What comes to mind when you think of DIY? Perhaps if you’ve worked on past projects in your household, your successes, failures and challenges come to mind. For those who have never tried, putting up shelves or renovating a property might seem like the first port of call.
But the truth is DIY – do it yourself – can be anything that requires a little elbow grease in your household. If you’ve changed the toilet roll holder in your bathroom, fixed a new showerhead in your en-suite, or added new locks to your front door, you have implemented DIY.
For many individuals who rarely partake in these efforts (don’t worry, not everyone does, especially if they live in rented accommodation where the landlord is responsible for small fixes), it’s easy to think you need to be well-trained or capable of understanding how your entire household works before you dare to begin.
Luckily, this isn’t the case. In fact, DIY doesn’t have to be daunting for new homeowners. Here’s what that might look like:
Tools Are Readily Available
You may be surprised just how much having the right tool can allow for a sense of autonomy and capability. For example, when you buy tools online to fill out your basic kit, you can hammer, spanner, wrench, and level your way to the basic home maintenance jobs. That might mean using a wrench to fix a leaking sink, levelling those shelves easily before putting them up, or even using sandpaper to smooth your reclaimed wood coffee table before you begin painting and finishing it. Moreover, hardware stores are usually more than happy to help you through what each tools, what you need for each job, and how varied designs differ.
DIY Channels Are There To Help You
There are many excellent DIY blogs and YouTube channels to help you. Here you can pick up all sorts of tips to get started. For example, Rag ‘n’ Bone Brown is known for woodworking and reclamation projects, while The Carpenter’s Daughter quite clearly shows that DIY is absolutely not just a man’s game (of course, this was always the case). Moreover, many fixture brands will have tutorials online to discuss the best installation of their products. Subscribe to a few, explore, and see which personalities best suit you. You’ll have a handy guide always in your pocket.
DIY Advice Forums Are Excellent
Sometimes, you need specific advice suited to your own situation. This is why DIY forums have exploded in popularity and have even become the de facto hangout spots for new learners. Here you don’t have to feel silly for asking a beginner question, and of course, you can block anyone who treats you without respect. For example, r/DIY on Reddit has 24 million members, while r/DiWHY is a hilarious compilation based on failures and questionable projects you can learn to avoid. Put together, these measures help you learn more than you had ever thought possible.
With this advice, we hope you can see that DIY doesn’t have to be so daunting, in any context.
