A paintbrush, and...cottage cheese?

It’s not what you think. There is not cottage cheese in that container, but paint. Why, you ask? Read on for a pro tip (from a non-pro).

DIY was not always popular, but it now has become its own culture. Many people, myself included, use it as an identifier saying “I am a DIYer” with pride. However, many of us are not able to do all our DIYing full time, and must have a regular day job. I am fortunate enough to have a job that, at least temporarily, is work from home. Contrary to popular opinion, working from home does not mean taking naps and doing what you want all day- theres still a boss and work to get done. However, it is nice being able to use breaks to get things done at home without travel time.

I think the only plus of the COVID-19 pandemic was being able to use this break time for house projects. This is of course on top of the benefits of not wearing real pants, not having to do my hair, and spending the day with my fur-babies. They love to participate in my Zoom meetings.

One project that can be quite tedious, requires more time than expected, and annoying set-up/ clean-up time, is painting. However, it doesn’t need to be that way. Enter from stage right: my cottage cheese container.

Unless I had several hours to dedicate to painting, I previously wouldn’t bother. After all, who wants to pour paint into a cup or tray, dirty a brush or roller, put on paint clothes, then clean it all just to have 5 minutes of painting on a 15 minute break? Not I. However, by using a container with a lid (ahem...cottage cheese container) and keeping your brush in a sealed plastic bag, you can paint for a few minutes and come back to it later without all that set-up and clean-up time.

Another perk of working from home? Paint clothes all day is acceptable. However, if you need to maintain some sort of professional appearance for video meetings, throwing on a “paint sweatshirt” over your shirt allows you to get as many painting minutes in as possible without ruining your nice top. Let’s be honest- you’re not wearing real pants for video meetings anyways, so stick with paint pants.

Life can be pretty hectic no matter what you have going on. Between work, spending time with loved ones, and getting housework done, it’s hard finding time to do hobbies or projects. By doing a little bit at a time when we can (sometimes with the help of a discarded cottage cheese container), we can chip away at those projects even if it doesn’t seem there is time.

Thanks for reading, and happy DIYing!