A big part of being a handyman is assembling things and hanging things on walls. A client called and asked me to assemble a “cat tree” for her newly adopted kittens and install some shelves for them to climb upon. Here we go.
A rare pic of me working:
And here is the cat tree:
Looks simple but it took 2 hours to assemble. And finally the shelves for the little critters to hang out upon:
I like to see satisfied customers 🙂
I know a little bit about electricity . . . as I am fond of saying, mostly, I know to call an electrician. But there are a few things that I dare to tackle: mostly rewiring lamps, and the occasional switch and fixture swap. As long as the existing wiring is kosher, I generally know what to do, and it helps that I have a pal who is a licensed master electrician who will take my calls for help.
Anyway, I was doing a general list of fixits for a client in a gorgeous old house, when I noticed that their electrical faceplates were all . . . old. Just scuffed up and worn out. So at my urging, we started to swap out the faceplates. Made a huge difference. But then I got to the kitchen and uh oh
This was a weird setup. Normally a “over/under” switch like this just takes a regular outlet cover, but this was super small. After some research I learned this was an outdated and now obsolete/illegal design. My goal was just to improve aesthetics, not mess with wires, but this needed a replacement.
So, cover off: 
Wires out:
New Switch, which in this case was really two new switches:
And in a final turn of handyman cleverness, I used an oversized faceplate to cover the crud of the old, VIOLA:
When I started this handymanning thing, I already owned a nice big steel toolbox, and I have been using that for years, but it only has a top and bottom compartment so things tend to get jumbled. So now I need to move up. I just bought (actually my sister bought it as a xmas present) a high end Klein backpack toolbag, and boy is it awesome:
These are just a few of the FORTY NINE pockets this thing has!! So anyway I thought it might be fun to share what a handyman like me has to carry to every job, as you just never know what you might need. Here goes:
hammer
pliers
needle nose pliers
pinch pliers
channel locks
screwdrivers, philips:
large
medium
small
tiny
offset
screwdrivers. slotted:
large
medium
small
tiny
offset
plus a 6 way screwdriver with both heads
putty knives:
large
medium
small
sharpies
pens
pencils
chisel
crowbar
file
wood rasp
clamps
tape measures (large/medium)
ruler
work gloves:
leather
disposable latex gloves
neoprene gloves
nylon ties
paintbrushes (regular/tiny)
wood:
stir sticks
popsicle sticks
1×2 pieces for whatever (kept in truck)
shims
toothpicks
soft copper wire (romex)
grout brush
toothbrush
scrub brush
straw
liquid nails
wood glue
silicone
nylon string
magnets
WD40
Bolt loosener
long drill bits
circuit tracer
voltage tester
black tape
wire nuts
electrical pliers
water
cordless drill
cordless drill batteries
drill bit case
long drill bits
stripped screw head removal kit
razor blade window scraper
box cutter
jackknife
ice pick
flashlight
aa / aaa / 9 volt batts
headlamp
tin snips
vice grips
stud finder
wire brushes
fasteners: screws, nails, molly/butterfly bolts
stain pens
sandpaper
rubber hammer
grout float
assorted primers and paints
socket set
And there are more little doodads bought for one job and never used again that don’t live in the active toolkit, but I keep them on the tool shelf just in case. That includes spackle, drywall joint compound, drywall tape, foil tape, mesh tape, wood putty, bondo, and sandpaper everywhere. Plus my dremel saw. door lock drilling template kit, and an orbital sander.
This backpack saves major wear and tear on my elbow ligaments when hauling this 45 lbs of stuff. And of course it keeps things organized which is huge. See you on the next job 🙂