I have my very own toolbox. It’s khaki and has my initials stenciled on the side. If you know me or have spent any time reading this blog, the fact that have a “pretty” toolbox should be no surprise to you.

A few weeks ago, my friend JJ at the Blah Blah Blahger asked me to share with her readers the contents of my toolbox. It was such a fun post – a “show me what’s in your purse” post for the DIY gals. I enjoyed writing that post and thought you might like to check it out in case you missed it (or in case you want to put together your own custom colored, initialed, and filled-with-essentials toolbox).

I wrote:

For our five year wedding anniversary, my devoted husband gave me a toolbox.

I know what you are thinking…”A toolbox?” Well, there was a diamond necklace inside of it, so don’t feel too sorry for me, okay?

Along with my beautiful necklace, he also filled my toolbox with some essentials. You see, he’s really picky about his tools and we both decided that I needed my own basic set. Too many tense situations have erupted over me using his tools in ways that he has deemed harmful to the tools (not to myself), so this gift was a long time coming.

The toolbox was originally Home Depot orange, but DH figured I’d want to paint it with plastic spray paint anyway. He knows me so well! Now it’s all pretty and Lindsay-like!

If you don’t have your own set of tools or are looking to add to your current collection, here’s a list of my “any gal” must-haves:

1. Cordless screwdriver/light duty drill – I have a Ryobi 4-volt from Home Depot, and I am very happy with it. It has enough power to drill a light duty project (like adding the hinges to my makeover desk) and plenty of power to take the wrist pain out of manually driving screws.

2. Tape measure – Seriously, I can’t live without this thing. I have this nice 25-foot metal tape measure, a fabric measuring tape, a yardstick, and more rulers than you can shake a stick at. When you are working on DIY projects, precision is key to having great results. Find a tape measure that feels sturdy in your hand and look for one that has a long rigidity length (i.e. how long you can extend it upwards before it starts to bend).

3. 8-in-1 hand screwdriver – When the cordless screwdriver won’t do the trick, definitely have another screwdriver on hand. I love mine because it’s green it has eight different bits in the handle so I can pretty much use it for any size and type of screw.

4. Painter’s tape – I think blue painter’s tape is one of the greatest inventions ever. This is the tape you use to paint straight lines and mask off the areas you don’t want to paint, but you can use it for all sorts of things, such has holding trim in place while the glue dries, marking touch up spots on a piece of rehabbed furniture, and holding a set of hardware together so the screws don’t get lost. It’s pricey as far as tape goes, but I think it’s well worth it.

5. Light Duty Hammer – I actually don’t use a hammer very often since Tom has explained to me why it’s better to use screws than nails in most situations (they don’t pull out of surfaces as easily as nails do), but it’s always good to have one on hand…even it if it’s just for closing a paint can.

6. Precision screwdriver set – It’s nice to have a set of small screwdrivers for those tiny little screws that crop up out of nowhere. A set of 6 is pretty cheap, so they are definitely a good tool to add to your toolbox.

Of course, we have many, many more tools than this, but these are the necessities I wanted to have of my very own. What’s in your toolbox? Anything I need to add to my must-have list?

I’m very excited since I found out tonight that I will soon be the proud owner of a pink tool belt! I won a giveaway from the Remodeling Guy, so I’m very excited to add that to my collection. You better believe there will soon be lots of Charlie’s Angels style pictures of me wearing the tool belt and holding my cordless screwdriver.

Now that I have a tool box AND a tool belt, I need more tools! What are your essentials?

I’ve been a bit quiet this week, because I’m working really hard on my Procrastinators’ Party projects. I am so excited about how much work I’ve already done, and I can’t wait to share them with you next Thursday!

The largest project has involved some major priming and painting. Today as I was painting away in my garage in the 90 degree/90% humidity Texas heat, my mind started to wander. No, I wasn’t about to have a heat stroke (although seriously? So hot already? It’s only May for crying out loud!), although it felt like it could happen at any minute.

I actually started thinking of all the little painting tips I’ve learned throughout the years. It is all routine for me now since I’ve been painting for a while, but at one point painting was not so easy. In an effort to help you avoid my mistakes and to make painting a little easier for you, I’ll let you in on a few of my little secrets. I’m nice like that. You see, I didn’t read any of these tips on the Internet, a DIY book, or learn them from the guys at Home Depot. These are all lessons I’ve learned myself…the hard way.

1. Tack Cloths Make for Sticky Hands – I really love using tack cloths on my projects after sanding and in between every coat of paint. Since I discovered them, I can’t paint without them. They really do remove dust and particles much better than a microfiber cloth or anything else I’ve tried. The good and bad thing about them is that they are sticky, so they make your hands or gloves very sticky, too.

I hate the feeling of sticky hands, so I used to go inside and wash my hands after every swipe of the tack cloth. Then, I realized I could put a paper towel on top of the tack cloth and save my hands from the curse of the sticky.

This technique saves a lot of valuable time when you only have a small Zack-Is-Napping-So-Now-Is-The-Time-To-Paint window.

2. Use Disposable Products When You Can – This tip is definitely not very “green” of me, but it makes panting 95% less of a hassle. I have ruined so many bristle paint brushes by not completely rinsing the paint out of them and almost ruined some projects by using old, crusty brushes.

Now, I use foam brushes, disposable paint tray liners, and plastic Solo cups. For large projects where I will be using foam rollers (the handle is easily cleanable, but the roller itself is not), I pour the paint into a disposable paint tray liner and work from there. If I’m just using small foam brushes, I pour the paint into a plastic cup.

When I’m finished painting for the day, I put the foam brushes, cups and liners into a plastic grocery bag and throw the bag in the garbage can. The next day, I use a new brush and liner and start over. It really makes cleaning up a cinch.

3. Pouring Paint is Easier With a Spout – There is just something about pouring paint from a gallon can into a liner that makes me incredibly clumsy. I end up covering the entire side of the can in paint and scramble to mop up my mess with paper towels. I usually throw in a few choice words, just for the dramatics of it all.

We now have a few of the paint can spouts and they make pouring much easier. I still have to wipe up a few drips, but it’s nothing like before.

Spouts cost a buck or two at home improvement stores and can be easily washed (if you are using water-based paint) and reused. I think they also come sized for quart cans, but I don’t have any of those.

4. Paint as Many Sides as You Can at Once – A good paint job requires two things – time and patience. You need to take your time to make sure you get good coverage and avoid drips. You have to have patience because you have to let your coats completely dry before you can paint additional sides of the project. If you don’t paint a lot, just trust me on that last one. If you push it, you will ruin your project.

Meet my friends, the painters triangles. They elevate a multi-sided project so that you can paint several sides at once. They can be purchased at a home improvement or paint store for about $5 for a pack of 10 triangles.

Here, I can paint the top and four sides of a board at the same time. Once that paint is dry (about four hours for the paint I used), I can flip the project over and paint the bottom. The triangles touch a very small portion of the surface of your project, so you don’t run the risk of damaging your paint job. They also clean up easily if you do happen to get paint on them.

Using these four simple tips has really made my love/hate relationship with painting swing to the love side. Do you have any painting tips to share? I’d love to hear what you do to take the “pain” out of painting!

I’m hooked on transforming furniture with paint! Visit Hooked On Houses to share what you are hooked on this week.