New Year: New Projects!

 If you remember my post from a few months ago I painted the front door and knew that a bullet list would soon follow. That being said, the front porch saw some paint! My what a difference! Paint I swear covers a multitude of sins!! Haha!

I "power washed" the porch using some Greased Lightening cleaner, then took a spackle/putty knife to scrape away any loose paint (there was plenty!)

 I had a leftover Benjamin Moore color sample paint that I used. I threw in a little extra black artist paint and mixed. It was almost a full quart from when I went through a batch of greys to pick the living room color.

So much better!! The mailbox also got a fresh coat of spray paint to buy me some time on replacing it. Again, I had the spray paint on hand. In case you've wondered--- mailboxes are extremely ugly or extremely expensive. I'd DIY something but according to some research on it, they have certain postal requirements blah blah blah.

 Spray paint is my friend I tell ya!

The other thing that already has been updated for the new year is the hot water heater. Boy was he looking rough! There's things inside called anode rods which help attract the natural occurring minerals etc in your tap. Without the rods the tap water eats away at the inside of the tank.

One way to tell that the rods are going is that the hot water will start to smell fishy or like sulfur. Well my hot water smelled for months.. So I knew the rods were going... In the last few weeks I didn't notice a smell but DID notice some constant water in the shed. It was hard to tell if it was coming from the washer/dryer or the hot water tank. I thought too it could be from some rain storms-- but after a period without rain, and water still in the shed, my eyebrows were raised.

A quick rinse cycle with red food coloring confirmed what I thought: Hot water heater (Since the water on the ground wasn't red I knew it wasn't coming from the washer/dryer which I had dyed the rinse cycle)

So today Mr. Rust Bucket was removed, drained and replaced. The date based on the serial number stated 1991... So 21 years old and they normally last 8-12 years. Definitely time! Thankfully, once again the mighty home warranty came into play and helped covered some cost. I still had to pay for the thermal expansion unit (the blue blob on top) some pipe, and a permit fee from the city *which  I think is crazy*. They wanted to charge $40 to haul it away.. But no thanks, I'll borrow a truck and haul it to the scrapyard and make a couple bucks off it instead.

The new one is so....new and purdy! =) Make the shed so much less scary haha!
Finally a hot shower after 12 days of boiling water!!

I'm surprised I didn't turn my kitchen or living room into a scene like this:

Starting off the new year with a few small but needed changes!
Linked up at Addicted To Decorating Happy New Year everyone!