Pre-Holiday Hustle: Quick Home Upgrades; the Best Games; and Space Heater Safety

This episode of the RepcoLite Home Improvement Show, sponsored by Benjamin Moore, dives into pre-holiday prep and maintenance tips to help reduce seasonal stress.

Dan talks about dealing with holiday anxiety and shares practical cleaning and touch-up tips to refresh your space quickly. The episode also features an interview with Jeff Rietveld from Out of the Box Games, offering game recommendations for gifts and holiday gatherings.

Critical safety tips for using space heaters during winter are also discussed, emphasizing the importance of proper extension cord usage and reducing fire risks.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction and Holiday Stress

01:18 Upcoming Segments Overview

03:24 Quick Home Spruce-Up Tips

07:28 Painting in Tight Spaces: Strategies and Tips

19:00 Interview with Jeff Rietveld: Best Games for the Holidays

20:22 Game Rules and Hints

21:20 Cheating in Games

21:52 Poetry for Neanderthals

22:47 So Clover and Other Games

23:46 Telestrations and Party Games

26:41 Word on the Street

28:17 Wits and Wagers

31:29 Favorite Part of the Job

32:41 Space Heater Safety Tips

38:16 Wrapping Up and Announcements

TRANSCRIPT

  Well, good morning, everybody out there. Happy middle, middle of December. You're listening to the Repco Lite Home Improvement Show sponsored by Benjamin Morin. Yeah, middle of December. Seriously, how in the world do we slow this down? We need to get together and figure that out. I'd like to pump the brakes here a little bit.

Are you feeling that too? Or is it just me, you know, for me, there aren't enough hours in the day. I've got parties to plan errands to run gifts to buy so many gifts to buy and really honestly, I'm absolutely stinking at gifts this year. Stinking and it's stressing me out. Normally, normally by now I've completed all of my shopping and I've completed it brilliantly in most situations.

You know, we're being honest here, no false humility, pretty brilliant when it comes to gifts. This year, this year I'm stinking. Unless I come up with some kind of inspiration, unless that strikes really, really soon, we're heading for one of those Christmases, right? I certainly wouldn't want to be my kids this year, at least not yet.

Anyway, I hope you're all doing a ton better than I am. Hope you're more on top of things. Hope you're feeling really festive, really ready for what's coming and just feeling really accomplished. But just in case you're feeling a little bit of anxiety, like I am, I've got some help for you today. Uh, later, I'm going to be talking with Jeff Rietveld from Out of the Box Games in Holland and Zealand, and we're going to talk about some great games for Christmas gifts or gifts.

Or family parties. So if the gift giving stress is getting to you, stick around for that. All right. That, that will help. We're also going to be diving into space heater safety, and I know that doesn't sound the most exciting, right? It doesn't sound terribly exciting, but trust me, those little heaters, They can be lifesavers in the winter, but only if you use them right.

Otherwise, well, if you don't, they can, they can really cause some trouble. So we'll talk about that. And I've also got some strategies for painting in tight spaces. I am super pumped about this, this topic. I love it. It's a lot of fun. It's pretty funny. Uh, and that's coming up next. Uh, but right now let's get to the paint point for the week.

And to do that, I want to circle back to the whole holiday stress thing. thing. Like I said, I've been feeling it. Maybe you've been feeling it, but here's the difference. You know, here's, here's me realizing, uh, this is me growing up a little bit. It's me realizing that I'm not the only one in the universe here.

Um, the only people that are coming over to my house, uh, for a party or for any kind of festive activities, the only people coming to my house are the ones who live there. You know, they already know about the junky parts. They're not going to be surprised. They're not going to open a closet and go, Oh my goodness, I can't believe you crammed all that into here.

They know it's crammed into there. They helped cram it in. They're not going to be disappointed. They're not going to be grossed out. Oh man, this tastes like dog hair. It's because it is, right? It's full of dog hair. It's more dog hair than lasagna. Eat it. You know, they're not going to be grossed out. It's just home.

But some of you, some of you are hosting big events. You've got guests coming over. I wonder what that's like. I don't want to know what that's like. And my guests don't want to be a part of it. Not while I've got dogs. Maybe you've got that going on. Maybe, maybe they're even staying with you over an extended period.

If so, you're feeling the stress to make your home shine. And if that's you, if that happens to be the spot that you find yourself in, let's talk about some quick ways to spruce up your space, uh, without taking on a full paint project. And first off, start with the walls. And a lot of the time, walls don't need to be repainted.

You know, they just need to be cleaned. A magic eraser or even a simple solution of warm water, dish soap, and white vinegar can work wonders on scuffs, fingerprints, marks, who knows, spaghetti sauce, whatever's on your walls. You can get that off pretty easily. Uh, it's amazing. How much brighter and fresher a room can look with clean walls.

Wash the walls down and you realize, Man, we were living in a hovel. You know, this is pretty nice. Doesn't need to be repainted. It just needed to have the spaghetti washed off. Right? So maybe you can find that out. Maybe that's the answer. That's the case in your home. Who knows? Some things to consider if you do go, you know, the magic eraser route, uh, they're brilliant for removing marks, but if you use them with too much pressure on delicate surfaces or on mat or flat finished walls, there's a really good chance you're going to remove paint or burnish the finish, you know, make the spots look shiny.

You don't want to go the magic eraser route and then end up making the situation worse. So first, uh, if you're going to use one, test it out in an out of the way area to make sure that you're not going to have a bigger problem. Down the road and also use gentle pressure and dampen the eraser before starting.

Uh, if you've got a flat or matte finish on your wall, uh, and you're thinking about using the magic eraser, I guess maybe try, but maybe keep in the back pocket, uh, your back pocket that the, the next best thing that you, you could do in those situations is to touch up. You know, do a little touch up painting.

And that's my second idea. You know, if you've got nail holes or scratches, grab a bit of lightweight spackle, fill the nail holes, sand them smooth, and then if you've got some leftover paint from the original wall color, touch it up. You know, it's ideal to use the same tool when you're touching up that you originally used to apply the paint.

A lot of people don't think about that, but if you rolled the wall, you should use a roller to do that. for your touch up. If you brush the surface, touch it up with a brush. If you have tiny nail holes and you need to touch that up, but you don't want to get a roller out, a quick trick is to use a Q tip.

You basically just get one, hold it on its side against the wall and then rotate it over the area. It really quickly and easily becomes a makeshift micro roller. And it does a really good job for nail holes. Small scratches, things like that. So, if you're doing your touch ups, feather them out, and most of the time, you can blend them away entirely.

Uh, if the spots don't blend perfectly away, you can do a more complete repaint later. You know, after the busyness of the holidays. But most of the time, a slightly lighter spot on a wall is better than a dark scuff mark or a hole. So even if they show these little light spots, it's still a win. Now sometimes, the third idea, the quickest fix is strategic placement.

Uh, this third idea is a little sneaky, but hang a piece of art, a mirror, you know, lean a decorative ladder against the wall. Something, anything to hide these spots. It's a great way to draw attention to the best parts of your space, when Well, covering up imperfections. So think about that. Another idea, refresh your trim or baseboards.

Now these areas, they take a ton of wear and tear, but a quick wipe down or touch up can make the whole room feel polished and new, uh, adjust the lighting, you know, change out your light bulbs, make sure they're all the same temperature, the same consistency, better lighting can make colors pop and even disguise small flaws.

In the walls, lastly, declutter and rearrange. You know, sometimes all the space needs is just a little bit of decluttering to open it up and make it feel just a ton better. So think about those things. The key is you don't need a major project to make a big impact. These small manageable little updates can really help.

If you've got guests coming over, you'll feel better about your space. You'll know that you put your best foot forward and it's not going to take a ton of time or add a lot of stress to your plate. All right, that's the paint point for the week. Hopefully it helps you get your home ready and take some stress off your plate.

All right, we're going to take a break. When we come back, we're going to be talking about strategies for painting in tight spaces, cramped quarters, uh, painting in those areas and not losing your mind. It's a ton of fun. It's coming up next. Stick around. And

we're back. You're listening to the Repcolite Home Improvement Show sponsored by Benjamin