- [Host] Old basements and attics might instill a certain
level of creepiness into most people. But it's often said that one man's trash is another man's treasure. As I dug into the dark
recesses of forgotten artifacts and misplaced memories, I
stumbled upon a glowing tome of knowledge. Science and Mechanics 1957 edition of 1,001 How-to Ideas. But with 60 years passed,
would they still stand the test of time in our modern age? Hidden inside this 60 year old
book are tons of great tips and tricks for utilizing
things lying around your home. We went through and picked
out our favorite 16 items that we think are still
quite useful today. So let's test them out
and see what sticks. We'll kick things off with the
magnetic paintbrush cleaner which reads, there's many
methods of holding paintbrushes suspended in cleaning solution. Here's another using a discarded
magnet hung over the edge of the container. So the premise is pretty simple. Get a u-shaped magnet and use
it to suspend a paintbrush in your cleaning solution. After doing some touch up
painting of any sort, it's helpful to keep your brush clean for its next use. This method's gonna make sure
that the full surface area of the brush is being cleaned
and it will also avoid staining of the container itself. So, you add your cleaning
solution to the container and then slip the magnet over the lip. The metal bracket on the brush
will snap right to the magnet holding it place while
the solution does its job. I'd say this is a pretty good
tip if you can find yourself a magnet like this. If you've got large
furniture to move and want to avoid scratching your
floors, this tip reads, you can easily move the
object around the room by first placing flattened
milk cartons under each foot of the object. Seems simple enough. I pulled an egg carton out
of my trash and cut it up into four pieces. Then it's just a simple matter
of crushing them all flat. Place the carton pieces
under each leg of the object that you want to move and then push it to wherever it needs to go. If you don't have sliders or casters, this can save your floor
and make quick work of moving heavy objects. Sliderrific. When you're working in a
dark area that has no lamp, sometimes you need to
quickly mount a flashlight to see what you're doing. This tip reads, to keep a
flashlight beam directed upward while keeping your hands
free, attach a flashlight to the spout of a large
funnel with a rubber band. So let's try it. Using a rubber band, attach
the flashlight to the spout of a funnel or grab a
full two liter bottle. That'll work as well. When you adjust where the
rubber band is on the flashlight you can easily change the
angle of the light beam for your convenience,
making quick work of tasks in a power outage or
perhaps in a dark closet. Bacon lover, this is for you. It reads, bacon strips are
usually so firmly packed that you can't separate them for frying without tearing or shredding. To help break up the
strip to strip adhesion, roll the package gently
between your hands, first one way then the other. While the instructions are pretty clear, can't believe I'd ever tried this before. Just roll the bacon package back and forth until it breaks up all the pieces. When you're done, unseal
the bag and easily pull out each strip to place directly
into the frying pan. You'll notice no tearing
which will let you cook up your bacon
without any fuss or mush. I thought this next one
was quite interesting. You can prevent the spilling
of liquids in a funnel by placing a ball of
steel wool in the funnel. The best use scenario
for this I could think of was when I refill my
bleach-based cleaning spray. Often times when refilling
the bottle, I'll get bleach everywhere and ruin
fabrics or even clothes. I found some brass wool in my garage which should work just as well. You simply stuff the wool into the funnel and then pour whatever liquid
you need into the bottle. As you can see, there's quite a difference between doing this with and
without the metal wool added. The wool gives you more room for air. So if you're transferring water
or other harmless liquids, you probably don't need
to go to this extreme. But with harsh chemicals or
fuel, it can really save you a lot of unnecessary clean up. If you have a door in your
house that's really meant to stay open most of the
time but has the tendency to close on its own, this
tip will work for you. It says, you can remedy a closing door by making a small coil
spring and placing it over the top knob of a hinge. Now I was able to get this
elbow spring for 15 cents at my local hardware store
to test out this trick. You simply remove the bar from the hinge and slide the spring
over it with the two ends on the inside track. The force of the spring
will keep the door open but it will still allow you
to close it when needed. It's a quick 30-second job
that'll keep you from needing a doorstop or perhaps
other expensive solutions and it's well worth the 15 cents. If you're constantly dropping
nails, screws or even tacks when you're doing a
little home improvement, here's a great way to make
sure all your fasteners stay in one convenient location
while you do your work. The tip reads, when a number
of tacks are needed on the job, carry them without the danger
of spilling by inserting them into a raw potato. It's really that simple. Just plug all your tacks, nails,
screws right into the spud and keep it with you while
you work on your projects. If you don't have a potato
on hand, any hard fruit or vegetable will work in a pinch and let you go about your
business without worrying about stepping on a lost nail. Genius. It can sometimes be
difficult to pry out nails or large staples from wood if you don't have the proper tool. This tip provides a simple
way to make one yourself. A beverage or can opener
provides a handy tool for removing staples and thumb tacks. Just file down the pointed end. Okay, that seems pretty simple. I grabbed a little sandpaper
and a can opener and ran it back and forth for about 30 seconds. The metal quickly shaved down
allowing me to pry up staples that I shot into this plank of wood. Now as you can see, it
wasn't a perfect process but it provided the needed
push to get the staples out with some pliers after
I was able to pop out one of the prongs. If you have a thinly pointed screwdriver, it would most likely work just as well. But now you have a backup solution just taking a little can
opener and converting it. Suction cups are one of
life's great conveniences but more often than not, they
tend to fall off over time. If only there was a way to
ensure their stranglehold when attaching them to objects. Hmm, let's consult the book. If brackets fitted with suction
cups don't grip a smooth, slick wall properly, try
rubbing the rim of the cup with a little glycerin. Excellent. You know what contains glycerin? Hand soap. Get a little soap and pump
a dot into the suction cup. Now press it to the surface
as usual and it will stick with a force stronger
than a 1,000 angry suns. Well, perhaps not that intense
but it will certainly keep its grip much longer and enable
you to use them as intended. Have you ever written a very
important letter, sealed it up and then realized you forgot
to add something important to the envelope? Let's consult our mighty
tome of knowledge. Should you seal an envelope
before enclosing anything, steam it open by laying a
damp cloth over the flap of the envelope and run a
hot iron over the cloth. Well, that seems simple enough. Let's test it out. Since most modern irons
have a steam setting, you probably don't need
to dampen the cloth. Just place your envelope
inside a folded towel and then run the iron over
it in a precise quick motion. Do a little testing first to
check your progress and focus on the areas that still
need to be unsealed. After just a little work,
your envelope should pop open with a little bit of prying. I highly suggest testing this
method out first as you don't want to ruin any paper on your first try. But it works quite well and you
can also reseal the envelope using the glue that was already present. Just place the letter back
into the towel and run the iron over it again but this
time without the steam. Here's a quick one that
doesn't need much explanation. It reads, place a piece of
steel wool in the drain opening. Loose hairs will cling to
the wool when water runs out and it can be removed to
prevent a clogged drain. I decided to use brass wool
again since it doesn't rust which means I can reuse it over and over. You simply place it in the
open drain and leave it be. Since I don't have any extra
hair laying around, I decided to demonstrate this using blades of grass. It's fairly simple. The wool will serve as a
catch-all for any foreign objects heading down the drain. You merely pop out the wool occasionally and empty its contents into the trash bin. This'll keep your pipes
running smooth and make Drano a thing of the past. If you're trying to attach
a screw to something without drilling pilot
holes, here's a great tip. Use tape to secure a screw
to the end of a screwdriver when starting it in a hard to reach spot. So even with magnetic
screwdrivers, the bolt itself can still fly off when starting a hole. Simply attach the screw with
any tape you have lying around and hold it in place
while you apply pressure. You could also apply this
technique to a power drill. Once your hole is started
and your screw is halfway in, just remove the tape and
easily finish the job. On a similar note, if you're
not very handy with a hammer or want to avoid pounding your fingers when hammering small nails, try this one. When driving small nails
and tacks, cut a groove in the top edge of an empty
match folder with a sharp blade. This will hold the nail
upright enabling you to drive it in halfway
with the first hammer blow. Just as the instructions
stated, cut a slit in a piece of cardboard or matchbox and
insert a nail into the groove. It's gonna hold your nail in
place and allow you to drive it most of the way in before
sliding the cardboard out and finishing off the nail. This'll keep your fingers
protected and save you time in the process. Now what about hiding important
documents or emergency funds safely in your home? Here's a great way to conceal your stuff. The book says, a large
envelope tacked to the back of a drawer makes a
convenient spot for papers. So just remove an unsuspecting
drawer from its rails and fill an envelope with your goods. Take a thumbtack or staple
gun and attach it to the back of the drawer. When the payload is secure,
just place the drawer back on the rails and slide it into position for a great hiding spot for all your cash or important paperwork. If you've ever been in a
situation where you need an oven mitt but can't seem to locate one, our ageless tip guide has a
great trick up its sleeve. Keep an extra dustpan in
the kitchen and use it when removing hot dishes from the oven. Now let's keep in mind
that you really only wanna attempt this using a metal dustpan. Plastic is obviously going to melt when it hits a hot surface. However, this trick is simple. When your food's ready just
slide that metal dustpan under the goods and deliver
them to their resting spot. Simple and effective. I actually prefer this
over using oven mitts now. So give it a try if you have
a metal one laying around. If you ever go to remove
nails with your hammer, you might notice that it can
leave behind some indentations on the wood. Our wonderful guide
states pressing a strip of adhesive-backed rubber
to the top of your hammer will prevent it from
making dents in the wood. So we added a simple adhesive wall mount to the top of the hammer
and it had the same effect. Most people have these
things laying around but you could also use double-sided tape and a wine bottle cork to
achieve the same result. The padding protects
surfaces from deep dents and avoids having to make
repairs later which is great for any visible wood surfaces
you have in your home. Now this handy guide is
packed full of all kinds of useful tips. So if you enjoyed this video,
make sure to let us know in the comments and perhaps
we'll make a second volume. Also be sure to check out
100 year old life hacks. It's a video we put
together a few months back and you might enjoy that as well. As always, thank you so much for watching. Be sure to subscribe for
our new videos every week and we'll see you next time. Or should I say, in the future. (light music)
