Do not DIY: Got useless junk? Shoot it out of a cannon.
I try to keep my home as tidy as possible. Everything I own has a designated, often labeled, space, and I make sure items are returned to their proper place after being used. The basement, however, is another story. Littered with half-finished projects; nests of abandoned, interwoven cables; and parts and pieces of countless devices, the basement is a breeding ground for junk and other useless items. Once a year, I wade through the odds and ends, spending an entire weekend sorting and cleaning only to have the mess return within a week. There has to be a more exciting, more dangerous way to collect and dispose of unnecessary junk. If you have a metal tube, an airbag, and a total disregard for your health and safety, you could shoot your junk out of a homemade cannon. In a recent video, YouTuber the Hacksmith demonstrates how to build a real-world junk jet. Please, don't try this at home.
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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