Build competence to grow confidence.
Free manuals in practical skills for everyday life and unfamiliar responsibilities.
Each manual is opened at the chapter you need. Clear explanations, a tool where the subject needs one, and record sheets that stay in your browser.
- Free to use
- No account needed
- Start at any chapter
- Nothing for sale, and no strings
What are you taking on? Thirty-six manuals
Home and Household
Fifteen manuals
- General ContractingRun a renovation or build: scope, bids, costs and the order of work.12 chapters
- Color DesignChoose home colors that work with your light, furniture and finishes.11 chapters
- Interior LightingLight each room for what happens in it, from bulb labels to a plan.9 chapters
- Digital SecuritySecure your accounts, devices, account recovery and backups.12 chapters
- Space PlanningMeasure a room and arrange furniture for the people who use it.11 chapters
- Home UpkeepA method for deciding what your house needs first, and who does it.12 chapters
- First Home BasicsSet up a first home: move-in record, bills, routines and repairs.12 chapters
- Furniture CareWrite a condition report, then clean, repair or hire it out.12 chapters
- Digital Photo CareGather, name, sort, back up and share a lifetime of family photos.12 chapters
- Home FinishesCompare, choose and care for floors, counters, tile and upholstery.12 chapters
- Car MaintenanceCar schedules, repair estimates, recommendations and service records.12 chapters
- Plan Your House MoveMove calendars, inventories, numbered boxes, movers and unpacking.12 chapters
- Art FramingMats, glazing, frames, and where a picture can safely hang.12 chapters
- Window TreatmentsChoose, measure and hang curtains, shades and blinds for each window.12 chapters
- What to KeepKeeping, giving, donating and selling what's in a full house.12 chapters
Making and Growing
Eleven manuals
- Wedding FloralsDo your own wedding flowers: ordering, conditioning, bouquets, tables.9 chapters
- Vegetable GardeningPlan, plant and keep up a first vegetable garden, beds or containers.12 chapters
- Dog TrainingTrain a puppy or adopted adult dog: signals, house training, cues.12 chapters
- Machine SewingSet up your sewing machine, sew seams and finish a first project.12 chapters
- Meal PlanningTurn pantry, shopping, prep and leftovers into a weekly routine.12 chapters
- CompostingChoose a composting method for your space and keep the pile working.12 chapters
- Garden DesignSurvey a small yard, plan the planting, build it a phase at a time.12 chapters
- Everyday CookingHeat, seasoning, doneness, and a few meals you can cook by heart.12 chapters
- Basic WoodworkingHand tools on a table, and a tote built to fit what it carries.12 chapters
- Houseplant CareLight measured at each spot, and watering by what the soil says.12 chapters
- Baking FundamentalsMeasuring, oven heat, ingredients, and why a bake fails.12 chapters
People and Occasions
Ten manuals
- Funeral PlanningWhat to do when someone dies, from the first call to the paperwork.12 chapters
- Media SkillsPrepare for a media interview, get through it and handle what follows.12 chapters
- Basic Graphic DesignFlyers, signs, invitations and slides people can actually read.12 chapters
- IEP BasicsUnderstand the special education process and prepare for IEP meetings.12 chapters
- Event PlanningPlan a dinner, party, reunion or fundraiser from budget to run sheet.12 chapters
- Everyday SpeakingWrite and rehearse a toast, introduction, eulogy, talk or meeting.12 chapters
- Teach a Practical WorkshopPlan a session where people practice, and check that it landed.12 chapters
- Conflict ManagementRaise a disagreement, listen, ask clearly and agree on next steps.12 chapters
- Week One with a BabyThe first week home with a baby: the body, feeds, nights and visitors.12 chapters
- Persuasive WritingRequests, complaints, appeals and proposals that get an answer.12 chapters
Start with what’s happening right now. Eighteen routes
Some situations need more than one manual. A route puts them in order and names the chapter to open first.
A change at home
Four routes
- Moving into a new homeThe eight weeks from the moving truck to the last empty box, in order.
- Someone else has to run the household for a whileWhat lives in one person's head, written down before they are out of action.
- Staying in the house during a renovationHalf the house is a job site and you still live in the other half.
- A child with an IEP changing schoolsMoving districts without the services going quiet for a term.
Who is in the house
Four routes
- A family member has diedThe funeral, the paperwork, the photographs and the accounts.
- Bringing a dog into a home with a routineWhere the crate goes, which plants must move, what the floors take, and month one.
- Two households becoming oneTwo of everything, one kitchen, and a conversation that is easier before the truck comes.
- A baby coming homeThe week before, the room it sleeps in, and who gets up at two.
Something you are taking on
Seven routes
- Hiring a tradespersonDefining the work, comparing bids, and checking who you are about to hire.
- Hosting an event or partyA headcount you trust, a budget, a timeline, and who does what on the day.
- Food, from ground to tableSize a first garden, compost what the kitchen throws out, cook what you grew.
- Installing something new in the houseWhat the wall is made of, what it will hold, and when to stop and call somebody.
- A place to work in a home with no spare roomA desk or a bench that sets up, gets used, and puts away by dinner.
- The family photographs nobody has sortedFour phones, a dead laptop and a box in the closet, turned into something you can hand on.
- Taking over a volunteer groupEverything runs through you because nobody wrote down how it used to run.
Skills you are building
Three routes
A route is a list of chapters to open, each on its own manual. A book is the same ground read straight through, with a bridge written between each chapter and the next. So far there are three books.
Learn it. Try it. Make it yours.
- § 1
Start with your situation
Tell the manual a little about what you’re doing, what you already have, and what you need to work around. Relevant guidance and tools adapt to your answers, which you can update as your plans develop.
- § 2
Build skill through practice
See examples, try manageable exercises, and learn how to assess your work. Understand why an approach works, when another choice might suit you better, and when to seek experienced help.
- § 3
Leave with a plan you can use
Your learning builds into something practical: a flower-week schedule, a project binder, or a home color plan. Keep your notes, print what you need, and return to the tools as the work progresses.
Competence is teachable
Life keeps handing us firsts. Some we choose; others arrive as responsibilities we weren’t expecting. At any age, we can find ourselves facing something no one ever taught us to do.
LearnThings makes useful knowledge easier to find, understand, and put into practice. Our manuals give you a foundation: the vocabulary to ask good questions, the skills to take the next step, and the judgment to recognize what you can handle and where you need help. Confidence follows from that, not the other way round.
Nothing on this site is for sale. We make them because we enjoy going deep on subjects that interest us, and sharing what we find is the point.
You don’t need to know everything before you begin. You need a place to start.
Your answers and progress stay in your browser. No accounts, analytics, or tracking. Copy a link to keep a backup or move it to another device.