Tips and Ideas to Help with that Never Ending To-Do List

Do you have one of those fix-it lists that seems to grow and grow no matter how often you work on it? If you do, you might want to try some of these quick and easy fixes to some of those irritating little problems. Pick a Saturday and tackle the list.

Squeaky doors are annoying, to say the least. To fix any that already squeak, and to prevent any future squeaks, try spraying a dab of WD40 or any type of penetrating oil into the hinges every two or three months. This also works great on automobile doors.

To fix a sagging door, tighten the screws in the hinges. It may be necessary to take the old screws out and replace them with slightly longer ones.

If you have a drawer that is falling down when you open it, remove it from the cabinet or dresser and check the slider glide inside the cabinet. It may have pulled loose. Simply reattach it to the frame with a screw and then slide the drawer back in. If the drawer is catching on the glide, make sure it is aligned correctly, then rub penetrating oil or even petroleum jelly along the glide. This will help lubricate it so that it will glide smoothly as you open and close it.

If you have a screw that has wallowed out its hole, try wrapping the screw with pipe tape and then re-inserting it. You could also fill the screw hole with wood glue and add sawdust. Allow the mixture to slightly set up, then replace the screw.

At least every couple of months, take the vacuum cleaner or shop vac and clean out the tracks of sliding doors or windows. If they are sticking, try wiping the track with a cloth dampened with WD40 or any type of oil. This will help eliminate closet doors being jerked out of their tracks or sticking windows.

Every three months or so, remove the shower head and inspect it. If the holes in it are clogged, try soaking the showerhead in a mixture of vinegar and water. Use a pin and unclog any particles. Rinse it thoroughly and replace it. While you are at it, check your kitchen faucet and vanity faucet. If the water doesn't seem to come out as fast or comes out at an angle, it is probably starting to clog up. Unscrew the tip of the faucet and check to see if it has a filter. Many times this filter will stop up. Clean it with vinegar and water and replace it.

Showers and sinks have a nasty habit of stopping up. Often this is due to the amount of hair and other material that ends up stuck in the small openings of the drain. Every two to three months, remove the top of these drains and clean them out. Rinse them thoroughly. It is sometimes a good idea to pour a little drain opener down the drains to help clear them out.

If your toilet keeps running and running, it can cost you quite a bit of money. Often a running toilet is a simple and easy fix. The culprit is usually the flapper. It seems to wear out over time and starts to not seat properly when closing. For a few bucks, you can purchase a new one and replace it in a minute or two. And if that doesn't cure the problem, buy the complete kit and replace the whole interior of the toilet.

Walk around the outside of your house and take inventory of any problems. Check for loose boards or crumbling mortar in the bricks. If you find loose boards in your steps or porch, tighten them with fresh screws. Replace any mortar or fill any cracks you see before they become a big problem. You can actually buy a small bucket of ready to go mortar to use to repairs cracks or gaps as you find them.

While you are outside, it might be a good time to get the old ladder out and climb up and inspect the roof. Look for missing or loose shingles. Also remember to check the flashing around the chimney. If you need to, buy a small bucket of roofing cement or patching and repair any spots that need it. By catching problems on the roof early, you can save yourself a whole lot of money.

This covers a few of those pesty little problems that keep popping up on the to-do list around the home. By making yourself a schedule and checking most of these things every two to three months you can usually catch any problems before they become a major issue. In fact, you may find that your to-do list is actually shrinking. Now doesn't that sound great?