filed in Daily Life
When is Moving On the Best Idea?
When I first bought my condo, I was determined to tackle a home repair project. The previous owner had applied a layer of “privacy film” to the glass door that led from the kitchen to the terrace, which not only blocked light but also a cool urban view. As I wasn’t inclined to walk around in my kitchen naked, I decided to chip away at the film, armed with a razor blade and “goo gone.” After laboring for two weekends, I’d barely completing a 6″ square, and finally relented to call a handyman who finished the job in 3o minutes. Determination, passion and focus aren’t always enough, whether it’s a creative project or a relationship. Sometimes the smart move is to move on.
Artwork by Ole Ukena
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I think of something like this as a cost-benefit analysis. You tried and it wasn’t worth your time (and aggravation), so you sensibly contracted the job out to someone else, someone who will use what you paid him to purchase other things, etc. So you’ve also started a cycle for money in your community.
I faced a similar decision–took off some wallpaper the other year, which must’ve been attached with super glue. I wound up taking lots of paper off the drywall and putting in some gouges as well. So, I tried to sand and buff it, but it was very time-consuming, time I really didn’t have. I wound up calling my contractor, who fixed the walls, skim-coated them, and primered them. I did the painting. It was money well spent. Once I hired him for the job, I felt a lifting of a bit of a bit of a burden (I’d been living with the damaged walls for 16 months, looking at them and thinking “I should do this or get it taken care of”).
Yes, it would be nice if I had done it myself, but you know, there are other things that I do well. Just not that. You are right, sometimes one has to move on (and let go of the idea that one can do it all).
I really tried to do it myself, but all I ended up with blisters and some scratched glass. Calling for help was a big step forward. And it forged a relationship with the handymen for other projects. (like recently fixing the pipes for my kitchen sink.)
Wendy, this is so timely for me in so many ways. For a few months, I’ve have been worrying myself to death about “small” things – leaky faucet, broken screen door, wobbly hinge…Was determined to not shell out money for it, but I’ve had several failed repair attempts. You’ve convinced me to get on the phone and call in the experts!
It was the best $75 I’ve ever spent.
There is a tiny part of me too, I must admit, that makes me a bit ashamed to call someone for this “small” things. As if the handyman is going to wonder why I don’t have a man around to do this…which I KNOW is ridiculous. Like Petra said, I’m sure he (or she for that matter I guess) will just expect to be paid for honest work and go on with their day.
Getting this fixed was very empowering. And I like the idea that it put money back into the community.
It IS empowering to recognize money as a problem solving tool! And so satisfying to deploy it that way.
Because our time is money, too.
It’s absolutely not a weakness. There’s elbow grease and then there’s wasting your time and possibly doing more harm than good. I just fixed my lamp after the socket blew. It cost me 10 minutes and $5. I got a huge round of applause when I posted that on Facebook for being so handy. But I hire the big stuff done because it’s not so simple and I want it done right. Screen door…$50 for the handyman to install it was well worth it. New, complicated bathroom shelves (drilling holes through a mirror is precision work), well worth the money for a pro.
I always look back at my parents for this…you know, when we had a decent division of labor. They hired the walls cleaned every few years and painted every few years more. I have a housekeeper. They can do in 1 hour for less than 2 hours of my salary what would take me 5 or 6 hours to do. That’s how it’s SUPPOSED to work.
Couldn’t agree more. Except there’s no way I could fix a lamp.
I have no problem with calling the handyman. I have one I use once or twice a year. I usually keep a running list of little things and then have them all taken care of at once. I just had an unexpected need for the handyman, and thank goodness he was available. A couple of possums crawled through a hole and died in an old storage shed/garage at the back of my lot. I probably would not have known about it, but a neighbor who uses the back alley entrance everyday let me know there was a really strong smell emanating from the shed. It is 100 degrees here and I just could not face it, so I called the handyman. Apparently, this is not an unusual request. He also got to do the work of patching holes and sprucing up the exterior since he was here. My time is definitely money, not to mention I would never be able to un-see/smell that!
I can use a screwdriver and that’s about it. (And ok with it.) Anything beyond that, I’m calling the handyman.