No-one in my family growing up ever did any DIY . We always lived in rented accommodation and maybe we weren’t allowed. I am not sure really. My dad was not a practical man and my mum changed the plugs and the little bulbs and learnt to drive but I never saw her with a drill. I made it through my student years and twenties renting myself and disinterested really in my home. It was a base for fun but not really somewhere I had invested in.
It wasn’t until I was 30 that I became a home owner for the first time.
Then I met Jonny and in a really sexist and giving up kind of way I felt sure as a bloke he would know a thing or two about flat pack building and putting up shelves. He put up a shelf 3 x for me when we were ‘courting’ and 3 x it fell down later with an almighty bang. I came home on the fourth day to find his brother putting it up. Turns out DIY wasn’t something J knew much about either. At that stage I couldn’t just swap him for his brother (wouldn’t have been fair really.)
We have, however, through trial and error patience (and a few rows) learnt the art of quite a lot of basic DIY skills through our 30’s.
Being on a budget meant we didn’t have the money to always call in people to do DIY jobs. But we also did not have the knowledge to do it ourselves.
If you look on the internet there really is a wealth of advice on fixing your own appliances these days. These are certainly skills I want my kids to grow up having too it saves money, is more convenient and saves time if you can just fix things yourself.
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According to Wikipedia DIY is
the method of building, modifying, or repairing something without the aid of experts or professionals
Yes in DIY you become the expert! I know that sounds scary but you can start with just hanging a picture or changing a fuse and build up.
DIY does seem to be having a revival probably due to the internet where you can quickly find information, instructions, the parts you need and ask questions. I fixed our washing machine the other day..it only involved doing a small thing but I would NEVER have thought I would have even attempted it.
Embrace DIY and little by little your confidence will grow and your pennies will be saved!
