(Less Than Perfect) How To

How to personalize an old, busted filing cabinet (or whatever).

Materials
filing cabinet
spray paint (2 colors)
primer (for spray paint)
stencils (which you can make if you want)
sandpaper
gloves (rubber or plastic kind)
face mask (to save your brain cells)
newspaper (to protect surfaces from paint)

Process

1. Get a filing cabinet. You do not need to buy a new one. I got mine for free on a freecycle list (freecycle.org), but you can also get them at a Goodwill for under $10. Ask family and friends, too. It seems like lots of people are getting rid of these things because they're old and ugly. That's OK because we can fix that.


2. Get stencils. You can easily make stencils by printing whatever you like onto card stock and cutting out the image. I used a free dingbat font for my images. You can also buy stencils if you want. It helps to have the filing cabinet before you make/buy the stencils, so you can plan their placement. I did this the other way around and ended up having kind of awkwardly placed stencils.


3. Sand surfaces. Sanding rust off is the most important part to this step, but sanding the old paint helps the new paint adhere, so just basically sand the crap out of the thing.
   
   
4. Wash surfaces. After you sand it, wash it with a little soap and water. Dirt and stuff stuck on the sides will prevent a good coat of primer/paint to adhere well.


5. Remove/cover any hardware you don't want painted. You may want the handles to remain the color they are now, or you may want to paint them the second color (like I did). You can either just cover them with masking tape, or you can remove them entirely. I primed and painted my handles separately. I let the lock be painted the main color.
   
   
6. Put on gloves and mask. I did not wear these for the primer or base coat, and I really regretted it. The primer and paint are meant to be permanent, so they're really hard to wash off (duh). I also did not wear a mask when I sprayed the base color (even though I bought them), and I had a headache all day afterward. Keep those brain cells. You'll need them to file later.


7. Spray with primer. Primer is not entirely necessary, but it helps smooth out the surface and helps the colored paint stick a little better. This is usually white or black. Follow the instructions on the can.
   
   
   
8. Spray with base color paint. According to my can, the primer does not have to entirely dry before spraying with colored paint. I would let it dry some, but you don't have to let it sit over night (like I did). **Read this: wait for a relatively warm, not-windy day to do this. It will make your life so much easier. I did not do this. It was very cold (below freezing) and windy (all my paint blew away). If you have a garage, even better. Let this dry completely.


9. Prep stencils. Because the force of the paint coming out of the can will blow any edges of a flimsy stencil around, you're going to want to apply rolled masking tape to all of the edges. This way you get a nice clean line instead of a diffused edge - unless that's what you want. Tape the stencils to the surface and tape additional paper around the stencil to cover the entire surface to prevent extra paint from floating around, landing all over the place. This step is pretty important. Look at my final project to see why it's important.
   
   
   
10. Spray stencils with second color. It will be important to follow the instructions on the can, but here are some guidelines: Do not spray too close for too long or you will get drips or overly thick paint.
    
    
    
11. Remove stencils, tape, etc. Once everything is dry, remove your stencils. Replace the hardware. Add files. You're finished!

The beauty of this project is that if you totally f* it up, you can just redo it later. Also, the possibilities are endless. You could just do a single bright, glossy color to snazz it up. You could do a super shiny, metallic color. You can stencil images, letters, shapes, etc. You could use one color to spray spots, add tape and then spray your main color over that to reveal the color under the tape. My little tutorial is really meant to help give you inspiration to create your own interesting cabinet (or refrigerator, desk, laptop, etc).

Also, don't be too hard on yourself if your final project doesn't turn out exactly the way you planned it. Mine certainly didn't, but I did learn a lot. If I grow to hate my imperfect creation, I can just do it again later (like in the spring when it's warmer). Don't be afraid to just go for it, even if you aren't really sure what you're doing. Do a little internet/library research if you feel really deficient in a particular skill, and then just move forward with reckless abandon. That's also my advice for life in general, by the way.

If you end up doing this tutorial (or something similar), post a picture of your project as a comment (if you can do that). Anyway, post a link to a picture. I'd love to see what kinds of creative mischief you all are up to.

Thanks for reading! Have fun!

10 things even I can do to save the environment - Retro blog

I originally posted this on my myspace blog on December 13, 2007. Ah, remember 2007? What a year.

It's great that "going green" has become so fashionable, but I have a problem with the movement's lack of good suggestions for regular people to green up their lives. The suggestions are usually buy a hybrid car and new windows (which I can't afford) or obvious things like recycling (which is still important). So I came up with my own list. Enjoy.

1. Conserve energy - Ok, this might fall into the obvious category, but little things do add up, plus it can save you money. Here are some suggestions: replace your light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, turn off all appliances and electronics when you leave/ sleep, hang clothes to dry, keep the thermostat low in the winter and high in the summer.
2. Reduce paper waste – I get an ass load of junk mail, so I recently added my name to the "do not send me so much freaking mail list," and you can too! Go here: https://www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/. You can also pay bills online and opt out of paper billing, reuse paper as scrap paper, use cloth instead of paper products like napkins. This year I'm using paper bags and newspaper to wrap all my gifts, and I'm decorating them with pictures cut out of catalogs.
3. Generate less trash – Trash is a huge problem, and we Americans love to make lots of it! The first step in generating less trash is to buy less trash. Pay attention to packaging. Don't put fruits and veggies in a bag unless you really need to. Get a reusable, cloth shopping bag. Find creative ways to reuse what might otherwise be trash. Buy in bulk. Compost and make your own nutrient rich dirt! Here's an article on how you can do it even in a third story apartment: http://www.yougrowgirl.com/garden/urbancomposting.php
4. Buy local and/or organic – Farmer's markets are actually really awesome, and they are all over the place. You can find one in your area here: http://www.localharvest.org/. Buying local means your food has to travel less. Buying organic means fewer pesticides entering the food web and polluting waterways – not to mention less cancer for you!
5. Join the Green Party – If the democrats were so great, Baltimore (and Maryland for that matter) would be a utopia. The GP is the fastest growing third party in the US and is the only party serious about cleaning up the environment (among other important issues). And you can really make a difference in this party because it's structured to empower people on a local level. Learn more about the GP in Maryland at http://mdgreens.org// or the national GP at http://gp.org/.
6. Buy used and freecycle – Ok, seriously. There is so much junk floating around it's just irresponsible to buy everything new. And buying used is great for a lot of reasons. First, you're not contributing to more waste. Second, you pay way less. Third, you can find interesting and unique items not mass produced in some dirty sweatshop. And freecycling is giving and getting stuff for free! Go to freecycle.org and sign up for a list in your area. You'll probably be surprised at how awesome this is. I was!
7. Eat less (or no) meat – What finally convinced me to become a vegetarian is the environmental impact it has. Research shows that being a vegetarian has greater impact than driving a Prius (which is good because I can't afford to drive a Prius anyway). But seriously, being a vegetarian is actually very easy. You can get protein from all kinds of food. There are substitutes for basically everything – that actually taste good. The only time it's kind of inconvenient is when I eat out and have limited options, but that's relatively rare. Here's an article to try to convince you: http://www.alternet.org/environment/47668.
8. Use public transportation – This can be difficult depending on where you live, but research your options. You may find out that you can take a commuter bus when you travel to a nearby city. You might be closer to a metro/light rail/train than you thought. Some people think they don't like public transportation because it's inconvenient, but I think it's WAY more convenient than driving. You don't have to worry about parking or crazy, aggressive drivers or how drunk you get. Plus you can sleep, read, crochet, or whatever you'd rather be doing besides driving.
9. Use natural cleaners – I am guilty of buying those caustic, toxic chemicals to clean my apartment. But it's important to remember that when you rinse those things down the drain, they enter the ecosystem and watershed. But don't worry, you don't have to have nasty mildew growing in your shower. There are great alternatives, including a whole slew of products like Seventh Generation that claim to be eco-friendly. You can also make a lot of cleaners out of safe stuff you probably have around your house anyway like vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda. Here's a great resource: http://www.naturodoc.com/library/lifestyle/cleaner.htm
10. Get inspired – This might seem obvious too, but our society does not make these suggestions convenient and it takes some motivation to stick to it. I stumbled on this great little movie recently, and it helped inspire me, so I thought I'd share it with all of you: http://www.storyofstuff.com/.

I would love to hear what you guys do in your everyday lives to try to protect the environment or save precious resources. Post them as a comment if that's your thing.

Have a great (green) holiday everyone!
Shanna