DIY Life

Don't you just hate it when a hinge on a door or cabinet just won't stay put because the screw hole is stripped out? Sure, you can use a bigger or longer screw, but then it won't match. Frankly, that just looks tacky. But don't lose hope; here's a trick I use.

The first thing to do is remove the offending hardware. Next, dig one of your golf tees out of your golf bag. Apply some epoxy glue or wood glue on the pointy end and sides of the tee. Tap it in with a mallet or hammer as far as it'll go. After the glue is completely dry, use your coping saw to cut off any excess tee and sand as needed. Presto! New wood!

Now you can replace the hardware and it's as good as new - maybe better. The hole is too small for a tee? Use as many toothpicks as will fit in the hole. The ones with flat sides work best. The great thing about this hack is that it really doesn't have to be pretty; the hinge covers up your handiwork.

In my house, there's a small wooden cabinet, somewhat scratched-up, which was given to us by a relative a few years ago. It has strange knobs in the form of faceted acrylic balls; they looked good in my aunt's antique-loaded home, but aren't so great in mine. The plastic parts look cheap to me, and overall, they don't quite suit the style of the cabinet.

So, last night, I took on a fifteen-minute project that I'd prepared for a few weeks ago: I changed the knobs.

The last time I was at The Home Depot, I bought four replacement knobs on a whim. The knobs I found, by Liberty Hardware, cost less than a dollar each; they have a nice design, reminiscent of stylized Japanese cherry (sakura) or plum blossoms (ume). If you don't like my selection, Liberty makes a number of low-cost brass decorative knobs. Some of their designs have a vintage feel.

The photo above is a "before" (taken from a slightly odd angle; this cabinet faces the end of a sofa with about an 18" gap between the two); click through to the break for an "after" and some instructions!

There are many places in the home that could use a little extra light. These areas include anywhere work is done; think about the places where you prepare food, do all that extra work that the boss shamed you into bringing home, or your workshop bench. A great solution for these situations is to install under-cabinet lighting. They also come in handy for the dark corners in the bathroom vanity under the sink. For these areas, it's more practical to use the battery operated ones.

These lights are inexpensive and easy to install with just a few common tools. Energy efficiency? They score very highly in this area, especially if you go with the latest LED lights.

Read this article on under-cabinet light installation. Then do a walk-through of the house to identify the spots that could use a bit more illumination. A shopping trip, a bit of DIY fun, and your work spaces will be glowing in short order!

Do you know the American Girls? They're a family of dolls and related products. Each doll is a character created to represent a particular era in America's past, or a special girl from the present, and each doll has a set of meticulously detailed historical clothing, furniture, and accessories (not to mention books and movies) that you can buy. The 18" dolls have been a kiddie status symbol for the last two decades, so much so that Mattel eventually bought the entire concept from its original producer, Pleasant Company.

The thing is, American Girl stuff can get expensive. Some parents deal with this by buying genuine dolls, but picking up the accessories on eBay. Others buy everything the line has to offer, and still others buy similar, less-expensive dolls from stores like Target. The storage trunks for the American Girl dolls, sized to hold their beds and accessories and styled like a clothes chest from each doll's era, are some of the priciest items in the line, and may be the least interesting to kids who aren't completists. They mostly run between $159 and $175.

Instructables user WilyHacker has a solution to the storage trunk issue: why not build your own? From a common purchased white melamine storage cabinet, they have created a very viable unit for American Girls and similar dolls, perfectly sized to hold all of their furniture and accessories. Aside from the cabinet itself, you'll need some findings and a few power tools. If you don't have all the tools, you could have a lumber yard make any cuts you need, and maybe skip the step with a router and use L-brackets, painted white, to hold up the vertical divider.

Why would you want to build one? Well, maybe the name-brand storage trunk is way out of your budget, maybe it doesn't fit into the look of your kid's room, or maybe you'd rather spend the money on more accessories for the doll belonging to your own little American Girl. Any way you look at it, this is one sweet project.