How DO you gain confidence with home repairs?
People ask all the time what brought me to this place. The place where I ripped things apart, fixed them again, put together confusing crap and said, “No, I’m definitely sure this is how it’s supposed to go.”
I’m not entirely sure where it started, or what caused it, but I wanted to write this post to tell you that at one time, I knew exactly nothing. ABSOLUTELY nada. I mean, I was scared to try anything at home because “your house is a big investment.” What if I completely screw it up?
Learning and growing
I picked that picture of an Australian electrical outlet for this post for a reason. I’m here visiting my in-laws, and some things are very different here. These outlets are one of my favorite things. You can just turn them on when you use them! SO SMART. To be honest, the first time I came here, they made me nervous. I was worried there was some order to plugging in and turning on, and if I screwed it up, I would blow a fuse or start a fire, but I poked around (not literally – ELECTRICITY), and asked some questions, and it turns out it’s easier to use them than I thought.
After I got used to my house, I felt the same way. I could poke around, try things, succeed or fail, and it would be fine. Initially, I did small projects, then as I got more confident, I moved on to things that were more challenging. At this point, after a few years, I’m putting up walls, and re-tiling, or re-wiring. That confidence has also allowed me to feel more assured around other tradespeople.
Don’t let intimidation overwhelm you!
I was staying at home with my kids when we first got our house. Something would break, and we’d hire someone to come fix it. I was intimidated around tradespeople. They say, fix it this way, and I’d say, o.k. Sometimes it wouldn’t be fixed the way I wanted it to be, but I never had the confidence in myself and my right or ability to ask for what I wanted. Now, I have real conversations where I feel empowered through my own growth so that I can say, “No, I’d rather you do it this way, please.”
YOU’VE GOT THIS!
You can do that, too. When you do things enough, your confidence in your own work grows, and also in the ability to have a critical eye on the kind of things you want done in your home. To gain more confidence, sign up today for our fall/winter classes. We have a Homeowner Helper class that will teach you all kinds of basics. We also have classes like Plumbing Basics, or Major Appliance Maintenance.
Come and check out a class, and your confidence will grow in no time! Can’t wait to see you.
