I hate bagging my grass clippings.  In the hot summer sun, the last thing I want to do is stop mowing my lawn to empty the bag and start up again.  The airborne grass clippings always seem to get stuck on my sweaty arms and legs and, well, it’s not a pretty picture.

Frustrated, I started looking around for a decent blower/vacuum to make my grass clipping the street department’s problem.  After a lot of research, I found the Toro Ultra 12 Amp Electric Blower/Vacuum and couldn’t be happier with my purchase.

With 12 Amps of power, this blower/vacuum has enough power and versatility to tackle nearly every clean-up chore, from blowing grass clippings to blowing out leaves from my gutters.  With wind speeds up to an amazingly awesome 235 miles per hour, this blower has got some serious range!

I really enjoy how quickly you can switch to the vacuum setting without tools.  For instance, a few weekends ago, I took the blower to the roof to clean my gutters.  When I got off the ladder, I needed to do something with all the renegade leaves.  With a quick flip to the vacuum setting, I was able to suck those leaves into much like they were going out of style.  The serrated metal blades on the leaf/debris impeller really helped to reduce the number of yard waste bags I needed for a job, turning what would have been about 15 bags of leaves to 1 measly bag (thus eliminating the need to stop, empty the bag and start up again).

The Toro Ultra 12 Amp Electric Blower/Vacuum has a variable speed motor to help meet all of your tough lawn chore needs.  I can’t recommend this blower/vacuum enough!

Your dad has one, your brother has one… so why don’t you have one?  The Stanley Powerlock Tape Measure is a staple in every DIY kit, and if you think you can come up with creative measuring techniques (“my shoe is a size 11 1/2, and that’s gotta be close to a foot… so 30 paces must be, like, 30 feet!”) and retain accuracy, you’re foolin’ yourself.

If I had to describe the Stanley Powerlock Tape Measure with one one, it would be rugged. I’ve given my tape measure quite a bit of abuse over the years, throwing it off my roof, dropping it off tables, bending the ever-lovin’ heck out of it to measure from floor to ceiling - you name it.  Well, the Stanley Powerlock Tape Measure just keeps on ticking.  I use this tape measure so much that I’ve purchased two additional: one for my basement in my workbench and the other outside in my garage.  I never want to stray too far away from clean, easy, accurate measurements.

Tip: The Stanley Powerlock Tape Measure, along with a few mechanical pencils and a notepad, make for an excellent planning/measuring kit.  For an added bonus, head out to your local art supply store and purchase a graph paper notepad - you’ll find that plotting out measurements is more accurate than your chicken-scratch line art adventures!

I’m not sure what else I can say about the Stanley Powerlock Tape Measure, other than if you dont’ have one, buy one! And if you have one, buy another!

The former owners of our home were not expert gardeners.  In fact, there seemed to be little rhyme or reason in the landscaping.  We had four large bushes in the backyard, 50-year old ivy along the fence and six yew bushes in front of the house.  Needless to say, they all had to go.

The Black & Decker Alligator Lopper 4.5-AMP Electric Chain Saw went through a honeysuckle bush like butter.  Since we were putting cobblestones in that area, we dug down around the roots about six inches and used the saw to cut below grade.  I loved avoiding digging up the root ball.  We used the same technique on an unidentifiable bush that was tearing our screens.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t get away with that trick with the ivy.  However, the saw was easily able to get through the toughest and oldest vines so we could get to the roots with a shovel.

The yew bushes were a huge project.  We had three on each side of the front door, and I believe they were planted when the house was built.  Since we didn’t have access to a Bobcat, I knew we couldn’t pull the bushes out by the roots.  The “honeysuckle method” was our only option.  The saw made quick work of the trunk, and was able to cut through the exposed roots quickly.  If we had this saw two years ago, we’d never have worried about how to get rid of the yews.

We don’t have any trees on our urban lot, but we’ve loaned the saw to friends and family who lost tree limbs in storms and it cuts them up quickly and safely.  This is a great tool for small to medium jobs and for those of us who are intimidated by “big” chain saws.

We have a lovely covered patio behind our house.  For two-thirds of the year, it’s great for entertaining – except for the bugs.  Dive-bombing June bugs can really put a damper on dinner parties.  And moths just plain creep me out.  I didn’t want to use a lot of chemicals around our herb garden, so instead of abandoning our favorite “room” of the house, we ordered the Flowtron Model BK-40D Electronic Insect Killer.

We set it up in our smallish backyard, far away enough from the patio that we weren’t bathed in UV light, but close enough to nab the bugs attracted to our patio lights and listen to the satisfying pops.

If there is a mosquito within 50 yards, they will find me.  I know mosquitoes aren’t attracted to light, so I was hoping the bait insert would do the trick.  I was not disappointed – not one bite.  If you have a lot of mosquitoes, you may need to get the bait replacement pack at the outset; once you get used to mosquito-free living, you don’t want to go back.

There is virtually no set up time, just plug in and go.  Be sure to use an outdoor extension cord and plug it into a GFCI outlet.  We also have it set up on an outdoor timer so it’s not using electricity during the day.  Cleaning is a breeze – literally – I blow off the zapped bugs with a can of compressed air.

My poor parents.  They just built a beautiful new home on a lake to spend their retirement years and recently moved in.  They laid down sod in the front of the house (which looks great, incidentally), but had to seed the backyard.  All was well … until the renegade geese started showing up to eat the seed and “fertilize” the lawn.

Desperate to get this problem under control, my parents turned to me to see what my wife and I did to scare of rabbits and other city vermin trying to scavenge food from our summer backyard garden.  I fired off an email with a link to the Electronic ScareCrow Motion Activated Sprinkler and told him to give it a try.

Well, the results are in: not only did it work at scaring away the geese, but it also worked to discourage ducks, squirrels and deer from the coming in the backyard, too!  As a result, my parents now have a backyard that’s more than just dirt/mud and goose poo, and if that isn’t a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is.

The ScareCrow is effective for a few reasons:

1. It uses a combination of sudden noise, unexpected movement and a blast of water to deter critters from wandering into your yard.
2. It conditions the animal (yes, psychology is rearing its ugly head in a fixitup post!) to stay away.
3. It’s built from a high-quality, durable plastic… so even if an animal decided to attack the ScareCrow out of frustration, it really wouldn’t do much damage (unless, of course, this is a bear we’re talkin’ about).

All you have to do to set up the ScareCrow is attach a standard garden hose to its base, set the unit in the ground that you want to protect and turn on the water.  The ScareCrow is powered by a 9V battery.

There’s nothing better after working outside on a hot July day than an ice-cold frosty beverage.  I found myself in this familiar position this past weekend and was able to turn to my trusty friend, draught beer, thanks to a friend’s Icy Cold Pro Series Commercial Beer Dispenser.

This little dude works with CO2 minikegs and gravity feed minikegs and has adapters present for 5 and 6 liter kegs for wine and other beverages.  If you like your beer cold, this unit delivers.  It has cooled air flowing around the keg to ensure a refreshing pint, time and time again.

If you don’t like the idea of having to make connections with a commercial gas company to fill a CO2 tank or be in debt up to your eyeballs to own a commercial-grade kegerator ($600+), this unit is for you.  It’s small, compact design (only 23.8 pounds) is perfect for entertaining on your back patio or in your poker room.

We thoroughly tested the Icy Cold Pro Series Commercial Beer Dispenser with a few Heineken minikegs and had no trouble getting perfect pours every time.  If you’re on a budget and want cold, refreshing beer at your disposal, this is the unit for you!

Before embarking on the exterior door project, I had to make sure I had a good level.  One that was versatile enough to handle the bevy of applications we’d no doubt throw at it, but also one that would be easy to read and provide accurate results.

After searching Pricegrabber, I settled on the Black and Decker Gecko Grip Level and couldn’t be more pleased.  My first project with the level was a boring one - hanging pictures - but I’ll tell you what: this level is really easy to read.

Unlike other bubble levels that just sit around looking nice, the Black and Decker Gecko Grip Level is actually 3 tools in 1.  You get a nice 24-inch standard level, a 9-inch torpedo level and a stud sensor.  Had I known that Black and Decker made a 3-in-1 level that had a stud finder, I would be about $35 richer.  But that’s neither here nor there - back to the features.

The Gecko Grip is seriously awesome.  Unlike my last two levels (I’m lookin’ at you, Stanley Tools), the Gecko Grip does an awesome job keeping the level right where I want it and it won’t slip or bump out of position.  When you’re trying to make sure something is plumb and level, the last thing you need is inconsistent readings.

I can’t recommend this product enough.  It’s seriously awesome, and something that every DIYer needs to have on hand.

Recently, my wife and I tore a big hole in our hose to install a door for easy access to our patio.  I’ll be honest - getting over the mental hump that comes with performing heavy surgery on your house is quite a challenge, but if you set out to do it with the right tools at your disposal, it’s actually a rather easy process (albeit a time-consuming one).

Of all the tools needed for this job, the heaviest used was easily our Ryobi Reciprocating Saw.  We put this guy through his paces cutting through studs, drywall and nails and didn’t hear a peep about being overworked.  In fact, when all was said and done, it actually fueled my desire to cut through more stuff, even though it probably wasn’t a good idea to do so!

This smooth operator has a toolless blade clamp for quick blade changes (which is necessary with the amount of stuff we had the reciprocating saw cutting through) and a very comfortable front grip for easy maneuvering. Weighing in at 5.08 pounds, the Ryobi Reciprocating Saw struck the perfect balance of “just light enough” for our heavy-duty needs.

In addition to making light work of our project, the Ryobi Reciprocating Saw is well-versed in cutting various materials from PCV Pipe to galvanized pipe and just about anything in between.  I even used it to cut down a honeysuckle bush in my back yard with relative ease.

The Ryobi Reciprocating Saw not only lived up to my expectations, but exceeded them.  At under $50, what’s stopping you from picking one up?

I can’t believe it took me four posts to write about my all-time favorite tool: the Stanley Fubar.  I’m firmly convinced that the Fubar was a gift from the Gods so that we may be more efficient deconstructors!

At it’s very core, the Stanley Fubar is a demolition machine. It’s a 4-in-1 tool for prying, board-bending, splitting and my personal favorite, striking jobs. I’ve never had more fun demolishing then when I’ve got the Fubar in my hand - and once you get your hands on one, you’ll immediately know why.

Expertly designed as one piece of solid-forged steel, the Fubar really is a jack of all trades. It has a comfortable handle for easy gripping, two-tiered jaws for grabbing and a beveled nail slot for pulling and prying tricky nails. Weighing in a 4 pounds, the Stanley Tools FatMax Xtreme Fubar is a must for any DIYer’s tool collection.

The marketing wizards over at Stanley Tools put together a wonderful website extolling the virtues of Fubar demolition, so head on over and smash some virtual stuff.  After destroying a toilet from the comfort of your computer chair, how can you possibly avoid dropping as little as $35 on this sweet utility bar?

It seems that mother nature is exacting quite a bit of revenge on the heartland of the United States these days.  With the flooding in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri hitting a little too close to home, it got me thinking about the best all-around, basement-saving device that all homeowners should have at the ready: the wet/dry Shop-Vac.

While great with the wet, the Shop-Vac is equally great with the dry stuff.  I was able to very quickly and easily keep my garage floor free of sawdust from my table saw — and with all of the various attachments, able to get into some hard-to-reach places, too.

The killer feature, though, is how this Shop-Vac easily moves water with the touch of a switch. All you need is a garden hose to attach to the unit (any size will work - I used a 100 ft) and you can eliminate the need to stop vacuuming and lug the spacious 10 gallon capacity outside to empty.  It’s time and back savings that will pay dividends when you’re faced with a wet basement crisis!

Features:

• 3.5hp
• Wet/Dry capabilities
• Tons of attachments
• Pumps out water through a garden hose
• 10 gallon capacity