These are a few of my favorite things...

There are just certain items that I use over and over again. Some of them I use for their intended purpose. The others...not so much! Here's a list of my favorite gadgets, tools and things:


1. Sticky Tack - I know that teachers love this stuff to hang up kids art and posters but you can't beat this stuff for keeping pictures straight on your wall. After you hang a picture, make sure it's level and then stick a wad of sticky tack on on the back of the frame in one of the corners. It doesn't show and it also doesn't damage the sheet rock. Crooked pictures drive me crazy!


2. Small reusable containers - Each time that I paint a room a different color, I fill up one of these little containers with the paint so that every time I need to touch up the paint, I don't have to go out and search for a big can and look for a can opener, etc. This is especially great for parents who have kids that tend to mark up the walls a lot or even if you're like me and move pictures around often. Just keep a small craft sized paint brush on hand and then it's only a matter of popping off the lid.


3. Spray paint hand gun - I spray paint...a lot! I can't believe that it took me so long to find this amazing item. It was under $6 at Home Depot and is seriously a spray painters best friend. Not only does it help your finger not feel as though it'll fall off, it also helps spray on a nice, even coat of paint. Love it!


4. Laser level - I don't even remember how much I paid for this thing because I've had it for so long. I know that they come in many different price ranges. It's great for hanging pictures level when you have more than one hanger on the back. It's also great when you want to hang pictures side by side. I have the kind that suctions onto the wall. You simply turn it on and when you see the red laser light, you line up the level and laser light. It displays a red laser light onto your wall showing you where to nail your next hole.



5. Black sharpie pen - I use a black sharpie whenever I need to touch up small scratches on any surface that is black. It's so much quicker and easier than getting out paint and a brush. Above is a picture of my black wall screen that had gotten a little beat up when I took it to a home show. The scratches were only on the edges so I just took my sharpie and colored them in. It's a quick and easy fix and you can't even tell where you did it!


6. Needle nose pliers - I use these all the time! They're great for so many things but here's one idea that is worth mentioning. When you need to get a plastic anchor out of sheetrock, one side of the pliers go right into the hole and then you can just pull it out with minimal damage to the wall.


7. Foil - Great stuff for more than just wrapping up leftover pizza. Every time I paint (whether it's a whole room or one paint brush for a piece of furniture) I wrap the brushes and even the paint tray in foil until I come back for a second coat. If you're going to wait for more than a day between paintings, I recommend sticking the brushes with the foil on them in the refrigerator. It'll keep them fresh longer.

These are just some of my favorite things that I use often. Please share some of your favorite ideas with me and my other readers here! I love simple ideas that save time and effort!