4 One-Day Home Economics Projects You Can Do This Weekend

We all have that to-do list in our heads. Here are 4 home economics projects you can tackle and complete in one day this weekend. Why wait?

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Long Term To-Do List

Chances are you have some projects that have been on your to-do list for a very long time. These are the projects we mean to get to but they just seem to get pushed to the back burner. Whether it’s because you don’t see their importance or you don’t think you have the time. But here are 6 Home Economics projects that you can do this weekend. And finish too!

Home Economics Project 1: Paint Your Front Door

This one-day project is a breeze with a little planning ahead. I actually took the time to do this to one of my doors recently. Because I took the time to inventory what I needed ahead of time I went without a hitch.

First gather all of your supplies the day before you want to paint your door.

• Drop cloth
• bucket
• sponge
• dishwashing liquid
• dry rags
• sanding sponges
• vacuum
• painter’s tape
• primer
• spackling
• 1 1/2″ angles paint brush
• small foam roller
• paint (in whatever color you want)

You may take the door off the hinges or leave it in place. I chose to not remove mine (it’s old and I didn’t want to deal with trying to put it back properly). Lay the drop cloth under the door, opening it and pulling under as you close it. Thoroughly wash your door with dishwashing soap and a bucket of water. As you wash it, check for any spots that need spackling to fill in dents or scratches.

Once dry, mask off the trim to protect from paint straying to where you do not want it. Take a sanding block and gently rough up your door to make sure that your primer will stick. At this point, spackle as needed also, sanding as needed. Vacuum off all dust from sanding.

Apply a coat of primer, using your angle brush around hinges and windows, and your small roller on large areas. Allow to dry completely.

Sand again to help your chosen paint adhere. Once again, vacuum to remove all dust.

Apply your paint as you did your primer. Allow to dry for 4 hours and then apply a second coat. Remove painter’s tape from the trim. Let dry completely before opening the door to remove your drop cloth.

Organize Your Photos

Whether printed or digital, we all have tons of photos that are hard to find. We know we have a photo of someone, but finding it to show it off it never easy. Why not take a day to sort your photos into a treasured keepsake.

For Printed Photos:

Start by just gathering up your photos. They may be all in one place, or in various places around your home. Because we are a blended family, our photos seem to be everywhere. We have photos still in the development envelopes. Photos are in albums randomly around the house. And I even have a large box of loose photos just waiting to be organized.

Sort the photos first for any frameable or album worthy ones. Set these aside for another project. (Putting them all in a labeled large manilla envelope works best for me.)

Use the 20/80 rule to sort. This means that 20% of your pictures should be worth showing off, and the other 80% can be filed into photo boxes, scanned into digital albums or just thrown out. Get rid of any duplicates, blurry images, and scenery shots that aren’t truly memorable.

On the back of your photos, using a pencil that will not bleed through (we like Stabilo All pencils for this) not the approximate date, location, and people in the photo on the back. Then decide if you want to organize by date or by theme. I organize by child mostly, a section for each of my kids, a section for each of his kids, and then my niece (yes, I only have one) and grandkids.

You can scan your photos also to make sure that they are safe regardless of any catastrophe. You may do this yourself, or enlist a service like Fotobridge to do it for you.

For Digital Photos:

For your digital photos, you should make sure that you try to have them all stored in three places. I have mine stored to CD, to my computer, and also uploaded to my Amazon Prime Photo account. Make sure to set aside about 30 minutes every month to clear out clutter on your phone’s camera roll. I also have automatic backups to my Prime Photo account set up so I don’t have to think about it. I download my photos to my computer and only save my Favorites album on my phone. Everything else is deleted from my device each month.

Home Economics Project #3: Clean Your Cupboards

We use them every day, but how often do we think about really cleaning our cupboards? Take the time this weekend to really give your cupboards a shine.

Supplies:

• Hot Water
• Vinegar
• Baking Soda
• castile soap
• bucket
• microfiber towels
• essential oils of your choice (I like citrus smells, like orange and lemon)

In your bucket, place about 1/2 cup of baking soda. Pour over 1/4-1/2 cup of vinegar. Allow to fizz and dissolve. Add in your castile soap and essential oils and fill the bucket about 3/4 of the way full.

Using a microfiber cloth, wipe your cupboards with the DIY cleaning mixture. Start at the top of your cupboards and work down. Pay special attention to areas where you may have a lot of built-up oils or grease. (Especially around knobs, pulls, and over the stove.)

Do all of your upper cabinets first. You may need to make another batch of your DIY cleaner before starting on your lower cabinets, depending on how dirty your water has gotten.

Repeat the process with the lower cabinets.

Now stand back and admire just how clean your cabinets are and how amazing your kitchen smells.

Clean Your Carpets or Rugs

We walk on it every day, and vacuum them weekly, but how often do we take the time to actually wash our carpets and rugs? I do mine at least twice a year (spring cleaning and again at fall cleaning time).

Can you remember the last time you cleaned your carpets?

For small rugs, wash them by hand in a sink of warm water in a mild detergent. You may want to use a soft brush to scrub away hidden dirt in the fibers. Rinse completely, and roll it up in a thick towel. Stand on it (or have the kiddos jump around on it) to remove as much moisture as you can. Hang to dry completely.

For wall-to-wall carpet, you may use a steam cleaner (or purchase one) or trust a pro to do it. Find a professional in your area and price this option. (Visit carpet-rug.org for information to help you out.)

Vacuum thoroughly before you begin cleaning. If you are doing this yourself, you may want to move your furniture in order to cover the full area. Fill your cleaner with the appropriate amount of cleaner and water, and begin cleaning. Work in strips, completely pulling water and dirt from each strip of the carpet before beginning another.

Make sure you wear white socks on your carpets until fully dry to prevent color-bleed. This may take up to 24 hours, depending on the weather conditions.

Large area rugs, (unless you own a Ruggable rug) are best left to cleaning by professionals. Vacuum regularly and deal with spills immediately. If you have a few spots, dampen the area with a sponge dipped in seltzer water, using as little liquid as possible. Blot with a white cotton cloth, then place a towel on top of the spot. Stand on it to remove as much dampness as possible.

One-Day Home Economics Projects

There you have it. 4 projects that you can do THIS weekend to help maintain your home. You will love how just one of these projects can change the feeling of your home. Don’t just have a house… Make a HOME.

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