DIY Life

We all know people who can no longer fit their car into their garage. Perhaps we are even among them. (Hey, I just moved, okay? And we downsized dramatically! And there are no basements! And, and, and... I'll take my own advice soon, I swear!) The garage has become a repository for all the stuff that they have nowhere to store. Look around your neighborhood, I am willing to bet that most people are using at least one of their garages for storage.

Did you know that Americans are renting storage units to store all of the stuff that won't fit into their houses? According to this article "self-storage units cover 72 square miles, the area of Manhattan and San Francisco combined." That's a whole lot of people storing a whole lot of stuff, that frankly they probably do not need.

My take on the self storage phenomenon for the average suburban American? Get rid of it. Make decisions about what you really use and need, then get rid of the rest. If it isn't useful or making your life better in some way, then you do not need it. The problem that most people have is that they do not organize their stuff and therefore they cannot find it when they need it.

Stop looking for that perfect piece of art: convert that big empty wall into a rock climbing training wall!

OK, you probably wouldn't choose to build this in your living room, but a basement or garage might be the perfect place for a climbing wall.

Building your own rock climbing wall is a great way get exercise and improve your climbing skills, but this project isn't for the faint of heart. First, you'll want to carefully design the wall, taking into consideration your space constraints, your skill level, and your skill goals.

Essortment has a full list of tools and materials, along with detailed construction instructions. This project isn't for amateur builders, but if you have the experience to take it on, you'll have the coolest garage on the block.

Pegboard can be a lifesaver in a workshop, sewing room, or the garage. Sometimes, though, it can be difficult to retrieve a favorite tool because the hanger wants to come out of the pegboard along with the tool. While using pegboard can keep a workspace neat and tidy, sometimes reinforcement is needed to keep your tools from elongating the holes.

Popular Mechanics has a great article teaching us how to make our own custom pegboard tool hangers, using aluminum and steel from the hardware store, a hacksaw, a drill and a pair of pliers. Cut, bend, and shape the aluminum or steel, screw it to the wall, and hang up your tools.

With these custom pegboard tool hangers, we really have no more excuses to let our precious tools clutter up our workspace. Not only are the tool hangers perfect for a man's workshop, I think they are also perfect for a sewing/crafting room pegboard too.

via: Curbly

Yeah, yeah. Spring is awesome. All those pretty flowers blooming. Pastel clothing. Bunnies. Blossoms. Baskets of eggs. Picnics. Outdoor weddings. Lush green lawns. Hmm. What about the down-side of Spring? Yes. There is one. Here are my personal pet peeves regarding the prettiest, perkiest season of all:

1. Return of the lawn mower. Remember how "winterize lawn mower" was on your to-do list back in September? Just never got around to it, did you? Well, guess what? It's too late and now Spring is back. Time to deal with the consequences. Your mower, having been neglected in the garage for six months with a tank full of fuel, will be hell to start again. Have fun with that.

2. Wrestling the garden hose. Spring means planting time, and planting means watering to get new plants established. Planting is satisfying work, but my most hated gardening task is watering. Actually, the water is kind of lovely. It's the hose I hate.

Every person who's new to our home calls our garage a shed. It's really, truly a garage, meant for one car and not much else, but it's so teeny that people just assume it's a shed. That's ok, because that's how we use it. But over the winter it's become less of a garage/shed and more of a maze of bicycles, yard tools, outdoor toys, and whatnot. I'm determined that once the snow melts, we're going to organize that space once and for all.

I subscribe the Clean Sweep philosophy of clearing clutter. Pull it all out, sort it into piles meant for keeping, selling/giving away, and tossing, and then put it all back in an organized fashion.

But organizing our garage perplexes me. It's heavily used and gets lots of traffic, and stores items of every shape and size. That's why this year I'm going to add three more steps to my organizational plan. First is to categorize items by how they are used, as well as how frequently they are used. The second is to draw up a plan ahead of time, before moving things back in. And the third is to figure out some sort of system to keep seasonal items up and out of the way. I got my ideas here, and it's a great step-by-step guide to help you keep your garage neat and functional.

While I silently smirk when people refer to their car with endearing names, there is something to be said for giving your car the love it needs to love you back. A well maintained car will serve you faithfully for years. We all know the basics: Keep up on your oil changes and make the necessary repairs as they come up. If you really want to extend the life of your ride you'll want to take extra care, considering all the details and tending to some seemingly obscure tips.

These 75 ways to keep your car in top-notch condition will minimize your headaches and significantly extend your vehicle's life. The Reader's Digest article covers everything from the break in period, to sun protection and tire tread safety. I found this to be the most clear and comprehensive collection of tips. One of the easiest ones to implement and probably the most effective tool for easily detecting a problem is #8: Keep an auto log. More details about this tip after the break.

PVC pipe. It's affordable, easy to work with, durable. Not, it's not very pretty, but let me say again: it's affordable! PVC is sort of a wonder-plastic and can be used creatively in many a DIY project. (That is, if you're willing to overlook the fact that it's highly toxic and, therefore, not exactly a green choice.) Like this one, for example: build a bike rack using PVC pipe. I found this one on Instructables, offered up for public consumption by user "imarunner2."

This is a nice 'n' easy little project. If you have a halfway decent saw, you can make this. You will need a length of three-quarter-inch PVC pipe and a bunch of connecting joints -- six t-joints and six elbow joints. All the pieces are glued together using PVC cement. One Instructables reader tried it out and found himself out-of-pocket by a mere $5. Peanuts!

Interested in bigger, more elaborate models? Take a look at some of the pics people have uploaded to Flickr. You've got your king-size garage versions, and then you've got your mondo versions, too. That last one must've been a fun weekend project. Not.

Liking the DIY-with-PVC concept? Check out Gary's post on a DIY vehicle shelter made from PVC pipes.

What do you do when you have one too many toys to fit in the garage? You could put the canoe on saw horses behind the garage and the Harley could go on the porch, but that would just reinforce those rumors saying someone heard that you might be a red neck.

There are a lot of ways to build quick shelter cheaply if you are just interested in keeping something dry. Although PVC pipe isn't as cheap as it used to be, it still delivers a fairly good value as a building material. That is why I really like these plans for a PVC pipe mini garage from pvcplans.com . I checked out the PDF file instructions provided on the site and they give a clearly understandable description of the project.

If you want to build a PVC framed storage cover for use in windy conditions, you may wish to adapt the above plan to allow a cross buck to go diagonally across each panel segment. I would also recommend considering rigid plastic sheeting as roof material in areas which might experience snow load. Be sure to stake or sand bag the entire bottom edge so your shelter doesn't blow away like a tumble weed.

For a cornucopia of ideas about some excellent things you can build, take a look at our DIYLife build it yourself file. It's growing bigger every week! You can find leads on interesting projects such as how to Build Your Own Coffin, from M.E.Williams or building a humidor with Francesca Clarke . Please feel free to tell us about projects you are building!

There are all sorts of gas saving devices on the market. Many of them have some impact, while others are complete scams offering no fuel economy benefit and even damaging your engine. If you're looking for some practical tips The Federal Trade Commision offers these tips for improving gas milaege. You'll have to stop the aggressive driving and stick to the speed limits, but you'll quickly notice the savings. Here are their main headings; make sure you check out the full release for some important information.

1. On the Road: Drive More Efficiently
2. At the Garage: Maintain Your Car
3. At the Pump: Use the Octane Level You Need
4. In Advertising: Check Out Claims About "Gas-Saving" Gadgets
5. In the Showroom: Consider the Alternatives

Tip #5 talks about the hybrid alternative. This may be the right fit if you're looking for a new car. It's the perfect way to lessen the damage on your wallet along with the damage on the environment. If you're considering this option, here are some things to know before buying a hybrid car.

[via: Do It Yourself]

The vise-grip: every toolbox should have a pair. A garage without a pair of vise-grips is like a kitchen without a can opener. Why? They are incredibly strong and versatile, yet compact and inexpensive. I'm amazed at how many sticky situations my vise-grips have helped me out of. For those of you who are not familiar with VGs, they're like a heavy pair of pliers that lock onto whatever small object needs loosening or turning. The grip is incredibly powerful -- it enables even DIY-beginners with weakling muscles to get leverage on things that are stuck tight.

My top use for vice-grips is loosening stubborn screws and nails. If you can get the VGs to lock on at all, you can almost certainly get the job done. Vice-grips can also be used to clamp just about anything: small pieces of wood for sawing, or any object that is being glued, for example. I even use this thing in the garden to unscrew the hose from the sprinkler or from other sections of hose. Want more ideas on vise-grip uses? Click here.

Ahh, vice-grips, is there anything you can't do?

If you've had the same workbench for years, it's probably well used, and ready for replacement. It can be hard to decide what you need, and even harder to justify a big price tag. Ultimately, you want something sturdy and inexpensive. If that appeals to you, then try making your own for about $20.

Here are the plans for a simple workbench. It looks quite simple, and you might even have some of the materials on hand, reducing your cost even further. Here are the tools and materials that are listed for this project:

When I was a kid we lived across the street from a fellow who had what I thought was an uncanny ability to park his cars in his garage with perfect accuracy every time. There was always room to open all car doors without striking the other car and there was always room to get in and out of both cars from either side. His garage wasn't any larger than a standard two car garage and he also had some of the extras in there that many people do, such as a snow blower, a chest freezer and of course the lawnmower and some lawn tools. So how did this fellow get his cars situated in perfect fashion as a matter of course? I went one day to find the answer.

What our neighbor had done was to park his cars in the garage one day in the exact position that he wanted them. Then he took two tennis balls, threaded each one on a string line and hung them both from the garage rafters in position so each one would just touch the windshield of each car right in front of the rear view mirror. From then on, all he and his wife needed to do was ease in either car until the tennis ball came to rest on the windshield, in front of the rear view mirror. Presto! A perfect parking job every time.

Check out 17 good uses for a Tennis ball, from DIY Life's own Dan Chilton.