Pandora’s Construction Box

Last month you were introduced to my small world. So far we have Mo, my mom who has moved to independent living. We have me, who will be updating the old farmhouse. We have my BF Andy, who lives with his two daughters, Lucy and Grace, about five miles from my house. We all live about 1-2 hours away from where I work (depending on traffic) at Online Stores. Construction Gear, Discount Safety Gear, and SafetyGirl are the stores whose products I will be using during the farmhouse reboot. While Lucy and Grace fight over who gets to test the Mace pepper spray guns, I root through my box of goodies and try to sort out what I will be using on what room. Soon I will start in the bathroom and walk you through some of my projects with featured products, but since I opened Pandora’s box of construction and safety stuff, I took some photos and have some thoughts to share on a few products before I start.

My sister is a nut for keeping her body pure. Since my dad died early of cancer from working hard as a construction foreman all his life despite a squeaky-clean lifestyle, I wanted to reassure her that I will not be breathing anything harmful. This respirator is only $13.31 and is very easy to assemble and use. There are also additional cartridges and filters to extend the life of this mask. It is comfortable, adjusts well, and was easy to breathe in. I will be using this when I use solvents and other chemicals.

Andy was with me when I opened the safety glasses. I got a couple pair because I couldn’t believe how attractive they all are. I’m middle-aged and I absolutely love the bifocals. All of these glasses double as sunglasses. I know I work for this company and am supposed to say nice things about the products, but honestly, it is so easy. The Edge Kazbek pair sells for only $11.09. They are ANSI compliant, they block UV, and they look killer on. Andy, who wears safety glasses daily (he manages operations at a steel mill), tried on the Edge Reclus and said they were by far more comfortable than any other pair he’s worn, and would be great to wear for biking, too.The bridge is made of flexible notched rubber to seat properly without pinching. I bet these go missing from my house…

One last item I dug out of the box while I still had enough energy to use them: shoe cleats. I put these on my lawnmowing shoes, as there is a hillside behind the house. They looked kind of small out of the package but stretched nicely to cover the shoe, and stay there. They were light. My feet dug into the dirt while I mowed the slopes. I am thinking they are going with me to the golf course and will be great in the winter, too.

That’s it. I’ve introduced the stores, the house, the key players, and some products. I have no more excuses not to dig in!

~BS