- What's up guys? My name's Aaron Massey,
and today I'm here to talk to you about my top five
home improvement hacks.
So, when we talk about home improvement,
there are two things that are really valuable.
Time, and money,
These five things that you can do around the house
that save you either one, or the other,
or possibly both.
So, let's jump right in.
The average home uses 45% percent of its water
in the bathroom,
with 27% coming from the toilet alone.
Even water-wise toilets can still use up to 1.6 gallons
per flush, so here's a water saving tip.
Fill up a one liter bottle with water,
and place it inside the back of the tank.
The tank will need about one less liter to fill up
each time, saving you around one liter per flush.
It may not seem like that much initially,
but it will add up over time.
It doesn't even have to be a bottle,
it can be anything that fits inside the tank,
and takes up a significant amount of volume,
but doesn't interfere with the toilet's ability to flush,
and obviously leaves you enough water that you can
still flush, in effect.
If you have to flush the toilet multiple times just to
get something to go down,
obviously, that's not saving you water.
Another water saving tip, is to use a greywater bucket
in the shower.
Now, it's not glamorous,
but capturing the runoff from your shower,
and using it to irrigate your plants around the home,
can add up to substantial savings overtime.
So, let's say you need to mark a circle of a certain size,
but you don't have a compass.
You could rummage around your house for a jar,
or something that's the right size,
but ain't nobody got time for that.
Instead, grab your speed square,
most speed squares have a little notch in the corner,
that allows you to make a quick and easy circle.
Place the finish nail as your center point,
and then place the notch of the speed square around it.
Let's say you need to mark a four inch diameter hole.
Using a pencil at two inch mark for your radius,
hold it carefully against the square,
and spin the square around the center point,
and boom, just like that, the circle is done.
Here's another handy tip for your speed square.
Let's say you're working around your house,
and you either don't own a chop saw,
or you don't have one nearby,
and you need to cut square cuts on your lumber,
so everything lines up.
Use a speed square to act as a saw guide,
so you can cut a perfectly square 90 degree angle,
every time.
There are few things more frustrating than working on
something, and the screw keeps falling off the screwdriver.
Now, you could go spend a bunch of money to get a
new magnetic screwdriver set,
or you could just magnetize the one that you have.
Grab the screwdriver, and a magnet.
I'm using the magnet on the bottom of this
magnetic parts tray.
Drag the screwdriver over the magnet in one direction,
rotating the screwdriver a little bit with each pass.
Now, you've got your self a magnetized screwdriver,
that will hold on to that troublesome screw,
and now you can also use it as a magnet to pick up
small metal objects in hard to reach places.
Extension cords are essential for any home improvement
project around the house,
but if you've been wrapping and storing them like this,
you're doing it wrong,
and you're shortening the life of your extension cord.
Not only that, but you're probably regularly having to
untangle the cord as well.
Here's how you should wrap and store them.
It's called the over/under technique,
and it'll save you a headache,
next time you go to use it,
and also save you money,
by extending the life of the cord.
With this technique, the cord lies nice and flat
on the ground,
and can easily unravel when you need to,
without getting tangled.
I recommend typing a piece of string around the
female end of the cord,
that way you can keep the cord tied together,
and it stores nicely.
In addition, when using your extension cord with
power tools, tie a knot in the cord to keep it from
coming unplugged.
It'll keep the tension of the cord at the knot,
and keep the prongs from being bent,
if you're moving it around.
Let's say you want to hang something on a wall,
but you don't know were a stud is.
You could try the old knock-knock technique,
and try and figure out where it is that way,
or you could measure every 16 inches from a corner
to try and layout the studs that way,
or you could buy one of these stud finders,
which, depending on how much money you spend on it,
could be hit or miss anyway.
But, did you know you could also find a wall stud by
using a refrigerator magnet?
Grab a magnet off the fridge,
and use a piece of painter's tape,
and make a little handle for it.
Drag it across the area of the wall,
you want to hang your picture or shelf,
and the magnet will find the metal fasteners
used to attach the drywall or plasterboard to the wall.
Once you find a fastener,
you can use a level to mark a vertical line,
if you need to install something lengthwise.
If you don't have a level,
you could always use a piece of string,
with a little bit of weight on it,
attached to the magnet,
and that'll give you a vertical line.
To mark the next stud over,
mark your first position,
and then use your magnet to find the next stud.
Use a level to connect the two if need be.
So, there you have it.
Hopefully, these five tips will save you time, money,
or help you out with your next home improvement project.
If you liked this video, please hit that like button,
and leave a comment down below, and let me know.
Be sure to subscribe for more content,
and for more home improvement hacks and projects,
visit my blog at mrfixitdiy.com.
Thank you guys so much for watching.
I'll see you next time.
Hey guys, my name's Aaron Massey,
and today I'm gonna be building a cold brew coffee tower.
(upbeat music)