Want a little sneak peak into the theme of Zack’s newly decorated playroom AND find out what I did with this?

Head on over to Everything Etsy, where I’m a guest poster today. I want to show you how to think outside of the box…or the covered cheese plate as this case may be. You are going to love this idea!

Then, I’ll see you back here tomorrow for the big reveal of Zack’s new playroom. You won’t believe how much I’ve done in the 2 weeks since the Procrastination Party began!

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?