Life Hack and DIY Lifestyle

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Life Hack – Hang up and secure things in your house with Velcro

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Apologies for not thinking of a better title, but this life hack revolves around the many uses for velcro in your house. Specifically, I am referring to velcro discs like the ones shown below. These discs have an adhesive on one side and velcro on the other. You can get a 75 pack of these velcro discs for $6 on Amazon here: VELCRO Brand – Thin Clear Fasteners | Perfect for Home or Office | 5/8in Coins | Pack of 75

Velrco Circles

The life hack part of the velcro circles is using these to hang up things which are lightweight in your house. For example, I have a whiteboard in my house and I hang up a pen and eraser for the whiteboard using velcro discs. Below is how this looks.

Basically any light weight thing in your house can be hung up with velcro. There are a lot of possibilities, such as keys, flashlights, utensils, toys, etc. Also, you can use velcro to secure various things in your house, such as cabinet door, etcs. In the video below I describe how you can use velcro in your house in more detail.

DIY Project / Life Hack – Building your own umbrella base stand

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Instead of buying an umbrella base stand I wanted to see if I could build one using materials I had around the house. The umbrella stand I came up with is shown in the following photo:

Building this umbrella stand was very easy and the materials cost $5 or less (assuming you already have a spade bit).

The base of the umbrella stand will be a five gallon bucket which you can get at any hardware store. To give the bucket / base weight and make it stable, I added sand, which you can also get at a hardware store. You can get a 50 pound bag of sand for $5 or less from a hardware store, or just get some you might have lying around in the yard. You also could potentially use dirt, but it will be less fine and not work as well.

To hold the umbrella in place a board is put on top of the bucket and a hole is cut in the board to fit the umbrella pole.  It is ideal to drill the hole the same size as the umbrella pole diameter so that the pole is held snugly in place.  To drill the hole wide enough you will need to use a spade bit on your electric drill.  A spade bit looks like this:

Spade bits are pretty common, you can get a set of spade bits on Amazon here: DEWALT DW1587 6 Bit 3/8-Inch to 1-Inch Spade Drill Bit Assortment

The next step is to attach the board which will hold the umbrella to the bucket.  I used a bracket on each side of the bucket, which I attached to both the board and the bucket with a screw.  Brackets like the one I used can be found on Amazon here and are shown in the picture below: Smbbit Stainless Steel Shelf Support Corner Brace Angle Bracket Angle Code Right Angle 6 hole, 38mm x30mm x1.3mm(thick) (8Pack)

The last step, which is optional, is to paint the stand so that it is more ascetically pleasing.  Since I was painting plastic, metal and wood all together I decided to just use spray paint.

And with that you are done on your umbrella stand is complete. They whole project should not take more than an hour, even if you do decide to paint the umbrella stand.

A video summarizing how to make the umbrella stand can be found here.

Life Hack – Make your own dryer vent cover

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A few years ago I noticed that my dryer vent on the outside of my house did not have a cover/ screen to prevent insects, birds, etc. from entering the dryer vent. At times I would see birds near the dryer vent, perhaps attracted to the warmth.

This led me to want to install a cover over the dryer vent to prevent anything from going in there. However, the options I found on Amazon required drilling holes in the wall and were not very cheap. Here is an example:

This dryer vent cover is $10 on Amazon and requires being screwed into the wall.

I came up with my own dryer vent cover using screen door netting and binder clips. This is how the cover looks, it completely covers the vent so nothing can get in.

In the following video I show how to make the dryer vent cover, it only takes a few minutes to make.

Things I like – Home door locks you can re-key yourself

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In your home you no doubt have various interior doors with locks (bathroom doors, bedroom doors and so on). Some of these locks may only lock on the inside, requiring a special tool or flathead screw driver to open them, where you instead the tool in the hole of the lock (these are normally bathroom doors). For other door locks, you may want to be able to lock the door from the outside. For example, locking a bedroom door from the outside so your kids can’t enter the bedroom and mess things up.

A few years ago I wanted to change all the locks in my house to key locks which used the same key as the front door (so I wouldn’t have to have a bunch of keys on my keychain). However, this process wasn’t very straightforward as I would have to buy the door lock from the hardware store and before I could install it I needed to take it to a locksmith to get re-keyed so it would match the key to the front door. The charge from the locksmith wasn’t much (about $10) but the time spent going to the locksmith, who often had limited hours, is what got annoying.

This led me to do some research on door locks and I found locks where you can re-key them yourself. The ones I found were by Kwikset and were labeled as having SmartKey technology. These keys let you re-key them to your selected key on your own without having to go to a locksmith. They were not much more expensive than the standard locks. Here is a lock with SmartKey technology on Amazon, it is only $21: Kwikset 94002-862 Cove Keyed Entry Knob Featuring Smartkey Security In Satin Nickel

The process for re-keying the lock is also very easy, see more details in the following video.

The official video from Kwikset on the re-keying process can be found here:

I would recommend these locks to anyone, they are very easy to use and save you the hassle of having to go to the locksmith.

Life Hack – Homemade garage parking aid

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An issue that many of us run into is figuring out how to park in our garages properly, making sure we don’t pull in too far and hit something or make it hard to move around the garage, while also making sure we don’t pull in so little that the garage door hits your car when it closes.

One of the best ways to gauge distance in your garage and park the proper distance is to use a tennis ball of a string.  The way it works is that you tie a tennis ball to a string with the string being the proper distance to go from the ceiling to the car windshield.  Then you attach the string to the ceiling in the position where you would want your car windshield to be when properly parked.  Afterwards whenever you park in the garage you stop and park the car at the point the car windshield hits the tennis ball.

This might be easier to understand if you look at the following picture.

Note that on Amazon you can buy pre-made balls on string. Here is an example: Genie Yellow Perfect Stop Parking Aid – Retractable Ball Compatible with All Garage Door Openers-GPS-R, one Size

However, making your own tennis ball on a string is pretty simple, you just cut open the tennis ball, tie the string around a washer and then put the washer in the tennis ball. You could also just directly tie the tennis ball to the string but it might come undone over time.

In my house I initially used the tennis ball on a string to properly gauge distances in my garage when parking.  However, my kids kept playing with the tennis balls and pulling them out of the ceiling.  Therefore I had to come up with a new system.  The system I came up with was to place a stop sign on the side of the garage which would align with my head when the car is properly parked.  In other words, when parking I stop when my head is perpendicular to this stop sign.  This system has worked well and is pretty easy to implement.  The following video explains this in a little more detail.

Things I like – Hinge Pin Door Stop

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Most of you are probably familiar with the typical door stopper which you will see in a house which is connected to the bottom of the door to prevent the door knob from hitting the wall. These doorstops typically look something like the following:

However, there is a better option out there, the hinge pin door stop. These door stops slide onto the cylinder of the door hinge to prevent the door from hitting the wall.

Here is a photo of a hinge door door stop.

They are fairly inexpensive as you can get a five pack of hinge pin door stops on Amazon for only $8 as shown by the following link: 5 Pack Rok Hardware Heavy Duty Hinge Pin Door Stop, Brushed Nickel ROKDSP1BN

The hinge pin door stop has two advantages over the conventional door stop. One is that the hinge pin door stop is high above the ground and therefore less likely to be messed with by children or pets. My kids for instance for some reason like unscrewing the standard door stops from the door but can’t reach the hinge door stop. The other advantage is that the hinge pin door stop doesn’t require you to permanently damage the door or wall by screwing in the door stop, as it just slides on the existing hinge pin.

The following video shows you how to install a hinge pin door stop. As shown, it is very easy.

Things I Like – Tire Tread Depth Gauge

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When I visited the tire store a few years ago, I had the tire salesman inspect my tires to see if they needed to be replaced. I saw him use a small tool to determine the remaining tread on the tire (in millimeters), and from there he determined if the tire needed to be replaced based on the remaining tread. The measuring tool is called a tire tread depth gauge. In general if your tire tread is 4 millimeters or less you should replace your tires.

After seeing the salesman use the tire tread depth gauge I wanted to purchase one myself. It turns out a tire tread depth gauge is pretty cheap, you can get one for as little as $6. Here is a link to a tire tread depth gauge which you can buy on Amazon: ITEQ Tire Tread Depth Gauge, Smart Color Coded Tire Gauge, Tire Tread Depth Accurate Measurement Tool

Now that I have my own tire tread depth gauge I can check my tires on my own to see if they need to be replaced and don’t need to take the salesman’s word for it. The video below shows how to use the tire tread depth gauge.

Resources

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Types of wood: Dummies has a good summary description of the different types of wood you might consider in woodworking or DIY project, which can be found here: https://www.dummies.com/crafts/types-of-wood-for-woodworking/

Treasure for tomorrow: This is my friend’s blog, where she provides great tips on how to save money and build wealth. She also provides financial coaching services.

http://www.treasurefortomorrow.com/

Steel Lunch and Snack Boxes: As a side business I sell two level stainless-steel snack boxes. These are perfect for storing food for yourself and your children. The snack box is eco-friendly, as it is made of stainless steel and will withstand hundreds of uses. It is also dishwasher safe. You can purchase it on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q8FD2KC?ref=myi_title_dp

Home Improvement Basics – How to hang up things in your house

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One of the things you will run into once you own a house is hanging things up on the walls, such as pictures, clocks, curtain rods and other items.

If something is very light, such as a plastic clock, the process will be very straightforward as you can put a nail anywhere in the wall and it will be able to support the clock.

The way the walls in your house work is that they are covered with what is called drywall. Drywall (also called plasterboard) covers all of the interior walls and is generally only 0.5 inches thick or less. You might notice that if you nail something into the wall, the nail only encounters resistance the first half inch or so and then slides all the way through. This is because there is nothing but empty space behind the drywall (unless you reach a stud, more about this later), so the nail encounters no more resistance once it has passed through the drywall. Since the drywall material is thin you don’t want to hang anything heavy in drywall without some sort of additional support since the heavy object will eventually rip out the nail or screw from the drywall and fall to the ground.

If you are hanging up something heavy you have two options:

  1. Hang up the item in the drywall using an anchor or some other type of support
  2. Hang up the item in the studs in the wall

You might be asking, what is a stud? Behind the drywall, a thick board (like a 2 x 4) is placed every 16 to 24 inches, and these boards are called studs.

The picture below shows this clearly, you can see the drywall interspersed with studs.

Here is a the back of a wall, you can see the drywall with the studs spaced behind it.

When hanging up anything in your house (a picture, a handrail and so on), it is preferred to hang it up in a stud because then the nail or screw is going into a 2 inch thick wood board and not a 0.5 inch thick dry wall board.

The issue however, is that since the studs are behind the wall you cannot tell where they are. This is where the stud finder comes in. A stud finder is a tool which you slide across the wall and will tell you where the stud is located. It usually indicates where the stud starts, the center of the stud and where the stud ends.

A stud finder is pretty inexpensive. The one I use has worked well and only costs $25, it can be found on Amazon here: Zircon StudSensor e50 Electronic Wall Scanner / Edge Finding Stud Finder / Live AC WireWarning Detection

In the video below I show how to use a stud finder.

Sometimes you will need to hang up something heavy but can’t place it directly in a stud, as you will want it to be in the exact middle of the room or some similar reason. To hang up something like this you will need to use an anchor in the dry wall. The anchor will spread out against the drywall, holding the item in place. Usually a screw needs to go in the anchor to make the anchor spread out and a nail cannot be used.

In the video below I provide some details on wall anchors.

Hope you found this useful. If you have any questions e-mail me at lifehackanddiycontact@gmail.com.

Things I like – Portable Electric Air Pump

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If you have ever had your tire pressure indicator light come on in your car, you know how annoying it can be to have to hunt for a gas station to inflate your tires, especially if it is late at night. One simple and inexpensive solution is to buy your own portable electric air pump.

They are fairly cheap, this Black and Decker air pump which I use only costs $40 and can be found on Amazon here:

BLACK+DECKER BDINF12C 12V Multipurpose Portable Cordless Inflator

The air pump can be powered with a external outlet or the 12 volt outlet in your car. It isn’t as strong as the pump at the gas station (it takes about 1-2 minutes per tire) but it gets the job done. Also, it allows you to pump up your tires in the comfort of your own home (or anywhere if you keep it in your trunk). It also can inflate a bike tire or a basketball in only a few seconds.

I originally bought the air pump because my minivan had a small leak in one of the tires which required the tire to be pumped up once a week (and the tire store couldn’t locate the leak). However I used it several times since then and would highly recommend it to anyone.