Do it Yourself

Cheap Trick: 2 Secret Ways to Clear Clogged Drains

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Photo: Joe Provey

Forget everything you know about clearing clogged sink and tub drains. Throw away your snakes, plungers, and drain cleaners. There are only two things you need to know about clearing clogs, and neither one of them will cost you a dime…

Continue readi…

Home Ec: 5 Things You Should Never Vacuum

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Filed under: recalls and safety, cleaning, Essential Skills, Know-How

Photo: Getty Images

Vacuuming is by far my most dreaded task — the moving of the furniture, clearing of surfaces — and soon after there’s all the dog hair to contend with (and the dog, whose arch nemesis is the vacuum cleaner…

How to Degloss a Surface for Paint Prep

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Filed under: weekend projects, kitchen, painting, Kitchen & Bath, Small Projects, Living Rooms, Bedrooms, Essential Skills, Know-How, Living Spaces

Photo: Jolie Novak, AOL

Looking to repaint that glossy trim work or that varnished desk? You’ll have to degloss it first. whether you don’t, ther…

Links We Love: Surf Shack Table, Floating Shoe Rack & More

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Filed under: organization and storage, art, Crafts, knock it off, Storage & Organization, Know-How, Crafts & Celebrations
that week, let’s kick things off with two very cool DIY space-saving projects!

Hartman Kable demos his DIY fold-down table. Photo: Ready Made

First up: the creative …

Hammer Tips & Tricks

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Photo: Getty Images

I confess: there was once a date when I hung pictures by pounding a nail into the wall with the heel of my shoe. But as I tackled more projects around the house and worked with different tools, I started pounding nails the right way: with a hammer. And next different hammers (…

Making News: Obama Outlines ‘Cash for Caulkers’ Program

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:00:00 +0000

Filed under: Living Rooms, Exteriors & Facades, Living Spaces, Outdoors

Photo: Getty Images

Imagine whether the cooled or heated air in your home was festooned with little dollar signs. Now imagine those dollars signs leaking out of your house, one by one.

That’s basically what happens when…

The Daily Fix: Remove Dried Paint from a Wood Floor

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Photo: Jolie Novak, AOL

Dried drips of paint are hard to avoid; it seems we’ve all got a few of these unsightly blemishes on our hardwood floors. Ideally, we’d catch all stray spots and splatters during the painting process and wipe them up while they’re wet, but few paint jobs are that tidy. Lu…

The Daily Fix: How to Unstick a Door

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:10:00 +0000

Filed under: fix-it, doors and windows, Essential Skills

Photo: roland, flickr

Sticky doors, like squeaky stairs, can really get under your skin. You’re always pushing and pulling a lot harder than you need to, and somehow the door never seems to close quite right. You mean to take care of it one…

Create the Look: Lance Armstrong’s Kitchen

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:15:00 +0000

Photo: Architectural Digest

Photo: Getty Images

There’s a good reason Lance Armstrong’s kitchen is so comfortable and inviting. that is not merely a showplace, but the heart of a family home where the cycling superstar is raising three young children (with whom he shares amicable joint custo…

The Daily Fix: Unclog a Tube of Caulk

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:30:00 +0000

Filed under: fix-it, bathroom, outdoor, plumbing, Kitchen & Bath, Products & Materials, Essential Skills, Know-How

Photo: McClurg Team, Flickr

Whether you’re using acrylic latex caulk to plug up a drafty window or silicone caulk to waterproof a tub, you’ll usually end up needing only ha…