Whether you see it as sweat equity, a logic challenge, the way to make something with your own two hands, or the ultimate way to control the outcome of what you're working on to be just.the.way.you.want.it, when you're predisposed to DIY it seeps into your soul and can become a true part of your identity.
Some people might call it "obsessed," but I like to think of it as "dedication to one's craft." But no matter what we call it, there are common things all of us DIYers can sometimes relate to. So in the vein of the "You might be a DIYer if..." style jokes (and mostly because we're in the middle of several projects that aren't quite ready to share), I've put together a list of things I think quite a few DIYers can relate to.
1.You have half finished projects in various places throughout your place and you're an expert at explaining to your guests what it will eventually look like.
"When this is done it will be a floor to ceiling set of cabinets with vintage hardware and all painted white!" while looking at the pile of wood sitting on the floor.
more]]>Whether you see it as sweat equity, a logic challenge, the way to make something with your own two hands, or the ultimate way to control the outcome of what you're working on to be just.the.way.you.want.it, when you're predisposed to DIY it seeps into your soul and can become a true part of your identity.
Some people might call it "obsessed," but I like to think of it as "dedication to one's craft." But no matter what we call it, there are common things all of us DIYers can sometimes relate to. So in the vein of the "You might be a DIYer if..." style jokes (and mostly because we're in the middle of several projects that aren't quite ready to share), I've put together a list of things I think quite a few DIYers can relate to.
You might be a DIYer if...
1.You have half finished projects in various places throughout your place and you're an expert at explaining to your guests what it will eventually look like.
"When this is done it will be a floor to ceiling set of cabinets with vintage hardware and all painted white!" while looking at the pile of wood sitting on the floor.
2. All of your best work costs half of what it should to complete, but it also takes 10 times longer than it reasonably should to get it done.
3. When you're over a friend's house and they start talking about some work they want to have done, you immediately start estimating and planning the project in your head and soon after start trying to convince them they can do it themselves.
4. You oddly cringe when someone says "you must be handy" because it simultaneously compliments while cheapening the blood, sweat, and tears you've poured into everything from your most successful project to your biggest disaster. Handiness not something you're necessarily born with, it's something you earn from repeatedly screwing up your initial attempts.
5. There are large blemishes in your house, like a giant hole in the ceiling, that you've somehow taught yourself to ignore. When someone comes over and asks about the proverbial (or literal) gaping hole, you're simultaneously shocked it's there (because you forgot) and surprised that they'd be so amazingly observant to notice such a "minor" flaw.
6. A trip to the big box store takes no less than one hour and costs not less than $100. Hey, there's a lot of on the spot planning and decision making that needs to be done. Oh, and let's not forget impulse tool purchases because you just HAVE TO HAVE that random tool you will likely only use a few times.
7. You know the tricks to find what you're looking for in the home improvement store, like where to find the extra inventory when the thing you need appears to be sold out, or roughly how much time you have to use the "employees only" ladder to get what you need before you'll get yelled at.
8. You've spent more time sorting through lumber at the home improvement store and looking for non-warped pieces of lumber than you care to admit.
9. A trip to that same home improvement store sometimes ends up with you helping out a fellow shopper with something they look particularly perplexed by but can't find someone in the store to help with.
10. When you walk into your local hardware store the cashiers, floor clerks, and manager know you by name. It's almost like the DIY version of Norm walking into Cheers.
11. Pinterest is simultaneously your biggest ally and your most ardent adversary. It tantalizes with endless projects you "must try" or room design inspirations that would "work perfectly in your home." But when it comes to implementation there are often too few details, it takes way longer than the example supposedly took, and your end result seems to oddly look a little different than you expected.
12. You try to talk to pro contractors like you know what's what and you want to be their apprentice, but they'd prefer you just let them do their job and leave them alone, so you creepily lurk and come up with excuses to check on the progress, linger a bit too long, and maybe even snap a few photos like a creeper.
13. After you've watched a pro complete a project you always have the same reaction, "I totally could have done that myself!" Even if they did it with a team of people and you had no hope of doing it yourself.
14. At your day job your colleagues are so well acquainted with your DIY prowess that your water cooler time is often spent discussing what you knocked out over the weekend or what you plan to do this weekend. And meetings are sometimes derailed as conversations revolve around your co-worker's latest project and how you might accomplish it if you were doing it.
15. You've arrived at said job with dust, paint, or other evidence of DIY on your clothing and you had no idea it was there until someone said "You working on something at home again?" Your answer was likely something along the lines of "Always!" while you look for the evidence that gave you away.
16. While you know some others might see you as a little crazy, you think they all secretly want to DIY along side of you.
17. You're shocked when you realize #16 is simply that they see you as a little crazy and have no secret desire to DIY with you.
18. You've never met a project you didn't want to do, a budget you didn't want to shrink, and a timeline you didn't want to implode.
What do you think? Do you have any good "You might be a DIYer if..." items to add to my list? What makes you a DIYer and what idiosyncrasies do you have that make you exactly who you are...a somewhat crazy DIYer?
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