What you need to Dominate the DIY Project? A Woman’s Guide
What does it take to be considered “handy”? To be a useful source for the skills and cleverness it takes to be a fixer of things; Crafter of Function, Rigger Upper or Maker of anything?
The truth is, most of us aren’t “handy” anymore. We’ve become heavily reliant upon “professionals” to take care of what used to be simple life skills that were passed down through generations. With the increased urbanization and affluence of the younger generations, society has become more accustomed to outsourcing handy work rather then picking up a tool or two. Truth be told, ladies, chances are greater now than ever that you can’t even rely on your husbands, boyfriends or brothers for simple handyman tasks (ahem… handy person). Where upon, many of these tasks can be solved with a Basic Toolbox and some can-do attitude.
Just Picture This Scenario…
What would you do if you dropped a favorite diamond earring down the drain in your bathroom sink?
Cry a little?
Call a plumber?
Resign and buy a new pair?
While those may seem the obvious go to responses, there is an EASY way to solve this problem, and you might not even need tools to do it! Just your bare hands and place a bucket under the sink, (to keep it tidy). All you need to do is take off the P-trap which you can twist off with channel locking pliers (the U-shaped part of the plumbing which is meant to hold water to prevent sewer gases from backing into the home). Dump it out to find your precious jewellery and Ta Da! Handy Woman (Person) saves the day. Glamorous? No. Handy? Heck yeah!
The point is, most of us don’t even REALIZE that we are so darn capable of doing these things ourselves. With the advent of the internet (ahem, woodshopgirl.com), we have a bounty of resources at our fingertips. Combine that with a few basic tools and the know-how to actually USE them once in awhile, and you too will be looking for things to Macgyver.
(For those of you who don’t know or are under the age of 25, Macgyver, was an 80’s TV action hero and spoofed on SNL’s MaGruber. Essentially it means to implement a clever solution to a seemingly unsolvable problem through the inventive use of tools and/or common items… )
All this takes is a shift in thinking, from “I need to get someone to do that for me” to “I’m going to do that myself because I am awesome, resourceful, clever and HANDY AS HECK!”
Being handy is really that simple and literally ANYONE can do it. Sure, there’s a big difference between the average handy person and a skillful tradesman (person…), but there is a small difference between being pretty handy and being utterly useless and reliant upon others. We may not be Michelin star chefs but that doesn’t stop us from putting supper on the table each night.
This is great advice Amy, but where should I start?
My advice for any woman wanting to become more independent by being able to rely on her handy self is to get yourself a basic toolbox and fill it with the essential Tools. That in itself can be overwhelming if you have never touched a tool before.
I have created an easy to read 34 page Tool Reference Guide to help you get started. I have outlined not only the Must Haves but the Nice to Own as well. With each tool, I make sure you get:
The Lowdown: What makes this tool so essential to your kit
Uses: A quick when & where this tool may come in handy
How to Use: Explaining best I can without video (will come one day!)
Tips + Tricks: The tiny things that can lift you from handy to ninja
All of this fantastic information is available to you for …… FREE!!!!
While everywhere else the guide is available to you upon signing up for our newsletter (which we would love you to do & can after this post), it is available to you here:
Basic Toolbox for Dominating the DIY Project: A Woman’s Guide
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So get the toolbox and whenever you acquire a new tool, GET COMFORTABLE with it! Make friends with your tools, play with them, learn how you hold them, inspect all the parts and how they work together so that when a problem arises you KNOW what tool might just do the trick. I promise, it is incredibly empowering.
So go get dirty. Acquire a few tools, and learn a few tricks. There is a place called INTERNET (ahem, Woodshopgirl.com). Or go old school style: BOOK (even more old school: the library). A contractor once said to me “Nobody knows how to do it all… Part of being a good Contractor is just being able to figure things out”.
Pick up a tool, figure out how to use it and be more handy today! The more you practice, the more useful you will find yourself.
Tool abilities are important life skills. Hone them, because you never know where you’ll be when they will come in handy 😉
Til Next Time….
Woodshop Girl
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