How $45 Has Saved Me At Least 10 Hours

One piece of background information is needed for this post - I am a Google Chrome user. I'm sure most of you can understand the use of this browser, but if you haven't already made the switch from Firefox or (gasp!) Internet Explorer, please do for these reasons: safety, ability to share bookmarks across devices, integration with Google Accounts (Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Blogger, Analytics, AdSense, etc.), it's extensions (Pinterest, AnyDo, Evernote, etc.), and most importantly, it's tab-enabled. Now, what goes along with this post is the part about tabs - I am a tab hoarder.

Don't believe me? Well, I don't need to explain anything using words. I'll just show you a screenshot of my current browser.

I won't make you count, but as you can see, there are a lot of tabs open - 52 to be exact, but that's just on this one browser window, on this computer. I use almost all of these on a daily basis, and the others that I don't visit as frequently are there as a reminder that I need to check something.

Now, you're probably asking, "What does this have to do with this post?" Well, one of the tabs that I have open is above is the Sears webpage. I refresh the page every morning to check what's been put on sale. One day a few weeks ago, I finally had hit the jackpot. The DeWalt Random Orbital Sander that I had been eyeing was marked down to just $45! I decided to save on shipping so I stopped by the store after work with the intention of purchasing it. Turns out, though, that the price was only valid for online purchases, and the in-store price was $60 - not outrageous, but still more than I wanted to spend. Bummer, right?!

I was disappointed, but then I figured out a secret! I decided to just bring up the Sears website on my phone, order the sander, and set the delivery option to In-Store Pickup! Since I was already at the store, I just had to walk over to the Merchandise Pickup Window, and grab the sander. And I did just that.

I was able to get the sander for the online-only price of $45 and had it within 5 minutes at the pickup window. So, there's a tip for when you are in store. Always check the online price before making your purchase, because that nifty little "In-Store Pickup" option can help you save a lot of money!

Now, as the title of this post suggests, this sander has saved me hours and hours of time. How?

Sanding doors.

About two weeks ago, we removed all of the interior doors on the first floor to paint them. In addition to that, I also removed all of the hardware and gave it a good bath in some soapy water. They really needed some TLC, but that's for another post.

I wiped the doors down to get some of the grease and buildup off of them, and then sanded them down using my brand new random orbital sander! So, for a total of 10 doors (so far!), I was able to save myself at least 10 hours of sanding, since each door took me about 15 minutes with the sander rather than over an hour by hand.

Please ignore the gross painting/cleaning/tool-using clothes again. It's also necessary to dress in layers for working in the basement. 

Best investment ever. Seriously. I haven't even tackled the doors on the second floor yet, not to mention all of the furniture that I will be refinishing, so this is easily the best $45 I have spent so far in my home renovating and DIY-ing. And for the amount of doors I was sanding, I probably would have gone through that amount of money in sandpaper had I been sanding by hand!

We just put the last coat of paint on the doors and today is the end of the 24-hour curing process I like to let them sit through, so we will be putting them back on the frames tonight after work. I'm so excited to have doors back - the cats are messing with things in closets and it's just awkward because we can't have guests over when there's no bathroom door!

Have you purchased a tool using Sears' In-Store Pickup option? Were you able to catch a break in the price, making the purchase that much more justified?


Please Note: I was not compensated for writing this post. I was not contacted by Google Chrome or Sears to provide this information and review. All opinions are my own.  

One piece of background information is needed for this post - I am a Google Chrome user. I'm sure most of you can understand the use of this browser, but if you haven't already made the switch from Firefox or (gasp!) Internet Explorer, please do for these reasons: safety, ability to share bookmarks across devices, integration with Google Accounts (Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Blogger, Analytics, AdSense, etc.), it's extensions (Pinterest, AnyDo, Evernote, etc.), and most importantly, it's tab-enabled. Now, what goes along with this post is the part about tabs - I am a tab hoarder.

Don't believe me? Well, I don't need to explain anything using words. I'll just show you a screenshot of my current browser.

I won't make you count, but as you can see, there are a lot of tabs open - 52 to be exact, but that's just on this one browser window, on this computer. I use almost all of these on a daily basis, and the others that I don't visit as frequently are there as a reminder that I need to check something.

Now, you're probably asking, "What does this have to do with this post?" Well, one of the tabs that I have open is above is the Sears webpage. I refresh the page every morning to check what's been put on sale. One day a few weeks ago, I finally had hit the jackpot. The DeWalt Random Orbital Sander that I had been eyeing was marked down to just $45! I decided to save on shipping so I stopped by the store after work with the intention of purchasing it. Turns out, though, that the price was only valid for online purchases, and the in-store price was $60 - not outrageous, but still more than I wanted to spend. Bummer, right?!

I was disappointed, but then I figured out a secret! I decided to just bring up the Sears website on my phone, order the sander, and set the delivery option to In-Store Pickup! Since I was already at the store, I just had to walk over to the Merchandise Pickup Window, and grab the sander. And I did just that.

I was able to get the sander for the online-only price of $45 and had it within 5 minutes at the pickup window. So, there's a tip for when you are in store. Always check the online price before making your purchase, because that nifty little "In-Store Pickup" option can help you save a lot of money!

Now, as the title of this post suggests, this sander has saved me hours and hours of time. How?

Sanding doors.

About two weeks ago, we removed all of the interior doors on the first floor to paint them. In addition to that, I also removed all of the hardware and gave it a good bath in some soapy water. They really needed some TLC, but that's for another post.

I wiped the doors down to get some of the grease and buildup off of them, and then sanded them down using my brand new random orbital sander! So, for a total of 10 doors (so far!), I was able to save myself at least 10 hours of sanding, since each door took me about 15 minutes with the sander rather than over an hour by hand.

Please ignore the gross painting/cleaning/tool-using clothes again. It's also necessary to dress in layers for working in the basement. 

Best investment ever. Seriously. I haven't even tackled the doors on the second floor yet, not to mention all of the furniture that I will be refinishing, so this is easily the best $45 I have spent so far in my home renovating and DIY-ing. And for the amount of doors I was sanding, I probably would have gone through that amount of money in sandpaper had I been sanding by hand!

We just put the last coat of paint on the doors and today is the end of the 24-hour curing process I like to let them sit through, so we will be putting them back on the frames tonight after work. I'm so excited to have doors back - the cats are messing with things in closets and it's just awkward because we can't have guests over when there's no bathroom door!

Have you purchased a tool using Sears' In-Store Pickup option? Were you able to catch a break in the price, making the purchase that much more justified?


Please Note: I was not compensated for writing this post. I was not contacted by Google Chrome or Sears to provide this information and review. All opinions are my own.