About

Hello Internets and Welcome to Savvy Practicality!

This website is dedicated to savvy folks needing practical solutions to everyday life. I started this blog to keep a rolling history of my mad MacGyver DIY skills. We won’t be covering bombs here, but we will talk about almost everything else. I come from a long line of DIYers who would rather build than buy and over the years the influences have rubbed off.

We will be covering a lot of ground in the next few months as we renovate our house to make it home. As ever, we are ambitious and audacious. In 2004 we bought a home in a small town in the Missouri Ozarks. While certain facets are charming, the rest is a mess. The front door opened into the kitchen, we have only one bathroom, rooms are drafty, windows and doors leak. For a 90 year old shes holding up well, but she needs a serious facelift, tummy tuck, and a new hat. I’ve grown tired of hoping Ed McMahon(Hi Ed!) or Matt Muenster (Hi Matt!) will knock on my door. I hold out hope for Ahmed Hassan, but we must start these projects without him.

Our Pledge and Disclaimer

We will make mistakes. Hey, we’ve never run a blog before and quite frankly its, scary! We aren’t website specialists or videographers so this is bound to get crazy.

We will be sloppy. Thirteen people reside in this house at any given time, plus two dogs. We can’t always make it quiet for a video, or arrange everything like the DIY Network. If we hit our hand with a hammer we will cuss! We live here amidst the drywall dust, paint spills, tools… you get the point.

We will be extreme. From tearing out everything, knocking holes into perfectly good walls, building cabinets board by board, refinishing floors. We get down and dirty. We promise to break things down when we can, answer questions and come up with some great projects.

We will be transparent. We’re broke. We don’t have thousands to spend to transform every room in this home. A shoestring budget is our comfort zone. Creativity is borne from necessity. We source leftovers from other construction jobs, scour the likes of Craigslist and Freecycle for freebies and cheapies, oh, and Habitat For Humanity’s Restore is my home away from home. If you can do it for free, nearly free, or DIY it you will see it on this blog.

We will be slow. With seven children we stop frequently and that may try our patience and yours. Dinner still has to be made, diapers must be changed, and sleep…. I need some. Our children range in ages from 2 months to 11 years old and they are here full time. Know any babysitters willing to take on seven children in this area? Call me.

*Legal Disclaimer Regarding Posts and Comments*

This weblog is meant for informational and entertainment purposes only. I do my best to provide accurate and thoroughly researched information. My projects are a reflection of the process I went through and the outcome is posted as a result. SavvyPracticality.com can’t be held responsible if you injure yourself Tim Taylor style, devalue your home, incur the wrath of your HOA, or otherwise have problems arising from what you have read here. If you attempt to take pictures like I do, and you are chased by a beaver, you’re on your own.

I am not a physician, lawyer, contractor, electrician, plumber, mechanic, lock smith or any other type of tradesman, I am a mom with a pink hammer. I research well, I plan, and through trial and error I get the job done just like any other DIYer. Some DIY projects have the potential to go very badly, I will not be responsible for damages arising from an idea you saw here. Every post and comment I make on SavvyPracticality.com is written “AS IS” with no guarantees or warranties.

For the most part the comments section of this weblog will remain open. I welcome you to express your thoughts and feelings in that area. Please keep in mind that your words can be read by children, because this is as much their space as mine. I reserve the right to delete comments for any reason.

Comments posted in the appropriate section of this weblog do not reflect my views on any subject. Posts older than last week may not reflect the views I have today. I am human, and a work in progress just like this blog. My views and words are my own and can change as quickly as my mood. It is never my intent to hurt, or upset anyone, and my bad grammar and punctuation shouldn’t be misconstrued. If you haven’t noticed I am not an editor either.