes in. If you prime wood before painting, it makes your paint adhere like crazy. Even if you don't sand, primer will still make your paint stick. Ideally, when painting furniture, you would sand and prime. However, if you're short on time, if your piece is already painted, or if it's laminate, you can skip the sanding and just prime, and your paint job will look great and last for a long time. So, the moral of this story is PRIME IT. See how I paint furniture from start to finish here. #7. Wax it. When it comes to finishing furniture, wax is my favorite method. After painting tons of pieces, I've discovered that my favorite method is to sand, prime, use flat paint, and finish with wax. If the piece needs to be really durable (like a table or desk), I'll use polycrylic, but if it's just a normal piece that won't be put through a lot, I love the way a flat paint with wax finish looks. Wax isn't as durable, but it looks amazing. All you do is apply it with a rag, rub it on over the paint, let it dry and then buff it with the same rag. I used wax here, and it looks fantastic. My favorite finishing wax is the Minwax paste finishing wax in clear. It can be found here (Amazon affiliate link). #8. Cheap Sources for Paint Cans Did you know you can get empty paint cans of all different sizes at Home Depot for just a few bucks? The gallon cans are about $4 and the quart cans are about $2. This may be common knowledge, but I for one was super excited to discover a bunch of empty paint cans for that cheap. I mix and blend a lot of my own paint colors, as well as make my own chalk paint, so this comes in handy often. And there's all sorts of other things you could use them for, too! Just think of all the crafts and organizing ideas you could come up with using these. #9. Gloss spray paint I'm obviously a huge fan of all types of spray paint. However, my personal fave is high gloss spray paint when it comes to coating small accessories or ceramics. The only problem is that not every spray paint color is sold in a high gloss finish. But did you know that you can buy whatever color spray paint you want in a flat finish and then get a can of clear gloss? It instantly gives anything a glossy, factory-like finish. It's amazing. #10. My favorite gold spray paint There are a million gold spray paints out there, but they are not made equal. Don't get me wrong, they all work just fine. However, if you're looking for that certain gold color that is super trendy right now, yet always classic, my go-to gold spray paint is Rustoleum Metallic Gold. I'm using it on several projects as we speak. You can find this spray paint here (Amazon affiliate link). And that's all ya'll! Thank you so much for stopping by today! For related posts, please check out the following: Part 1 Part 3 10 Thrift Store Furniture Makeovers 10 Thrift Store Shopping Secrets Follow my blog with Follow my blog on or or Subscribe to LiveLoveDIY with email! Enter your email address: -->

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Top 10 Vise Hacks!: Get the most out of your Bench-Vise! After building three vises, I think I came up with enough tips, tricks, improvements, unusual uses, and hacks to stop you from getting screwed while DIY'ing (pun not intended!). In this Instructable I will show:…

Brace yourself for several aha! moments. These unique uses for everyday items are downright genius.

A blog dedicated to DIY, home decor, home improvement, upcycling, and holiday crafts for your home within a low budget.

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I figured out how to paint a room quickly thanks to two helpful painting tools. I recently had the chance to try out the Wagner Smart Roller and Smart Edger in our living room and they saved me so much time!

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old carpenter trick to repair furniture