Who would have suspected that vodka had so many practical uses? Vodka can alleviate the sting of a jellyfish, treat poison ivy rash, and help relieve toothaches. For using vodka around the house, soak a clean rag and use it to get rid of bathroom mold, clean your kitchen and bathroom fixtures, and keep your clothes smelling fresh.
Itchy bee stings, sore throats, swelling muscles, minor scraps, splinters... all of these common ailments can easily be fixed with things you've probably got lying around at home in your kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Honey, ginger, castor oil, garlic, baking soda, aloe vera, white vinegar, and chamomile tea are all great natural remedies for your next minor medical need. No drugstore trips required (except for maybe some Elmer's glue).
Not only does a dishwasher save you the manual labor of physically washing your dirty kitchenware, it can sterilize your make-up brushes, launder your favorite baseball cap, and even cook up your next dinner.
Never buy pasta sauce from the supermarket again. Or salad dressing. Or pie crusts, chicken stock, hummus, bread crumbs and other common cooking staples that can be easily replicated within the comfort of your own kitchen.
If you've got a knack for gardening and an inclination for recycling, then you need to know about these six garden hacks. Some of the trash inside your bathroom and kitchen is actually garden gold, so get your recycling hats on.
CalTech's Kenneth Libbrecht reveals the sublime beauty of snow crystals when photographed with a specially designed snowflake photomicroscope. The physicist is author of the Field Guide to Snowflakes and The Secret Life of a Snowflake, and recently posted an instructional guide for growing your own snow crystals.
11/13 @ 10:00pm Cinefamily's 100 Most Outrageous Kills
Aurora borealis (or the northern lights) is a naturally occurring, beautiful light display caused by "the collision of charged particles directed by the Earth's magnetic field." Below, an electrifying display of time-lapse footage taken in Tromsø, Norway, by Tor Even Mathisen. Shot with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.
The world is beginning to treat pizza with the creativity and variety it deserves. Pizza cups. Pizza lollipops. The incredible recursive pizza. Below, Jen of Tiny Urban Kitchen presents a world travel inspired pizza project that draws from the same kind of expression as cake decorating.
This is a tool I wouldn't want to do without in my kitchen. It's full name is the Jaccard Super Tendermatic Meat Tenderizer but if you refer to the "Jaccard", most food folks will know what you are talking about. Jaccard makes lots of food prep products but this is probably their most well known. There are other tenderizers on the market, but this one is better made and uses higher quality materials than most. High quality stainless steel blades in a sturdy plastic case that is machine washab...
Baking bread might feel intimidating in advance. The fear to screw it up can make one chicken out and instead keep buying bread as usual at the store. Personally, I am very picky about which bread to eat, and learned over time that home baked bread bits them all when made properly.
Here's another latest in robotics: researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) have developed a robot that flips pancakes. The most interesting aspect of the project is the use of kinesthetic teaching, in which the user "trains" the robot by example. The user grasps the robot's limb, and guides it through the motions the user would like it to adopt. This bot takes about 50 trials to get it, but in the end succeeds. Previously, I Want a Robo-Chef in My Kitchen.
Sean Stiegemeier has captured absolutely beautiful timelapse footage documenting the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland:
Through our friends at Azucar Surf we found this lovely surf house for sale. This house is for sale by owner Michael Lawson. This is what he has to say about it:
"Skimboarding in a Storm" displays some ultra cool camerawork, employing the relatively cheap and user friendly GoPro camera (also used in the clever Kitchen Timer Panning Time Lapse Hack).
If you ever find yourself in the unfortunate situation of nursing a painful toothache, you can easily find many DIY home remedies in your kitchen or medicine cabinet before your next scheduled dentist appointment.
Need a remedy for your sore muscles after going the gym? Rather than spending money on expensive warming rubs, you can whip up your own DIY, all-natural warming rub concoction in the comfort of your own kitchen using a double boiler, olive oil, beeswax, and various spices.
Pretty much all of your cleaning supplies can be found in your kitchen or medicine cabinet for dirt cheap. White vinegar can be used to clean shower head deposits and your dishwasher on an empty cycle. Ammonia can be used to clean the gunk off your stove burner grates. And citrus fruits can be used to clean bathtub rings and dull sink faucets.
If you ever need extra storage space in your small living area, adhesive hooks are great for pretty much everything.
Need a quick and dirt-cheap way to make your running shoes smell less? Fill old nylon tights with baking soda, enough so that they would fit inside the shoes. Then, tie the open ends and stuff them into your offending shoes overnight. Or, if you have fabric softener dryer sheets, you can simply make a point of placing them inside your shoes every night.
If you ever need to carry multiple plastic bags of heavy groceries from your car to your home, but don't want to strain your fingers or take multiple trips, use a shower curtain ring to carry all of them at once.
Need to keep your favorite feline entertained at home? Using common household items lying around your bathroom or kitchen, you can craft together DIY cat toys that cost nothing to make and will provide endless entertainment for your favorite cat.
Got chapped lips? If you don't have any chapstick, you can use a variety of household or kitchen items to alleviate dry, flaky lips. Simply apply castor oil, almond oil, mango butter, beeswax, or milk cream onto lips as needed.
Instant ramen noodles are hardly gourmet dining, but with a little extra time, effort, and ingredients, this humble staple of college dormitory dining can be elevated at least a little bit to resemble a more hearty and appetizing meal.
Turmeric, the vibrant yellow spice commonly used in Southeast Asian cooking, can also be used outside of the kitchen to disinfect wounds, relieve burns, add an extra golden glow to facial moisturizer, and more.
If you are living in California, you have probably already heard by now that the state is in a severe drought of unprecedented levels. Even if you don't live in a drought-affected area, it is extremely vital for everybody on this planet to conserve water as much as possible.
Got a clogged kitchen sink? Before you reach for the plunger, see if you can fix the problem using Alka-Seltzer tablets and white vinegar.
You can buy salves and creams from the drugstore created specifically for relieving itchy mosquito bites, but it's far less expensive and more convenient to use a home remedy that can probably be found in your kitchen or medicine cabinet.
Make your summer memorable by whipping up some ice-cold, homemade soda in the comfort of your own kitchen, then take it along with you during your next picnic or beach trip.
Got a bottle of inexpensive, unopened red wine and some citrus fruits lying around in your kitchen? If you plan on throwing an outdoor summer party, you really can't go wrong with a pitcher full of homemade sangria.
Don't you hate it when the ice cream in your freezer loses its soft, smooth textures and has ice crystals all over its surface? Prevent this from happening by covering the ice cream in the carton with a sheet of plastic wrap before closing the lid tightly.
Planning a BBQ this summer? While it may be tempting to buy your ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, and mayonnaise from the store, it's actually really easy to whip up your own homemade versions in your own kitchen.
Contrary to its name, a permanent marker is not completely permanent if you really need to get it off a non-paper surface.
If squeaky wooden floorboards and creaky door hinges are preventing you from raiding your refrigerator after midnight in secret, you might already have everything you need in your kitchen to fix that problem.
Scrambled eggs may seem like the easiest breakfast dish to whip up in the kitchen, but in order to make them truly perfect, several details in the cooking process are important to keep in mind.
Got pesky weeds in your garden? Rather than stocking up on toxic weed killers from your local gardening store, you probably already have everything you need to kill weeds in your kitchen or living room.
Chew on gum while you're reviewing study material, and then chew that same flavor on the day of the exam to help jog your memory. Or, if you're having difficulty understanding a concept, see if you can find that same concept explained on the internet in the form of a YouTube video or a visual infographic. Studying and memorization works best when you engage all of your senses instead of just one.
After cutting fruits, veggies, and especially meats, it's good idea to regularly disinfect and deodorize your cutting board thoroughly. From using kitchen chemicals, to all-natural ingredients you probably have around, there are several ways to do it.
If your beloved fern houseplant is looking limp, make a tonic out of 1 tablespoon castor oil, 1 tablespoon baby oil, and 4 cups lukewarm water. Feed your fern with 1 tablespoon of the tonic followed by a normal amount of plain water once a day for several days until your fern starts looking healthy again.
Makeup can get expensive, but removing it from your eyes shouldn't have to be. Thankfully, some DIY eye makeup remover probably already exists in your refrigerator, kitchen pantry, or medicine cabinet.
