I’m taking the summer off from blogging, but had to share this thing I didn’t even know existed until yesterday.
Did you know there are hinges that make doors automatically close?
We were spending the day at my best friend’s house yesterday and with 8 kids running around, the doors to the outside were constantly opening.
Pretty normal, right? But . . . get this . . . they also closed. Like, every single time.
I had no idea that you can buy hinges for doors that will make them automatically close!! So, of course, I took a picture and am now sharing an Amazon affiliate link to one with good ratings.
It’s called a “spring hinge.” Click here to see one.
They got theirs at Lowe’s. They used two, one on the top hinge and one on the bottom.
Yay for moms solving one more brain-exploding problem!! Yay for not paying to air-condition the neighborhood! Yay for kids not being raised in a barn!! Yay for not letting bugs in!! Yay for all sorts of other phrases moms won’t have to repeat over and over!!!
--Nony
Well, I can see how it is nice to make sure the door closes. But, it also seems like this, instead of teaching kids TO close the door, actually reinforces bad behavior of NOT closing the door. So, I have mixed feelings. Of course, my opinion shouldn’t matter to anyone else. 😀
That was my first thought too. (The part about needing to teach kids to close doors because not all of them will have spring hinges, not the part about your opinion not mattering)
I was thinking the same thing. I would like to not have to critique my children for leaving the door open. But they do have to learn to close doors and think about how they are leaving the areas around themselves too….
I wonder about this too. While it sounds like a great idea in some ways, I can’t help wondering if the kids will be totally clueless about shutting doors in another environment, which could even be dangerous depending on the situation – I mean outside doors keep more than bugs and hot air out. :-/
Well, I can see how it is nice to make sure the door closes. But, it also seems like this, instead of teaching kids TO close the door, actually reinforces bad behavior of NOT closing the door. So, I have mixed feelings. Of course, my opinion shouldn’t matter to anyone else.
P.S. Every time I try to post a comment I get a “duplicate comment” error and it is not a duplicate. This prevents me from commenting. Anyone else getting this? And, of course, who knows if this one will go through and if anyone else who may be experiencing the same thing will actually be able to reply…
Hmmm. I got both comments on my end. Not sure why it’s doing that, but I’d love to know if it’s happening to anyone else. Thanks for letting me know!
that happened to me yesterday, and i got so fed up i never posted my comment!
Thank you for this! We have chickens, ducks, geese, cats and bugs that need to stay outdoors, and air conditioning that needs to stay indoors. I’m ready to be done fighting this battle.
My concern is how quickly and how hard the doors close. We have a swamp cooler and the air flow can actually help push doors closed. We have little ones and I’d be concerned about their safety. How quickly & how hard did your friends doors close? Can you use just one of those hinges or do you need both?
Not too hard. She has two little ones (not itty bitty but little) and they definitely close but they don’t slam shut. Of course, I don’t know if it’s the exact same one I linked to. They did say that some doors can work with one, and others take two of the hinges. Maybe one would make it not close as fast?
Thanks Dana! We are in the process of building a new home, I will definitely be showing these to my hubby!
In my area of the country these seem to be code on doors leading to the garage. Nice yes, but they don’t close completely. One still needs to make the extra push for a firm close. My husband is always forgetting!! It makes it a little harder to bring the groceries in from the car, but yep they do basically close the door.
Mine completely close. We have these on 2 doors that lead to our garage, my understanding is that it is code on those doors because of potential fumes from garage & vehicles in the garage
I needed these last week! I was taking care of my friends kids for a week, and the front and back doors were always open!!! I do run an air conditioner…. It was driving me batty! No matter how many times I asked them to remember to close the doors, the kids kept forgetting. I guess they have a screen door at home that closes after them so there was no need for them to do it….but that does not explain why they would leave car doors open too???
This only reinforces my question about the practicality of having self-closing doors on houses. If having a screen door made them so heedless about closing doors, what would be the result of having the doors close for them all the time too? It seems like it would only make the problem worse.
There are also attachments that you can slide onto a hing pin that keeps a door from hitting a wall. This has saved our walls in high winds.
Over here in South Africa, with no central heat or air conditioning our doors are continually open. My kids and dogs would have a shock if we ever moved back to the States!
We moved back to the States from the Philippines Islands just a few months ago. And yes, my kids cannot remember to shut the door!!
Is there a cabinet hinge version of this? That would also be revolutionary!
I was JUST thinking the same thing! I’m going to have to look into this & see if changing cabinet hinges could be a weekend project! 🙂
Or fridge!!!
If only they made something for sliding glass doors! Our house has one regular door, and 3 sliding doors!
After last summers electric bill I really dont care if my child or any child in my care closes a door ever again. I am getting these. No worries and I am sure I will be a much happier person when I do not have to scream shut the door 400 times a day. 😉
We have those on the door between the garage and the house. Its part of the building code here to make sure the door is always closed in case of a fire in the garage. Ours does not close fast or firmly but it does close enough to click so it can’t be just pushed open. Actually annoying when making multiple trips in with groceries etc.
They’re great…until you lock yourself out of your house…
Oh, ugh.
Our first apartment had a door on it that auto-closed and auto-locked. I grew up fast.
Maybe a little off topic, but not really. I recently discovered that they also make auto flushing conversion kits for your toilets. I was so excited since I keep little ones and constantly working on potty training. Then I remembered when my own boys were growing up and having to remind them they needed to go back to the bathroom and flush the toilet…they were nearly grown. Then one day my oldest said “sorry mom, they automatically flush at school and I just forgot”. So I guess it’s best for me to keep verbally reminded everyone to do their part to shut the doors behind them and flush the toilet or at least be mindful at places they may not automatically do them for you.
Thank you, Michele, for doing your part to train the kids to be attentive to their responsibilities! 🙂
My husband made a beautiful cabinet for our family room. It has tons of doors and every single one of them has a self-closing hinge. He did that because I have a nasty habit of leaving doors open – just a little. Now they close automatically and he doesn’t have to get annoyed with me.
IKEA also has auto closing drawers too for the kitchen. Brilliant idea! Unless you are mad at someone and can’t express it by slamming the drawer closed. It won’t happen. lol…
You push them closed and the last inch or so it gently draw it in.
I have seen those in the local hardware stores around here. The attachment that I thought that I needed the most in our hinge pins was one that keeps the door knob from hitting the wall.
I have an automatic door closer on my laundry door to keep the washing hidden from view
Hi Nony,
I’ve been reading through your blog from the beginning over the last couple of weeks (and I can’t decide if I should start to ration myself on how many posts I read so that I don’t get to “the end” before you start posting again after the summer holiday!) and I couldn’t not comment on this post! Wouldn’t buying something like these http://www.amazon.com/Blum-B038N355C-08-Degrees-Compact-Overlay/dp/B005I4J374/ref=sr_1_2?s=hardware&ie=UTF8&qid=1437588936&sr=1-2&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_browse-bin%3A4599359011 mean you could remove “close cabinet doors” from your checklist?! Anything to make that list shorter without increasing mess…!
I’m so inspired by your blog and ebooks, our house is finally making slow progress, my husband and I are both noticing our slob vision and the kitchen floor and dishes are clean. Thank you for sharing your story on your slobsite so your fellow slobs can stand on your shoulders!
Jacqui
I was thinking I was going to have to put an ugly spring on my door to make it self close! Now I can just get these! I’m so sick of being in the pool and my dog or kid or even an adult sometimes runs in the house leaving the door open ?… but NO MORE!!!!