Say Goodbye to Chronic Clutter
Brick Painting vs. Staining:
USE THE CORE 4 METHOD TO TRANSFORM YOUR HOME!
If you’ve attempted Marie Kondo’s famous “spark joy” approach to decluttering but still have too much stuff, you might want to try the CORE 4 Method designed by professional organizer Kayleen Kelly. Kelly specializes in tackling “chronic clutter” and designs her techniques to work for everyone , including people who are neurodivergent. Her CORE 4 Method has earned her millions of online fans because it includes just four steps anyone can follow to purge clutter! Here’s how it works. Step 1: Clear Out — First, choose one room of your home to work on. Then, grab a trash bag and several sturdy boxes. Use the bag to collect trash like food wrappers or broken items you never got around to repairing. Then, look for things that belong in other rooms of your home and toss them into the boxes, using a different box for each room. If you’re working in your office, for example, move extra sweaters to your bedroom box and the spare hammer to your garage box. Then, put the boxes in their corresponding rooms to deal with later. Step 2: Categorize — Sort everything left in your room into categories. In your bedroom, you might have one pile for clothes, one for shoes, and another for hobby items. Step 3: Cut Out — Assess the storage in your room and use that space to calculate how many items you can keep from each category. For example, if you have a category of books, figure out how many will fit on your bookshelf. That’s how many books you can keep! Then, choose a category and go through it item by item. Kelly recommends using the “3 Second Rule”: Give yourself three seconds to decide if each item is a “Yes’’ or a “No,” and consider anything you hesitate on a “Yes.” Repeat this cycle until you have the right number of items in each category. Step 4: Contain — Stash each category of items in its designated storage space. Kelly suggests keeping “like” items together and ensuring your regularly used things are easy to access. These four steps can help you tackle even the most cluttered spaces. With help from a few friends, you can organize an entire room in a single day!
Which DIY Method Is Right for You?
Historical home lovers cringe at the thought of painting or staining original brick, but there’s no shame in it! In fact, it’s one of the easiest ways to give your home a facelift. However, deciding to refresh your brick facade or fireplace comes with a question: Should you paint or stain? Painting vs. Staining Painting or staining brick is very similar to painting or staining wood. Paint will sit on the brick’s surface and transform it with a bold, solid color. Stain will sink into brick and act more like a tint, adjusting the color to a lesser degree. Brick painting hides flaws like discoloration and crumbling, while staining lets the brick’s original texture show through, imperfections included. If you paint your brick, you can choose from a rainbow of colors — everything from neon green to lavender is on the table! Brick stains are more muted but still come in various shades, including light blue, warm yellow, gray, brown, and charcoal. The Application Process With either method, you need to clean your brick first. For indoor areas, spray the brick with a 1:1 mixture of water and vinegar, let it sit, and scrub it clean. Experts recommend power washing outdoor bricks. If you paint, you should prime the surface with masonry primer or use a 2-in-1 paint. Whether you paint or stain, you’ll need to apply multiple coats to achieve your ideal shade. Some bricks absorb stain more easily than others, and bricks that are sealed or painted won’t stain at all. You can test this by spraying water on your bricks. If the water sinks in, they’ll absorb stain! Whether you plan to paint or stain, a paint sprayer will deliver the fastest, easiest application. If you don’t own one, try renting from your local hardware store!
Pro Tip: Dampness on your bricks can prevent paint from sticking, so let them dry completely before painting.
The Maintenance Painted bricks can flake or peel easily, so experts recommend repainting them every 3–5 years. Brick stain, however, doesn’t need regular retouching. While costs of paint and stain vary, this difference in upkeep makes brick staining the more affordable option. Good luck, and happy renovating!
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