DIY Life

Teenagers assert their independence in a variety of ways. I truly believe that the ones that aren't putting them in danger should be encouraged. This holds true for room decor. Give them some authority over their bedroom and the way it's decorated, no matter how hideous! A teenager won't feel relaxed in a space that was decorated by Mom for the ballet-loving daughter she knew 8 years ago. They will feel more comfortable and more empowered if you let them take the reigns and make the room more personal.

This doesn't mean that you should hand her a can of black spray paint and let her mood guide the decor. There is a middle ground that you can both live with. Teenage taste changes weekly, so it can be hard to predict what she'll want, but this article will give you a place to start. It lets us in on what teenagers really want in their rooms: storage and sanctuary are high priorities.

There are many places in the home that could use a little extra light. These areas include anywhere work is done; think about the places where you prepare food, do all that extra work that the boss shamed you into bringing home, or your workshop bench. A great solution for these situations is to install under-cabinet lighting. They also come in handy for the dark corners in the bathroom vanity under the sink. For these areas, it's more practical to use the battery operated ones.

These lights are inexpensive and easy to install with just a few common tools. Energy efficiency? They score very highly in this area, especially if you go with the latest LED lights.

Read this article on under-cabinet light installation. Then do a walk-through of the house to identify the spots that could use a bit more illumination. A shopping trip, a bit of DIY fun, and your work spaces will be glowing in short order!

Messy desks plague most home office - for those of you who are able to confine office type mess to the office. People with no time to tidy up, who end up spending more time looking for things then actually being productive. I think this is a particular problem for DIY types because we see potential in everything. My desk is full of interesting paper scraps that I'm sure I'll find a use for later. I have old magazines and shoe boxes just waiting to be re-purposed. In all of this chaos, my important papers remain unfilled and the backs of them scribbled with little notes, random phone numbers and endless 'to do' items.

When you consider that all this mess is affecting productivity it is time to make a change. This article encourages you to think about what you want from your space. Contemplating the characteristics of your ideal workspace will go a long way in helping you get there. Walking you trough this work space check-up you'll think about the relevance of various things you're keeping around and evaluate the most appropriate place for them.

I feel fresher and more motivated when I am happy with my workspace. I'll share some of my own suggestions after the jump.

Crafting has become a hugely popular topic on the Internet in the last few years. With so much to choose from, we wanted to tell you which of the hundreds of great sites out there impress us the most.

These are in no particular order, because it's difficult enough to narrow a long list down to ten worthy sites, blogs, and communities without having to rank those ten once you've arrived at them. Between these ten sites (and a few also-rans), there's something for almost everyone.

• Craftster - Initially tagged as a craft site for hipsters ("No tea cozies without irony"), Craftster has emerged as one of the web's most popular, varied, and busy craft communities. Any craft topic you can imagine, and probably a few that haven't crossed your mind, has been addressed by Craftster members, at almost every possible level of workmanship. And they've probably written a tutorial about it, too.
• Etsy - An online mall stocked with handmade goods, patterns, and craft supplies. People sold their crafts on the Internet before Etsy came along -- via eBay, their own sites, and private sales, all places where such items can get lost in the shuffle -- but this site seems to have hit the magic combination that allows its sellers to be successful.
• MAKE and CRAFT - Both are magazines from beloved tech publisher O'Reilly, but it's their blogs that will probably be of most interest to anyone reading this list. CRAFT started out as a MAKE subcategory, then grew into its own thing. MAKE skews electronic, but still has the occasional bit of craft content worth checking out, and CRAFT includes occasional projects with LEDs.

Want to see the rest? They're after the break!