If you’re interested in installing a smart thermostat in your home, congratulations! This is a great way to control your home’s heating and cooling more efficiently, saving you some money over the long run. (And you’ll save even more if your AC unit is clean and running at top efficiency!) But performing this type of DIY installation isn’t for everyone. Learn how to install a smart thermostat — and whether this is a task you can handle — with our tips.

Time Required

If you have the right wiring in place, you can expect this process to take about 20-45 minutes. If you need an electrician to change some wiring, that task could take an additional up to 60 minutes, depending how easy it is to fish a wire through your wall and connect it to the HVAC unit.

Tools Required

If you’re ready to tackle the process of how to install a smart thermostat, you may need the following list of tools.

• Philips screwdriver
• Flathead screwdriver
• Masking tape
• Voltage tester
• Level
• Drywall repair spackle
• Paint brush and touch-up paint
• WiFi network password
• Smartphone

Savings

Certainly, you could pay to have a smart thermostat installed. Many electricians will do the job, as will heating and cooling system technicians. Electronics stores or hardware stores often will provide technicians too. However, if you need to change out wiring, only an electrician will do this part of the job.

If you purchase the smart thermostat at a store that offers installation, you may receive a break on the cost of installing it. Such technicians may also help you download the right app and connect the unit to your home WiFi network. Without a price break, anywhere from $50 to $100 is a common cost to install a smart thermostat.

If you need to have wiring added to accommodate the smart thermostat, you could pay another $75 to $200. However, some electricians will give you a break on the cost of the installation of the thermostat, because they already will be at the home to install the new wiring.

As long as you have the right type of wiring, this is a pretty easy installation process. So it’s worth saving some money to try it yourself. But if you’re at all uncomfortable around electrical wires, it’s probably worth spending a bit more to have it installed for you.

Do You Have the Correct Wiring?

If you live in an older home or you have an older furnace/AC system, the wiring needed to hook up a smart thermostat may not be present. To check your wiring situation, you’ll have to remove the current thermostat from the wall mount, as described in the next section. (After cutting the power, of course.)

Look at the wiring. You need to see multiple wires available, rather than a large cable with two copper wires inside it. If this is what you see, it’s likely a high voltage setup that’s common in older wiring systems. Most smart thermostats cannot work with high voltage wiring.

If you have small wires of multiple colors available — either separate or within one cable sleeve — this is a low voltage system, which works with smart thermostats. Each wire connects to a certain terminal on the smart thermostat. The “C” wire, short for common or continuous, is the most important wire to find. If you have a low voltage system, but you don’t have a C wire available, you will need to install one that connects to your HVAC unit.

It’s possible — but unlikely — that your smart thermostat doesn’t need a C wire to provide continuous electrical power. Read through the installation materials with your smart thermostat to see if a C wire is required.

A few smart thermostats can work with a high voltage system, but will still need a C wire. (Again this is possible, but unlikely.) You can try to install a C wire yourself and connect it to your HVAC system, but we wouldn’t recommend it. This is a job better served by hiring an electrician. And if you need to convert a high voltage system to a low voltage system, this again is something an electrician needs to handle.

Disconnecting Your Current Thermostat

To disconnect your current thermostat, turn off the circuit breaker for it. It may be the same breaker as for the furnace. It’s also possible that your furnace, AC unit, heat pump, and thermostat wiring are all on separate breakers. (Hopefully your system is well labeled.)

Additionally, turn off the switch that’s mounted near the furnace. (This switch will look like a light switch.) It’s important to cut all power to the HVAC unit and the thermostat before beginning this process, or you could cause damage to the unit.

Understand that some thermostats have batteries to power a display screen. So even if you cut the power at the circuit breaker, the thermostat may still appear to have power. Remove any batteries from the thermostat too. We’d suggesting using a voltage tester to ensure the power is off to the wiring for the thermostat before disconnecting the wires.

Remove the thermostat’s face plate, if it has one. Otherwise, the thermostat should lift away from the mounting bracket.

Once you can see the wires, use the voltage tester. After you’ve ensured the power is off, look at how the wires are connected to the current thermostat. If there are no labels on the wires, use masking tape to wrap around the wires and create your own labels. The labels you create must match what’s printed on the terminals of the current thermostat.

You may also want to snap a photo of how the wires are connected to the current thermostat, so you can see which wire colors connect to which terminals of the current thermostat. The photo will be a backup for you, should the labels fall off the wires.

Now disconnect the wires from the terminals on the current thermostat. Most will be connected via a screw, although some may fit into a clip.

Some thermostats make use of jumpers, which are short wires that connect one terminal to another. (You can see a jumper connecting the Rh and Rc terminals in the photo above.) You can remove any jumpers without labeling them. If your smart thermostat requires jumpers (which is rare), the unit’s instructions will tell you how to install them.

One problem you may find is that the wires coming out of the wall are very short. Once you disconnect them, it’s possible they could fall back into the wall. If you’re concerned about this, tape the cable to a pencil or screwdriver as you disconnect it so it can’t fall back into the wall.

Now carefully remove the mounting bracket from the wall. As you’re jostling the bracket, this is another time when a wire could slip back into the hole in the wall, so be very careful with this step.

Connecting the Smart Thermostat

The guidelines here for hooking up your smart thermostat are general in nature. Follow the instructions with your particular model of thermostat if there is a difference from our guidelines.

Attach the new mounting bracket to the wall. Make sure you center it properly so the wires from the wall are centered on the bracket. It’s important that the mounting bracket is level. (Some smart thermostat mounting brackets have built-in levels, as shown in the picture here.)

Most smart thermostats weigh very little, meaning you won’t need to drill into a stud or use drywall anchors. However, if your system ships with drywall anchors or if the instructions recommend using them, do it.

If the new bracket is quite a bit smaller than the bracket for the current thermostat, you may have to patch a few holes in your drywall. Depending on the last time the wall was painted, you may have to do some touch-up painting too.

Most smart thermostats will have you connect the wires to the mounting bracket/base plate. Each terminal on the base plate should be labeled clearly, so you know which wires to connect. You’ll either connect the wires to a terminal with a screw or with a built-in clip. After connecting a wire to a terminal, tug on it to ensure it’s tightly connected.

Make sure any extra length of wire is tucked back into the wall, so there’s room for the face plate.

It’s possible you may have extra wires that have nothing to connect to on the base plate. This is rare, but possible. Use a wire nut to protect the exposed area of the extra wire.

Next you’ll pop the face plate onto the mounting bracket/base plate. If the face plate requires batteries (which is rare) install them first. With a smart thermostat, there should be only one way to connect the face plate. If it doesn’t seem to fit quite right, look closely at the instructions. You shouldn’t have to use a significant amount of force to snap the face plate onto the base plate.

With everything hooked up, turn on the circuit breaker again. You should see the screen light up.

Connecting to the Network

Now you can make a connection between your home WiFi network and the smart thermostat. Most devices should give you on screen prompts for making the connection. Have your WiFi password handy. You’ll also may need to have the smartphone app for your particular model of smart thermostat installed before you can connect the thermostat to your WiFi network.

You’re then ready to use the unit! Take bit of time to study how the smartphone app works so you’re of the receiving all energy savings you can reap from using your new smart thermostat properly!

Saving Money With DIY: How to Install a Smart Thermostat

One of the best ways to save money around your home is to perform some types of repairs and maintenance yourself. But some types of work are easier to do yourself than others. In this edition, we’ll help you learn how to prep an AC unit for summer and figure out whether you can do this work yourself, saving some money in the process.

Savings

If you can do the general maintenance work on your air conditioning unit yourself, you may be able to save anywhere from $75 to $150 for a service call.

Some companies will offer good deals on air conditioner “tune-up” services in early spring, so you may find this service at a special price of $50 to $75. But some shady repair services use this “tune-up” deal to convince you your AC unit needs repairs that it actually doesn’t need. Finding a trustworthy repair person who will be honest with you is more important than saving a few bucks with a special on a “tune-up” for your AC unit.

If you can only do some of the basic maintenance tips listed below, at least you’re going to make the unit more efficient, saving some money on your electrical bill this summer. And a clean air conditioning unit will have a longer lifespan too.

Time Required

Even if you’ve never worked on an air conditioning unit before, you should be able to complete this type of maintenance in a couple of hours. An AC unit that hasn’t had maintenance performed on it previously will take longer, as it will be dirtier. If you perform maintenance on it a couple of times per year though, the process may only take an hour as you’ll be familiar with the work and the unit will be cleaner.

Tools Required

Cleaning and maintaining an air conditioner requires some simple tools, but they do have to be the right size. The exact sizes and tools you’ll need depend on the types of screws used to secure the unit’s panels, both indoors and outdoors.

• Screwdriver with varying bits
• Socket wrench with varying sockets
• Putty knife (or butter knife)
• Insulation tape
• No-rinse coil cleaning spray
• Soft-bristled brush
• Level
• Garden hose with pressure nozzle
• Wet/dry vacuum
• Hedge clippers

Preparation

Pick a reasonable weather day to perform this work, as you’ll be outdoors. You don’t want to be working in really cold temperatures, as you’ll be using water.

Find the fuse for the air conditioning unit and turn it off at your electrical box. Sometimes an AC unit will have its own fuse box near the unit outdoors that you’ll need to turn off too.

Simple Maintenance Jobs

Here are some simple, specific tasks you can complete to perform maintenance and learn how to prep your AC unit for summer.

• Clean up: Outdoor air conditioning units will collect debris on their grates over time because of the way they draw and expel air. You’ll see leaves, twigs, seeds from trees (such as cottonwood), and even animal fur stuck on the various parts of an AC unit. Removing this debris will allow the unit to run more efficiently, as it can move air easier. A wet/dry vacuum may work well for cleaning the exterior grates if the debris is dry. You then may need to remove the grates to clean the unit’s metal fins properly. Most of the grates are attached with screws or hex screws.
• Washing with water: You also can use water to clean any debris from the metal fins on the AC unit. (These metal fins will look like a zig-zag pattern, and they’ll be tightly packed together.) It’ll work well to use a garden hose with a power nozzle to gain enough water pressure. If you can get inside the unit and spray toward the outside, you’ll be able to remove the debris easier. If you can only spray from the outside, the water may clump the debris together, pushing it toward the edge of the unit, where you can remove it by hand. If you have pets or trees in your area that produce seeds that fly through the air, you may want to wash the fins a few times during the summer.
• Straightening fins: Once the fins are cleaned, you may notice some are bent. You’ll want to straighten them to ensure they can work in the most efficient manner. They don’t have to be perfectly straight to work properly, but ensuring they aren’t touching each other will help. You can use a flat head screwdriver to straighten the fins. A small putty knife or even a sturdy butter knife with a thin blade will work too.
• Free space. Make sure vegetation and foreign objects are at least 24 inches from the unit. If you have plants near the AC unit, you’ll want to check this free space occasionally during the summer, so the air conditioner has enough room around it to draw and expel air properly.

Tougher Maintenance Jobs

If you feel comfortable working around the air conditioning unit, you can perform a few other tasks that require a bit more know-how. But if you’re leery of these tasks, call in a trustworthy professional.

• Leveling. As an AC unit ages, it could slip out of a square alignment (such as the unit pictured above). Place a level onto the air conditioning unit, just to make sure it’s in alignment. Some air conditioners are braced with brackets against the home. Others rest on a platform on the ground. If the unit is not level, it could cause problems with the compressor over time. You can use shims to adjust the level of the unit as a temporary fix.
• Clean evaporator tube. Inside the home, you may have an evaporator coil inside the blower unit near the furnace. As moist, warm air inside the ducts strikes the coil, moisture from the air collects on the coil. It usually then drains through a flexible tube to a floor drain. This tube can become clogged with algae and mold over time. (Yes, that’s gross.) But you can clean this tube for a better performance level. Use a wet/dry vac to clean out this tube. Or if it’s especially clogged, consider swapping it out.
• Clean evaporator coil. The evaporator coil described above will collect dust over time. (You can minimize the dust by regularly changing your furnace filter.) If you feel comfortable working inside the unit, you can clean these coils. You’ll have to remove a panel from the unit that has screws or hex screws holding it in place. It also may have some insulation tape around it. Once you can see the coil, you can sweep it with a soft-bristled brush. Then finish cleaning it with a condenser coil spray that you can purchase in a hardware store. This special type of spray doesn’t require rinsing, so it’s great for this type of work.

Final Tips

Before you switch over from heating to air conditioning for the summer, be sure you’ve inspected both your interior and exterior units for any odd damage. If you can easily see the wires, inspect them for any cracking. If you suspect anything out of the ordinary, call a professional.

Outdoors, look for nests that mice may have created. This is a potential problem if you covered the unit all winter, creating a habitat protected from the weather. Or look for any cracks in any portion of the unit where water may have penetrated and frozen, causing a crack.

Indoors, make sure to change all filters. Inspect the unit for any corrosion or cracks. This would be rare, but it could happen with an older unit if water was building up in the area.

Certainly, if you see any cracks or damage, it’s time to call in a professional. But if the all of the components look good, and if you’re able to complete the maintenance tasks described above yourself, your air conditioner will now be ready to run at full throttle for the summer (as long as you remember to turn the power back on at the fuse box). Plus,  you’ll have saved some money in the process!

Saving Money with DIY: How to Prep an AC Unit for Summer

It wasn’t that long ago that decorating with lighting occurred during holiday times only. And after several hours of fixing burned out light strings and cussing and untangling light strings and cussing some more, you hopefully had a light display that was worthy of oohs and aahs from the neighbors throughout December. Now though, colorful LEDs give you the chance to use lighting as a decorating tool year around. Check out our seven best LED lighting ideas listed here to give you that holiday feeling whenever you want. And they’re so easy to install and use that there’s no cussing required.

Under Cabinet

You can place LED puck lights or light bars under kitchen cabinets, brightening up a space that’s commonly too dark for working. Puck lights may run from batteries. Or if you go with light bars, they’re easy to install, as long as you have an outlet nearby. You can connect multiple bars to save outlet space. And because LEDs are so inexpensive to operate, you can leave these lights on at night, providing safety to the family member who loves wandering through the kitchen for midnight snacks after everyone else has gone to bed.

One of our favorite inexpensive products for this is LED Concepts LED Light Bars, which are available in warm white and white colors.

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Patio Lighting

If you have an outdoor patio that you use quite a bit at night, strategically placing some LED lights around the patio can serve two purposes. It can provide a fun look with colorful lighting options (or more subtle lighting if you prefer warm white). And it can provide a safety feature, so someone doesn’t step off the edge of an elevated patio or doesn’t miss seeing a staircase.

One of the best products to use for this type of outdoor lighting is the MARQ BrightStrip 5-300S. It contains 300 individual LEDs in a string almost 16.5 feet in length. These LEDs will work either indoors or outdoors. And it ships with a remote control that gives you an almost unlimited number of color options for the lights, so you can change the colors to match the season. The strings of lights have self-adhesive backing for easy installation. You can break the strip to meet whatever lengths you need. However, you will need to have an electrical outlet handy.

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Skylight Lighting

During the day, a skylight is a great feature, allowing daylight to enter the home. Having that natural lighting available can really change the mood in certain areas of your home.

At night though, you may want to spice up this area with some LED lighting. For example, try using an LED strip or string lights around the edges of the skylight. Use a cool color to simulate twilight.

For a further effect, you perhaps could hang battery powered ATTAV LED Starry String Lights from the skylight, giving off the feeling of starlight through the window.

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Bathroom LED Lighting

You have quite a few options for LED lighting in your bathroom. For example, you could choose to install vanity lights that provide white LED light that’s a perfect type of light to help with applying makeup. And because LED lighting doesn’t heat up like incandescent lights, you won’t end up sweating off all the makeup before you can make it out the door.

There are also a few less practical options. How about the AnGeer LED Multi-color Water Glow Light Shower Head (pictured above)? This unit can cycle through seven different colors, making it appear as though the water is colored. It’s available with square or circular shower heads. This is just weird enough that your child who hates to bathe may become a big fan of taking showers.

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More Bathroom LED Lighting

If your kid loves the lighted shower water, hopefully this next LED bathroom lighting product doesn’t terrify the child. But if you want to make your bathroom safer at night, MAZ-TEK offers its Amazing Toilet Seat Lights. You’ll attach this LED light to your toilet, and it will turn on whenever the motion sensor is activated. Eight different LED colors are available. The suddenly glowing toilet bowl may be a little creepy for a few nights, but at least your son — or husband — no longer will be able to use darkness as an excuse for poor aim in the middle of the night.

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Kids Night Lights

Night lights have come a long way from when I was a kid. If I would’ve had some of the cool LED night lights now available, I guarantee I would not have woken up my parents at 3 a.m. as regularly, claiming to be afraid of the dark.

If you choose to go with LED for your child’s night light, you’ll be saving some money on energy. And the light will remain much cooler than traditional incandescent lights, which will be safer if your child likes to get up in the night and wants to tough the night light.

One of my favorite inexpensive LED night lights is the MOKOQI Night Lighting Lamp, which is a star projector for the ceiling of the bedroom. It can rotate between blue, red, yellow, and green lights, or it can stick with one color. And the base is available in either blue or pink.

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Home Security

LED lighting is a great option when it comes to enhancing your home’s security. LED lighting is extremely bright, energy efficient, and cost effective over the long run, making it a great option for security lighting. After all, security lighting should be something you can install and then not worry about it.

We recently put together a product guide for home security lighting that can help you find the right LED products to fit your security needs. And if you’re ready to save some money, we at Ben’s Bargains have collected some good deals on security lighting options.

Benefits of LED

LED lighting is a great option for enhancing your home’s design. New options appear on the market almost daily.

And going beyond design choices, there are plenty of good reasons to include LED lighting in your household plan, including the ability to save money with LED lighting. Its energy efficiency and long life span make it a smart choice in a whole host of situations. You may spend a little bit more up front for LED options, but you’ll save money over the long run … potentially a lot of it.

7 Best LED Lighting Ideas for Your Home on the Cheap

We can’t all afford to buy a brand new bike every summer, and most of us probably aren’t as skilled as the guy who made this awesome party bike (he’s from Portland — shocking!). But that doesn’t mean you have to be stuck riding around a lame bike all summer long. Here are ten easy, mostly inexpensive ways you can add some fresh style, comfort and most importantly, fun to your ride.

1. Fresh bar tape

Obviously, your bike is going to need to look cool. Replacing the bar tape or grips is probably the cheapest and easiest way to make this happen. You can find bar tape in pretty much any color you can think of, probably for less than $15. Here’s a good video tutorial on replacing the bar tape on your bike.

2. New pedals

For summer, go with some plastic bmx pedals. They’re cheap ($10 to $30), come in fun colors, and they’re big, so they work well with flip flops — perfect for biking to and from the beach.

3. Upgraded saddle

I could go on and on about the different types of bike saddles, but here’s the bottom line: get a Brooks. They are expensive (around $100), but well worth the investment. It’s like the difference between sitting on La-Z Boy and a pile of rocks.

4. Speakers

Some of the greatest moments of my life involve biking around at 3AM, singing along to horrible Fall Out Boy songs with my friends. If you want to experience the greatness that is biking while jamming, you can buy speakers for your bike for under $30. Or follow this tutorial and make your own solar-powered milk crate bike stereo.

5. Multi-use bottle cage

Summer biking means you’ll need a bottle holder that can handle everything from a fancy water bottle, to a beer can, to a coffee cup, and everything in between. This Bontrager cage has flexible arms and will fit a better variety of shapes than your traditional metal cage. Or there’s also this one, which just holds a flask.

 6. Some sun protection

Avoid unsightly farmer’s tans by buying one of these ridiculous Uber Hood bike umbrellas ($59). Or you could probably make one yourself with an old umbrella and some duct tape.

7. Racks and Baskets

It can get really hot and sweaty riding around with a backpack in the summer. That’s why you should get yourself a bike rack and/or bike basket to haul your stuff around in. You can buy a decent rack for under $25, or fashion one yourself using things around your house. Also, here’s a good video tutorial for a DIY front basket.

8. A bike camera

Take it from me and don’t attempt to Instagram while biking. Instead, get a bike camera ($75 to $100) or camera mount (under $10) to capture those moments you don’t want to forget. Or here’s a way to make a sweet bike cam yourself.

9. A unique helmet

I still remember my dad trying to convince me that wearing a helmet was “cool” by buying me one that was designed to look like a baseball cap (sorry pops, I saw right through that one!). But there are actually some really fun options out there these days. Take this DIY R2D2 helmet, for example.

 10. A reliable lock

If you’re gonna spend all this time/money making your bike awesome, you need to make sure someone else doesn’t ride away with it when you’re not looking. Get a U-lock (OnGuard or Kryptonite brands are both great choices) and give yourself some peace of mind.

10 Ways to Pimp your (Bike) Ride

Over time, outdoor outlets may start to become unsafe. Spiders may build webs inside them. Water can leak inside the outlet, causing serious problems. That’s why exterior outlets need to have a cover attached to them that protect them from the elements. So if your outdoor outlets are starting to look like the one pictured here, read through our guide for how to replace an outdoor outlet cover.

Time Required

You’ll know that it’s time to replace an outlet cover if any parts of the cover are broken or worn. Or if you can see the insulating layer sticking out from underneath the cover, it needs to be replaced.

You’ll only need five to 10 minutes to replace an outlet cover, so it’s easy to replace several outlet covers within an hour.

Tools Required

Replacing an outdoor outlet cover only requires a couple of tools.

• Pliers
• Screwdriver with multiple bits
• Canned air

Savings

Replacing this cover is a simple job that you can do yourself. You don’t need to spend money on an electrician for this type of work. Even if you have no familiarity with working with electrical wiring, installing an outdoor outlet cover doesn’t require working with the wiring. An electrician probably would have to charge you for a full hour of work to do this type of job, which is a needless cost.

Now if the outlet is not working, if you have exposed or loose wiring, or if the outlet itself is hanging loose, you will want to hire this job out to a professional. Replacing wiring and fixing outlets are jobs only left to those who have experience to work safely in this type of environment.

If you just need to replace the outlet cover, you’ll want to pick the cover that matches the orientation of your outlet (horizontal or vertical) and the number of outlets you have (usually two, but sometimes four or more). Here are a few options to consider for outdoor outlet covers.

• Inexpensive: Hubbell-Bell Weatherproof Wallplate Cover

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• Mid-range: Leviton Weather-Resistant Wallplate Cover

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• Expensive: Taymac Clear Outdoor Receptacle Protector

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Dealing With GFCI Outlets

Some outdoor outlets will be GFCI outlets (short for ground fault circuit interrupter). These outlets have reset buttons on them, as well as a light that indicates whether the outlet is working. These are more often found in bathrooms and kitchens, but you may have one mounted on your home. If so, you must pick an outlet cover that will work with GFCI, or it won’t fit properly.

An option for a mid-range GFCI outdoor cover is the Sigma Electric GFCI Cover.

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Removing the Old Outlet Cover

Before beginning this process, you should go to your fuse box and turn off the power to the outlet, just in case.

With an old outlet cover, it usually will be held in place with a single screw in the middle between the outlets. (If you’re removing a GFCI outlet cover, it will have two screws, one on the right and one on the left.) Occasionally, some of these screws will have become damaged over time, so it’s good to have pliers on hand in case you need to pull the screw out.

Once the cover is removed, you’ll see the bare outlet inside the electrical box, as pictured above. Don’t remove any of these screws.

You can use canned air to clean out any dust or other debris around the outlet.

Installing the Insulating Layer

The outlet cover likely will ship with an insulating layer. Most insulating layers have cutouts that you’ll need to pop out for installation. Don’t forget to pop out the tiny hole for the screw in the middle of the insulating layer (or at the edges if you have screws on the right and left sides instead).

The insulating layer will fit around the outlet plugs, and it should fit tightly enough to sit in place without you having to hold it.

Installing the Cover

Now place the outlet cover over the outlet. It should completely cover the insulating layer while allowing the individual outlet plugs to be accessible.

This part can be a little tricky, as aligning the screw hole in the middle with the hole in the insulating layer and with the hole in the outlet itself is a little tough. Try putting the screw through the hole in the outlet cover first and then lining it up with the hole in the insulating cover and the outlet. Once you get the screw lined up with the threads, it should go on relatively easily. (Again, a GFCI cover will have screens on the left and right sides, not in the middle.)

Checking Alignment

Once you’re finished, you should see the individual covers for the outlet plugs resting flush against the outlet cover. If these individual covers are not tight against the outlet cover, or if you can see any of the insulating layer, the cover is not aligned properly. If things aren’t aligned properly, remove the cover and try again.

That’s it! The outlet covers are pretty inexpensive, and this DIY project is easy and fast. So play it safe and make sure your outdoor outlets are properly protected.

Saving Money With DIY: How to Replace an Outdoor Outlet Cover

I have a love-hate relationship with Pinterest. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Ask your girlfriend/wife/female friend; she’ll fill you in). On the one hand, Pinterest has some pretty decent recipes and gift ideas. On the other, it makes me feel totally lame that there are kids out there getting organic kale-filled quiches shaped like Elmo for lunch, while my child is lucky if he gets a quesadilla.

Over the last couple years, Pinterest has just gotten more and more over-the-top. To the point of hilarity in many cases. Here are some of the most ridiculous “pins” /DIY ideas of all.

1. Wine Cork Chair

Okay, first of all, Pinterest has many variations of the wine cork chair, which is just crazy. Second of all, why would anyone want a chair made out of wine corks? Third of all, if you have this many wine corks lying around, you should probably seek some help. That’s a lot of wine.

 2. Crocheted Man Shorts

These are honestly the dumbest shorts in the history of shorts, and this picture is just.so.gross.

3. Toilet Paper Roll “Art”

I get it: it’s cool to make “art” from the crap around your house. But seriously? It’s toilet paper rolls, on your wall. Sure it might look okay photographed from the right angle, enhanced with the right Instagram filter, but the reality is it’s still totally going to look like toilet paper rolls, on your wall.

4. Weird Things Made Out of Vegetables/Fruit

Ok, This is actually sort of cool. But seriously, if your kid will only eat their veggies if they’re in the shape of a poodle, they are in for a rude awakening (or you’re in for a lot of work).

5. Recycled Pizza Boxes

You know what’s even cooler than toilet paper rolls on your wall? Greasy pizza boxes on your wall!

6. Crafting with Cat Hair

Think this is a joke? It’s not. Go ahead and pretend to be grossed out, but you can purchase the commonly “pinned” book here.

7. Homemade “Pokebra”

There’s just nothing sexier than a Pokemon Master.

8. Anything Involving Mason Jars

I was at Goodwill the other day and they were selling their old mason jars for like $6 apiece. They must have caught on to what a highly sought-after commodity the mason jar is on Pinterest. Mason jar wine glasses, mason jar chandeliers, mason jar snow globes…the possibilities are endless. And mostly just pointless.

9. Anything involving Mustaches

Don’t get me wrong, mustaches are pretty sweet when they are actually on someone’s face, but this whole “let’s slap a fake mustache on everything and call it hip” trend has gotten totally out of control and needs to go away.

10. Beer Bottle Christmas Tree

Because nothing says “Merry Christmas!” like a tree made out of old Heineken bottles…

11. Non-Edible Bacon Things

There are tons of bacon-related recipes, and that’s just fine  amazing. But there are also a lot of strange bacon-inspired crafts floating around on Pinterest that the world could probably do without, such as the pictured felt bacon scarf. Like, really, can you imagine seeing someone actually wearing this thing out in public?

12. Cuddle Pillow

And finally, is this not one of the saddest things you’ve ever seen? (Also, this girl must have serious personality issues to be this attractive and still in need of one of these “pillows” to cuddle her to sleep at night).

As Seen on the Internets: Most Ridiculous DIY Pinterest Ideas

Drinking craft beer: awesome. Paying $10+ for a 6-pack: not so cool. You might associate homebrewing with hipsters, or assume anything that ferments in someone’s basement can’t possibly taste any good, but brewing your own beer can save you a lot of money, taste genuinely good (certainly a million times better than a Bud/Miller/Coors/Whatever Lite), and is a lot of fun. Here’s a list of the things you’ll need in order to get started*:

*If you get a pre-packaged starter kit, a lot of this will be included, but it’s still good to know what it is you’re buying and what it all does.

1. Malt Extract Ingredient Kit ($25 to $40)

An ingredient kit will have all the grains, fermentables, hops, yeast and priming sugar you’ll need for 5 gallons of beer, along with instructions on when and how to put everything together. A simple brown ale is a good place to begin when you’re just starting out. Once you have done a few batches, you can start to get a bit more creative by adding additional ingredients and/or tweaking the recipes to fit your taste (for example, I recently started with a wheat kit and added blueberries and fresh mint — it was delicious).

2. Heat Source (Free to $60)

The top of your stove will work just fine for brewing, but you could also go for something like this turkey fryer if you want to brew outside. I suppose a grill would even work — basically anything that can hold (and get hot enough to boil) a 5 gallon stockpot.

3. Stock Pot/Brewing Kettle (Around $30)

Speaking of stockpots, you’ll need one. This is what you “cook” the beer in. Most people start with a 5 gallon pot, but they come as big as 25 gallons for the semi-professional brewers out there. If you buy one from a homebrew shop, it will be called a “brewing kettle” or something similar, but any old stock pot will work just fine. (FYI, they have them at thrift stores all the time).

 4. Fermenter ($10 to $40)

The fermenter is the container the beer sits and ferments in (ie: turns alcoholic) for anywhere from one week to three months. The cheapest version is a plastic bucket with an airlock and the standard version is a plastic or glass carboy (pictured).

5. A Good Brewing Book ($10ish)

The more you know about the brewing process, the more you’ll be able to play around and experiment. The Complete Joy of Homebrewing is a good place to start — it’s a really broad guide that covers everything from equipment to basic instructions to recipes.  The Alaskan Bootleggers Bible is another fun one — super odd and goes over not just beer-making but how to make your own wine, cider, moonshine whiskey, bathtub gin…

 6. A Capper and Empty Beer Bottles ($15 to $20)

Nobody wants a flat beer. The cheapest way to fizz your beer up is to start saving/collecting beer bottles (only the fancy beers will do; twist-off bottles won’t work). Then buy a capper to put caps on your beer once you transfer it to bottles (which will create carbonation in a week or two). An alternative is to get a kegging system (around $200); it will eliminate the need for caps and bottles altogether.

If after all this you find yourself thinking, “You know what, I think I’d rather buy my beer and not mess with this. What am I going to do with all this crap if I don’t end up liking brewing?” The answer is Craigslist. Brewing gear is in high enough demand that you won’t lose much should you decide to sell it after giving it a try. Basically, there’s a lot of potentially awesome beer to gain and not a lot to lose, so go for it!

Six Essential Items Needed to Start Homebrewing

A very special shout-out to /r buildapc on Reddit for all of their help and input on this guide. If you’re seriously considering building your own computer, send your questions their way. Really knowledgeable people.

Why Build a Computer When You Can Just Buy One?

When we talk about computers, there’s a wide range of consumers who permeate the marketplace. There are the “Enthusiasts,” who drop $2,000+ on a rig, because their computer from last year can’t  warp space and time.

There’s the “savvy computer friend” who ends up picking out parts and building computers for everyone, because he can gouge them $100 for an hour of work. There’s the 50-year old mother who has 5 different toolbars on her IE 6.0 and doesn’t understand how Adult Friend Finder took over her “Google Program.”

Then there’s me—the technologically inept business operations manager who can’t play Bioshock Infinite on his 5-year old Windows XP machine and has accidentally set said computer on fire in a  blind rage.

(l) Me pondering building a PC, (r) Grumpy Cat

When I communicated my intention to purchase an already-built computer to my deal and tech-savvy coworkers, I discovered two things:

1. I’m a filthy, evil blasphemer who should be flogged for such vile words.
2. There is still time for me to turn from my sinful ways towards a state of enlightenment. Please don’t hurt me…

I knew what I had to do, and I was confident I could live up to the challenge. How hard could it be to build a computer from scratch? All I have to do is put in some RAM and flip a switch, and presto! Right? RIGHT?!?

The Benefits of Building Your Own Computer

This is what it will look like, I promise!

To be fair, I have discovered there are numerous benefits to building your own computer:

• Full control over what goes into the rig and how it is constructed. Do you want a quiet, efficient machine or something that can launch a nuclear missile? Do you want it to be a workmanlike cog in your home office or a channel through which your energy drink consumption transfers into gaming frags at faster-than-light speeds?
• In many cases, you save yourself a good chunk of money depending on the deals you’re able to find on parts. Fry’s and Newegg are good places to start.
• The knowledge you gain is invaluable and will save you even more money in the long run. Instead of diagnosing your computer issues as “It’s Broken,” you’ll have a better understanding of what is causing your computer to slow down and how to address the specific problem areas at a lesser cost.

The downside is time. If this is your first go at a homemade computer, you’ll need to do some research on the various parts, brands, configurations, etc. Then there’s the whole “building it” thing… I’d recommend taking a few shots beforehand. (Consult your country’s legal drinking age before proceeding with this step. The CheckOut does not officially condone drinking, but it sure does make things better.)

With a $900 budget and a heart filled with dread, it’s time to take the first step towards computer-building Jedi Knighthood: buying all of the parts.

Processor (CPU)

The processor you choose will determine the kind of motherboard you’re able to use, and the motherboard determines what kind of computer you’ll be building, so this is where we’ll start. It has two important specifications: number of cores and clock speed.

The former allows it to multitask, and the latter allows it to do so quicker. If you’re constantly running multiple, smaller applications at one time, the core number will be very important to you. If you want to run fewer, more complicated tasks quickly (like video games) then you may pay a little more attention to clock speed.

Generally, clock speed should only be used as comparison within families of processors. For example, an Intel Core i5 3.4GHz will outperform an Intel Core i5 3.1GHz, all things being equal. That might not necessarily be the case if you compare it to an Intel Core i7 3.1GHz or similar AMD processor. At the time of this article’s publication, a low-powered machine will be fine with 1 core, a mid-range machine will want 2 or 4, and a high-powered behemoth will need 4+ cores.  Once you choose a brand and desired price range, be sure to read some reviews on a few processors before making a decision.

Keep in mind, if you purchase your processor from the original manufacturer (OEM), you may have to purchase a heat sink/cooler separately – usually $20 or so. This will sit on top of your processor and ensure it doesn’t overheat.

The two processor gods are AMD and Intel. Intel processors tend to have better overall performance while AMD processors tend to be more affordable (i.e. not as cool).

Motherboard

The motherboard is the component of your PC through which every individual working part communicates with every other working part.

Because the motherboard is so stupor-inducingly spec-heavy, most “How-To” guides spend pages discussing how to pick one out. I spit in their general direction. Here are the fundamental questions you need to ask (the motherboard should say if it has these things):

• Which processor am I using? Intel processors use LGA 1155 and LGA 2011 motherboard sockets; AMD processors use AM3/FM1/FM2 motherboard sockets. Generally, these are labelled as “AM3+”.
• How many RAM channels do I need? If you can, get a motherboard with 4 RAM channels. It makes upgrading later easier. 2 RAM channels are okay—you’ll just be forced to buy higher-capacity RAM sticks when you upgrade. Make sure they’re DDR3-compatible. DDR2 is worse.
• What do I do for graphics? If you play games or do high-intensity graphics/video editing work, get a motherboard with a PCI Express x1/x3/x16 slot. Your video card will say which slot it needs. If you’re not a gamer or don’t care, find a motherboard that has integrated graphics support.
• What size motherboard do I get? Sizes are Mini ITX, Micro ATX, and full ATX. The motherboard size determines your case size (though smaller motherboards can be used in larger cases without issue) and number of features you can include. Mini ITX is good for school, work, and low-end gaming. Micro ATX is good for building mid-range gaming computers. Full ATX boards can support the most add-ons and are good for powerhouse gaming rigs or computers you want to upgrade with a lot of additional features (Bluetooth, extra USB slots, dual-video cards, etc.).
• How many USB ports do I want? If you have a lot of things to plug in (webcams, camera charger, iPod sync cables, etc.) get a motherboard with more USB support. If you use USB 3.0 products, get one with USB 3.0 support.
• How many SATA ports do I need? Your hard drives (i.e. 3.5″ internal storage drives) and optical drives (i.e. external 5.25″ DVD or Blu-ray drives) plug into the SATA ports. Unless you require more than 2TB of storage, two hard drive SATA ports will be more than enough. You’ll need at least one SATA port for your optical drive, but if you want to copy DVDs/Blu-Rays, make sure your motherboard comes with an extra SATA port for a second optical drive.
• Do I need SLI/Crossfire support? This only applies if you want to use two video cards in an ultimate gaming computer of ultimate destiny. If you’re reading this guide, you probably don’t need it.

You’ll be good with an ASUS, Gigabyte, recent Biostar and MSI brand motherboard.

Continue to Part 2 – RAM, Hard Drive, and Video Card

Layman’s Guide for Building Your Own Computer – Part 1: Intro, Processor, and Motherboard