I found some useful ideas on this page of Life Hacks. There's some nonsense in there (Do you Americans really have such difficulty hammering in a nail? ;P) but mostly this is a nice collection of frugal solutions to problems that I've seen people pay money to solve.
99 Life Hacks
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jacob
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I like these lists. But I think it's also important to move beyond them and figure out what a "hack" actually comprises.
To go from "compiling" hacks to "creating" hacks:
1) Look at the functionality of all the items in your environment: What are the materials, how can they be reshaped, what function can they serve. (The empty toilet roll is probably the most useful item you have!)
2) Look at the problem you are trying to solve. What kind of functionality does it require?
3) Build that functionality out of existing items.
This is much easier (on a day to day basis) than referring to a long list.
I'd say I currently master common household items and wood. I can make anything out of those. I'd like to master metals and plastics too.
To go from "compiling" hacks to "creating" hacks:
1) Look at the functionality of all the items in your environment: What are the materials, how can they be reshaped, what function can they serve. (The empty toilet roll is probably the most useful item you have!)
2) Look at the problem you are trying to solve. What kind of functionality does it require?
3) Build that functionality out of existing items.
This is much easier (on a day to day basis) than referring to a long list.
I'd say I currently master common household items and wood. I can make anything out of those. I'd like to master metals and plastics too.
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mountainFrugal
- Posts: 1144
- Joined: Fri May 07, 2021 2:26 pm
Re: 99 Life Hacks
What are the general shapes of the things you are trying to replicate?
In drawing and in prototyping everything can be reduced down into primitive forms (cubes, cuboids, spheres, cone, cylinders, tubes, pyramids...). What those shapes are made of will dictate how they can be assembled and used in the real world. A box and board becomes a dog ramp as the classic ERE example.
Before even owning a van I found the internal dimensions online and then taped out a van floor plan on my literal living room floor. The features I wanted I made 3D prototypes out boxes, tape, tables, and chairs. I had friends over for "dinner in my van". I cooked them a meal on my two burner stove while three friends sat in my mock swivel chairs and a portable stool. My dog at the time liked the "garage" space under the bed and table. She would hide and sleep under there.
Prototyping is indeed the ultimate hack. The ultimate meta-learning hack is transferring: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_of_learning
In drawing and in prototyping everything can be reduced down into primitive forms (cubes, cuboids, spheres, cone, cylinders, tubes, pyramids...). What those shapes are made of will dictate how they can be assembled and used in the real world. A box and board becomes a dog ramp as the classic ERE example.
Before even owning a van I found the internal dimensions online and then taped out a van floor plan on my literal living room floor. The features I wanted I made 3D prototypes out boxes, tape, tables, and chairs. I had friends over for "dinner in my van". I cooked them a meal on my two burner stove while three friends sat in my mock swivel chairs and a portable stool. My dog at the time liked the "garage" space under the bed and table. She would hide and sleep under there.
Prototyping is indeed the ultimate hack. The ultimate meta-learning hack is transferring: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfer_of_learning