Jason's Helpful HInts

Here's some words-of-wisdom and other hopefully helpful things I've learned over the years:

Cleaning
Electrical
General and Miscellany
Travel
Wood

Cleaning

Use used coffee grounds to wash grease from your hands. — Wash your hands with a mixture of a small pinch of used coffee grounds with ordinary dish soap to remove grease. (2005-Dec-24, Jason Olshefsky)

General and Miscellany

Use 3-sided tomato cages to make signs to stick in the ground. — If you're having a yard sale or just want to make a sign, an easy method is to use 3-sided tomato cages that fold flat. Unfold the cage and put your sign inside. Tape it in place across some of the wires to keep it from sliding up-and-down then fold the cage sides back onto the surface to keep it locked in place. (2004-Jun-7, Jason Olshefsky)
Wipe toilet seats with a small amount of toilet paper. — If you need to use any "unfamiliar" toilet (public or just at a someone's house) make a habit of grabbing a couple sheets of toilet paper first and wiping down the seat. That way you'll never sit on a wet seat and you'll know in advance that there is toilet paper. (2005-Dec-24, Jason Olshefsky)

Electrical

Electrical work is not very challenging, but the risks are very large — things like fire and electrocution. If you are not familiar with doing electrical work on your own, work with someone who does until you're comfortable with it.

Stagger connections in electrical cord repairs to prevent short circuits. — To repair a broken electrical cord, unplug the appliance and cut the section of damaged cord out. Separate the wires on one side and cut each wire separately so the length of each wire is staggered about an inch-and-a-half away from the other ends. Separate the wires on the other end the same way and stagger them so they'll match up with the lengths on the first end (that is, the longest length on one end is the shortest on the other.) It's preferrable to solder the ends together side-by-side after stripping off a quarter-inch of insulation, but if you don't have a soldering iron, strip a half-inch of insulation off each of the wires and twist matching pairs from the two pieces of cord together. When the repaired cord is straightened, none of the bare wires should touch one another since they are at least an inch apart. Wrap the whole job in electrical tape or use heat-shrink tubing so you don't electrocute yourself. (2004-Jun-2, Jason Olshefsky)
When working on an appliance, put the plug in your pocket. — Make a habit of putting the plug of any appliance you're working on into your pocket. That way, you'll be less likely to accidentally work on it when it's plugged in. (2005-Dec-24, Jason Olshefsky)
Before putting your hands on bare wires, short them out first. — When you work on any in-wall electric circuits, shut off the power at the breaker. When you're absolutely sure the power is off, short out the wires using a screwdriver. If you have done everything correctly, nothing will happen; otherwise, a shower of sparks will indicate your error rather than you being electrocuted. (2005-Dec-24, Jason Olshefsky)

Travel

Use ziplock bags to rainproof things in your pockets. — Carry a couple ziplock-style bags when you go to an outdoor event that might get rained on. If it does rain, put the items that don't respond well to rain into the bags in your pocket. Even if you're soaked to the bone, your cell phone will survive. (2004-May-14, Jason Olshefsky)

Wood

Strengthen screw holes using a twist-tie. — Remove the loose screw, bend a twist-tie in half, and stick the bend corner into the hole. Cut it off with scissors, leaving a hole's-width sticking out. Bend the two protruding ends opposite one another, flush to the surface. Screw the screw in again — the thickness of the twist-tie will help keep the screw from pulling out. (2005-Dec-24, Jason Olshefsky)