A Goodwill Weekend

I was off Friday (as I am every other Friday) and had a doctor appointment.

The docs office is close to the Arlington Goodwill, so I thought I’d poke in to see what treasures await (especially since we might be home owners soon- as long as this appraisal is fine).

I found the most awesome lamp. It just needed some TLC (and a complete re-wire).  I remember my dad doing this when I was younger, so I thought, it can’t be that bad. (My dad gets Handyman magazine and is also an engineer, but in my mind, my skill level MUST be the same since we’re blood).

I also found a few other treasures for our new abode, but that’s another blog post.

This is dedicated to my DIY lamp project.

Lowe’s sold a re-wire kit that included the harp (the thing that holds the shade up). For some reason all the lamps at Goodwill had their harps removed. You should have some basic tools like a little Flathead screwdriver and wire cutters to do this. 

I called my dad approx. 15 times and cut my finger and ruined my manicure a well as my manicure tools (yes, I did not have proper tools to do this task so made it work with what I had). 

The instructions on the back of the packages are crap. eHow is much better. In retrospect, I should have gone there first. You really need pictures though, because the old lamp socked I had was different than the new one I put in.

First problem (of many), was getting the old wires out. I ended up using a paper clip to release the clip that was locking the wires into place.

I looked at the bottom of the lamp for a while- yes, the felt on the bottom of the lamp does need to come off and I was able to peel mine back and re-stick back on.  

For all the 10 steps that come after this, go to eHow!

E came out and asked me what was taking so long (3 hours) and then, I quote, says “that is the ugliest lamp I have ever seen.”  I am super proud of my “bordello” lamp and can’t wait to set it up in our new guest room. Yup there are feathers on the bottom of the shade & no, I do not agree with E that it "looks like it came from the Goodwill." Only thing, is I have to warn my mom not to electrocute yourself when turning it off and on- J/K ;)

So, moral of this post is you CAN do anything you set your mind to and Goodwill is the shizz for getting awesome cheap home goods.