Home in Guides, Checklists & Courses

Only Home: the latest headlines first, then BRO’s own Home stories and video. All of Guides & Checklists →

One good kitchen knife beats the block of twelve

You reach for the same blade every night. Spend your money on that one and let the other eleven go.

GuideScience & SpaceDean ShawOct 17, 20266 min

Mud in, drinking water out: inside a water treatment plant

A river goes in brown and comes out clean in a few hours. The plant does it with gravity, a little chemistry, and sand. The last 50 feet are on you.

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

Ask it

GuidePreparednessNina CastellanOct 11, 20265 min

Open the emergency kit before the storm does

A real checkup for the family emergency kit: what expires, what leaks, what no longer fits, and the one thing you'll drive back to the store for.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

PartnerCancerDefying.com

Home6 min read

The washer people fix is the one built to be opened

Every washing machine wears out something. The ones that last ten-plus years are the ones where that something is cheap, reachable and for sale.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

StoryCan You Fix ItNina CastellanOct 7, 20265 min

Every Wrong Gray Starts at the Paint Counter

Twelve lines heard over the shaker machine, and the paint lessons that'll save your walls, your weekend and your trim.

GuidePreparednessWes DunbarOct 11, 20265 min

Find your water main before the basement does

A burst pipe gives you about a minute to remember where the valve is. Find it on a dry Saturday instead, and learn which way it turns.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

PartnerCoconut.com

GuideHomeWes DunbarOct 9, 20266 min

The vacuum that lasts is the one you can open

The motor gets the credit and the blame. The belt, the brush roll, the filter and the battery are what actually decide how long a vacuum stays in your house.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next two weeks.

GuideCan You Fix ItWes DunbarOct 6, 20266 min

The Doorknob Hole in the Hallway, Fixed the Way It Really Goes

A patch nobody can find later takes three coats, two days and one door stop you should've installed in April. Every step, honestly.

GuidePreparednessWes DunbarOct 11, 20266 min

Pick the warm room by where the trees are

Ice brings down limbs and power lines, and the cold comes after. Choose your room, your heat and your no-go zones before it freezes.

Ask BRO

Build me a 30-day training plan around two sessions a week

Ask it

StoryHomeSam OrtizOct 7, 20266 min

The house has a map, and it lives in my wife's head

A popped sink line, one calm woman with a towel, and the nine things in our house she can find in the dark.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

PartnerDelicious.com

GuideCan You Fix ItWes DunbarOct 6, 20265 min

Replacing a Toilet Flapper Takes Ten Minutes and Two Trips

The cheapest plumbing fix in the house, written the way it really goes, including the second trip to the store nobody plans for.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

GuidePreparednessWes DunbarOct 11, 20265 min

The storm's over. The hazards in your yard aren't.

Live wires, a gas smell, a basement full of water. What the utilities and FEMA say to do, in the order you'll meet them.

GuideHomeRay OkonkwoOct 7, 20265 min

The forty-eight rolls were a bargain. The rest of the cart wasn't.

Bulk paper towels look like free money until you count the sheets, the miles, the closet space and everything that rode home next to them.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

GuideCan You Fix ItWes DunbarOct 6, 20266 min

The Bathroom Sink Clog Is Always Hair, and It's Always Gross

Skip the bottle of drain cleaner. A plastic strip, a bucket and twenty patient minutes clear almost every slow bathroom sink in the house.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

Preparedness6 min

Take the pictures before you touch the mess

Home6 min

Why the 45-minute faucet job takes an afternoon

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

Ask it

GuideFoodWes DunbarOct 5, 20266 min

Bake your first sandwich loaf by the dough, not the clock

A soft, sliceable sandwich loaf takes flour, yeast and a free afternoon. The trick is knowing when the dough is ready, whatever the recipe says.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

PartnerGermProof.com

Preparedness5 min read

Down for wind, up for gas: how to shelter in place

Shelter in place means different rooms for different dangers. Here's the order of moves, the room to pick, and what to keep in it before you need it.

Poll

What was your first ever job?

Older articles