Tag: diy

August was another decent month but it’s the last I have extra time to do scrounging on my errands since my semi vacation is now over. I did get lucky however and found a large plastic water bottle that normally goes on a water dispenser in a recycling bin behind an office building. These are worth $10 empty at the grocery store so it was a nice boost in addition to the cans I scavenged.

With that boon I managed to raise a total of $37.30 for August.

The Tools

I’ve been doing work without proper safety equipment and I figured that although the risks have been minimal so far I had better smarten up before something bad happens. The first thing I bought this month was a set of 50 masks for $2.00 from the thrift store.

Now that nobody cares about COVID anymore PPE has come way down in price. I remember all the anti mask bullshit that was floating around during the pandemic. You can debate all the nuance about freedom wearing them and their effectiveness but it’s my first hand experience that they work. Don’t believe me then look at the scientific studies. Sure they aren’t N95 but they don’t need to be since I’m not spending all day in a COVID ward.

The second thing I bought was work gloves off of Amazon for $5.75. The gloves work extremely well and have great grip. I should have owned a pair long ago.

The third thing I bought was some 3M safety glasses that go over my own prescription ones from Amazon for $3.01.

The fourth thing I bought was a magnetic pickup tool from Aliexpress for $3.79. Aluminum cans aren’t very magnetic but it’s the rest of the metal stuff that can often be found in the garbage that makes this tool come in useful.

The fifth thing I bought was a magnetic bowl from Walmart for $4.00. Do almost anything related to electronics and you’ll want one of these things when it comes to disassembly. I’ve found often it’s either this or a headache most of the time so I opted to just buy one.

The last thing I bought this month was a Picquic multi bit screwdriver from Amazon for $12.25. I needed a Schrader Valve bit to help someone and didn’t have one on my current screwdriver. It turned out that factoring in time there was only like a $2 difference between ordering a whole screwdriver on Amazon with the bit and just the bit itself at the hardware stores near me.

I didn’t really need a whole other screwdriver but can you ever have too many? I’m conflicted whether I made the right choice but it’s done now.

Financial Summary for August 2025

Revenue

1. Amount Carried Over From Previous Month: $3.16
2. Cans/Bottles: $37.30

Total: $40.46

Expenses

1. 50 Facemasks $2.00
2. Work Gloves $5.75
3. 3M Safety Glasses $3.01
4. Magnetic Pick-Up Tool $3.79
5. Magnetic Bowl $4.00
6. Picquic Multi Bit Screwdriver $12.25

Total Expenses: $30.80

Summary

It wasn’t a flashy month but I bought a bunch of stuff that I needed.

July is not my favorite month but at least it’s good for canning. I would bet it’s going to be my best month earning money this way. I was out and about sweating a lot in July so I did a bunch of canning because of the opportunity and managed to raise $36.50.

The Tools

I have to start with a review of the grabber I picked up on Aliexpress. It’s not great. I like that it’s foldable so I can conceal it in a reusable grocery bag but that’s where my appreciation ends. The way the jaws clench means it struggles to hold onto any can or bottle and it’s frustrating as hell to use because the cans slip out of the grip all the time. I’m going to have to modify it somehow so the jaws close tighter. They are plastic riveted in place so I can’t disassemble them. What I will have to do is put some combination of a foam weather stripping (usually used to seal air leaks in windows when installing air conditioners for example) and a grippy piece of material like rubber. I was thinking that one side of the jaws will have the weather stripping while the other will have the rubber giving me the ideal balance of grip and holding power. Either way it’s been filed away in my mind for a future project because I don’t plan on purchasing anything to make the modification anyway.

I’ve also put it on the back burner because I was discussing the grabber problem with my mom and unbeknownst to me she went out and purchased a grabber for me from a Dollarama.

I was a bit annoyed with her for having done so (and secretly annoyed with myself for not having done so already and instead paying up the ass at Aliexpress). I tried to pay her back a few times but she was unwilling to accept any money from me on any of occasions I tried. I’m thankful she’s an understanding and kind person because even though I’m middle aged now my guess is that it’s rare for a parent to have to deal with their offspring digging around in the trash. She knows that I’m doing it because I want to pay my debt off first and using this separate money to buy tools so I don’t accumulate more debt. She’s always been a great mother to me and even if I lived a 1000 lives I wouldn’t choose to have anyone different. So I have another grabber now and suffice to say it works much better thank jebus.

The first thing I’ve come to realize is that the way I’ve been buying tools isn’t ideal. My preference is to save money and buy higher quality tools. The problem is that higher quality tools are more expensive and getting them at discounted prices will take time. In the interim I’m facing the issue of needing a tool but not having one. Instead of framing it in my mind as a high quality tool purchase vs a low quality tool purchase I should have been thinking of having no tool vs having the tool I needed regardless of quality. So I decided at least until I have the tools that I need I will try just to get SOMETHING whether or not it is cheap or high quality just so that I can just get the job done with it.

The second thing I’ve come to realize is that purchasing individual tools is more expensive than just buying a kit. I did not know that retailers like Home Depot, Canadian Tire or Wal-Mart sell “Project Kits” which are basically small toolkits with most common tools that someone might need and they are priced competitively. Which leads me to my one and only purchase for July:

The only thing I bought for July was a drill toolkit from Wal-mart for $33.34. I happened across it online when I was buying litter for my cats. I thought it was a fantastic deal. It had all the basic tools I was looking for in addition to a cordless drill which is something I thought I would acquire way down the line.

Financial Summary For July 2025

Revenue

1. Amount carried over from previous month: $0.02
2. Cans/Bottles: $36.50

Total: $36.52

Expenses

1. Cordless Drill kit $33.34

Total: $33.34

Summary

I know that the drill kit I purchased is considered by some to be cheap Chinese tools but to me being able to get a task finished no matter what I use is more important that not being able to at all.