Helpful Hints from joeeze: Painting hacks (Episode 2)

Tatiana's nifty rubber band brush holder in last Saturday's Episode 1 inspired a comment from Nick Wood offering two additional tweaks to make your do-it-yourself painting experience that much better.

1) "One of my favorite painting tips is to nail holes in the inner rim so that any paint which collects there can drip back into the can."

2) "Pour the paint towards the rear label so that even after it is half covered in paint, you still know what kind of paint is in the can."

I especially love #2 because it's so elegant, requiring only thought and no physical implements or additional effort.

In that respect, it's akin to a driving (cars, not golf) hack I've used since forever: when backing up, after everything's clear and you're about to take your foot off the brake and put the vehicle into reverse, don't — instead, turn around again and look.

Doing so has saved me from several accidents over the years.

It's true that strictly speaking, the extra look back requires additional effort — consider it a neck flexibility enhancement and you'll feel better about it.