What have you learned to do from the Internet? - YouLookFab Forum

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What have you learned to do from the Internet?

Runcarla

Veteran

It is becoming a family joke - 'what Mom learned on the Internet' - but the reality is I've managed to 'fix' quite a few things after finding a tutorial on the 'net. Here is a list of some of the things I've sorted out:

-clean a chimney flue, repair a broken damper and get a 100 year old fireplace certified
-replace a stopper in a toilet and stop it from 'running'
-replace the crank mechanism on a window
-reprogram the settings for automatic on/off outdoor lighting (previous house owners did not leave instructions)
-reappolster and improve standard dining room/kitchen chairs
-make bath bombs
-make weed killer

I have also sourced out some good recipes, craft ideas, Yoga poses, and of course fashion advice.

The jury is out on growing orchids - time will tell (that is, if they rebloom.)

What have you learned to do from the Internet that you have found useful and/or applied in your activities of daily living?

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36 replies

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rachylou

Veteran

Definitely pastry and cooking techniques for me. I need that one re a window crank replacement...

Staysfit

Veteran

-Get rid of unsightly white ring marks on a cherry table
-After estimate from plumbers for water heater, determined I could save $1000, by ordering the same water heater myself directly from the company and having my contractor install it.
-formula to clean stains off concrete basement floor from leaky water heater and broken sump pump (see below)
-figured out that sump pump needed a cheap $15 part and not a full replacement
-interesting and easy knitting cast on
-how to clean the rubber ring in a front load laundry machine
-All sorts of computer fixes!
- Recipes
-Interesting workouts for when I am bored with my status quo, especially interval style workouts, which tend to be my favorite look ups
- Guided Meditation and Mindfulness for days when I need the support
- Yoga poses with tutorials
-self help advice to see what the families of my patients will be reading online
- book reviews mostly after I have read the book. I recently read Fates and Furies, and then afterwards read all the reviews. (Interesting reviews because they were so diverse, so I’m glad I did it that way). I sometimes read a review before the book, or buy a book to read because of a review.
-The list goes on....

kkards

Veteran

~how to clear a slow draining sink without harsh chemicals
~and a hundred other uses for Borax (related to #1)
~how to "fix" various things on my iphone --& my moms (long distance help desk)
~how to retrieve voice mail on my mom's new home phone
~complicated --or at least beyond my skill set- excel formulas!

i'm sure that there are tons of others.....

Staysfit

Veteran

Oh, duh,
-online banking
-CME
-Social Media
-Reading Blogs
-Ted Talks
-YouTube
-online shopping
-streaming movies
-email
-Pinterest

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Runcarla, how great to get your fireplace working—that’s a serious score!

I can’t really say what I’ve learned online, because it isn’t really a separate thing from the rest of my life. I have friends and communities I tap into and fora on various topics.

My son is the real king of googling—for the longest time it seemed like he could just do any kind of tech thing out there. Then I found out he was googling how to fix grandma & grandpa’s computer by remote from our laptops.

cindysmith

Veteran

Ooh, fun!
* I started learning yoga from the internet.
* I (re)learned how to dress for a wedding from this very site THANK YOU!
* pickles. I learned to make pickles. I should probably just expand this to include most of my canning, I learned jam making from the neighbor but I perfected it (and learned lots of other stuff) from the internet
* I learned how to harvest, dry, and store pumpkin & gourd seeds.
* now that I mention it, drying fruit, making my own crushed red pepper, and making fruit leather (we have a small-ish commercial dehydrator, so I've been finding all sorts of ways to use it)
* how to prepare for shopping at IKEA (just recently made my 1st foray into an ike a, thank heaven a friend with experience went with me, I would have spent DAYS in there by myself LOL)
* how to Pinterest
* how to cook various new (to me) produce items we sell at my work
* flash freezing

I'm sure there's more, but I haven't had enough coffee for that level of thought this early in the morning

citygirldc

(website)

Veteran

Clean my wedding ring using household cleaners.
How to find decent vintage wear.
Barre classes on youtube.
Lots of recipes from Pinterest.

Diana

Veteran

Most recently, how to relight the oven pilot on my old gas range (the stove pilot is easy but the oven one is a pain!)

Also, lots of knitting techniques, recipes, lots of lab and science related stuff, how to fix computer/phone/whatever, and countless other things.

kkards

Veteran

a couple more I thought of

~what the warning lights on my dashboard mean....and when to be concerned

~how to reset the electronics on a kitchenaide oven (this was actually a group activity, I found that it was a common problem and fixable, but my sister, the librarian, actually found good instructions to fix it)

JAileen

Veteran

How to unstick the refrigerator’s ice maker.
How to disassemble and clean various parts of the vacuum cleaner.
Various crochet tutorials.

Emily K

(website)

Veteran

OMG! Everything! My husband and I are always wondering how we humans learned anything before we gained the ability to look at YouTube videos. A sampling: Wakeboarding and wake surfing, how to make Slime, Gak, and Play Doh for the kid, recipes...so many recipes , origami tutorials, DIY costume making (I learned new techniques and about so many new products and I also do a lot of image searches for visual reference materials), watercolor tutorials, quilting techniques...I use the internet extensively for product research and on-line shopping, streaming video, and watching good TV programming from BBC and CBC.

JAileen

Veteran

Emily: They were called “books”.

Gaylene

Veteran

How to install and connect the plumbing for a new kitchen sink and faucet. (Got tired of waiting for a so-so plumber.)
How to fix any number of computer-related problems, including disassembling AND reassembling a motherboard.
How to make my own lined Roman shades—using professional-grade fittings and incorporating a blackout lining.
How to read train schedules in Eastern Europe, with no English or French provided, so my friend and I could travel to small villages and towns outside the cities.
How to build a basement partition wall
How to tightline my eyes with a fluid eyeliner
How to make my own caramel and spun sugar decorations
How to bake Norwegian raisin buns just like the ones my husband remembered fondly from his childhood.
How to landscape a tiny courtyard shade garden prone to flooding in wet winters and drought in dry summers.

I come from a long line of women who figure they could learn how to do anything if they just set their minds to it. I’m in awe of those women who crossed oceans to settle in foreign locations and had to keep families sheltered, fed, and clothed with just their hands and their brains. My accomplishments seem trivial in comparison.

*laughing at JAileen’s comment!”*

Anonymous

Mostly tecipes and scarf-tying but DH looks up the handbooks and instructions for any number of things, from outdoor lighting to replacing a toilet stool himself. We also use Yelp to find where to get hair cut, etc.

Meredith

Veteran

This week alone: how to begin a batch of kombucha, seed options for perennials that will attract bees, how to ferment vegetables, and I’ve just signed up for tutorials on digital sound mixing and Adobe Presenter (I taught myself how to use these programs-thanks, internet-but I finally have time to learn them more thoroughly).

I absolutely love living at a time so much information is available almost instantly (although I am laughing at JAileen’s comment).

RobinF

Veteran

It has become so automatic for me to google whenever I have a question that I can't even remember specific examples! I'm another knitter who has learned a lot online, I think I'd still be knitting only scarves without it. Also how to use essential oils, how to style my hair, how to fix our dishwasher that wasn't draining, how to hem a chiffon bridesmaid dress (3 layers) for my daughter, gosh so much more!

gradfashionista

(website)

Veteran

I watched a YouTube video on Friday on how to crochet and am now in the process of making a blanket. It’s my first project and rough around the edges (literally), but hopefully the border will smoothe things out.

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MsMary

Veteran

How to peel a hard-boiled egg with a spoon.

Anonymous

The internet is my go to whenever I have any problems or questions, so to list what I have learned from it would turn into a novel.

The internet has made researching products extremely helpful especially when it comes to big purchases. It has helped me and my husband to do repairs on our own. For example, my Kitchen Aid mixer was leaking oil and DH manage to find a youtube video on how to fix it.

tanstaafl

How to reupholster my dining room chairs.
How to reupholster an arm chair.
How to install a dishwasher.
How to fix a leaking sink.
How to swaddle a baby.

binkle

Veteran

Good post!

Lots of cooking and baking techniques.
Toilet repair.
Health/medical info.
Personal finance stuff.
Jobs/career info.
Fun facts and trivia about old movies.
Current events.
Cleaning & housekeeping tips.
DH uses it extensively for car and appliance repair videos, and various forums for specifc manufacturers. It is often both reassuring and depressing to find that many people are having the same problems with the same model car or washer or dryer, etc.
And of course, fashion tips!

deb

Veteran

Love this thread!

How to lay luxury vinyl plank flooring - did this last week
how to build a platform bed
how to build a retaining wall
the correct way to install molding
how to remove berry stains from car seats

and I sure there are many more that I cannot remember right now.

Style Fan

Veteran

Almost everything I cook now I get from the internet. I do have a few cookbooks from the old days.

How to mark students papers. What makes a paper an A or a B? Okay, goggle comes to my rescue.

How to write a recommendation letter for a student applying for graduate school.

Basically, anything to do with teaching I learned from the internet.

How to stage a house (to sell).

How to apply eye make up.

How to cut your own bangs.

Fitness Classes, Yoga, etc.

Update my dancing techniques

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I AM SOOOO IMPRESSED!

pil

Veteran

I feel like a real slacker with only one thing! I was able to repair a hole in a cashmere sweater by watching YouTube.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

- how to fix a garbage disposal
- how to change a flat on my bike
- how to program the garage door opener for my new car
- how to clean stains off a white leather jacket
- how to give a flimsy picture frame added support
- how to diagnose and fix countless computer issues
- how to prune a Japanese white pine (amongst other plants)
- how to make deer repellent
- how to handle a bird that has stunned itself flying into a window
- how to start our snow blower
- how to eliminate cat urine smell from a concrete floor
- how to clean fireplace brick
- best method for hard boiling an egg
- how to grill an avocado
- how to make a good microwave baked potato

And that’s just what I came up with in a few minutes off the top of my head!

Sisi

Veteran

Almost nothing. Some recipes maybe. Zero manual skills here, and my theory is "Let the professionals do it".

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Funny, this morning I found myself googling how to repair a garage door (ours decided last night that it will no longer open), but my better sense has prevailed. It's below freezing -- I'll call a professional.

Barbara Diane

Veteran

Cooking skills, recipes, jewelry making ideas/projects/new skills.

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