DIY Fail
I am a big fan of a do it yourself (DIY) lifestyle. I try to do most things myself instead of calling in the troops. A lot of this can be traced back to my father. Growing up with him I replaced toilets, installed hardwood and tile floors, put up drywall, fixed plumbing, simple car maintenance, etc. He was always busy and always fixing everything himself. He thought me a lot about getting things done in life.
So as I grow older, I maintain some of these traits. Sure some things, like changing my own oil, have fallen to the side lines, but I still love a good home improvement or self improvement task. This comes down to today’s post.
At the beginning of the year I went on my phone and typed in a few goals for the year.
Cut my own hair- Stretch regularly
- Go to the gym a few days a week
- Restart kung fu
Not very lofty goals, but this is all I set for myself to be successful. I think setting small, manageable goals for the short term will help you reach big long term goals. So I started down my path for the year.
Health
As you can see, three of these goals are health based. I had been doing White Crane Kung Fu for 2 years prior moving to the North Bay in California. With the move, I lost my routine. My health habits faded and I knew I had to get back into it. So I determined I should get to the gym and restart kung fu which will help my flexibility. These goals have been met. I am jogging or lifting weights 3 times a week, stretching at night 5 times a week, and going to kung fu once a week. Success! Short term gain for a long term goal of a happy, healthy body.
Hair
Then there was the hair cutting. Many personal bloggers and FIRE types talk about saving $15 cutting their own hair. For me, it is less about the cost and more about the experience.
I was getting my haircut at SuperCuts and while the cut was fine, the ambiance was not. It seemed silly to spend $15 to sit in a waiting room with other people and then go make small talk as someone cut my hair. I talk to people all day as a doctor, I did not want to talk to people when I had my hair cut.
I could choose to go to a fancier place and spend $50 with a nice shampoo, conditioner and head massage. The ambiance would definitely be better, but that would not improve my happiness. So I decided at the end of last year to cut my own hair.
So April 29th, 2017 I picked up a pair of clippers. I had these clippers for a while and when I made my first pass with the guard on, they were not working well. So I took the guard, rubbed some oil on it, and put the clipper back to my head.
Quickly I had realized my mistake. I looked up and low and behold a chunk of my hair was missing. Two options were available to me. I could go to Super Cuts and pay someone to cut my hair or just shave it off. So I shaved it off. Not too pretty.
So now a few months have passed and I gave it a go again. Round 2 was smoother than round one. I did make one mistake, but nothing too noticeable. Round 2 was not that smooth, but I suspect Round 3 will be even better.
So what is the point of all of this
DIY is fun if you have the personality for it. Don’t be afraid to try something out of fear of failure. You can always call in the professionals (like Supercuts or the electrician). You will be surprised how good doing things on your own can make you feel.
Also as a dad, I want to teach my son (and any other future progeny) that they should try things. Last week I changed the light switch in my son’s room. Easy to do, but I had him watch and use a screwdriver on his toys. He too is learning to be a DIYer.
What is your experience with DIY items? Anything weird you do that others may not expect?
P.S. If you are into doing things yourself, check out the Makers Faire. This is an annual event with some really cool people making some really cool things. I am looking forward to my son turning 4 and bieng able to attend annualy with him. Who knows, maybe he will find his ccalling in this group.
AHH! Messing up my hair is the one thing holding me back from doing it myself. I still haven’t built of the courage, but I might soon.
Soon enough. As long as you are okay with a buzzed hair cut, it is easy to get the courage. I am hoping round 3 goes better than the first two.
I messed up my hair a few times trying to cut it. Now I try and convince the wife otherwise end up at a local barber that’s cheaper than SuperCuts.
Home DIY brings on mixed emotions. Some stuff that’s easy on Youtube (snaking a shower drain) takes longer than I expect it to but gets done. Then there’s the time I was using a 15″ drill bit to go through 6 studs and the bit got stuck, the grip swung and the battery narrowly missed my eye. (Wear protection, people!) Called the pros the very next day.
That is a good lesson in the dangers of DIY. Yikes. Glad you did not get hurt.
Haha- we’ve had a few good frugal/DIY fails as well! I’m still to scared to try to cut my own hair…
I do enjoy DIY or what I should say is DIWH – Do it with Husband. I think up a lot of projects but then we usually tag team it together. Except we each cut our own hair. 🙂 I will tackle minor electrical things that he won’t touch and he does the plumbing types of things and most of the carpentry but I’m learning.
I would not cut my wife’s hair. I would be worried I would mess it up. It is grade to divide and conquer. We have been doing more of that lately in our household too….though some plumbing and electrical work I still leave to the experts.
Youtube has been a blessing for my DIY projects. A had a recent success, and was shocked when it worked. My key fob broke. The metal clip inside that secures the battery had come loose. I found a video showing how to solder it back in, and I bought a solder gun for 18$. To my surprise, it actually worked and I avoided an expensive trip to the dealer for a $200+ new key.
Nice work. I love soldering and use youtube for most of my projects. It is quite revolutionary to have access to so many tutorials on line. It makes me wonder how our parents generations did it before the internet.
I’m amazed that you would try it again after not having a big success in the first time. Kind of the same thing happened to me, but I managed to get my hair fixed after some tweaking.
They say if you fail, then try again…i think…
My wife cuts my hair and it was a struggle at first but she has the hang of it and her hair cuts are superb and it really beats going to the barber.
Im planning to take a furniture making class at SF city college and im looking forward to learn stuff like making your own drawers, tables and chairs. I think it would me feel self rewarding to make things that I never thought of building
I have checked out the local community colleges courses too. There are some really cool DIY related classes from agriculture to art making. I suspect when I retire I will audit some classes.
Honestly if I didn’t have a job to attend where I had to look presentable I would probably grow out my hair. It’s not something that my wife really cares about so it’s mainly to look presentable at work 🙂 So definitely some cost savings if I can reach FIRE 🙂
I had 10 months in Argentina as a research fellow. I grew my hair out for 6 months and loved it. I agree with you, if I did not have to be presentable I would probably go in between long and short hair every 6 months.
I’m with you, I truly hated he small talk. My wife started cutting my hair roughly 10 years ago and have never had to go back. The quality of the cut might not have been the best at first either lol.
It is quite nice to have your wife cut your hair. The first time my wife cut my hair (and the last time), she accidentally shaved it all off and felt bad. I was not as concerned as she was, but man it was shocking for her.
I love a good DIY project and I’m glad that I’m not alone with the hair mess up. I won’t post the photo but there was a certain time in my life (college) when I tried to dye my hair. I was talked into it when I had 2 women as room mates and they thought it would be fun. I’ve always been blonde so I went for something darker. Long story short, I went first and someone accidentally put the dark blue hair dye in my hair and the black dye in one of the girls hair. They claim it was an accident….
I ended up keeping blue hair for a week or two then did a buzz cut. Those were some interesting two weeks.
That is definitely a mess up. I dyed my hair in high school. I have dark hair and dyed it read (without bleaching it). I did not think it was too noticeable but my mom swiftly noticed and gave me a strong talking to…it is fun to try though and thanks for sharing your story.
So funny about chatting while getting a haircut. I’m with you, but we’re probably in the minority. Please just cut my hair and please don’t ask me about what I do for a living. I have a very boring, unglamorous job and really just want to get out of the shop as quickly as possible.
Oh man Doug, it is so painful sometimes. For me as a doctor I talk all day and so when I get home I want a quick break. Same applies to getting my hair cut, let me enjoy the moment without the chatter.
Mr.Wow does all sorts of DIY stuff around the house. He is currently fixing the vacuum, which hopefully goes better than fixing my phone a few months ago. He successfully replaced the battery, but unknowingly broke the wifi antenna when pulling out the old battery. You win some, you lose some, even with DIY.
Let me know when you need your next hair cut. I used to clip horses, now I cut the Mr’s hair. I got you covered.
Oh man. Def win some and loose some. I would not even think of fixing a phone. so good for him! From horses to men….I will hit you up for sure!
I remember one of my first zip failures as an adult was trying to install a new light fixture in my condo. I figured that if I turned the light switch off, then I could safely replace it-because of course shutting off the light probably shut off the electricity too, right? Well, uh, no, that’s not how it works. I got covered in a shower of sparks and mildly electrocuted. I then called my grandfather, who was extremely handy at everything DIY, and he replaced the light for me. Apparently there was thing called a “circuit breaker” and you had to use that to shut off the electricity. Who knew? Lol.
Today I do still DIY a lot, but nothing with electricity or plumbing.
Ouch. That is a pretty good story. Funny how a little knowledge goes a long way for safety. I am the same, I do a lot of DIY but am hesitant with electricity and plumbing (though I did recently install those light switch dimmers!).