DIY(Page 20)

PopSci's curated collection of life skills, tech tips, and hands-on projects we think you'll love.

Latest in DIY

hands holding phone with dead battery advisory

4 tips to make your phone battery last longer

Survive the great outdoors by making your own drinkable water

Survive the great outdoors by making your own drinkable water

By Alisha McDarris

Person camping in the snow

Winter camping is a great way to see more nature and fewer people

By Alisha McDarris

a residential home with solar panels on the roof

What you need to know about converting your home to solar

By Whitson Gordon

Google Pay on a smartphone screen in a person's hand

How to manage subscriptions that are silently draining your bank account

person using windows 11

All the free apps for Windows 11, from Paint 3D to Teams

clear glass kettle with tea

4 easy-to-forage plants you can harvest to make your own tea

By Alisha McDarris

Person looking at phone in disbelief

Delete your most recent Google searches to forget what you just saw

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

How to set up your new TV for the best possible picture

By Stan Horaczek

A field of yellow sunflowers under a bright blue sky with some white clouds.

Pest-fighting plants that could save your garden

By Meagan Shelley

person on bed covering their face in stress

Stress and anxiety wear down your brain. Here’s how to fight back.

A MacBook laptop, an Apple keyboard, a digital camera, an iPhone, a camera lens, sunglasses, an iPad, and some notebooks on a gray wooden table.

How to track down your lost devices

string of lights at night

You might be buying the wrong lightbulbs

By Jean Feingold

A couple dozen thumbnail-sized squares of chocolate, each with blotches and streaks of vivid rainbow colors.

Turn ordinary chocolate into a glimmering, iridescent treat

By Janelle Shane

4 ways to know if iOS or Android is better for you

A man looking at his phone and leaning against a windowsill next to a potted cactus about the size of a softball.

Plant care apps are more distracting than useful

By Ellen Airhart

Person-writing-on-planner-with-sticky-notes

Get your work life together with one of these time-management apps

A car dashboard showing the gas tank on empty, and all the other dials at zero.

How to save gas without ruining your car

By Kevin Williams

A person sitting in front of a macOS laptop looking annoyed because it decided to update at the wrong time.

Smart ways to manage software updates on Windows and macOS

person on laptop signing up to popsci newsletter

Firefox Relay offers a simple way to create email aliases

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

A man standing under some trees outside at sunset, holding his face in his hands because he is stressed out or anxious.

How to manage your mental health as traumatic events pile up

By Alexandra Frost

lock over laptop keyboard

How to securely store and share sensitive files

By Whitson Gordon

diy glue gun stand

Build your own hot glue gun stand to prove you know more than scalding goop

By Jean Levasseur

where to put tv in living room

How to decide where to put your TV in your living room (or anywhere else)

By Brandon Russell

Person holding phone looking at screen

6 mobile clipboard managers to up your copy and paste game

hands on a gray laptop on a wooden table or desk

Build your own website, no code required

phone and tablet showing google news

Get your phone to send you the breaking news alerts you want

A green plastic dome treehouse in a forest.

How to rent out your spare room and be an excellent host

By Jose Mendoza, Mary Kearl

the start of the cooperative board game, Pandemic

Two-player games that won’t turn you and your friend into enemies

By Harry Guinness

How to keep ‘chub rub’ from chafing your skin and ruining your summer

How to keep ‘chub rub’ from chafing your skin and ruining your summer

By Rachel Feltman

Bee-pollinating-purple-flower

Build a garden that’ll have pollinators buzzin’

By Jennifer Ball

bees-drinking-nectar-from-feeder

5 ways to keep bees buzzing that don’t require a hive

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

hand holding a cicada against the sky

The Brood X cicadas are coming, and you should eat them. Here’s how.

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

3 ways to use your hot glue gun for more than just sticking things together

3 ways to use your hot glue gun for more than just sticking things together

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Half-Popped Popcorn Kernels

Popcorn Too Fluffy? Try Half-Popping Popcorn At Home

By Ryan F. Mandelbaum

DIY film developing

You should develop your own black-and-white film. Here’s how.

By Stan Horaczek

a child wearing large comfortable headphones

Want more comfortable headphones? Try these 5 fixes.

By Whitson Gordon

A woman using an Apple laptop on a white bed while a golden retriever dog sleeps in the foreground.

How to get internet to every corner of your home

LED strip lights behind a computer desk, adding a purple glow to the room.

5 great spots for LED strip lights around your home

By Nadia Bajuelo

A person holding a phone horizontally and filming a video.

Simple tools for creating stop-motion movies on your phone

bananas in cast iron pan

How to season a cast iron pan

By Sara Chodosh

The user interface for Netflix on a computer in a browser window.

How to find where your favorite movies and shows are streaming

A cracked wooden table at a restaurant, with a glass of white wine and a white plate with salmon and greens on it.

2 ways to rescue cracked wooden furniture

By Jean Levasseur

A woman in orange workout leggings and a gray sleeveless workout top doing a lunge squat with a barbell in a gym.

Enhance your workouts with ‘invisible exercise’ and brain training

By David Robson

A man sitting on an airplane at sunset and looking into his backpack.

An experienced backpacker’s guide for flying with camping gear

By Alisha McDarris

A Windows laptop left open next to another Windows device on a wooden table.

Secure your Microsoft account so it’s hard to get into

old woman and girl play chess inside the house

Teach your kids how to play chess—even if you don’t know how to

By Jean Levasseur

Person working on pc opening safe mode

Microsoft Office’s standalone safe mode can save your butt from bugs

a candle in the darkness

Four things to do long before you lose power

By Rachael Zisk

An iron pot on a spit above a cooking fire.

How to build the best cooking fire right on the ground

By John Kennedy

worried man looking at laptop screen

All Wordled out? Here are 17 spin-offs to play instead.

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Pink Chromecast dangling from a Tv

Outsmart your Chromecast and stream anything you want

Phone recording.

The best ways to record audio on your phone

Dried roses and other preserved flowers

How to preserve flowers in 4 easy ways

By Sophie Bushwick

These photo tips will help you get top dollar for the stuff you sell online

These photo tips will help you get top dollar for the stuff you sell online

By Harry Guinness

A person holding up their phone in front of a cityscape at night to take a photo for an Instagram Story.

Perfect your aesthetic by choosing your own Instagram Story background

By John Kennedy

A person wearing a white buttondown shirt tapping on their smartphone.

It’s time to finally organize your contact lists

Your computer’s graphics card isn’t just for gaming. Here’s how to upgrade it.

how to set up a second monitor on your work desk

How to set up a second monitor for your computer

A beginner’s guide to building your own PC

Man opening a trash can.

Build a killer gaming PC for $100

By Whitson Gordon

A cup of tea with a cinnamon stick in it

Get old tea and coffee stains off your mugs

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

a man using his phone on the New York City subway, while other passengers also use their phones

Your smartphone is gross. Learn how to clean it properly.

Legs in a hammock

Can’t get waxed? Remove your hair with sugar at home.

By Rachel Feltman