DIY websites: a guide to repairing and saving money

More than a dozen DIY websites in Spanish and English, from fixing your phone to building solar panels. A complete guide to do-it-yourself resources.

English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published

The secret manual of DIY: from woodworking to Ikea hacking

The responsible consumer is no longer content with just buying: they prefer to build, repair and hack. But not everything is worth your time; the web is full of tutorials, and not all of them are reliable. A collection of links that has been circulating for years on responsible-consumption forums reveals a DIY ecosystem far richer than it seems: from electronics to solar energy, taking in woodworking and Ikea furniture along the way.

From electronics to woodworking: the DIY ecosystem

If you want to repair a phone, a laptop or any electronic gadget, iFixit is the undisputed reference, with detailed free guides. For more maker-oriented projects, Instructables and Hack a Day offer everything from robots to homemade inventions, though mostly in English. In Spanish, MakerWiki, Ikkaro and Kalanda stand out, with practical, well-explained tutorials. For home DIY, the website pasarlascanutas.com includes step-by-step instructions for building shelves and other furniture. And if arcade machines are your thing, Zona Arcade guides you through building your own arcade cabinet.

The goldmine of furniture hacking and alternative energy

One of the most curious niches is Ikea furniture: Piratas de Ikea (the Spanish version) and IKEA Hackers (international) collect modifications to turn bookcases into beds or tables into wardrobes. On the energy-saving front, BuildItSolar provides detailed plans for building solar panels and self-consumption systems. And there's no shortage of resources for car mechanics, with guides for simple repairs.

If this culture keeps spreading, companies will have to adapt to a customer who prefers repairing to replacing. Or maybe not: perhaps consumer frenzy will prevail again. For now, the links keep piling up.

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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (10 replies).

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