Tackling the Mess of Home Improvement

Cabin fever is not far away.

A rainy, cold week has defoliated my trees. My garage is a mess thanks to all the leaves that have blown in through the open garage door. Now that my time indoors is increasing, I'm finding little notes around the house that will soon be rolled together for my winter "honey do" list.

I suspect the final list will look something like this:

Paint the living room.
Replace a tiled entry floor with hardwood.
Replace a fiberglass shower stall with tile.

Each of these home improvements means I'll also have a mess to clean up. So, I'd like your advice on how to tackle some of the challenges.

When it comes to painting, It seems nearly impossible to get masking tape to stick to the top of a baseboard. Cleaning paint off stained woodwork is a real pain.

Removing tile is a filthy job. The dust and tile chips fly everywhere, and before you know it, my eyes are watering like I'd just watched the movie "Rudy."

The same holds for cutting tile.