Hot MacGyverisms Posts
How To: 5 Clever Ways to Make a Simple No-Kill Trap for Mice & Rats
Once when I was a kid, my dad used a glue trap to catch a mouse in our basement. The result was so awful for the mouse that my mom and I made him promise to never use that kind of trap again. Call me a softy, but I'm a firm believer that you don't have to kill pests to get rid of them.
How To: Fix the Worn Out Heel Linings in Your Ragged Shoes & Sneakers—MacGyver Style!
The worst thing about running shoes is that they're expensive, but you're supposed to abuse them. Even if you're not a runner, everyday wear and tear takes its toll. No matter how well you take care of them, if you use them enough, they're eventually going to wind up looking like this: And it's not just running shoes. I have a pair of Vans that I've worn for almost four years, and the heels are just about ripped all the way through.
How To: Remove Water Rings on Wood Furniture with Toothpaste
Most wood furniture is long-lasting, durable, and resistant to great wear and tear over the years. However, set a single sweaty, wet cup or bottle on the surface of your favorite wood dining table, or your prominently placed wooden coffee table, and you'll end up with a round water ring stain that is difficult to get rid of.
How To: Fix Crooked or Uneven Wall Shelves with a Piece of Paper
You can spend all day putting up shelves and still have them end up crooked. Even if you've got a stud finder or a level, it's still easy to make mistakes, and a few millimeters is all it takes to screw make a shelf noticeably uneven. If you find yourself in this predicament, the worst part is that correcting the problem usually means repeating the entire process from the beginning, though you'll be left with unwanted holes in the wall. But redditor Swedish__Chef__Bork__x3 found a way to fix ...
How To: 20 Simple Solutions to Life's Most Irritating First World Problems
Just because a problem is small or superficial doesn't mean it can't annoy the living crap out of you. Others may think you're overreacting, or even have the audacity to roll their eyes, but you're in your own personal hell.
How To: Remove Scratches & Scuff Marks in Your Car's Paint Job with Toothpaste
Whether you drive a new or used car, discovering a new dent, scratch, or scuff mark can send you into a frustration spiral. While there are many DIY ways to deal with dents, scratches and scuff marks are trickier because using the wrong stuff could make your car's paint job look even worse.
How To: Fix Your Broken Vertical Blind Slats MacGyver-Style
Most of you probably have a set of blinds at home, the most popular being horizontal or vertical. They're great for keeping the sun out of your eyes and maintaining privacy, but unfortunately, each comes with its own set of problems.
How To: Make a Homemade Bee & Wasp Trap (Kill or No-Kill)
Bees are the key to pollination and healthy vegetation, and wasps may help by assisting in pest control, but despite their benefits in the world, they're still a real pain in the ass if they're in your face.
How To: Inflate Any Ball Without a Pump or Needle
What happens when you find your ball deflated and there's no pump or needle in sight? You could always cancel your plans of kicking around the soccer ball or starting that pickup football game in the park. Better yet, you could be terribly clever and find another way to get air into the ball. From a pen to a balloon to a gas station, there are ways to inflate it.
How To: Build a Low-Cost Shoe Rack Using PVC Pipes
I actually have a lot of shoes, and putting them on the floor in my closet just makes for a very large mess, and makes it harder to find a matching pair. So, this simple yet cool DIY shoe storage is actually something I could benefit from doing. This project shouldn't be too difficult to complete. You can get PVC pipe from your local hardware store and either have them cut it, or you can do it at home if you have a table saw. You can also opt to buy concrete forming tubes, which may be a litt...
How To: Refill an Air Duster Can with a Bicycle Pump
In this life hack video, I am going to show you how you can refill your air duster can with a bicycle pump.
How To: Dry Your Soaking Wet Shoes Faster — Without Shrinking Them in the Dryer
Wet shoes are uncomfortable, no one can deny that. Just think about walking around with soaking wet footwear ... and each squishy step you take. Makes you cringe, doesn't it? It can happen in heavy rain, at the beach, or from an unforeseen puddle on the street. And while you can't always avoid soggy shoes, you can rest easy knowing that the next time this happens to you, you know the secret trick to drying your shoes faster without damaging them with excessive heat.
How To: Make a MacGyver-Style Chess Set Using Just Nuts & Bolts
You know what ladies love? A man who can handle his tools. What do the ladies love even more? A man who can say checkmate. Well, except maybe this lady.
How To: Make a DIY Home Theater Projector and 50" Screen for Only $5 (Great for March Madness!)
Today's project will show how you can convert your laptop, smartphone, or tablet computer into a makeshift projector—just in time for March Madness! It's super cheap to build, and can add a little bit of creative fun to your next sports party.
How To: Use Vinegar & Baking Soda to Fluff Up Worn-Out Bath Towels
It feels great to wrap up in a big, fluffy towel after a steamy shower, but it's frustrating when that towel isn't quite up to the job. Over time, towels lose their ability to hold water and dry as needed thanks to daily use and the biggest culprit—laundry detergent.
How To: Make a Soda-Box Soda Cooler
For some reason, there's only ever one person in a group of friends that has a cooler. Every time there is a hangout or BBQ, that friend is called and has to lug his expensive, huge plastic cooler around for everyone. Not really fair, is it?
How To: Build a $20 Super Antenna for Better Signal Strength & More Free Broadcast TV Channels
If you've recently joined the ever-growing ranks of the cable cutters, you're far from alone. More and more people (myself included) are getting fed up with service providers' outdated subscription models and absurd pricing—and canceling their service.
How To: Build a Corn Dog Rig for Easy Deep Frying
Fairs and festivals are awesome, and one of the best parts about them is the food. Sure, it's all deep-fried and terrible for you, but it's so delicious. It's also always on a stick, which makes eating fried food even easier for us fat Americans.
How To: Screw Staples—You Don't Need Any with This Stapleless Paper Trick
Staples may be an office staple when it comes to joining sheets of paper together, but they're a pain in the ass if you ask me. They're annoying to take out, you can't shred 'em, and they eventually loosen up. Plus, staplers tend to stop working right when you need them the most.
How To: Build a Simple Flat Screen TV Ceiling Mount from Unistrut and Pipe
So you bought a new flat screen, and now you have to tackle the next issue—you have to mount it somewhere. Most people go for the wall, which is the most obvious place, but if you want to go for something a little different, the ceiling is always an option, too.
How To: Turn Any Ammo Box into an Awesome Set of Portable Speakers
Believe it or not, an ammo box can still be of use to you once its rounds are gone. You can use it for storage, as a toolbox, or possibly even as a Faraday cage. But if you want to use it as more than just a container, why not turn it into a portable set of speakers that you can take with you anywhere? The ammo can speaker pictured above was made by Instructables user Dustin White. He started with an empty .50 cal box, though you could probably even use thinner 5.56 or 7.62 mm cans. He remove...
How To: Make a Simple No-Sew Workout Armband for Your Phone or MP3 Player (No Sock Required)
I've never been much of a runner. I've tried running alone, with a partner, on busy sidewalks, and back country roads, but I just never got it. There are a few other forms of exercise I genuinely enjoy, but have yet to experience that "natural high" that avid runners are always talking about.
How To: This Simple Hack Prevents Static Electricity from Zapping Your Gadgets During DIY Repairs
I don't like paying for repairs, and I don't like purchasing extended warranties. When one of my gadgets break, I perform emergency surgery and try and fix it myself. It doesn't always go well, but I've managed to resuscitate a few iPhones, an HDTV, an Android tablet, multiple MacBook Pros, and other gadgets seemingly on their deathbeds.
How To: Recycle Red Plastic Cups into a Sweet Set of Stringed Party Lights
Plastic red cups are synonymous with college parties, beer pong, and generally a good time. The reason these cups are so rampant in the party scene is because they're cheap, easily disposable, and, well... who wants to drink out of a blue cup?!? Oh, to be young and in debt.
How To: Make Sticky or Stubborn Wooden Drawers Slide More Smoothly
When I was moving into my current apartment, I had to store some of my things in my ex-roommate's garage for over a month while I was getting settled. One of those things was my dresser. Upon moving it into my new place, I realized something was horribly, horribly wrong—none of the drawers seemed to fit quite right anymore (if they fit at all). The combination of the differences in temperature and humidity in the garage caused them to swell and change shape. Several months later, they fit bet...
How To: Turn Your Old Satellite Dish into an Outdoor Solar Cooker
Harnessing the power of the sun is something that Captain Planet made cool before it was the go-to for renewable energy. Solar-powered energy is quick and cheap, and can make for some really cool DIY projects. And for those of you wondering what you should do with your old satellite, look no further. Aaron from Sharealikelicence offers up a way to create a DIY outdoor satellite cooker. He started with an old Ku Band dish and covered it with aluminum tape, for better reflection of the sunlight...
How To: How You Should Really “Fold” Socks to Prevent Stretching Them Out
I don’t buy socks—I get a pack from my parents on Christmas Day, so I’ve got to make sure they last all year. Other than losing them mysteriously in the dryer, the biggest threat to my limited sock collection is a stretched out cuff. Nothing's more frustrating than a loose sock sliding down into your shoe.
How To: If You've Run Out of Shaving Cream, Give These 10 Household Items a Try
Running out of any shower necessity is just a temporary annoyance, but it always seems worse when it's an empty can of shaving cream or gel. Sure, you could dry shave or use whatever liquid toiletry item is in hands reach, but if you want a truly smooth shave without irritation, you'll want to try one of the following alternatives. Some of them might even work better than your can of Barbasol or Skintimate.
How To: Protect Your Wall from Stray Darts with This DIY Dartboard Cabinet Made of Wine Corks
The worst part about playing darts is that when you miss—it can damage not only your ego, but also the wall behind the dartboard if it's not protected. Redditor mavantix found a solution to this problem in wine corks. Over a year, he collected over 1,000 corks from family and friends to make this DIY Cork Dartboard Cabinet—that's a lot of wine!
How To: Replace Worn Off Lettering on Home Appliances with Sugru
Whether you've had them for years or bought them used off Craigslist, old appliances can always benefit from a facelift. One of the first things to go is usually the lettering on the knobs, buttons, and other surfaces that are frequently touched, leaving them faded and difficult to read.
How To: The Trick to Keeping Your Home Warm During Winter for Cheap
When temperatures drop and hit new lows during the cold, winter months, it's hard not to crank the heat up. That means increased energy bills each month, no matter if you rely on gas, electric, or another fuel for heating.
How To: This Hack Makes It Easy to Inflate an Air Mattress Without a Pump
Air mattresses are great when you have guests sleeping over or want to camp in total comfort, but air mattress pumps are a different story. An electric one is loud and doesn't do much good at the campsite, while a manual one is easily broken or forgotten about. Luckily, there is an alternative to inflating an air mattress using your own breath, and it's easy.
How To: Charge a Cell Phone on Train Tracks
If you're ever lost or hurt out in the middle of nowhere with a dead cell phone, you might be able to "flag" down help as long as you're near some railroad tracks.
Winter Hack: How to Turn a Dead Battery into a Hand Warmer
My least favorite aspect of the winter season is how my fingers always turn into stiff, numb digits, unfeeling and seemingly incapable of making even the slightest movement. Yes, that might sound overdramatic, but if you hate wearing gloves like I do, you probably know exactly what I mean.
DIY Survival: How to Filter Dirty Water with a Stick
There's no shortage of ways to filter water, but it doesn't get much simpler than this. Researchers at MIT have found that you can turn dirty water into drinking water with nothing more than a stick.
How To: 10 Reasons Why Everyone (Even Men) Should Have Nail Polish in Their Homes
When you think of nail polish, it's probably almost always in the context of a manicure. I mean, that's what it's made for, right? But there are plenty of other things you can use clear or colored nail polish for besides painting your nails.
How To: 5 Cool DIY Projects for Reusing Your Old Computer Keyboards
With how quickly technology evolves in this day and age, it's only natural that people replace their computers every couple years—even sooner. It seems that right when you get a new desktop, there's always a faster model with more features released the following week.
How To: Turn Your Charcoal Grill into a Tandoori Oven Using a Flowerpot
Indian food is amazing. One of the things that makes it so great and exotic is the cooking methods used. Among the best of these methods is the use of the tandoori oven, a cylindrical oven used to primarily cook skewered meat and various flatbreads with heats upwards of 900 degrees Fahrenheit. Regrettably, such heat and taste is hard to replicate in the average home kitchen.
How To: Make an Ovitrap Mosquito Trap
Do you have a major mosquito problem? Well, here's a solution used by the military to drastically cut down their numbers.
How To: DIY Candle-Powered Fan Keeps You Cool at Home Using Fire
Staying cool in the summer heat sometimes feels like it takes all the energy in the world. But what about a fan using no-cost electrical energy? If you're looking to keep cool during a power outage, or if you don't want to break the bank by running your DIY air conditioner all day long, you can use candlelight to power a fan!
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