These are a few of my favorite things..

My mother has always collected old furniture. Whether it was hand-me-downs through the family or something picked up on the side of the road or the dump. She picked up this whole bedroom set at the dump one time. It all goes together...and it has all been sitting in the garage/attic for about...7 years. It looks like it started out white, then gray (ew) , then a beige color. All this paint is chipping and peeling (there was even some mold!). I have a headboard, footboard, mirror and bureau. It has a side table as well, but I've already done that. I didn't take any before pictures of the side table because it was a rushed refinishing project. We won't get into why it was rushed as it is a very long story.  Here is what it looked like after:

I just finished the headboard. Here are some before pictures:

Not cute!!!

After:

Pristine! (Yes, I like to toot my own horn...who doesn't?)

Refinishing old stuff is fun for me. Its amazing how three or four hours, some elbow grease and a coat of paint can completely change something. Its like shopping without spending a ton of money. 

Trial and error has taught me one thing: You need one of these : 

Throw some 60 grit on that bad boy and you are GOOD TO GO!

That is a block sander. Its made out of super heavy duty rubber. You just hook the sand paper in to slots at the end. There are some aggressive looking nails that hold the sandpaper and away you go! This makes it SO much easier than holding a piece of sandpaper with your hand for hours and hours. I tried that and it lasted about 20 minutes before I thought all the tendons in my hand snapped. You get much more even pressure so things move along pretty quickly. You can also buy sanding sponges but once they're used up you need to go buy new ones and I see it as a waste of money. The sponges range anywhere from $3-$10, whereas you can buy five sheets of sandpaper for $4 (and it lasts for about 4 - 5 projects). Also, I like the block sander much more than a palm sander. Its less of a hassle and less dust flying around.

A putty knife is also a good thing to have on hand.

This is the one I use (its my Mother's favorite...now its MY favorite and she is not getting it back) it has a sturdier 1 1/2 inch wide blade. I'm fairly certain that putty knife is almost as old as I am, hence why it looks a little rough around the edges.

 If you have a ton of chipping paint, just cruise the putty knife along it and it will come right off. You can find ones that have flexible blades and others have more sturdy blades.  Its personal preference, really. I tried to use a wider, flexible one and it tended to dig into the wood and then fling paint chips everywhere.  The 60 grit sandpaper really comes in handy for the stubborn stuff that the putty knife just doesn't get without gouging the wood.

After I have sanded down with 60 grit, I like to jump up to 100 and go over everything quickly. Then go up in grades of sandpaper until its SUPER smooth. I've gotten to be a perfectionist with the sanding, I guess you don't HAVE to do it that way, but if you don't skip the fine details it will come out FANTASTIC! 

In closing, Pinterest always knows how to crack an egg of knowledge: