I am fortunate to be sort of a tomboy. Ok, in a girly, tiara-wearing princess kind of way. I’ve never shied away from getting into difficult jobs and pulling them off. When my mom died, I remodelled her house almost completely by myself. I hired the electric and the outdoor painting. And I couldn’t hang the cabinets alone because I wasn’t strong enough to hold them up and screw them in on my own. I tore the kitchen out to the walls. I did the countertops, sink, garbage disposal, GFI outlets, tiled the backsplash, put in under cabinet lighting, installed Pergo flooring, coped the baseboards, tiled the entryway, sweated pipes, installed the appliances, refinished hardwood floored, installed a new front door, new light fixtures, painted the whole interior and redid the bathroom clear down to the sub flooring. It was crazy!
I had done a few of those things before, but most I had to learn as I went along. I hear from a lot of women that they don’t know the first thing how to do the maintenance around the house since their husbands died. A lot of women have never changed a tire or mowed the lawn. A lot of men have never balanced a check book or done laundry.
I can’t tell you how many YouTube videos I’ve watched to learn how to do things. Google is my best friend. I have a Reader’s Digest book called the ABC’s of Home Repairs. Any home store like Home Depot or Lowe’s has knowledgeable staff that help you figure out how to do things and sometimes they have classes on topics of interest. The library is still a good resource for information. Some large cities have coops where you share tools and skills. If do-it-yourself is truly not your thing, you can hire it out if you can afford it. I like the barter system myself. Everyone wins with a good barter.
The key to successfully completing any task you are unfamiliar with is education, education, education. Let go of fear and self-doubt and step into your self-reliance with a new bravery. What kind of problems have you come up against? What kind of skills have you learned? ❤️
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:13 ESV
To be an independent and capable woman.
Always we can find the strength and resources that we need to get things done.
Great information.
Thank you for sharing, Ginny ❤️
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Single parents relate to this, too. I was a single parent for 8 years and had to learn these skills, and learned to be brave. Unfortunately, that time peeriod was pre-YouTube! I am so glad there are now many more educational resources available today. 🙂
So true! I was a single Mom twice. My second husband was a doctor and not home a lot so I had to be pretty self-reliant then as well. So, I guess I’ve just always taken care of business like a boss! Well, not always like a boss. ❤️
Fear, that is our biggest set back!
Fear of making it worse so it costs more to fix….that has been my biggest problem!
I have so many things I want to change or do, even to my travel trailer, it’s just getting past the fear and tackling the job!
Thanks for word of confidence Ginny!
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This Marshmallow doesn’t just get toasty by the fire does she? 🙂 You could be the “honey do”…ha, ha! Good for you knowing how to do things…it has served you and others well. Have a good day.
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unfortunately, not everyone is young or able bodied enough to crawl under sinks and carry heavy things. Or have the specialty tools needed to do these things. I’d appreciate some tips (beyond the common sense part of it) to finding TRUSTWORTHY handymen or contractors. I trust Angie’s List about as much as I trust Yelp. Having been burned by unscrupulous or incompetant contractors, I’m letting maintenance go rather than face the stress of it all.
Absolutely sound point. I’ll do some research on that! Thanks for the reminder, Sue. ❤️
I’m having to learn all this since my husband isn’t able to do things anymore. I put a push lawn mower together with a little help from him…he held the wrench so I could tighten the screws. Next job is changing the front door handle…going to try that tomorrow.
Good job!!! Ask him how to do everything and write it down. You can do this! ❤️