Growing up, my father always tried to teach me a few tidbits of information in the ways of home building and repair. My dad built his home with his own two hands, with, of course, help from my mom and my brother. So, I have a lot of respect for "do it youself" tasks. He always told me “If something moves and it’s not supposed to, you need duct tape. If something doesn’t move and it’s supposed to, you need WD-40”. These are words that I live by. Of course, being a crafty female, I have added my glue gun to the list of necessities, because if something is moving and it shouldn’t and is visible to others , you need a glue gun.
I have also come to realize that the men of today aren’t quite as good with their hands as our fathers. You’d think that coming from the first generation of video gamers, the eye/hand coordination needed for such small tasks would come quite easily. But alas, I am wrong again, at least in my home, where if one small thing goes wrong, we need to “call in a professional!”
Personally, I am too frugal to call in a professional for every little issue. I prefer to use common sense, and by doing so (sometimes with some help from friends), I have saved my family quite a bit of money over the years. Here are a few issues that I took care of on my own and what I did to take care of it:
- Pink nail polish spilt on a very light rug- And a lot of the nail polish spilt- close to the entire bottle. Common sense tells is that nail polish dries quickly, so acting fast was crucial to the mission’s success. Heat would hinder our progress, for once the color dried, we’d be done, so we used the steam cleaner with cool water and soap, paint thinner, and a stain remover. Keeping the area damp at all times, my calm friends and my panicking self scrubbed north to south, east to west, backwards and forwards, for nearly an hour. That was last summer- and my husband still doesn’t know about it. Having it professionally removed would have cost well over $200.
- Hole in wall caused by 45 pound girl dared to pick up 135 pound boy- “Call in a professional! I don’t want to see that hole.” says hubby. “I’m on it!” So I headed to my local discount department store’s hardware section and purchased a handy “Hole Repair Kit” for $6.00. It contained a piece of wire netting (to give the hole a backing), plaster, a putty knife and sandpaper, most of which I already had at home, but I was better safe than sorry. I read the directions on the box and followed them. Then, I painted the area. Hubby was quite impressed that I had gotten someone here so quickly to repair the wall, too.
Of course, knowing and accepting your own limitations is of the highest importance.
A hornet’s nest up high in the leaves was not exactly my forte, so we called in a professional for that. They came out quickly when I told them that we had kids in the house and that their summertime enjoyment was being tainted by the unwanted insects.
In short, utilizing your common sense (as well as the common sense of your friends) can save you some serious money. Plus, you will gain a sense of pride for your accomplishments that can be matched by nothing else. A bit of paint, the economy sized can of WD-40, brand name duct tape and a multi-temperature crafter’s glue gun is all that any female needs to repair minor issues in her home.
