Renovating your house has serious upsides in terms of your enjoyment of the property and the return on your investment—but there’s a price to be paid in time and discomfort. Renovation projects can take weeks or months to complete, and during that time your home will mostly likely be filled with dust, debris, and workers. It’s little wonder people choose to move out of their homes and live in a rental while the work is being done.

Not everyone can do that, of course—and not everyone can spend the next few months living in a construction zone. If you’ve got limited time (and limited tolerance for the mess and disruption), you might choose to put off home improvement projects until you have more of each. Or you could re-calibrate your expectations, because there are several one-day renovation projects (including clean up) that will have a big impact but have you relaxing on the couch by dinner time.

Refresh a bathroom

A complete bathroom remodel can take weeks or months to complete, which is seriously inconvenient—especially if you only have one bathroom in the house. But you can accomplish a pretty dramatic refresh of your bathroom in one day if you keep your focus narrow:

• Re-caulking the shower should take just a few hours. This not only gets rid of unsightly stained, discolored caulk—it will also help prevent future leaks resulting from failing old caulk.

• A new showerhead can be installed in less than an hour. Alternatively, clean the one you have: Remove the existing showerhead and soak it in white, distilled vinegar for about an hour, then rinse, scrub, and re-install.

• Similarly, a new faucet on the vanity can be installed within an hour, unless accessing the supply lines and drain is difficult.

Boom! A day’s work and your bathroom can be dramatically improved. You could also consider intalling a bath liner, instantly transforming your shower or bath in (theoretically) just a day.

Paint

Paint is the easiest and cheapest remodel of them all, and you can get a lot done with one day and a gallon of good-quality paint:

• Paint a room—you can absolutely paint an entire room in one day. You’ll need to budget in a few hours between coats, so get an early start and have a plan.

• Paint furniture: Any piece of furniture in your house that’s looking a little drab can be upscaled with a coat of paint—including upholstered pieces.

• You can also paint floors that have seen better days; additionally, lampshades, fireplaces, radiators, and kitchen appliances can all be successfully painted in just a few hours.

Update your kitchen’s details

Just like your bathroom, a full-scale kitchen remodel can take a long time, and have your house filled with dust for ages. But you can transform your kitchen in one day by targeting a few relatively easy but visually powerful spots:

• New pulls. Swap out the old, tarnished, probably outdated pulls on your drawers and cabinets for shiny new ones.

• New faucet. Swapping out the old faucet for a new one shouldn’t take more than a few hours.

• Lighting. Adding adhesive lights under your cabinets will a) make the space brighter, which in turn will make it look cleaner and fresher, and b) add a touch of glamour to the space.

• Cover the backsplash with peel-and-stick tiles for a whole new look.

Install vinyl plank flooring

If your current floors are a little sad and worn out, you might think that installing a whole new floor will take at least several days, if not a week. But you can install brand-new vinyl plank flooring in a day, as you can see here (and this guy tore out and replaced his subfloor, then installed vinyl plank, all in one day).

Granted, your mileage will vary on how comfortable you are measuring and cutting the planks, but this kind of flooring is one of the easiest to install—and it looks great and wears well.

Replace bathroom vanity

If you’re thinking about replacing the faucet in your bathroom as noted above, why not take it one step further and upgrade the entire vanity? Disconnecting the plumbing, removing the old vanity and faucet, and installing new ones requires just some basic plumbing knowledge and the use of a power drill, and should only take you a few hours from beginning to end—even if you include going out to buy the new vanity.

Add new light fixtures and switches

If you’re not afraid to do a little basic wiring, you can change the light fixtures in your house, the plates over the outlets and switches, and even the outlets and switches themselves all in one day. Once you’ve turned off the power so there’s no chance of killing yourself, changing out existing light fixtures can take just a few minutes for each one, so unless you’ve got a football field of lights in your house it shouldn’t take more than an hour or two to tackle them all (or however many you want to change).

Similarly, swapping out outlet and switch plates takes just a few minutes each (and requires just a screwdriver). And upgrading your light switches to dimmer switches is a similarly quick and relatively easy project that you can do all over the house in one day, easily.

Stick decals on your tile floors

If you’ve got tile floors that need a little upgrade but you don’t want to install a floor over them or tear them out entirely, you can cover them up with peel-and-stick tile tiles or decals very quickly. While you shouldn’t rush, because the end result depends heavily on how accurately and neatly you cut your pieces to fit your space, you can definitely complete an average-sized room within a day, and you can probably do multiple rooms in one day if you’re focused once you get the hang of it.

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2025 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the following statement today regarding the status of probationary employees:

After years of intense rumor and speculation, Nintendo finally revealed the Switch 2 in January of this year. While the company hasn’t yet announced each and every new feature the Switch’s successor will sport, the company did confirm a number of details leakers had been hinting for a long time, including a larger display, redesigned magnetic Joy-Cons, a new kickstand, backwards compatibility, and, least consequentially, a large “2” embossed on the console and dock.

Since the initial announcement, we’ve learned a bit more about the Switch 2 in advance of its full unveiling later this year. Nintendo announced a worldwide tour, where fans can try out the Switch 2 early. It also appears that the new Joy-Cons will have a “mouse mode” that will let you drag a controller around on a table…like a computer mouse. Other than that, things have been a tad quiet—until now.

Here are new Switch 2 details, courtesy of FCC filings—and what they might hint for the future of the system.

The Switch 2 will use NFC, which bodes well for Amiibo support

As spotted by The Verge, Nintendo has submitted a number of filings to the FCC. The outlet scanned through these documents, and discovered the Switch 2 will support NFC (near field communication)—the technology the enables products like Amiibo to wirelessly communicate with the console. (It’s also the tech behind tap-to-pay features like Apple Pay and Google Play.) If you’ve used Amiibo before, you might remember NFC communication happens through the right Joy-Con on the Switch. That appears the be the case for the Switch 2 as well.

A second USB-C port

Another interesting confirmation in these filings concerns the console’s second USB-C port. You could see this new port in the official Switch 2 announcement video, but Nintendo didn’t elaborate on what it was meant for. Now we know: You’ll be able to charge your Switch 2 via either USB-C port, which is great news for portable players. With the first generation of Switch, the USB-C port is on the bottom, meaning you can’t charge the console while playing with the kickstand out (unless you get very creative). A second port on the side will solve for that issue. This isn’t a necessarily reason to upgrade to a Switch 2, but it is a perk—perhaps one that should have been thought through a decade ago with the first Switch.

Wi-Fi 6 support

Finally, the filings show that the Switch 2 supports Wi-Fi 6 with up to 80MHz of bandwidth. The OG Switch supports Wi-Fi 5, as Wi-Fi 6 wasn’t even a thing when it came out back in 2017. The upgrade should enable faster internet speeds for game downloads and online play while potentially increasing battery life, as Wi-Fi 6 connections can turn off when you aren’t using them. That said, we won’t know how much the Switch 2’s speed and battery life improve over the original Switch until reviewers are able to put the console through its paces.

Mark you calendar for an April 2 Nintendo Direct

The Switch 2 has no current release date. However, the company did say in the announcement video that there will be a Nintendo Direct on Wednesday, April 2 at 6 a.m. PDT, specifically intended to offer “a closer look at Nintendo Switch 2.” We’ll see how much more information is leaked before that date.

iOS 19 is on its way. While Apple works on iOS 18.4, the company will almost certainly unveil the next big update for iPhones at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. As such, rumors about iOS 19’s features have been coming in fast. Although none of these rumors can be confirmed at the moment, they still give us a good idea about what Apple might be considering behind the scenes. Since AI is the flavor of the month, Apple Intelligence improvements are expected for iOS 19, but the Camera app might also be getting some attention. Here’s everything that’s been leaked so far.

The merging of Siri and Apple Intelligence

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple plans to merge Siri with Apple Intelligence sometime during the iOS 19 patch cycle. Yes, the assistant is currently listed as being part of Apple Intelligence, but behind the scenes, it supposedly has a new LLM in the works that would unify its currently split architecture and allow it to more frequently handle complex requests. As of now, its AI features are much more limited, and most of Siri doesn’t use this type of AI at all.

Gurman says he expects the merger to be completed by spring of 2026 with the launch of iOS 19.4. His report states that, originally, Apple’s plan was to launch a more conversational Siri in the same update, but that’s been delayed and is not expected to be unveiled at WWDC 2025.

Gurman also indicates that because Apple has not yet completed last year’s Apple Intelligence feature rollout, any unannounced features shouldn’t be expected for a while.

A Camera app redesign

About a month ago, YouTuber FrontPageTech revealed a leaked redesign of the iPhone’s Camera app. He claimed to have seen a video of the rumored redesign and recreated it for a video. The render primarily focuses on the control system. Instead of swiping left or right to switch between camera modes, this leak indicates that we may see just two options when we open the app—photos and videos. Swiping switches between them, while tapping reveals more options such as panorama or spatial videos. You can also see a slightly larger viewfinder in the render, but all of this should be taken with a pinch of salt. Even if the sources are credible and the information accurate (other leakers have doubted FrontPageTech before), a lot can change between now and release. Features get shifted around all the time during development, and you can expect some of that with iOS 19 as well. 

A fresh look for iOS 19

While iOS has changed considerably in recent years, the overall design language still follows the last big UI overhaul: 2013’s iOS 7. It’s been nearly 12 years since Apple has mixed things up, leaving users to design their own Lock Screens and app icons.

According to Gurman, however, that might change with iOS 19, as well as iPadOS 19 and macOS 16. The details are scarce, but Gurman reports sources within Apple say the company wants to better align the design languages across its various products, without merging those OSes entirely, while also simplifying the way you interact with these devices. That means iOS 19 could adopt the design of visionOS, which uses circles instead of squares for app icons, translucent window elements, and the adoption of 3D—though that latter element may be difficult to translate on a 2D display.

Hopefully we learn more about iOS 19’s look as we get closer to WWDC. But if Gurman is correct, we could be looking at “one of the most dramatic software overhauls in the company’s history.”

Your iPhone will (probably) run iOS 19

With no major UI redesign expected, there’s no reason for Apple to axe more phones from the iOS 19 update lineup. Citing a source within Apple, French website iPhoneSoft.fr reports that any phone that runs iOS 18 should be compatible with iOS 19 as well. However, the iPad 7 will supposedly not be so lucky, as the website says it will not be included in the iPadOS 19 update.

Software updates are supposed to introduce new features while improving the stability of the operating system. Occasionally, however, additional bugs and glitches can slip through the cracks. That’s the case with the latest Pixel update: While Google added a number of new features to Android and patched 43 security vulnerabilities, users who have installed it are complaining of strange glitches on their Pixel phones.

March 2025 Pixel drop glitches: Brightness, vibrations, and more

First up, as spotted by 9to5Google, some Pixel users are experiencing brightness variations while using their phones—without touching the brightness settings themselves. The issue seems to be limited to video playback, where the brightness will dip or flicker at random. This user reports it happens in just about every video app they use, including Netflix, Prime Video, VLC, or Google’s built-in player. 9to5Google confirmed the bug on a Pixel 9, though the brightness glitch happened inconsistently.

In addition to this brightness glitch, you may also experience changes with your device’s vibrations. This thread represents a wide range of experiences with the issue: Some users are complaining that haptics are much stronger than they were before the update, with one user describing the change as a “spring instead of a thump.” On the other hand, another user says the vibrations of their Pixel are now weaker than they were before. Regardless, many seem to feel vibrations are “different” following the update.

These are the bugs that have made the most buzz on forums since the Pixel Drop. However, there could be other issues that aren’t quite as widespread. One r/GooglePixel user rounded up the bugs they’ve experienced so far, and, in addition to the brightness bug, they’re also experiencing audio issues, including an issue with EQ settings, and a problem where song volume is much louder than video volume. That last point would make it quite annoying to jump between, say, Spotify and Netflix: Stranger Things will launch too quiet, and will make your brightness go berserk.

How to fix the brightness glitch on Pixel phones

While Google is likely working on patches for the biggest bugs from the latest Pixel drop, there’s currently a workaround for the brightness glitch: drop your phone’s refresh rate. It appears that flickering and dimming problems only occur at this time when watching videos with 120Hz. Drop the refresh rate to 60Hz, and the brightness issues appear to dissipate.

To change the refresh rate, head to Settings > Display, then disable the toggle next to Smooth Display.

Unpaid parking tickets happen to the best of us—and one of the latest phishing scams is counting on you to believe you’ve missed or forgotten to pay an outstanding fee. This text message scam prompts you to pay overdue parking fines and hand your credit card number and other personal information directly to the scammers to turn around and use.

Scammers are using the threat of unpaid parking fees

The unpaid parking fee scam is one of many relatively unsophisticated text-based phishing attempts that depends on recipients responding to the threat of owing money and giving up personal and financial information in the process. It’s similar to the current unpaid tolls scam text, which may seem just plausible enough that you might be tempted to click the link to settle your supposed fine.

In this instance, scammers are impersonating city governments by sending notices of unpaid parking “invoices,” which will accrue daily late fees until payments are made. The text message includes a web address or link spoofing an official government website, which directs you to enter details from your name and billing address to your credit card number. If you follow through, you obviously hand your credit card over to the scammers.

The Salt Lake City phishing text, for example, reads “This is a notice from Salt Lake city. Your vehicle has an unpaid parking invoice of $4.35. To avoid a late fee of 355, please settle your balance promptly. To avoid late fees, access your file by typing the following link into your browser” with a web address that looks similar to the city’s parking portal but is, in fact, fake.

According to Bleeping Computer, these texts started circulating in December 2024 and have been spotted in numerous cities across the U.S., including major metro areas like Boston, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, New York City, Salt Lake City, Charlotte, San Diego, and San Francisco. In some of the texts, there’s a clickable link that uses an open redirect on Google.com, which avoids an iOS security feature that disables links from unknown senders and suspicious domains.

How to spot a parking fee scam text

Like we’ve said, this scam isn’t especially elaborate, but it does attempt to create just enough doubt about your history of parking tickets in your own city that you’ll engage. The first question you should ask yourself is whether you’ve used paid public parking recently—if not, that’s an obvious giveaway.

Even if you have, though, question whether a city government is likely to text you about unpaid parking fees, and look at the number the text is coming from. While official (legitimate) text messages typically come from five-digit senders, phishing texts often come from full phone numbers, international numbers (with a prefix like “+44”), or even email addresses.

From there, other signs of a scam include directions to copy and paste or type a web address into a browser or to respond to the text itself. Non-hyperlinked URLs are a clear giveaway, but you should also be wary of clicking links in any texts from unknown senders and always go directly to official government websites. In the parking fee scam, there are also signs like misspelled words and missing or misplaced symbols, like the dollar sign coming after the amount.