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Is It Okay to Be Bad at Home Repair?
Here’s a confession: Somewhere along the line, I realized there were certain things that I didn’t like doing, because I didn’t do them well, so basically, I stopped doing them. A lousy attitude, I know, which is why I’m framing it as a confession. Home repair is at the top of the list (including house painting and hanging shelves.) I feel inept when using tools, thanks in part to my beloved father, who would’ve been the natural teacher, except that he avoided using them, too. Since buying my condo last year, I’ve tortured a screwdriver a few times to tighten the hinges on my kitchen cabinets. But other than that, I’m all thumbs. How about you?
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Artwork by Lucia Quevedo
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I can hold my own with tools if it’s a small task like hanging pictures, but I tend to hire someone if it’s complicated like replacing my garbage disposal or something like that. I prefer to use my tool box for doing fun things like recovering a chair!
That impresses me!
I have tools galore, but I don’t really enjoy using them much because I’m still not comfortable with them. My dad was always very handy, but he also yelled a lot when fixing things, so I never wanted to learn. I can paint, unclog toilets, hang pictures, that sort of thing, but I still hold my breath during the few times I need to use a drill (and can’t get someone to help me!)
Yes, Wendy, it IS okay to be bad at home repair!
Thanks for the encouragement Petra. I’m a good cook, so on a number of occasions I’ve swapped a home-cooked meal for picture hanging services.
It’s not that I’m uncomfortable around tools. I volunteered for Habitat for Humanity (committees and building houses) and got pretty darn comfortable around power tools. I especially loved running the chop saw and the electric drill gun. My problem is, I tend toward the brute force method. I’m fine if something needs to be cut. But if it takes any sort of delicacy, I’m out. So when it comes to putting things together or installing a doggie door, I get help. Otherwise something will get broken.
I know it’s about practice, Big Daddy. Good on you for volunteering for Habitat for Humanity.
I can do the basics – paint, hang pictures, simple repairs – but if it’s anything that requires a high level of accuracy, it’s better for me to hire it out. I think of it as a sanity tax.
Basics are in the eye of the beholder. You have a much greater skill level than me.
I like your idea Wendy of swapping one service for another. Tit for tat!
I have a toolkit at home, but I know good and well that I have no business using them.
It’s good to have the toolkit, for when others come to the house.
Living single for me has meant getting comfortable with the prospect of DIY. I inherited (ok, confiscated) all my Dad’s tools when he died, and have discovered I also have his “engineering mind” for figuring things out when it comes to home repair projects. Unfortunately I also inherited his lack of patience! So while I can usually get ‘er done if the job is small enough or doesnt involve electricity, a fly on the wall would probably die laughing at my “methods.”
A few years ago at Thanksgiving, I was brining a 20 pound turkey in a bucket, and realized once I filled the bucket with water, it was way too heavy for me to lift into the fridge. So I emptied the water, put the bucket of turkey in the fridge, then poured the water in (which required a step ladder.) It was one of those moments, Mary, that I thought if anyone was looking at me, they’d be hysterically laughing at this method. But at least we get the job done!
This is the one aspect of living alone I hate. I am not at all a do it yourself, fix it yourself kind of person. I have tools but no clues. I can just about hang pictures and that is it. I don’t even have a clue how to deal with toilet issues and the thought of hiring a plumber to do something basic galls me but I would rather that than risk screwing it up. I also am not a patient person when it comes to these things and I think you must have patience if you want to do a project right.
Through the years, I’ve lived with people who are great at fixing things. So I miss the ease of that. But no matter their level of skill, we’d always end up calling the plumber.