There are affiliate links in this post.

Continuing from yesterday with laying a little bit of groundwork for DIY-ing, let’s take a peek today at some “tools” we regularly use in our household to help us “DIY.”  I’ll skip the obvious like drills and screwdrivers, because when you think of “DIY tools,” you probably don’t have trouble thinking of them!  The majority of my “not so obvious” ones are kitchen implements or equipment – with a few computer-based resources tossed into the mix.

DIY in the Kitchen

A lot of our doing-it-ourselves takes place in the kitchen.  Either we’re making from scratch foods we would otherwise buy from the store, or we’re making personal care products which, often, are made a lot like food!

WonderMill

Most of our baked goods start here.  The ultimate “DIY” when it comes to baked goods is grinding your own flour with which to bake.  (Unless you’re on the AutoImmune Paleo protocol or something like that, where even pseudo-grains are off-limits.  Then it’s a whole other ballgame.)  Freshly-milled whole grain retains far more nutrients than its depleted storebought counterpart, so this has a significant health impact.

I’ve used a Nutrimill, too, and — although that one is very good — I like this one better.  (My mom has a Komo mill, too.  They’re gorgeous — and very good.  But also very expensive.  So if you can afford one, they’re worth it.  Beautiful like pieces of furniture.)

Electrolux Assistent/DLX

I understand the price discrepancy between this and the larger Bosch mixers has increased since back when I got mine (which is unfortunate 🙁 ) , but I love my DLX.  You can’t get any more solidly-built than this thing, and it will handle any mixing task I throw at it, all the way from whipping cream (or making butter) to kneading tough bread doughs.  I love the timer, because I can leave dough to knead and walk away. 🙂

(If you’re just getting started with whole grains and don’t have a mixer yet, get one of these — a DLX or a Bosch — that’s built for whole grains.  Many new Kitchen-Aids have been known to burn out on whole grains because they can’t handle the denser dough, over time.)

Vitamix

You’d think that any old blender would be good for smoothies, right?  But, nope.  The blender I had when I got married literally “choked” and started to smoke because I tried to make a milkshake in it.  As in, some ice cream in a lot of milk.  If it can’t handle what is practically 100% liquid – and definitely 100% soft – there’s no way it would have handled fruit!

I don’t think the Vitamix is an amazing “all-purpose” machine as advertised.  It doesn’t really substitute for a food processor, because it doesn’t shred or slice — it chops, purées, etc. — and so on.  But a higher-powered machine like this makes a world of difference when you’re talking about a smoothie!

The Ninja doesn’t blend smoothies quite as finely (and you may have to cut some things a little smaller before dropping them in) but it does a pretty good job, with a much smaller price tag.  (And it has single-serving containers, which I consider a perk.)

Excalibur Dehydrator

This really is the cream of the crop when it comes to dehydrators.  The round style tends to dehydrate very unevenly, which makes it hard to have a quality end product.  The Excalibur not only dries quite evenly; it’s very versatile because of its design.  I honestly haven’t used it to make a very wide variety of dehydrated foods yet.  But I used it very regularly to incubate yogurt – which is possible because the trays can come out and make a larger space inside.

And it’s useful for non-food projects, too.  Flowers can be dried in it, as can papier-maché projects and the like.

The timer on this is invaluable, too, as I can leave things drying (or incubating) overnight!

(It comes in a larger and smaller size, with or without the timer.)

Smaller Gadgets

Okay, so those were all the big, expensive tools.  They’re not cheap, but they’re versatile and they get a lot of use around here.  (I’d love to have a Cuisinart food processor, too, but it hasn’t made it to the top of the priority list yet.)  There are some smaller gadgets I use in the kitchen, too.

• Good pots & pans
• Good knives
• IKEA grater  (It’s silly, but I really love this one.  It’s so easy to use, without slipping and sliding around!  I use it for cheese, carrots, soap…)
• These lids — They’re made for sprouting seeds, but they’re good for more than that.  They can make it easier to strain other things out – like when you strain kefir to separate the liquid from the “grains.”  They can be used when you want a non-airtight seal.  We’ve even used them for keeping bugs.  (Not for eating purposes!  For the kids to watch for science projects.)
• A food substitutions book.  I’ve been using Cook it Right!, but I got a new one to review that appears to be even more comprehensive.  (You’ll see that one later this month. 🙂 )

Of course I have other implements in my kitchen – a can opener, wooden spoons, mixing bowls, etc.  But these are the ones that stand out as either significant or “different.”

Outside the Kitchen

Outside the kitchen there are tools, too.

• A sewing machine is the one pricier one.  If you sew with any frequency, though, it can be handy to have a basic model.  I spent a little more, when I was buying mine, for a model that’s known to be very sturdy and good at sewing things like denim in addition to more common materials, but I didn’t spring for anything fancy.  I wanted something that could sew diapers as easily as napkins.  (My hand-sewing is atrocious.)
• Even if you don’t knit or crochet, a couple of select crochet hooks can come in handy.  The need to “hook” things can arise at unexpected times!
• Adhesives.  This is a biggie.  What adhesives you need will vary, but if you’re a DIY-er, it’s a pretty sure bet you’ll need glue and/or tape at some point.  For typical craft purposes, we most often use either glue stick (for paper-type things) or Tacky Glue (for anything else), but we use others on occasion.  And a variety of tape — most notably clear “regular” tape and clear packing tape.
• Good scissors.  Depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, what makes for “good” scissors might vary.  But a lot of DIY projects — from cutting your own hair, to sewing napkins, to making cards for birthdays — use scissors!
• A trigger sprayer for spray paints is a huge help.  Not only does it help avoid hand fatigue; I kept getting splatters when I sprayed the “old-fashioned” way, because my finger kept getting in the way.  With the trigger, no splatters.
• Kids.  Okay, I’m joking a little bit here, but having kids around does mean there’s usually an extra set of hands if I need it. 🙂

Less Tangible Tools

It probably goes without saying that I use Google (or Swagbucks) and Pinterest a lot!  I rarely just prepare a single recipe or the like, just as it comes.  Rather, I’ll look up 5-15, use them as a reference, and do my own.  (I’m just a maverick like that.  I have to do it my own way. 😉 )  Sometimes I look up the actual “DIY” project or recipe.  Sometimes I look up information I need to finish creating something myself — like a substitution or information about what quantity of something to use in a given context,  a measurement conversion, or a source for supplies (that I can’t get on Amazon).

I also use PhotoScape.  This is a little-known graphics program, but one of my favorites.  It’s freeware, and it doesn’t do everything, like PhotoShop or the like, but it does a lot, and with a much simpler interface than PhotoShop.  So I prefer to use it when it will do the job and only pull out the “big guns” when I have to.

I do a ton of stuff in Microsoft Word (you would be surprised), and prefer CutePDF for converting to PDF.

And, of course, having a printer hooked up helps. 🙂

Your turn: Do you have any favorite, often-used DIY tools?