fix-it friday #2

 

It took me a while, but here I am! Good morning and hello Friday! To understand why an entire day of the week is now dedicated to posting about fixing things read this first post and follow through the FIF archives. Friday has taken on such new meaning for me. I love hearing your responses and what you've been mending and repairing! In fact, I'd really like to feature one of your fixes or highlight a repair skill you'd like to share. Please e-mail me at mayaluna(at) yahoo(dot) com with submissions.

I have two projects to highlight today. I'm finding that I'm fixing stuff all week long with a new awareness and intentionality. You, too? Some of it includes the little mending I've always done, but I'm also discovering that I have a new incentive to not let broken things sit around. My children know about our Friday plan, and I feel accountable in an all new way, as I model my "handiness" to them. In fact, my son is contributing to today's post with his revamping of an old scooter. Our fine weather brought out our spring play equipment. We have two old razor edge scooters from garage sales. One was for my son and the other an extra for a friend, which my daughter decided she was BIG enough for this year. It was rusted shut and I heard my son say "sorry it's broken, " as if that was that. Her response of a trembling lip and a plea for  a NEW one were all it took to run in for the magic oil.

 A little spray of WD40 here and there on every bolt, was all it took. My son was amazed at his own ability to fix it.  Next, he wanted to oil every stuck and/or squeaky thing around. Go to it!

There were no grips on the handlebars, so we made some ourselves with craft foam scraps and gorilla glue. My son secured them with rubber bands while it dried. A little test drive later on that day, proved to be a success and my daughter has one more reason to admire her brother... he has one more reason to feel proud. Simple, but this is the good stuff (in life).

Next FIX: Lazy Drain

 Oh , the woes of our bathtub drain saga. We have a chronic slow drain in our tub due to faulty piping installation by the previous owners. This means that we have to be vigilant about keeping soap scum and hair out of the drain. We are not the vigilant type. This has resulted in trying various drain de-cloggers over the years. Most of the common "drain busters" are highly toxic and dangerous to you, your pipes and the environment. We've tried every kind of earth friendly product and haven't been that successful, sadly. We have had luck with a snake/auger, but it's hassle and messy. I do, however, recommend having one in your repair kit, if you have frequent clogged drains. After reading through various repair forums, I decided to revisit an old trick with a new recipe. A simple vinegar and baking soda solution is recommended for weekly maintenance. Since we hadn't been doing it regularly, I came up with something a little more intense, much to my children's excitement... we basically sent a volcano down our drain... repeatedly! Here's what to do:

Shake in 1/2 a cup of soda. Get a rag ready. Pour 1/2 a cup or a little more of vinegar on top and quickly stuff a rag into the drain. Pouring in the vinegar is the fun part, so invite your children do it, if possible. Let it sit for an hour. Pour a kettle or hot water over it. I tried this once and the drainage improved only slightly. I almost gave up, but repeated it two more times and hoooray!! We ended up pouring volcanoes down every drain in the house! Happy kids! Happy Drains! Happy family!

Simple solutions. Working together. Modeling self-reliance. Feeling Good!  

What have you been fixing lately?