Hot MacGyverisms Posts
How To: 8 Easy Ways to Remove Cigarette Smoke Smells from Your Car
The lingering smell of cigarette smoke can bother just about anyone, including smokers themselves. Unfortunately, it can be quite difficult to mask or completely get rid of the smell altogether. While you can go through extremes like washing and even repainting the walls in your home, those options don't exist when the odor is in your car.
How To: Silence Your Obnoxiously Squeaky Bed with 4 Easy MacGyver Style Fixes
Any living creature will die if deprived of sleep for long enough. The longest documented occurrence of a person not fully sleeping and surviving is only 11 days. There is a rare disease where deep sleep is never achieved, affecting roughly 100 people worldwide. Patients usually only survive between 6 to 18 months after the onset of chronic insomnia, and only 3 to 9 months in a parasomnia state without any real REM sleep.
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: 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: 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: Easy DIY Fire Starters, Plus 9 More Ways to Reuse Old Wine Corks
Always downing a glass of red wine in the evening? Don't be ashamed. Red wine has some great health benefits when consumed in moderation, including improved memory, lower risk of heart disease, and even bone strengthening. Photo by Joe Shlabotnik
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: 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: 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: 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.
DIY Gets Sexy: 3 Simple Concoctions for Making Your Own (All Natural) Lube
While a big brain and confident craftsmanship have always been attractive qualities, today I'm going to show you the sexiest DIY project I've ever used ingredients for.
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: 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: 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: 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: 3 Easy In-Flight Hacks for Hands-Free Movie Watching on Your Smartphone or Tablet
The closest I've ever been to first class was when I was a young kid running up and down the aisles on a long international flight. I remember being in awe of how big the seats were and how much food was available. Ever since that moment, I've made it my life goal to earn enough money to make first-class flights a regular occasion.
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 Long-Lasting, Wax-Free Candles for Your Home
Scented candles tend to magically turn a house into a home. The light flicker of the flame gives a relaxed or romantic tone to the atmosphere, and keeps the space smelling fragrant for hours. The only problem? Wax melts, and the candle becomes worthless after the wax is all gone. So how do you keep the flame going for more than a few hours? Simple, just remove the problematic ingredient—don't use wax!
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: 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: 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: Use Extra Shower Curtain Rods to Increase Bathroom Storage & More
If you're anything like me, clutter scattered across the bathroom counter, on the shower floor, or on any other available space is maddening. Who enjoys a mess of shampoos, scrubs, and sponges strewn around their feet or just out of reach in the shower? What can you do when space is limited?
How To: Start Fires in Style with a Glass Matchjar, Plus 9 More Clever Uses for Mason Jars
Mason jars are a DIYer's best friend, nearly on par with duct tape and paper clips. Why? Because you can use mason jars for so many things besides just canning and drinking, and I'm not talking about other obvious uses like basic storage containers or miniature terrariums. I'm talking about MacGyver-style ingenuity. With a little creativity, the uses for those jars are practically endless.
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: 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: 10 Creative and Unique DIY Planters to Inspire Your Home Garden
Summer is in full swing! Everywhere you look, plants are in full bloom and green is a way of life. Gardeners are clearly living up to their full potential. I cannot think of anything else that personifies summer better than gardening.
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: Make Your Own Makeup Remover Wipes Using Oil, Water, & Paper Towels
For me, the worst thing about makeup has always been taking it off. It's always that one last thing you have to do before you go to bed, and if you don't, you instantly regret it when you wake up. When you're tired, makeup removing wipes are a godsend because they're so quick.
How To: Make a Homemade Lightsaber from Junk!
This may not be something MacGyver would make, but it would be if he was dropped into the Death Star with a horde of Imperial stormtroopers hot on his trail. Especially if he found himself temporarily trapped in the trash compactor with some friendly Jedis, because this DIY lightsaber is made of pretty much all junk. Surely, he'd be able to find all of the parts, which include a broken camera lens, old hard drives, chrome pipe, film canister, busted microphone, and rubber mat. Some of the par...
How To: Illuminate a Wheelchair for Safety Using EL Wire & LED Strip
I always found that those safety lights for bicyclists on the market were never good enough when riding in the dark. That got me thinking about people who use wheelchairs and how unsafe the night could be when they want to go out. So here's what I came up with:
How To: Make a Gunk-Free Toothbrush Holder from Junk
Brushing your teeth is a necessity. You don't want to walk around with yellow teeth and stinky breath, and it's common courtesy to those around you to care about your personal hygiene at least that much.
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: 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: 7 Ways to Make Your Own Cold Packs at Home
Having a store-bought cold pack on the ready is the perfect solution for minor bumps, bruises, sprains, and strains, but why spend money on bright blue ice packs when you can make your own right at home?
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: 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: Ceiling Fan Not Cooling? It Might Be Spinning Backwards
Sometimes, ceiling fans just don't cut it. They spin meekly, barely generating any air flow to cool down your sweltering room. Or, when turned up high, they can wobble wildly, shaking and vibrating as if the ceiling is about to come crashing down. If this sounds like your ceiling fan, chances are the solution is a simple as flipping a switch.
How To: Turn Dried Out Markers into DIY Alcohol Ink That Works on Glass, Metal, and Plastic
Dried out markers are the worst. They take up space, and for some reason, even though they're totally useless, most of us have at least a few lying around just for the sake of not throwing them out. Luckily, Julie Finn over at Crafting a Green World has come up with a way to repurpose them into alcohol ink, a versatile type of ink that can be used on non-porous materials like plastic, glass, and metal. This is truly a tutorial for the pack rat in all of us. First, a little primer on what you ...
How To: Turn Your Smokes into an iPad Stylus, Plus 4 More Super Simple DIY Styli
Fingers are very useful for many things in life—but fingers get dirty. With most smartphone and tablets using touchscreen technology, our fingers have become our greatest technological asset. But if you want to keep your phone or tablet from looking like this: Then you can try some of these awesome and easy DIY styluses.
How To: Fix Your Cell Phone's Broken or Missing Volume Buttons Using Sugru
Smartphones are almost completely controlled through touchscreens now, but most of them still rely on physical buttons to turn it on or adjust volume. When those buttons stop working, you've got trouble (especially if it's your Home button).
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