Hey Honey Badgers,

Welcome to the second edition of the Main + Tenacious newsletter! Love is in the air so let’s talk about breeding…. hey, get your head out of the garbage. It’s about breeding success.

What you will find inside:

• This month’s home maintenance tasks
• Skill building tips
• Some encouragement because this stuff is hard sometimes

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Success breeds success

Being the daughter of a Texas engineer means that I grew up around tools and DIY projects. At the same time, growing up as a girl in small town Texas, I wasn’t always encouraged to get involved or take leadership NOR did I step up. Still, I managed to earn a pocket full of skills along the way. Skip to present day – my husband and father have a lot of skills and honestly, they know MUCH more than I do. So, when something needed to be done, I wanted them to take the lead. And they naturally took the lead. It’s just how it was.

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Then one day, I realized I have the skills. I can do many tasks all by myself like a big girl.

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The first time I realized this was when the hot water heater stopped worked. I automatically went to tell my husband. He was busy working on another project and told me to hire it out. I was about to say okay, when a funny thought popped into my head…. wait a minute! I might know how to fix it! And sure enough, I had it working again in like 15 minutes. That felt good!

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Not long after that, we had a leaking faucet. My dad and husband repaired it several times and when the last repair failed, we decided it was time to replace it. We bought a new one and there it sat in its unopened box for two weeks because everyone was busy. Can you relate? I kept looking at the directions but always putting it back down. I felt like I could do it, yet something held me back. Finally, one day, inspired by the never-ending drip, I found myself under the sink. And within 15 minutes, we had a new faucet.

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Before when I would walk by the dripping sink, it was a stab of stress, shame, and frustration.

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Now, every time I walk by the sink, I feel success, a sense of control, and empowered. I get those endorphins even still just walking by it.

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How many things in your house are draining you? How does that affect your daily walk-through life? You are more capable than you think! Redefine how you see the ocean of tasks…

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It’s not sexy, it’s not fun. BUT the mental headspace you gain when you know your house is well tended too, is well, amazing. How would it change your life to know that?

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Join Main + Tenacious as we embark on this home maintenance journey together. Keep reading for tips, hacks, and inspiration to make this endeavor not just a chore, but a transformative and fulfilling experience.

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February Tasks

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Reoccurring Tasks

Y’all up north have an extra chore, but don’t worry, you get to laugh at us in the south all summer long.

1. If you have a water softener, take a peek at those salt levels.
2. Is it time to change your HVAC filter? When you are done, mark it in your calendar and order new ones if needed.
3. Live somewhere brrrr cold? Check the roof for ice dams and icicles.

Maintain

Before it gets hellish hot, let’s peek in the attic. Hopefully, nothing will peek back at us.

1. How is the attic looking? Any pests, mold, mildew? Is air flowing through the soffits? How do things look structurally? Everything in good shape? Have enough insulation?
2. Time to check the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

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Prep

Haven’t been keeping up with home maintenance? Keep it simple and just do these tasks to start. These tasks are the one and done tasks you can do that will make future maintenance and DIY task so much easier.

1. Tidy the garage. Either the whole thing or just around the water heater and circuit panel. Make a space to store items needed for home maintenance chores and air filters. Bonus if you clear enough space for a little work area.
2. Label the circuit panel if it’s not labeled.
3. Find and label the water and gas valves.

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Need help with any of those tasks? There is much more information inside our community.

Why? Why must I care about the attic?

Sure, its creepy. Sure, it’s difficult. Sure, it’s dirty work. deep breath…. hear me out. It also has a major impact on your home’s comfort, energy efficiency, safety, and pocketbook.

“I am still going to ignore you because its icky, terrible, and stupid up there”.

It’s quite icky to spend big, big money repairing damage caused by ice dams.

It’s a terrible waste of electricity to leak cold air out of the ducts and into the stupid attic. Besides, think about how much harder the AC has to run when you want it in the 70s in the house and the attic is so hot Lucifer takes his vacations there.

It sure is stupid when pests, allergies, and mold take over.

Look, no one wants to be up there, but a couple of hours (or days) a year, and you will be saving yourself possible a ton of grief down the road.

Plus, it makes it a ton easier to wire the next big project.

Cat walk in the attic Start walking Know what’s under your feet

What the cool kids wear to attic parties Attic Fashion

Host a foam party Become a foam master! Buy the best

Creepy attics in Movies Creep yourself out

It’s easier than you think Replace the Stairs