Finally tried that 'free heat' trick with a clay pot over a candle in my uninsulated garage, and it actually raised the temp by 4 degrees last night.

I finally tried making my own pizza dough after years of buying the $4 frozen crusts.

It costs about 60 cents a batch and honestly tastes better. Anyone have a good sauce recipe that doesn't use fancy canned tomatoes?

Question about a stubborn fade line from a client's dad

A client's father, a retired barber from Chicago, told me to use my clipper at a 45 degree angle, not straight on, to blend a tough line on a coarse hair fade. I tried it on a guy last Friday who always gets that line, and it worked perfectly in one pass. I'd been struggling with that for months using my usual method. Has anyone else gotten a random tip from a client that actually fixed a problem?

Three years ago in Phoenix, I saw a crew use a power trowel on a slab that was still way too wet.

Honestly, I still think about that mess every time I'm checking bleed water on a 90 degree day, because they had to grind the whole surface flat again after it crazed up like a dried-up lake bed. Has anyone else had to fix a job where the timing was that far off?

Back when I started, I'd use a 3-inch brush for everything, doors, trim, you name it.

Switched to a 2-inch angled sash brush for the last job and the control was night and day, especially on the window frames. Anyone have a go-to brush for cutting in on textured walls?

A friend saw my coop and pointed out a huge ventilation mistake

They said my single small window wasn't enough for 8 hens, and after a hot week last month, I saw what they meant. I added two more screened vents up high and the difference in air flow is night and day. Has anyone else had to fix a ventilation setup after their flock grew?

I just found out my whole blowout method was drying out hair for years

A regular client came in yesterday and mentioned her ends felt like straw after every visit. I watched her style it at home once and saw she was holding the dryer way too close, basically baking each section. It hit me that I never actually showed her the right distance, just assumed she knew. I've been doing quick demos wrong by not making the 'two hand lengths away' rule clear. How do you guys make sure clients really get the technique you teach?

TIL I was setting my water heater wrong for years

I always kept my water heater at 140 degrees thinking it was better. My gas bill was high and my pipes were getting noisy. A plumber from Rio Rancho came out for a different fix and asked why it was set so hot. He told me 120 degrees is plenty and safer, especially with kids. He said at 140, I was wasting about $60 a year just on standby heat loss. I turned it down last week and the hot water is still fine. What's the right temp you all use to save money but still get a good shower?

This lady at the hardware store paint counter changed how I see my own job

She came in last Tuesday asking for a specific shade of blue, but the system was down and I couldn't pull up the formula. I told her she'd have to come back, but she just smiled and said, 'Honey, I've got the chip right here, and you've got a color book. Let's just match it by eye, you can do it.' We spent about twenty minutes mixing tiny samples until we got it spot on. It made me think, maybe we rely on the computer too much and forget we actually know our stuff. Has a customer ever pushed you to do something the old school way that actually worked better?

Bought a $150 ultrasonic cleaner for shutter blades, and it's the best thing I've done this year.