Why learning to do things yourself is so beneficial

We live in a day and age when it is more normal to simply go to the store when you need a certain item than make it yourself, when it is more common to hire a professional rather than complete a repair or project on your own. I’m not saying there isn’t a place for buying items or paying professionals for services but, man, I really think we do a lot less on our own than our ancestors did! What used to be the simple way of life (doing things yourself) has become, in our modern-day, a spectacle branded “DIY”. But really, I think DIY was just the way of life for most of human existence.

This really occurred to me when I was browsing an old Victorian Era book I had found a PDF of online. It’s a sort of encyclopedia of pretty much anything you could think of, and I was reading the section on pianos.

My first response was… what the heck?! It used to be normal for people to change a string on a piano on their own? My shock was even more when I saw “METRONOME, To Construct”. When was the last time you constructed your own metronome?! From a clock?!

The disempowerment of our modern age…

I’m convinced that the present-day cheapness and availability of services and goods has greatly dumbed us down. And if I wasn’t already convinced of this, this Victorian book really put the last nail in the coffin.

In everything we do today we make a decision between whether we want to further the amount of convenience in our lives or further our own abilities. Yes, doing things yourself takes longer. But, in the end, you reap so much more than the item you’ve made or task you’ve accomplished; you have obtained a new skill, and have taken another step in the way of being independent from the system which provides these conveniences.

Let’s take a closer look.

The financial benefit

Undoubtedly, the biggest reason many of us DIYers begin DIYing is for financial reasons. Often, something we want to create or accomplish would cost far more than we can pay someone else to do. For me, the first thought is always, “How can I do this myself? Is it doable? How much would I save?” Money definitely needs to drive our reasoning here, because it does take much longer to do things yourself, especially if you’re not an expert.

Sometimes you still can spend quite a bit on just materials when you DIY a project. Sewing, for example, can be very expensive if you go for fine fabrics. Woodworking, another interest of mine, can be very expensive to source the nicer woods, especially nowadays. Still, you are likely to save a good deal of money doing these projects yourself even if it does still cost you a bit.

On some projects, you save thousands doing it yourself. Our numerous tiling projects around the house come to mind. Labor itself accounts for thousands in a tiling job. Sort of like mechanics, right? Often the parts aren’t too expensive, but it’s the labor that drives up the cost. When we installed our own hardwood flooring, we spend about $2700 on the oak for 600 square feet, but it would have cost at least double to have it installed.

So, I’m not saying your projects will cost nothing. Sometimes they’ll still be extremely cheap. But, at worst, doing it yourself will still save you something!

Uniqueness and character

When we buy an item at the store, it is almost always the case that hundreds or thousands more of that same item exist out in the world. In other words, it’s not unique!

And sometimes, when we envision a project, we have something extremely particular in mind, something that doesn’t yet exist in the world. And when you do the project yourself, you have full creative license to bring that thing into reality, to make the thing exactly how you envision it.

Whether you want to make a pair of pants that are long enough for your legs (me, lol), or a special tile mosaic pattern in your floor, you can do it exactly to your own specifications. That gives you such freedom! Not to mention a feeling of satisfaction of having brought your vision to life.

If you want something done right…

This is another point that I think is often overlooked. How many times have people had a bad experience with a contractor? I, for one, know that I can’t expect my own level of workmanship if I hire something out. Of course there are amazing pros out there who do care a lot about the work they do, but they will charge accordingly. Unless you’re ready to pay premium prices AND still do your homework and make sure you have faith in the person to do the job, it can be a bit of a gamble to hire a contractor. This is true especially with artistic and aesthetic work.

For example, when we needed our gutters replaced, we paid the thousands of dollars to have a company do it. It seemed pretty straight-forward and we didn’t have the knowledge to do it ourselves, nor did we want to risk falling off the ladder, lol. But for tiling? You’d be surprised at some of the bad tile jobs out there. Or bad flooring work.

My mom is a SUPER DIYer, and she always said, often after having regretted paying someone to do a job, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” I have taken that saying to the bank! It’s so true. There are so many projects here in our home that I feel so happy to have done myself, or with my husband.

Not to mention, they’re often fun and make you feel satisfaction and accomplishment! Which brings us to the next point…

YOU become more skilled

When you do things yourself, YOU become a more skilled human being as a result. You know how people often spend tens of thousands on a college degree for knowledge? Well, knowledge isn’t even as useful as SKILLS. Skill means not only do you know how to do something, but you have actually done it. You can only learn that by DOING. So, saving money on a project and also gaining new skills? Sounds like a win-win to me.

It’s amazing how much you use your hands when you become your own handyman (see the pun there?). You start to realize that your hands are capable of so much. As a musician, I am already very comfortable using my hands. Learning woodworking, sewing, tile work, cooking, and more have all given me new ways to use my hands. And I think it’s quite important that we don’t lose that skill. Partnered together, our minds and hands are the keys to creation.

It makes us more human

I can’t tell you how wonderful it feels to know how to do things. It yields such a sense of accomplishment, independence, and even confidence. And there is something about it that makes you feel more human. I think this is because it is what we are meant to be doing.

Human beings weren’t meant to simply work a job, disconnected from life, and then use the currency earned to buy food, buy shelter, buy clothes, buy everything we need. No: instead, we feel so much more connected to our own life if we are involved in the making of these things. And yes, it does take longer, but in it is joy, satisfaction, and a reclamation of our own humanity. Easy is not always better.

You can do it!

I challenge each and every one of you reading to learn new skills. You can do it gradually. Each day, think to yourself: What can I do myself which I normally don’t? Is it making your own kombucha? Now, that will save you a TON of money, hah! Making your own soap? Making clothes? Creating gifts with your hands instead of buying them? The possibilities are endless.

Remember, we have received so much messaging:

“You can’t do that, it’s too hard!”

“That would be dangerous to do yourself!”

“Leave that to the professionals!”

I’m not saying that these messages never apply, but I think we apply them far too often. And I think they disempower us. We are human beings, capable of so much! Let’s not forget who we are. Let us use our hands and learn new skills!