Not too long ago I wrote about all of the barware that you would need if you wanted to impress your guests. There's a bit to go over, but if you followed it you're off to a good start. The only problem is now that you have all your barware you're going to need to stock it, which can be a little bit difficult. Fortunately for you I used to bar tend in college, therefore I know a thing or two.

The first thing to know is that you're going to need alcohol as well as mixers. Mixers are cheap enough but alcohol can become expensive quickly. Unless you plan on serving drinks with all well liquor, you probably want to stick to a base for what you'll be buying, then build up from there. That way you can buy higher quality essentials instead of going for quantity. Another important aspect to remember is that while you will be using your home bar to entertain guests from time to time, you're going to be the main person drinking what you buy, so buy things you like.

Alcohol:
There's a lot of alcohol that you can buy and everybody wants to get fancy with drinks. Odds are that you're not going to be making fancy drinks very often though, so you don't need a lot of cordials and things like that. The basics are what you should stick to because you can make a variety of drinks with them. That means sticking to vodka, rum, gin, tequila, and whiskey. On top of that you should also buy some triple sec. Those alone will allow you to make a wide assortment of drinks that will keep guests entertained. You'll also want to buy a couple of bottles of wine as well as beer for those who don't drink hard alcohol.

Mixers:
When it comes to mixers, the best way to go is to stock up on what's in a bar gun. That would be coke, sprite, club soda, soda water, ginger ale and cranberry juice. In addition to that you'll need some juices for drinks with more flavor, that would include orange juice and pineapple juice.

With all of these things you'll most likely be able to create a wide arrange of drinks that would satisfy almost anybody. It also won't cost too much to get your bar started, and once you have a good foundation you can always build up from there.

TL;DR Anybody can stock a bar well only using a few essentials.

Posted by Atkins under How To, For Guys

There's a lot that goes into meeting anybody for the first time, after all you always want to make a good impression. Your first impression is the most important, it's how every person you meet will remember you. And the first thing they'll remember is your handshake. It might not seem like that important of an aspect, but being able to shake hands well resonates with others.

The first thing you want to do is make eye contact with the person you're shaking hands with. You should be able to do this without any trouble, and not looking somebody in the eye when you're shaking their hand is just weird. The other person will be wondering why you don't have the coordination to look up for something that simple. The next part is the grip. You want a firm grip but you're not trying to crush the other person's hand, that's not the point. It doesn't make you more of a man, it makes you an asshole, and nobody likes an asshole. Also make sure you touch the webbing between your thumb and index finger to theirs, don't be the guy who squeezes people's fingers. Everybody hates that guy.

It's not hard to shake hands properly, but for some reason a good amount of people do it wrong. You shake hands with men and women the same too, just be sure not to crush a woman's hand with your overwhelming masculinity.

TL;DR It's easy to shake hands properly but for some reason a lot of people don't do it right.

Posted by Atkins under How To, For Guys

Being punctual is a mystery sometimes; easy to do, hard to learn and important to everybody. One of the reasons I like to always be on time for anything is because it takes a lot of stress out of my life. What the day throws at you doesn't matter, you're way ahead of schedule and can't be held back. Unfortunately I know a lot of people who have a serious problem with being on time. Not only does it make me wonder if they're one of the least responsible people on the planet, but them being late makes me late as well, which suddenly makes me want to hit them in the face with a tire iron. So we'll go over some tips to make sure you're always on time and your friends don't want to kill you.

The easiest way people are always consistently late is the misperception of how long it takes to do things. They realize that they need to be somewhere at 4; it only takes them 15 minutes to get ready and it's a 15 minute car ride, so they should start getting ready at 3:30. Right out of the gate they're aiming to show up directly on time, as if that has ever happened right for anybody anywhere. Unless they're a wizard and know how their commute is going to go, that's basically impossible. You should be aiming to show up at least 15 minutes early, so they're already behind. But that's not even where they'll have the most trouble. They won't even make it out of the door on time.

Something I always notice is when people grossly underestimate how long it takes them to get ready. They say they'll be ready in 15 minutes when everybody knows there's no way that's happening. Ask yourself these questions when you're figuring out when you need to get ready: Do I need to shower? Shave? Brush my teeth? Do my hair? Pick out clothes? Iron? Eat? Some of those things might seem trivial but they all take time, more than you were anticipating. Calculate out what you need to do exactly and you'll see that you've been making yourself late simply because you don't know how long it actually takes you to get ready.

There are a lot of other ways to help you show up to everything on time but I'll break down a short list. First and foremost figure out exactly how long it's going to take you to do everything you need to in order to show up on time. On time for you should be 15 minutes early, everywhere. Last but not least keep track of when you need to start getting ready and stick to it, don't keep pushing it back five minutes.

TL;DR Being on time should be easy to do and just takes some practice.

Posted by Atkins under How To, For Guys

If there's one surefire way to make any encounter unbearably awkward, all you have to do is to forget somebody's name. Sometimes you're not really paying attention, you're just bad with names or the person really doesn't have any memorable qualities. Sometimes you don't know for the life of you why you would ever need to remember their name in the first place. Always being able to remember people's names is a great way to make them feel important though, and in the world of networking you want everybody to feel important. They remember you for things like that which in turn helps you out. You might not think it would be of any benefit to you to remember their name now, but at the very least they'll appreciate it, and that should be a good enough reason.

The first thing you can do is actually pay attention when people talk. I used to have a terrible problem with not even remotely paying attention to somebody if I had more important matters to attend to, and sometimes more important matters only involved drinking beer. But it's a good habit to think that everybody deserves your attention, so you should give it to them. When you're talking to somebody new use their name often, every time you say it you'll associate it with that person. If worse comes to worse you could always just write it down, at least then you'll be sure to know what their name is. There are other tricks like associating a person's name with a feature of theirs or something like that, but find what works for you.

Not everybody is great at remembering names but people appreciate it greatly when you know who they are. It's not the easiest skill in the world but it's one worth honing.

TL;DR Remembering somebody's name isn't always easy but it can be made easier with a few simple tricks.

Posted by Atkins under How To, For Guys

This might seem a little ridiculous to even address to some of you but I feel that it needs to be. Not everybody knows how to properly make a bed because most of us probably don't make our beds. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, making your bed can actually create an environment that fosters dust mites, but that topic is for another day.

It's not too hard to make your bed as long as you know what you're doing, but it does require some effort. I don't need to get into extraneous details, but the fitted sheet goes on first and the top sheet over that. If you don't know how the top sheet should be aligned then you really are a lost cause and should just light your bed on fire. The next part is to tuck the top sheet in at the foot of the bed which will lead you into creating hospital corners.

If you follow the diagram you should grab the sheet draping from the side, placing a finger at the top of the corner. This should effectively create a 45 degree angle with the sheet at the end of the bed when you fold it over, then you just tuck the rest of the sheet in along the side. Follow these steps with the blanket and you'll have made the perfect bed.

TL;DR Making your bed is something every man should know, whether you choose to or not is up to you.

Posted by Atkins under How To, For Guys

If you're anything like me then you hate replacing razors all the time. Not only is it a pain in the ass but it can start to be expensive when you seem to be replacing them every month. I looked into it and there are ways to make your blades last longer which should help out. That way you're not screaming in agony when you slice your face open with a rusted razor anymore or punching store employees when you have to buy new ones again.

The first thing that will help is to get your face ready for a shave beforehand. There are a few steps you can do to accomplish this, which you're most likely doing already, but if you're not it will help you out. First use a hot towel to loosen and soften your beard. I always shave in the shower so this happens naturally from the heat, but if you're shaving at the sink a hot towel will work best. Next make sure you use a high quality shaving cream, rinsing the blade often to allow hair and creme to pass through the razor easily.

Like I said before, I always shave in the shower because it's the easiest. The hot water softens your hair up so it's effortless and everything washes off and goes right down the drain. The only problem with this is that moisture rusts your blades extremely fast. A good way to go about this is once you're done shaving dry your razor off with a towel, then rinse them in a cup of alcohol. Once you do that place your razor somewhere dry with the blades upright to let them completely dry out.

These are simple tips but your razors will last a lot longer if you follow them. Not only will they last longer they'll stay sharper. You could always go with using a straight razor too if you're up for the challenge. It will give you a shave like you've never had before.

TL;DR Following a couple of simple steps you'll be able to sustain your razors longer with sharper blades.

Posted by Atkins under How To, For Guys

If there's one thing that you should be concerned about it should be the way that you smell. A horrible odor coming from your body is definitely something you want to avoid, but you also want to make sure that you smell good to women. Sure, throwing on any cologne when you damn well please might seem like the right idea, but putting a little more thought and preparation into it will have a better overall effect.

Not everybody smells the same so it's always important to make sure that the cologne you choose smells right for you. Take me for example, one of my favorite night colognes is Yves Saint Laurent De L'Homme which has a very unique, masculine scent with notes of cardamom, cedar and coumarin, but it won't smell right for everybody. This also brings me to another point, you can't use one cologne for everything. You need to buy colognes for what the occasion is; a summer scent isn't going to hold its weight in the winter and a winter scent is going to be overpowering in the summer.

The best time I've found to put on cologne is immediately after a shower as well. If you put cologne on without showering you're just covering up another smell which will eventually come through, and that will create a smell nobody will like. Always spray cologne on your skin, never on your clothes. The best places to put it are where a woman would most likely smell it, so I always go with the chest and neck. It's also important to remember not to douse yourself in it, you don't want to make anybody's eyes water. 

Finding the right cologne is really a trial and error endeavor but it's most certainly worth it. Women immediately identify with the way a man smells, so finding something that makes you stand out is worth the time and effort.

TL;DR There's a lot more that goes into wearing cologne than just spraying it all over yourself.

Posted by Atkins under How To, For Guys

If you're a man, or you think of yourself as a man but people keep questioning your masculinity, you need to know how grill properly. It's not something that comes naturally if you're not taught how to do it but you'll be expected to know if you have a set of testicles. It's very easy to at least become decent at grilling and you can try different things to get better, but basics are in order.

First things first, clean your grill and make sure everything is in order before you start using it. You don't want anything leftover from the last time you were using the grill to make its way into whatever it is you're going to be cooking. Also, make sure you have enough propane and the drip pan is empty. I know, simple things that shouldn't need to be addressed but it's easy to run out of propane once you start and I've witnessed two grease fires from full drip pans and they're not pretty. After that's done then take some cooking oil and grease the ridges so that food doesn't get stuck to them while you're.

Next you're almost ready for grilling but you're not quite there yet. You'll need to make sure everything you'll need to grill is set up first. That means any cooking utensils, plates, meats, vegetables, glass of whiskey to remain inebriated the entire time, whatever you'll need. Having to run all over the place looking for things while you're cooking can be a hassle and the time away from the grill could end up in some burnt food. For the meats you should already have everything prepared, such as marinated or seasoned beforehand. Don't wait until you start grilling to get everything ready.

When you're cooking the meat the best way to go about it is slower is better. You can cook fast at extremely high temperatures but I find that most people who do that don't know what they're doing and will just ruin the food. Instead, keep the temperature lower and consistently check the food until it's finished. It may take longer but it always comes out better than rushing through it. When you flip food to cook the other side remember that it's not going to take quite as long as the first side. You always want to keep an eye on the meat to make sure you don't overcook it.

Follow these simple steps and grilling becomes a lot easier without you ruining perfectly good meat. I've seen some people grill and they clearly weren't sure of what they were doing, and these steps will help keep you from embarrassing yourself.

TL;DR Grilling is something every man should know how to do and following some simple steps will make sure that every man can do it without ruining good food.

Posted by Atkins under How To, For Guys

Something to be said about anywhere you live is that nobody ever wants to go to your place if there's shit everywhere and it smells weird. Obviously the best option is to consistently clean up after yourself but every now and then you just don't have the time. Take me for example, I had people come over last night but my apartment looked like a tornado just tore through it, but I was able to clean it in about 15 minutes before they got there.

To start off, if you have carpet get a vacuum that's easy to get around the house without you having to break out all kinds of equipment. It only takes a minute or two to do a decent job of vacuuming so this shouldn't take you long. If you don't have carpets buy a damn Swiffer. That thing is like a magic wand, not just because you can clean the floors with it but because you can clean almost anything with it, including counters, furniture and fans. Clean surfaces make any place feel and look a lot better.

Also try to put everything in an appropriate place, or at least stuff it all into a box in a closet (just be sure to figure out where everything goes at a later time). Floor space will make your place go from seeming small and cramped to open and spacious, so anything that might be strewn about, find a spot for it. When everything seems to be in its proper place then you can tackle the more intimate sections of your house if you have time like your sinks, shower, floors (mopping) and other areas.

After all is said and done you're going to need something to make your house smell better than the amount of ass it smells like right now. You could always use something like Febreeze but personally I like to go with a candle. Maybe it's just me but I think a candle has the best smell you can find in an apartment. Also, don't let this fool you into thinking that this is the only thing you need to do all the time. At some point you're going to actually need to clean your entire house spotless you filthy neanderthal.

TL;DR Cleaning your house quickly is very easy if you pay attention to the most important aspects first.

Posted by Atkins under How To, For Guys