Renovating your apartment solo—without a family member or significant other to pitch in—gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “do it yourself.” Luckily, there are a ton of shortcuts to make all sorts of jobs easier and safer. Apartment Therapy has a rundown of advice from around the web, including pointers on installing cabinets and using an extension ladder when you're taking on a project on your own.

We’re especially into this trick for carrying plywood (see photo above), which uses a long piece of rope to create a sort of sling for the wood. Whether you want to cart that thing onto the subway is another matter. Our guess is, you’ll want to look into a ZipCar membership for that one.