One of the most frequent questions I get: how are your spray painted door knobs holding up? I thought I’d do an update on that project and a few others.
Living Without Paper Towels
Two years ago, we gave up paper towels. Instead, we bought a pack of plain cotton towels to cut down on waste. So how’s it going? Are we still at it?
Yes!
The cotton towels are so basic. They’re perfect to use at meals and to wipe up little spills. Cleaning them is easy too. They go in our weekly laundry load of whites (an hour long hot cycle with a scoop of oxiclean.) The pack came with 14, which was plenty, but we got another pack in December to make sure we never ran out in a week. We got 14 for $17. Now, it’s only seven going for $21. So yeah, just an FYI – you can probably find them cheaper somewhere else.
As for regular cleaning, we use rags made from old dish towels and t-shirts. I didn’t like the idea of wiping down a bathroom sink with the same towels we use during a meal.
So two years without buying any paper towels? We’ll consider our towel investment a success.
Spray Painted Door Knobs
I did a brief update on this project last year, but I recently got a question about it, so here’s another update!
The interior spray painted door knobs are in great condition. The only nicked paint is on the latch plate in the door frame, from the latch moving across it. It’s so minor, it doesn’t bother us. Someone told us their store-bought bronze latch plates did the same thing and recommended clear bumper pads.
The front door handle is a different story.
It’s not great. Obviously, the lock has had a key jammed in it several times a day for two years. So that makes sense.
But the handle? Boo. Not sure what’s going on there. A huge chip appeared at some point last year (we think moving furniture scraped it) and it’s slowly spread.
I definitely want to repaint these (and coat them with a clear enamel) but I recall installing the lock being a huge pain. So I’m avoiding it for now.
Rustoleum Countertop Transformations
Remember when our kitchen looked like this?
The riskiest project we took on was Rustoleum’s Countertop Transformations. It was a relatively new product and we weren’t sure how it would turn out or if it’d even last.
Good news! They look as good as new. We treat the counters nice – using cutting boards and trivets – so we expected them to stay in good shape. (Full disclosure: this is an old picture. I didn’t take a new one because I didn’t feel like cleaning off the counter!)
One day we’ll invest in new counters, but until then, we’re very happy with this.
No TV In The Bedroom
Last summer we ditched the TV in our bedroom. Instead, we started reading before bed. Definitely a good change. After all, less technology in the bedroom is better for sleep and…other things. Wink wink. (But maybe not?) (Sorry mom)
But it didn’t last. Well. It did. But when Charlie was born, I found myself sitting in bed all morning for feeding sessions. It got boring, and I really wanted to watch the news.
So the TV is back. But only for the morning news (and World Cup action.) It’s still banned at night, to keep the environment lazy and quiet to get us all ready for sleepy time.
