Your home is one of the most expensive things you will ever pay for. Whether you are renting or buying, you should take good care of it. While you might be tempted to call a professional if something breaks, there are many minor repairs you can take care of yourself.

These projects are all easy and low risk, but you should always be sure to research any project you don’t understand – especially if you are dealing with electricity or plumbing, which can be extremely dangerous. If you don’t already have your own toolkit, this is not a bad time to start building Your essential tool box. Some of the repairs listed here require specialized tools that you may not have lying around. However, we will list these if necessary.

Repair or replace a broken toilet lever

Toilet levers (or handles) keep breaking and thankfully are very easy to repair. If pressing the lever doesn’t flush the toilet, you can usually just open the tank and reattach the chain. In some cases, the handle itself can corrode or one of the parts that connect the handle to the flap (including the handle, nut, metal rod, or chain) can break. If this happens to you, here are some things to fix:

The actual installation is pretty straightforward This video from Everyday Home Repairs shows::

Clog a toilet drain

Before calling a plumber to share a toilet, there are two things you should try. You will need:

First, make sure you are using toilet specific tools. Toilet plungers have flaps at the shop end that form a tight seal with the drain. Flushing plungers are completely round and cannot do much to a stubborn clogging. Slugs are very similar to drain snakes, but they are specifically designed to work with toilets.

Neither of these tools are difficult to use, however this short video The techniques are shown in action on Home Depot’s YouTube channel:

They recommend pouring 3 tablespoons of liquid dish soap into the toilet before dipping (or snails) to lubricate the drain and clear any clogs.

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Attach a leaky P-trap under the sink in the kitchen or bathroom

Most minor pipe leaks occur around the P-trap and are usually caused by a worn washer or a loose or broken compression nut. To fix the problem you will need:

Before you do anything else, Turn off the water to the sink. Some sinks have a shut-off valve right next to the sink itself, while others may be located down to the basement. Once the water is off, you’re good to go.

This one is very simple as you can see in This video with instructions from Jeff Ostroff on Youtube:

All you have to do is unscrew the compression nuts that hold the P-trap in place so you can replace it and the worn washers. As Jeff mentions in the video, this type of fastener can be hand tightened because PVC pipe can tear under too much pressure. If whoever installed your P-trap still tightened the nuts too tight, a 3-way plumber wrench can help you loosen them.

Eliminate any jammed garbage disposal

Garbage disposal is a big, scary machine made up of hidden blades and bad noises. Aside from the initial fears of threatening pits, clearing a clog is actually pretty easy. You need:

Pressing the reset button is sometimes enough, but when not, This video from Williams Plumbing & Heating shows two more simple methods to unlock a disposal:

Turning the disposal blades with an Allen key is usually enough to remove debris and restart disposal. A waste disposal key may be required for larger, tougher jobs: it fits in the main disposal chamber and removes anything that jams.

Replace a light switch

Most electrical work in your home should likely be done by a professional, but light switches are among the easiest to replace. If you have a switch that is not working properly, you can use these general tools to do it:

Before you begin, turn off the correct breaker and get to work. This tutorial from Lowe’s YouTube channel sets out everything:

Once you’ve unscrewed the faceplate, all that’s left is to disconnect the cables, plug in your new switch, and put the plate back in.

Repairing drywall holes

Holes in walls are almost inevitable, even if you only rent them. However, if you haven’t plowed through a car, most holes can be repaired pretty cheaply. Depending on the size of the hole, you will need some or all of these tools:

Start by assessing the extent of the damage. Screw or nail holes from hanging pictures or TVs are easiest: clean the area from debris, wipe the wall and press down on some with a spatula spackle into the wall and let it dry. Once it’s done, smooth it down with some sandpaper. Depending on how seamless it needs to be and what color your walls are, you may need to apply a coat of paint.

Bigger holes are more difficult. This video from LRN2DIY shows different methods of patching::

To properly mend a large hole, you need to cut out and replace some of the surrounding drywall. This isn’t exactly difficult, but it does require more advanced techniques than some of the other fixes we’ve covered so far – especially for really large holes. If you’re not sure if you’re up to the task, give a professional a call.

Loosen a stuck window

If you walk too long without opening a window it can get so dirty that it is difficult to open. This isn’t a particularly complex problem, but it may require some elbow fat. You will need these tools and accessories:

Physically detaching the window from the frame is a pretty good place to start. This video from ForRent.com shows some different techniques:

If curiosity and (gentle) hammering aren’t enough, you may need to include chemicals. Paint thinner can help loosen stubborn, closed windows, and WD-40 or a silicone lubricant can help the window slide back on its rails. Keep that in mind WD-40 glued vinyl windows;; You can use a little to dissolve rust, but don’t spray it all over the rails.

There’s no shortage of things in your home that can break, but you will find that most can be fixed with some hardware store basics and a little googling. If something does not break life-threateningly, check it out online before calling a professional. It could save you a bunch.

This article was originally published on October 15, 2013. It was updated on May 14, 2021 with new links, updated information, and Lifehacker-style guidelines.

Screenshot: Nightdress with Sasha Velor / Quibi

Quibi was the largest supported streaming service that you never heard of (or that you may never have cared about) in early 2020. The hopeful streaming rival showed off over 75 new programs with some A-list celebrities including Anna Kendrick in Dummy, Kevin Hart and John Travolta in Die Hart, and Laurence Fishburne in #FreeRayshawn, which even won an Emmy. Then it got totally full.

Why did it fail? Well, nobody wanted to pay for a streaming service with short-form content, as the investors had hoped for. But there is hope for the programs that went dark in 2020, as Quibi shows have finally found new home on the totally free Roku Channel– renamed “Roku Originals” which is pretty funny.

Here is some of the better past Quibi content that you can see when viewed will be released on May 20th on the streaming channel– 30 shows will be free to watch that day, with more of the 75-show-strong Quibi cast expected to appear on the channel in the future.

Photo: Toby Grayson (Shutterstock)

As we discussed earlier, there are Three ways to hold on to a barbell if you are concerned about your grip slipping. You can use straps, point your palms in different directions (mixed grip), or you can grab them with a hook. A hook handle is safer than a mixed one, but one thing scares many people off: the pain.

I am happy to announce this to you after almost two years of the Olympics Weightlifting (where hook handle is neither feared nor discussed, but just a part of life) I now believe that hook handle is nowhere near as painful as it is supposed to be. And yes, I am the person who wrote in this previous article that hook handle “hurts like hell”. Partly because I got used to it, but also because I got it wrong.

Look at the bar that you are using

If you have small hands or are using a thicker bar, the hook handle may be more uncomfortable – or even impossible.

This is one of the reasons why there are women’s bars in Olympic weightlifting: The women’s bar has a diameter of 25 millimeters to allow smaller hands a more comfortable grip. (The men’s bar is 28 millimeters.)

The Dumbbells in a regular gym can vary. Powerbars usually resemble an Olympic handlebar for men measuring 28 or 29 mm. Squat bars, normally only found in powerlifting gyms, are heavier than a typical power bar and thicker. The thickness makes them more comfortable on your back, but mainly because these bars have to hold heavy plates while being stiff enough not to jump a lot. They are often 32mm.

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Deadlift bars, on the other hand, are thinner at 27 mm (but not quite as thin as an Olympic bar for women). Deadlifts and Olympic lifts are the most common lifts that people use hook handles. Therefore, only these bars are designed for this purpose. (Some powerlifting associations use a powerbar for the deadlift, while others use a deadlift bar. Powerlifting does not use different bars for men and women.)

All of this means, if you are having trouble with the hook handle, make sure you are using the thinnest suitable bar. I can’t hold onto a squat, and I don’t even find power bars very comfortable, but I have no problem grabbing a women’s Olympic bar or a deadlift bar.

Place your thumb so that it is parallel to the bar

A common mistake – and one thing that hurts the hook handle a lot more than it needs to be – is putting your thumb incorrectly on the bar.

Here I put my thumb in the hook handle. After placing my thumb under my middle finger, I comfortably wrap the rest of my fingers around the bar. Photo: Beth Skwarecki

Don’t think of your thumb as if it is wrapping itself under the bar. It’s not like a pair of pliers opposed to your fingers.

Instead, place the last joint of your thumb parallel to its length along the bar. When you grab the bar, your thumbnail should be in contact with your middle finger, somewhere between the last and penultimate joints of your middle finger.

The exact point of contact will depend on your body proportions, but I am trying to emphasize that you shouldn’t try to pinch your thumb under as many fingers as possible, nor should you try to wrap it deeply around the bar. If you have pain in the ankle where your thumb meets your palm, this is probably what you are doing wrong.

Work out

Even if you get everything right, your first hook-hold deadlift can be painful, or at least uncomfortable. However, if you use a suitable bar and grasp it properly, the discomfort will be short-lived.

If pain, bruising, or calluses occur, they should be mild and appear roughly parallel to the length of your thumb and on the side of your thumb rather than the center of the thumb pad or ankle.

Thumb strap can help a bit; Wrap athletic tape around your thumb, skip the thumb joint, or use an elastic thumb band around the entire thumb. This will add a bit of compression so the pressure doesn’t hurt as much, and it can also be more comfortable so the knurling of the barbell doesn’t grip your thumbs as much.

Once you get used to the hook, use it on as many elevators as you can – but it’s fine if you don’t use it on every elevator. For example, you can warm up for deadlifts by grabbing the lighter hooked sets and then using mixed grip or straps for most of your work sets. When it’s time to pull a heavy single, you may want to use the hook handle for just that rep. In time, you will be able to handle more. Even so, even experienced lifters often use slings for sets with high repetitions.

The first film I saw with Moses was The Ten Commandments in 1956. The last one I saw was the 2014 Exodus: Gods and Kings. In between was the perfect version – not just for a Bible story, but for movies in general – and that was the Prince of Egypt. Growing up in a deeply devout home, I wasn’t even allowed to go to theaters when I was growing up, but my mom took me to see it when it premiered in 1998 and it has been one of my favorite films ever since. It’s action, adventure, drama, romance, and comedy, not to mention bringing Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey together for “When You Believe,” one of many hits on one of the greatest and most underrated soundtracks of all time.

And Danny Glover played Jethro! Let’s focus on that instead of the list of 90% white actors (Val Kilmer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Ralph Fiennes, Jeff Goldblum, Patrick Stewart, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Helen Mirren, and others) who played people with color. Fun Fact: It wasn’t Danny Glover singing “Through the Eyes of Heaven” when Moses and Tzipporah fell in love too. It was another black actor, Brian Stokes Mitchell, because Danny Glover can’t sing like that. – Jordan Calhoun

Where to stream: peacock