DIY (Page 31)

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

Latest in DIY

Hand holding iPhone indoors against modern paintings.

Your phone’s home screen can hold more than just apps. Here’s what else you should add.

People dancing at house party at night

These apps bring the magic of a house party online

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

A bookshelf made out of a reclaimed wood pallet, full of books, with a chalkboard panel.

Turn an old pallet into a handy—and free—bookshelf

By Jose Mendoza

An Apple macOS laptop, desktop computer, tablet, and iOS iPhone on a wooden desk.

How to keep people from stealing your Wi-Fi

Person sleeping peacefully in bed

Skip the wearables and track your sleep with these 5 apps

How to build snowshoes on the fly—and 4 other tips for surviving deep snow

How to build snowshoes on the fly—and 4 other tips for surviving deep snow

By Tim MacWelch/ Outdoor Life

Person with headphones playing audio on smartphone

How to convert text articles into audio (and why you might want to)

A man sitting on a couch while using a laptop on a table and holding his chin thoughtfully.

5 easy fixes for common computer problems

a woman lays back in a bath tub while looking relaxed

To take the most relaxing bath ever, add some healthy tips

By Rachel Feltman

Parents and two kids on New Year's in party hats and sparklers

Make your own New Year’s ball, and 4 other family party ideas

By Purbita Saha

Hand holding a fire work in the dark

2020 stunk. Here’s how to start 2021 with a fresh mindset

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

6 tricks for avoiding a hangover

a wooden three-legged stool on a brick patio

13 tips, tricks, and projects to start 2021 off right

By John Kennedy

gingerbread house

How to build a gingerbread house that won’t fall apart

By Sara Chodosh

Instant hot cocoa is a starchy disaster. Here’s how to make your own.

Instant hot cocoa is a starchy disaster. Here’s how to make your own.

By Sara Chodosh

a photo of wrapping paper and a Christmas gift shaped like a cylinder

Tips for wrapping gifts of any shape

By Whitson Gordon

wickiup survival shelter

Winter survival shelters you should know how to build

By Tim MacWelch/ Outdoor Life

Bare hand holding heart-shaped snow ball.

Five tips for taking care of your over-washed hands

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

a photo of Dasht-e Kavir, the Great Salt Desert, in Iran

Use Google Earth and Street View to explore the planet from your couch

Person with their feet up watching Netflix in a big screen TV.

How to get a true 4K experience on Netflix

Maple snow candy is the easiest—and most delicious—winter treat

Maple snow candy is the easiest—and most delicious—winter treat

By Rachel Feltman

two children sledding downhill

How to speed up your sled with scientific tricks

By Sophie Bushwick

scraping ice and snow off a car windshield

The right and wrong ways to clear ice and snow from your car

Get rid of the remote controls you don’t need. Here’s how.

By Whitson Gordon

Pin hole beer can photo

Creating this photo of sun trails took eight years and a beer can

By Stan Horaczek

an Apple iPhone with the Google search engine up on the screen

Your guide to every Google app’s privacy settings

magic starter kit

Six magic accessories every beginner needs

By Stan Horaczek

Person at computer with cat

Find the perfect internet speed for you

By Whitson Gordon

a TV with a family video chatting on it over a video call

How to put video calls on your TV

Rescue dried-out cheese with this simple trick

Rescue dried-out cheese with this simple trick

By Benjamin Kember/Saveur

Person laughing at computer

Emojis and reaction GIFs make Slack better. Here’s how to create them.

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

a campfire in a designated fire area

How to build and extinguish a campfire without sparking a catastrophe

By Alisha McDarris

A beginner’s guide to buying your first drone

Mix your own delicious herbal tea using leftover spices

By Kristy Mucci/Saveur

Turn soap bubbles into magical frozen orbs

By Sarah Keartes

Person looking at mirror

Mask up without breaking out. Here’s how to prevent pandemic acne.

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

winter survival plants you can eat

13 edible plants you can still find in the winter

By Tim MacWelch/ Outdoor Life

Laptop with neon

How to stop websites from tracking you

a person holding LED lights in their hands while wearing a white sweater

Make your own light-up holiday sweater

By Barry Abrams

Volunteers gathering food off of a truck.

The best and safest ways to donate food and time this holiday season

By Sara Kiley Watson

The finished cardboard robotic hand on someone's hand

Turn a boring box into a sweet working robotic hand

By Jonathan Adolph

How to make perfect pie crust with the power of science

How to make perfect pie crust with the power of science

By Rachel Feltman

Person in a mask and disposable gloves holding a basket of groceries

A step-by-step guide to grocery shopping during a pandemic

By Amy Schellenbaum

Person shooting photo

Google Photos is better at image editing than you think

By Harry Guinness

A spearfisher hauling a striped bass through the water.

Take a stab at spearfishing with these tips

By Same Romano/ Outdoor Life

Knitting coding project

Spies once used knitting to send coded messages—and so can you

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

a person sitting at a Dell laptop in a well-lit room by some windows and a plant

Become a Windows whiz by creating your own keyboard shortcuts

a blonde woman sitting in a chair by a window in a white sweater and jeans

Keep your home warm without blasting the heat

DIY external hard drive

Rip out your computer’s guts and craft an external hard drive

By Whitson Gordon

a person walking down an aisle in a store

How to stock your pantry to endure a long, uncertain winter

By Tim MacWelch/ Outdoor Life

a person using a Windows 10 laptop

Four hidden tweaks that will speed up Windows

Woman holds a recurve bowfishing bow nocked with an arrow in one hand and a gar in the other hand while standing on a tree-lined creek bank.

Don’t have a boat? Try bowfishing.

By Natalie Krebs/ Outdoor Life

Wood filters, hot rocks, and seven other ways to purify water in the wild

Wood filters, hot rocks, and seven other ways to purify water in the wild

By Tim MacWelch/ Outdoor Life

Go full-on mad scientist by making your own Halloween candy

By John Kennedy

Chromecast Google TV

Seven pro tips for the new Chromecast with Google TV

flyfishing trout big finish

A beginner’s guide to catching trout—even in autumn

By Ted Leeson/Field & Stream

a man with headphones listening to podcasts or music

How to cave to peer pressure and start listening to podcasts

a man sitting and thinking in a room

How to decide who to vote for

By John Kennedy

Little banana and chile tarts dusted with flour or sugar

There’s a science to food pairing, and you can learn it here

By Peter Coucquyt, Bernard Lahousse, and Johan Langenbick

Dungeness Crabs

14 wild edibles you can pull right out of the ocean

By Bob Mcnally/Field & Stream

Six health conditions a smartwatch can detect before you can

A ruby-throated hummingbird that hit a glass window, held in someone's hand

How to help an injured bird

By Purbita Saha

A man holds a survival mirror to his face to reflect on his other hand.

A signal mirror could save your life in the wild—here’s how to use one

By Jim Baird/Field & Stream

canned tomatoes in jars on a marble countertop near a plant

How to can your favorite foods without dying

By Rachel Feltman