The Best Holiday Gift This Past Year

After opening several cheap moving boxes worth of gifts this year for the winter holidays, I came across my favorite gift of them all: an extremely nice industrial grade wok that I’ve been wanting for a long time coming. While I received other things that were absolutely amazing, including a sleeping cot and new recipe books and even a food processor, the wok was absolutely my most coveted item of the holidays. As I stood among the various ripped open cheap moving boxes around my living room floor, I couldn’t help but get giddy with excitement when looking at that beautiful wok.

You see, I don’t think enough people take an interest or even a love in their cooking and the food they eat. Too often, the majority becomes consumed in other things in their life, whether that’s work, family, or watching TV. And so, they dedicate less time to the likes of cooking authentic, home-prepared meals. And thus, their health goes down the drain because of it. That’s probably the saddest part to me, when I come to think about how little people focus on their diet.

And so, I think there needs to be a shift in the way we think about food and the process of cooking if there’s ever going to be a trend towards a healthier nation. Until that happens, our general health will be much worse off than other leading countries around the world. We need to make it a point to love cooking, to love preparing fresh food, and to love what we put into our bodies.

I’m glad I’ve already hit that point in my life, where I can’t wait to cook my next meal or prepare something new for the first time. I feel it’s allowed me to regain my health and have a renewed sense of love for the things I consume. Even better, it’s made me more environmentally conscious, because now I’m looking at things like where something was produced or farmed. And having more conviction in what you do and eat means you have more conviction in your ideals.

And so, this is why I’m obsessed with my new wok and cannot wait to temper it properly and have the inaugural fried rice that will kick off the new year right. Perhaps I’m a little too enthusiastic about a piece of cookware, but hey, I could be obsessed with something much worse, right?

How to Make a DIY Air conditioner out of Cardboard

With summer in full swing, the heat is definitely not fun. This can cause a higher bill, and definitely a struggle with managing the ducts. How does one keep cool during the summer? With boxes made out of cardboard. 

Do they Work? 

If you want to create an AC unit out of a box of cardboard, it can work. While it won’t work the same way as a normal air conditioner, it’s a good way to stimulate cooling in tinier areas. 

How to make this 

Are you ready to cool down with this crafty project? Here are a few directions to get a cardboard air conditioner put together. 

First, you need the following materials: 

• A piece of cardboard that’s sturdy 

• Measuring tape and a ruler 

• Knife or scissors 

• Marker or pencil 

• A fan that’s small 

• Ice or a frozen water bottle 

• Duct tape or some adhesive that’s strong 

The first thing is you need to measure the dimensions of the fan, marking them on cardboard.  Using the measuring tape or the ruler, create and draw two different parallel lines a couple of inches apart. These are the slots that the fan will fit into, so keep that in mind. 

Next, you want to cut the cardboard, using scissors or a utility knife.  You’ll do this along the dimensions measured.  Then, you cut along the lines that are marked, in order to make the fan slot. 

Next, you want to then measure the height, along with the width of the slot of the fan, marking those measurements directly on the cardboard. 

Draw out two different rectangles, as these will be the sides of the unit. Make them a little taller than the slot of the fan to offer a more maximized airflow. After that, add another rectangle to the unit in the back, cutting out the side along with the back pieces directly in the cardboard. 

Then, you want to put all of this together, starting with the DIY air conditioner. 

Attach the pieces on the side using some duct tape, or an adhesive that’s strong, so that they’re aligned correctly. From there, attach the back part of the sides along with the base, using an adhesive ant tape, creating a three-sided type of structure. 

You then want to put the fan in, carefully adding this into the slot near the front of your unit.  Make sure that this fits in a secure manner and that there’s no wobbling.  Use extra tape or cardboard in order to properly stabilize this fan, preventing this from moving. 

Once this is done, you want to prepare the cooling mechanism.  Take a container of ice, or frozen water bottles and put it behind the fan. Don't let the ice come into contact directly with the fan, so it won’t damage them. 

Once this is done, you want to turn on the fan, and turn on the adjusted speed and the setting that’s there. 

The fan will from there blow against the ice or the cold water bottles.  This creates a natural cooling effect that happens as circulation within the unit. 

This is a simple and very temporary measure. If your AC is out, then you’ll want to make sure that you get the proper repairs done on this.  It's a good solution that can be used temporarily, but it won’t be a replacement for air conditioning. 

Also, be careful when you use these and don’t leave the unit unattended, in order to ensure proper safety.