Once upon a time in an insane land far away, I thought my landlords were going to let me paint my cabinets. In some fantasy I’m still holding onto hope they will. I feel like a broken record at this point, repeating my wishes constantly.
Because I thought they were going to say yes, I spent the time and energy taking all the upper cabinet doors off, labeling them with sticky notes, and cleaning the hardware. I put all the hardware in separate baggies with numbers that correspond with the cabinet they go on.
To clean the door’s hardware I put them in separate containers to clean them. I sprinkled baking soda on them before covering them in distilled white vinegar and let them soak for a few hours.
After soaking I scrubbed the hardware with an SOS pad and rinsed. The baking soda and vinegar really did a good job of loosening up the gunk that was caked on. If you’re in the process of revamping your cabinets and are reusing your hardware I really recommend doing this step. You can really get into every crevice when the hardware is not on the door.
Here are a few side by sides of how much of a difference this can make. Plus, a reminder at how horribly disgusting my cabinets are.
Now I sit and wait until my wish comes true. My cabinets are without doors, and the insides are begging me to paint them. I’ve done a few of the inside shelves as you may have already seen here, and I’m slowly painting them while I wait. I hope I don’t finish all the insides of the cabinets and clean all of the hardware before I get to paint. At least I will have something to keep me busy in the mean time.
When is the last time you thought about cleaning your hardware? Do you get impatient waiting to do your next big project, and how do you deal with the anticipation?
See You Around!
Lauren <3
You are SO wise. In the house we are living in, now, our painter (whom we ended up firing) did NOT label things.
I hope you get to paint your cabinets! What color are you hoping to paint them?
Thank you! I try to keep the hassle to a minimum. DIY projects usually have enough of that as it is. We want to paint them just plain old white since it will brighten up the space and the landlords have already paid for the materials (which is why I don’t understand why they’re saying no?)
I’m getting annoyed with your landlords. Are they on a power trip? Or do they just lack vision? Even without painting your place is looking great. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music
I think they have a lack of vision or they don’t want to take the time to consider the notion. The problem is the wife that normally deals with rent thought it would be okay, and the husband said no. The only time he’s around is if he has to fix something so he hasn’t seen how bad a shape the cabinets are in.