33 Do-It-Yourself Home Improvement Tips

"Why didn't I think of that?!" That's what you'll be saying after learning about these clever home improvement solutions. Amy Hughes, features editor of This Old House magazine stopped by with a few "aha" home improvement tips the magazine received from their readers.

• Rather than lay garden our hoses flat on the garage floor, take a heavy-duty plastic pot and screwed its base to a stud with a washer and a lag bolt, then coil the hose around it. The pot's tapered shape keeps the hose neatly in place.

• Put your roller tray inside a drawstring kitchen trash bag and pull the strings tight, then pour the paint into the tray. After painting, turn the bag inside out so that the paint is inside. Pull the strings and throw the bag away. The tray is clean and ready for another color. Just be sure to let the paint dry first before you trash the bag.

• In tight spaces, keep screws from falling off your screwdriver with a piece of plastic wrap. Push the screw point through the wrap, then hold it tight as you turn the screwdriver. Pull away the plastic when you're done.

• Keep paint names for each room handy by writing each name on a piece of tape and sticking it behind the light-switch cover plate. Paint color changes as it ages, so even if you know the paint name and number, you might need "mixologist" to make it a little lighter or darker for an exact match to what's on the painted surface of the switch cover.

• Carton the hardware: Keeping small parts organized when repairing an item is as easy as making breakfast. I use the empty egg carton to contain the pieces.

• Remove paint with cooking oil: I've used canola or corn oil rather than mineral spirits to clean paint off my skin. It works great, washes off with soap and water, and moisturizes my hands, too!

• Paper the windows: When painting wood windows and sills in a humid climate like we have in the Deep South, leave the windows open to dry for a day, then put waxed paper across the sill and close the sash. The paint will cure without sticking.

For 26 more home improvement solutions, check out the June issue of This Old House magazine or visit www.thisoldhouse.com/toh.