The Secret Yumiverse Features
The Dried Beans Cheat Sheet: Soaking & Cooking Times for 15 Different Beans
While it may be tempting to rely on canned beans to save time, going through the process of preparing dried beans for cooking can actually be better for you in the long run—for both your physical and financial health.
How To: 14 Clever, Non-Crafty Uses for Popsicle Sticks
If you ever need an emergency finger splint for a broken or sprained finger, use a popsicle stick. Wrap medical tape around your broken finger to the side of a popsicle stick until you can receive proper medical attention.
How To: Read Your Own Palm Lines
Palmistry is the art of characterizing or foretelling the future through the reading of palm lines. Though there are certainly many variations and techniques when it comes to interpreting the meaning of palm lines, you can brush up on Palmistry 101 by getting acquainted with your four major palm lines: the heart line, head line, life line, and fate line.
How To: Make the Perfect Cup of Hot Chocolate Using Real Chocolate Bars
Though making hot chocolate out of instant mix is pretty easy, there is no comparison when it comes to making your own homemade hot chocolate out of quality dark chocolate bars, whole milk, brown sugar, and your own favorite fresh spices.
How To: Prepare an Emergency Survival Kit for Earthquakes & Other Natural Disasters
Have you ever put together a basic survival kit for your home in case of an earthquake or natural disaster? If not, you should, because you'll want to be prepared should the worst happen.
How To: 11 Sizzling Uses for Charcoal Briquettes Besides Grilling
However much you love your summer barbecue parties, you probably won't be going through your entire bag of charcoal briquettes anytime soon. So, take advantage of your charcoal excess by putting them to good use in other ways!
How To: 8 Home Remedies That'll Get Rid of Those Dark Circles Under Your Eyes
If people are constantly asking you why you look so tired, then maybe it's time to get rid of the puffy dark circles under your eyes.
How To: 7 Great Things Black Pepper Can Be Used for Besides Cooking
Like table salt, black pepper has its unexpectedly handy uses that goes beyond seasoning your meals at the dining table. You can use black pepper to keep ants from invading your home, drive away bugs from eating your delicious garden vegetables, temporarily fix a radiator leak, and even stop bleeding on a minor wound.
How To: 15 Ways to Reuse Old CD Spindle Cases
Compact discs...remember those? Before you toss your old CD spindle cases away, consider upcycling them to a DIY terrarium, cable storage container, hamster toy, rainfall shower head, bird feeder, bagel sandwich lunch box, and more.
How To: 14 Practical Uses for Nail Polish Remover That Have Nothing to Do with Removing Nail Polish
Acetone-based nail polish remover is great for removing nail polish, and it's also great for some DIY uses around the home. From eliminating scratches to fixing the consistency of correction fluid, its uses are varied but all effective. With nail polish remover, you can also clean your computer keyboard, get rid of ink stains, and even remove leeches from your skin. Talk about versatile!
How To: Make a Cheap, DIY Fog Machine for Your Halloween Party
Need to add some spooky ambient fog to your super-scary Halloween party? Rather than shelling out money for a fog machine you'll probably only use once a year, make a trip to the nearest drug store and pick up a bottle of glycerin, a gallon of distilled water, a 2-liter bottle of cola, a disposable mini-pie tin, and a big candle in a jar.
How To: Make & Grow Your Own Chia Pet
If you missed out on the Chia Pet craze from the '80s and '90s, don't worry—it's never too late to build and make your own weirdly head-shaped thing with grass hair growing on top.
How To: 13 Non-Lip Uses for Chapstick
Now that the weather is colder and drier than usual, you may be using Chapstick more frequently to moisturize your dry lips. Did you know that you can also use Chapstick on dry elbows, dry cuticles, dry knuckles, and even the ends of your hair?
How To: Make Your Own Temporary Tattoo
Whether you need very temporary skin art for a costume or simply want to test-run a potential tattoo design before it gets permanent, making your own temporary tattoo only requires wax paper, a printout or drawing of your desired design, black eyeliner, rubbing alcohol, baby powder, liquid bandage, and a lot of patience.
How To: 16 Tips for Staying Awake When You're Tired
While there's an art to surviving the all-nighter, there's also an art to staying awake throughout the day when you're operating on little to no sleep. In 1964, the record for sleep deprivation was set by 17-year-old Randy Gardner, who stayed awake for an incredible 264 hours and 12 minutes. Now while we're not out to challenge Randy for his title, we can certainly look to him for inspiration in beating back our own fatigue.
How To: 9 More DIY Ways to Painlessly Remove Splinters from Your Skin
Got a stubborn splinter lodged into your finger? There are a number of ways you can remove it easily using materials found around your home. Elmer's glue, banana peels, eggshells, potatoes, and baking soda are all great at painlessly extracting those tiny pieces of wood, glass, or other material.
How To: 8 Crafty Ways to Reuse Old Christmas Ornaments & Decorations
Broken glass Christmas ornaments? Evergreen wreath falling apart? Before you throw away or donate Christmas decorations you no longer need, see if you can reuse or recycle them for better use year-round or for next year's holiday season.
Liquid Witch Hazel: 12 Reasons Why You Should Have Some at Home
Witch hazel is a type of shrub with fragrant yellow flowers, and its bark and leaves are extracted and used for many medicinal uses.
How To: 8 Ways to Cry on the Spot
Are you an aspiring actor with a crying scene in a play? Or are you a shameless manipulator who will need some cheap sympathy from the jury during a court case? You never know when the ability to shed fake tears will come in handy.
How To: Create Giant, Reusable Bubbles Out of Elmer's Glue & Liquid Starch
Creating giant, reusable bubbles at home is easy, and it's a fun project for children. Just dump a whole bottle of non-toxic Elmer's Clear School Glue into a bowl, add fine glitter and watercolors (or food coloring), and slowly mix together Sta-Flo Liquid Starch to form a pliable concoction.
How To: 9 DIY Home Remedies for Relieving Itchy Mosquito Bites
There are few things peskier in the summer than an unexpected mosquito bite swelling up on your arms and legs. Fortunately, there are many ways to heal your body of its annoying itch, ranging from fruit (lemon slices and banana peels) to common household items (baking soda and apple cider vinegar).
How To: Make a DIY Photo Projector with a Shoebox & Smartphone
Want to show off vacation photos on the big screen or project goofy videos on the wall? Using a shoebox, magnifying glass, and a smartphone, you can make your own photo or video projector for super cheap.
How To: Send a Secret Message Inside an Egg
Whether it's for Valentine's Day or you simply want to send a note to someone in a unique way, a secret message inside of a seemingly untouched raw egg is the perfect way to go.
How To: DIY Ways to Clean Your Computer Screen, Keyboard, and Mouse
Got a dirty desktop computer or laptop screen? Mix together a solution of equal parts white vinegar and purified water and place solution in a spray bottle. Spray a clean cotton rag with the solution and gently wipe the screen for simple, streak-free cleaning. For a quick clean-up of dust particles that won't scratch the glass, use clean coffee filters or a dryer sheet.
How To: 7 Home Remedies for Relieving Common Cold Symptoms
The next time you find yourself with a stuffy nose and the beginnings of a sore throat, breathe in warm air through your nose while holding a hair dryer blowing 18 inches away from your face. (Be sure the hair dryer is set to "warm" and not "hot.")
How To: 14 Weirdly Useful (And Non-Drinkable) Uses for Soda Pop
If you just gave up drinking soda and you don't know what to do with the six-pack of Coke gathering dust in your garage, then this article is perfect for you. The acidity, sugar content and carbonated nature of most soda drinks are perfect for a number of surprisingly practical uses for DIY home projects, garden work, kitchen cleanup, car maintenance, cooking and more.
How To: 12 Innovative Ways to Reuse Plastic Cups
Don't add your plastic cup to the trash bin just yet. The sturdy plastic material of these ubiquitous containers makes them perfect to use as miniature DIY greenhouses for seedlings, smartphone sound amplifiers, Christmas ornament storage, and even packing material.
How To: 7 DIY Cures for Headaches
What can you do when you're suffering from a pounding headache and you're in too much pain to drive to the nearest drugstore? Fill a large plastic bowl with hot water, add one tablespoon of dry mustard powder, and soak your feet for twenty minutes.
Recipe for Horror: How to Make Fake Blood Capsules for Halloween
Want to go the extra mile with your scary costume this Halloween? Use fake blood capsules. At an opportune moment, fake blood can slowly dribble out of your vampiric mouth like you've just finished sucking blood out of an innocent bystander's neck. Or, if you're a zombie, it'll look like you've just finished feasting on the flesh of some poor non-zombie sap.
Acupressure 101: Relieve Mental & Physical Stress Using These Acupoints
The next time you're feeling tired and stressed out, pull down on your earlobes firmly for a few seconds, or apply firm pressure to the indentation on your nose bridge between your eyebrows using your thumb for several minutes while breathing deeply. Sometimes a little acupressure is all you need to give an extra lift to your mental and physical health.
How To: Make a Self-Irrigating Planter with Yogurt Containers
Do you have an excess of empty yogurt containers? Do you also happen to have a green thumb? Put two and two together to make a DIY self-irrigating planter for your next tomato plant, herb garden or whatever green growing thing suits your fancy.
How To: Increase Your Alcohol Tolerance
Whether you're embarking on an epic wine tour with friends or simply want to last an entire night of socializing and drinking with important people, there are times when good alcohol tolerance comes in handy. If you're a lightweight who would probably be labeled as a "cheap date" when it comes to drinking, you can actually increase your alcohol tolerance gradually by drinking more on a regular basis. Who would have thought?
How To: Deal with Toxic and Belligerent People
Unfortunately, toxic and belligerent people are not as avoidable as we would like for them to be. They show up in our work place, schools, neighborhoods—sometimes even within our own circle of friends and family members. The best we can do is minimize our interactions with them and plan for exit strategies to cut the conversation short. If an interaction is avoidable because the person is your boss or family member, then arm yourself with a few verbal defense moves to keep yourself from getti...
How To: Cut Glass Bottles in Half Using Fire and Glass Cutters or Acetone-Soaked String
Want to make your own glass drinking cups? You don't need to be a glassworker to get creative. Just recycle some of your old beer, soda, or wine bottles into stylish toothbrush holders or glass cups.
How To: Make Invisible Ink
Need to pass along an important message on paper without having it accidentally discovered by your archenemy? Using very common household products, you can easily whip up an invisible ink recipe and write out your secret message with the solution. All the recipient needs to do is heat up the paper using a stovetop of light bulb, or brush the surface of the paper with a simple iodine mixture to read the message.
How To: Turn a Plastic Garbage Bag into a High-Flying DIY Kite
Where one sees plastic garbage bags, I see living creatures soaring high in the windy skies—and you can too. The choice is completely yours. But, wouldn't it be nice to spare one trash bag the indignity of holding waste?
How To: 12 NASA-Approved Houseplants for Improving Indoor Air Quality
Back in the '80s, NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America did a study where they discovered which houseplants were the most effective in purifying the air in space facilities. Though you may not be living in a rocket ship, you can definitely benefit from having one or more of these plants in your home.
How To: 15 Super-Practical Reuses for Paper Grocery Bags
Just as how plastic grocery bags have many amazing reuses if you have a whole bunch of them stocked up in your home, the same goes for their papery counterparts as well.
How To: Preserve Maple Leaves
'Tis the season to get crafty with maple leaves. Rather than buying fake maple leaves from the craft store, save real-life maple leaves you find on the ground outdoors using one of the following preservation techniques below.
How To: 14 Amazing Uses for Orange Peels
What should you do with an orange peel after you're done eating the fruit part? If at least one half of the orange peel is still intact, consider using it as a seed starter pot, emergency oil lamp, bird feeder, or a super-easy, salt-packed DIY fridge deodorizer.