Those cable ties that are most commonly used by electricians are also handy gadgets with multiple uses around the house and yard. We’ve used them to temporarily secure kitchen cabinet doors when impromptu guests drop by with little ones.
Home Tech
Shop Lights: Inexpensive Grow Lights0
This is the start of seedling season.
And most backyard garden annuals and vegetables are easy enough to propagate indoors under florescent shop lights. Nothing high-tech here. Just a set of good old shop lights with two standard 40-watt fluorescent bulbs to assure enough light intensity for the seedlings to grow.
Vintage Kitchen Appliances0
I can be picky about my kitchen appliances. For example, I despise glass top stoves. I like that they come up to temp rapidly, but they are a royal pain to clean if something boils over. Sure, I know there are new cleaning agents out there that make it a lot easier than it used to be to scrape burnt gravy off of a glass burner—but call me a purist. I’m an old-fashioned gas stove kind’a guy.
Take this stove from Elmira for example:
Best Home Improvement Blogs1
Boo, hoo. We didn’t get to the next round in the Homies. But we’re good sports, and we want to send our congratulations to all the finalists.
Plus, if you take a look over at AT, you’ll see an amazing list of blogs that were nominated.
5 Great Apps for Home Improvement0
The best multi-tasking tool out there? Your phone!
Check out these free or low cost apps for your iPhone, iPad, or iTouch that you can carry with you wherever you go.
Nominate Us for a Homie Award from Apartment Therapy0
Yes, this is shameless self-promotion.
We want a Homie Award from Apartment Therapy.
You can nominate us here, and if we make the first cut, you can vote for us next week. Stay tuned.
And thank you, loyal readers and fans!
How to Repair a Leaky Outdoor Faucet0
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachaelvoorhees/436000640/
Is it just normal wear and tear when products that were installed at the same time begin to fail at the same time? Not one but three of our 10-year old faucets began dripping incessantly this fall within weeks of each other.
Once over the irritation of three separate repair projects, I was grateful that we are tool-handy and can repair these leaks without calling for the plumber. Can you? Just buy a repair kit, follow directions, and fix it yourself.
Pizza Boss Pizza Cutter0
Looking for a manly way to slice your pizza? A gift for the tool freak in your life?
If so, the wacky folks at Fred & Friends have just the thing for you!
Screw the Hook0
Let’s face it. Screwing a hook into a wall is annoying. If you use your fingers, it could end out crooked or not go far enough into the wood to do any good. If you use pliers, you have to do the “open pliers, grab hook, turn, remove pliers, open pliers, grab hook, turn, repeat” until hook is secure – roughly a gazillion times.
You could avoid the whole thing by hanging pretty (but mostly useless) hooks, like these.
Tool Tip: Prybar0
Sure, it’s just a piece of steel, bent a certain way, with holes in just the right places. But a good prybar saves time (and the claw of your hammer) on any demolition job, and it should be a staple for any do-it-yourselfer.
