For many of us, untangling our earbuds is the extent of our survivalist knot knowledge. Tying knots is just for sailors and mountain climbers, right? Turns out, there are a few simple knots that you ...

A version of this story ran in The Virginian-Pilot on Sept. 14, 2005. Hurricane or no, we’re in for a blow. Time to start thinking about how to secure the woodpile or lash the garbage cans to a tree.

Jeff Somers is a freelancer who has been writing about writing, books, personal finance, and home maintenance since 2012. When not writing, Jeff spends his free time fixing up his old house. He has ...