Hot MacGyverisms Posts — Page 3 of 6 « MacGyverisms

How To: Make an Elegant No-Gas, No-Electricity Heater for the Winter

The weather outside might be frightful, but heating bills are downright scary this time of year. Heat is absolutely essential during the winter season, but it's also really expensive. If you aren't blessed with a fireplace or unlimited disposable income, fear not, because you can still heat your home on the cheap using flower pots and tea lights—even if the power goes out.

How To: Make Grilled Cheese in the Toaster!

Today we show you how to make a grilled cheese in the toaster! Making a grilled cheese in the toaster is So Easy a Guy Could Do It!

How To: 5 Cheap Life Hacks for Organizing Your Bathroom

There comes a time in relationships when two people decide to move in together, and when this happens, you learn two things:

How To: DIY Pedal-Powered Phone Charger for Your Bike

Being healthy and active will help you live longer, but finding the strength to work out? That's hard. What does it do for me right now? I mean, here I sit, writing this article, thinking about going for a run, and I feel good just for thinking about running. But will I do it? Nah, I'm too lazy.

How To: Make a Smartphone Projector for Less Than $5

There's nothing better than gathering up all the cushions, pillows, and blankets in your home and having a good ol' fashion movie night. But if you're still rocking the old 19-inch TV your parents gave you in college, you may want to upgrade to something bigger.

How To: Keep Cool Outside with This Overhead DIY Water Misting Rack

Summer is here, and with the season comes more freedom and searing heat. It's the ultimate between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place situation. You want to be outside and enjoy the sun, but you don't want to be over-powered by it. Thankfully, you can create makeshift misters on the cheap to enjoy the summer heat right on your deck.

How To: Organize Your Cable Clutter with Sugru & Mini LEGO People

No matter how organized your workspace is, chances are you still wind up with tangled cords dangling off your desk. Sure, there are a lot of ways to keep your cables separate, from strategically placed binder clips to stretchy socks, but none are as fun as using a LEGO minifigure.

How To: Rock Your Next Summer Party (10 Insane Tricks for the Perfect Backyard Bash)

Parties are a great way to celebrate and have fun with your good friends, so to make sure your next party rocks, I've assembled some of the biggest life-hackers on YouTube to bring you 10 outrageous party tricks your guests will not forget.

How To: Make a Non-Extinguishable WD-40 Stove

Stove that you cant extinguish very easy. To make this survival stove, you will need WD-40, a paper towel, and a lighter.

How To: Make the Bitty-Q (A Mini Outdoor BBQ from Drink Cans)

In this project, I'll show you how to make an itty-bitty outdoor BBQ from leftover beer or soda cans. It's the perfect summertime hack if you don't have a grill and are cooking for a small group of people—one bratwurst at a time. You can grab the wire grill template here.

How To: Charge Your Cell Phone with Fire

There are plenty of times when we need to charge our phones but don't have access to electricity. Whether the power is out do to storms, you're camping and run out of juice, or you're in a Tom-Hanks-like Castaway situation, it's important to have a charged phone in case of an emergency.

How To: Make a Super Cheap Floating Beer & Soda Pool Cooler

Being in a cool pool on a hot day—it doesn't get much better than that, right? Well, unless you also have some ice-cold drinks to go along.

How To: Beat the Heat with an $8 Homemade Air Conditioner

If you're breaking a sweat in the summer heat, but not trying to break the bank, this dead simple trick will show you how to make your own air conditioner for under ten bucks.

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: Make Your Own Waterproof Matches for Faster, Easier Fire-Starting

Camping in the rain sucks. It's not enough to deal with your clothes and tent being soaked—it makes starting a fire nearly impossible if you're not carrying waterproof matches. You can buy them pretty much anywhere that sells camping gear, but if you've got regular matches and a candle at home, they're just as easy to make yourself..

How To: Double the Size of Your Closet Using Soda Tab Hangers

While walk-in closets are nice, not many of us actually have one. Instead, we're stuck with tiny wall closets or those oddly-shaped spears. Add a roommate or girlfriend and you have yourself a classic dilemma—"Where in the French toast do I put all my damn clothes?"

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: Trade in Your Bulky Set of Keys for This Simple DIY Swiss Army-Style Keychain

Keys always seem to multiply. You start out with your house keys and car keys, and the next thing you know, your keychain is full and you have no idea what half of them even unlock.

How To: Repair & Waterproof Leaky Winter Boots Using Sugru

For those who live in climates where winter actually feels like winter, a good pair of boots is a must. When you're trudging through the snow to chisel the ice off your windshield, the last thing you want is for your feet to be unprepared. Wet socks are bad enough when the weather's warm.

Camping Hack: Turn an Empty Beer Can into an Easy DIY Popcorn Popper

Most of us are used to just grabbing a bag and throwing it in the microwave when we want popcorn. It's easy, convenient, and requires little to no cleanup. But what about those times when you're away from home and don't have access to a microwave?

How To: Make a Lego Key Holder and Note Clip

How to make a Lego key holder with note board. Tired of loosing your keys? Well keep them safe and in one place with this fun Lego key holder.

DIY Hack: Fix Your Stubborn, Hard-to-Close Door with a Couple Toothpicks

Toothpicks can be surprisingly handy when it comes to woodworking and fixing small household problems like stripped screw holes and scratched furniture. They can also be used as a quick fix for a hard-to-close door that has to be forced or slammed shut.

How To: Turn a Pair of Pants into a Lightweight Emergency Backpack

If you're an avid camper or hiker, you've probably been in a situation where you've needed a backpack and not had one. Maybe you brought one and it got broken or lost, or maybe your day trip turned into an overnighter. Whatever the reason, if you're in a pinch and have an extra pair of pants, you can turn them into a super lightweight emergency backpack. This trick was thought up by Instructables user Ludvicka and only requires some thick string or cord (besides the pants, of course).

How To: 10 Holiday Life Hacks You Need to Know for a Merrier Christmas

Holidays can be challenging, especially around Christmastime—but not if you invoke your inner MacGyver spirit. In my latest "life hacks" guide, I show you 10 amazing tips and tricks that'll hopefully make your holiday season a little more merry.

Shave Smarter: 6 Ways to Save Money on Replacement Razor Blades Cartridges

I've never understood the phrase "smooth as a baby's bottom" to describe a really close shave. I mean, have you ever touched a baby's cheek? It's even smoother and a lot more sanitary. It just doesn't spew off the tongue as nice.

How To: Top 12 Hacks for Making Your Gadgets Better with Sugru

Sugru is some pretty versatile stuff. The company's slogan is "Hack things better," and for good reason. It sticks to aluminum, steel, ceramics, glass and plastics, it's waterproof and heat-resistant, and it can be molded into any shape you can imagine. Anything from your kitchen cabinets to your bicycle can be improved with some Sugru and a little creativity, and gadgets are no exception. Here are 10 of the coolest hacks to fix or upgrade your smartphone, tablet, or camera.

How To: Keep Your Earphones Tangle-Free & Smelling Good with This Minty Fresh DIY Cord Container

The cord on your headphones is usually more enemy than friend. While they obviously need it to function, a tangled or unnecessarily long cord can wreak havoc on your sanity. Personally, I've broken at least two pairs of headphones by tripping over the cord and yanking the jack right off of the wiring. There is a fix for that, but you can prevent the problem altogether by organizing your cords. There are plenty of ways to wrap a cord so it won't get tangled, but you still have to unwrap it if ...

How To: 10 Life Hacks You Need to Know for a Better Summer

Are you a messy burger eater? Ants and fruit flies invading your home? Hate drinking warm drinks? Find out the quick and easy DIY solutions to these problems with these 10 amazing tips and tricks for the summer.

How To: No Smartphone Stand? Just Use Your Wallet

My wallet is useful for pretty much two things. The first, holding my credit cards, lottery tickets, and money (or lack thereof). Second, making my ass number whenever I'm driving.

How To: Recycle an Empty Wipes Canister into a Neat & Tidy Plastic Bag Dispenser

Plastic bags may be banned from retail stores in some cities, like Santa Monica, Seattle, and San Fransisco, and will be banned in Los Angeles shortly, but we still use billions of them every year. What else are we going to use for throwing away cat litter or picking up dog poop?

How To: Make a Super Simple Toothbrush Holder and Declutter Your Bathroom Sink

If you don't have a lot of counter space in your bathroom, even something as small as a toothbrush can seem like it takes up a lot of room. Hanging a toothbrush holder on the wall helps to declutter your counter, or you can hang it inside the cabinet to hide them from sight. Photographer and Instructables user Andrea Biffi used one mini-pack of Sugru to make a really simple wall-mounted toothbrush holder. All you have to do is roll the Sugru into a cylinder, then press the toothbrushes into i...

How To: Turn Boxed Wine into a Mega Ice Pack That's Perfect for Big Coolers

Next time you finish a box of Franzia, don't throw out the bag. Instead, wash it out, fill it with water, and lay it flat in the freezer. As America's Test Kitchen points out, your newly created flat ice pack is perfect for lining the bottom of a cooler for a barbeque, camping trip, or hot summer day on the beach.

How To: Kill or Keep Away Flies & Other Small Pests with Homemade Sticky Flypaper

Despite being disgusting, houseflies are actually beneficial to humans in a few ways. As scavengers, they help the environment by eating rotting organic matter, and make great food for pet tarantulas. Regardless of the advantages to their existence, having them in your home can be infuriating. There are countless sprays, traps and devices made to kill or deter the little pests, one of the most common being flypaper that hangs from the ceiling. These sticky strips are incredibly easy to make a...

How To: Silence Obnoxiously Noisy Laptops & Smartphones with a Simple Device-Muting Key Fob

Electronic devices seem to have an uncanny ability to make noise at the worst possible times. It's always during an important meeting, a quiet study session at the library, or a biology final that your laptop or smartphone decides to play some obnoxious or embarrassing sound.

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).

How To: Keep Tall Boots from Slouching (And Organize Your Closet Chaos)

During the colder months, it seems like almost everyone wears boots. Even when it's hot out, people can be spotted with knee-highs and westerns. Whether it's for fashion or because you live in a place where 3 feet of snow is common, a good pair of boots (or five) is nice to have.