...what to do with this leftover, scummy paint?

Apparently just throwing it out is not a good idea. If you have good paint, save it or give it away. Don't be a douche and "dry it out" or use kitty litter, because that litter could be put to cat use AND YOU WILL PROBABLY NEED THAT PAINT. Touch ups. New projects. That time you tried to move a couch into your apartment and it juuuuuuust fit.

Anyhow, my paint is super old and has flakes in it, so you have to look up your town and paint disposal, then just bring it in. For Chicago:

City of Chicago:	1150 N. North Branch on Goose Island Tue:  7 am - Noon Thu:  2 pm - 7 pmFirst Saturday of every month:  8 am - 3 pm
	Visit the City's web site at www.cityofchicago.org. Phone:  311 or for general info:  312-744-7672

...how to make my own Kombucha? And what the f is a SCOBY?

This one's for my friend Michelle, who survives largely on Kombucha and popcorn. Let's keep her daily 'buch costs affordable, shall we?

Summary:
1. Boil any loose leaf tea ("one tea thingy" full), add 1/8-1/4 c. sugar. Let it cool.

2. Add a scoby (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast).. or make your own from a Kombucha tea you bought at the store, though I've heard it might not work anymore? Make sure to "keep hands real clean" but don't use antibacterial soap, and also use glass as metal can, over time, hurt that poor little scoby doby doo.

3. Cover with a cloth and let it hang out away from direct sunlight for like 7-10 days, depending on temperature.

4. Take off scoby mama and save it for next time with like 10-20% of your kombucha. To the rest, add some clear (no pulp!) juice or some such for flavor. :) You can use herbs, fruit, whatevs, and even infuse it and then strain if you want it really clear.


Once you have a Scoby of your own, you can add it again and again and another Scoby will grow on top of your "mother" Scoby (someone shoot me now). You can then give this Scoby to a "friend".

You can also order scobies (scabies?!) online, fresh are best: Kombucha Kamp!

Pretty basic (and suuuupes chill) vid:



Full deets from The Kitchn: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea-at-home-173858

Yeah!

...how do I murder a zipper?

Because I haaaaaate this f'ing thing so hard. If zippers were murderable, I would. Actually, I may have. The good news is that you can easily fix it, the bad news is that only as long as you didn't buy some p.o.s. zipper like I apparently did. Thanks, Joanne Fabrics.



If that wasn't your particular issue, or "North Carolina Prepper" didn't seem to address your needs, Life Hacker (which seems like a site I need to go to more often) has your back

...how to move this piano I spontaneously purchased?

Congratulations, me! :) I saw a free piano on the community webpage and didn't get to it in time. Damn. Then I saw one for $300 at this vintage furniture thriftshop place, A World Through Rose Colored Glasses. But it wasn't tuned and I wasn't mentally prepared and that one got sold, too. THEN I went to buy reclaimed wood at the Rebuilding Exchange and they had a piano! For $250!

I have this secret little change purse that I stash $20s away in as "mad money" for occasions like the time I went to Alinea or this piano, so that way I can't judge myself and it doesn't hurt. :) It's like FREE MADNESS!!! It makes me feel like a high roller, because I'm like, "Sure, I'll drop a few hundo, nbd." Anyhow, I bought it. Immediately. I didn't quite realize there were different sizes of uprights, but on Quality Piano Moving's estimate site, I guess I bought the smallest real piano possible. My pitch to the third moving company I contacted (QPM seemed super nice, but $230 wasn't left in that mad money wallet): "Okay, I bought the smallest upright piano sold, the warehouse it comes from has a ramp, and I live only 1.5 miles away and only THREE stairs DOWN in a garden apartment and I promise my bigstrongboyfriend will help you." $160.

I haaaaad been thinking of renting a baby uHaul and trying to wheel & deal since it's like, what? 2 hours? 1.5 miles? I bet I could get a few friends. Plus this video:



But that might still be like $80? Then I was like, "Well. This is a thing not to screw up." So instead of half-assing it, I'm 3/4 assing it by getting this guy, his truck, his supplies, his dolly, etc. So that happens tomorrow... will update. :X I've also heard that after being moved, they might go out of tune. We shall see! Congratulations me?

...how do I erase (peel off) my childhood interior design choices (stickers)?

Soooo when I was little, my parents bought me a really nice, solid wooden dresser. While my mom tried to make sure I took care of it, my dad was definitely the more indulgent. When I entered the Bermuda Triangle of little girl sticker phases, he let me "just put one sticker on". Sure. One sticker.

Now that I'm an adult who has her own apartment but can't afford decent furniture, I figured, "Why not dust off that old dresser, paint it up all super cute, and be all fancy chic?" Reduce, reuse, recycle! Just about, ohhhh, 1,584 stickers to get off first. So here's some how-to:

-Nail polish remover, thanks Huff Post!

-Peanut butter?? Mayo? WD-40, and basically anything with oil, allegedly. Hmm. Gross.

-White vinegar (I had a roommate that 'cleaned' everything with this. Seems like a Catch-22.)

-Lighter fluid? This seems like a terrible idea.

-Goo Gone (oh, really? The goo remover removes goo? Ohhhh thaaaaanks)

By far the most similar question and useful answers came from Metafilter, which I hasn't consciously heard of. People copped to things that made me feel better, too. :) ("To remove 30 year old Star Wars stickers from an old painted wooden door...")  So I stopped there, and decided to just scrape the damn things off with a scraper and use nail polish remover on whatever was left. I'm painting and sticky-wallpaper-ing it anyhow. So the pre- is up above, and I'm not quite at "post" yet... will update soon.

Oh, the spatula irony.