How To Adopt A DIY Philosophy
One of the pillars of frugal living is a philosophy of DIY (do it yourself). Frugal people are independent and possibly stubborn. The frugal people that I know are hard-working and are willing to try and fix something themselves, rather than to pay someone to come and do the job.
DIY projects range from sewing on a misplaced button – to putting down your own wood floors – and everything in between. My husband and I come from a long line of DIYers. I bet your family is the same way. If you ask your grandmother, she’ll probably tell you many stories of the old days and how they used things up.
A frugal person never wants to waste anything. They’ll save scraps of fabric and scraps of wood. The philosophy is, “I might need this someday”. And, they’re often right. Little scraps of fabric are perfect for quilts or doll clothes. Scraps of wood can be made into a bird house or toy for the grandkids.
DIYers are not afraid of tackling a new problem. Many people around them (usually spouses) may warn them that they can’t do it, or that it’s too dangerous. I just might be one of those spouses. My husband has taught himself so many things: putting down oak floors, sanding them, staining them, and finishing them. He’s built and finished concrete driveways and completely finished an unfinished basement.
I don’t take on such difficult physical projects, but have tried many things around the house, too. I’ve planted gardens, made slipcovers, sewn clothing for the family, and sewn on plenty of buttons. Painting all the walls of our various homes would always fall on my shoulders, until my back pain made it impossible.
Over the years, we’ve saved thousands of dollars by doing things ourselves. If we didn’t know how to do something, we asked people questions, watched youtube, taken classes, and read books. With the internet, it’s so easy to find tutorials for almost any project. Because of this philosophy, our family was able to enjoy many things that we otherwise ,couldn’t afford.
Doing things yourself will help you discover your creative side. Families can grow stronger when they put their heads together and work out a problem. Even though it would be easier to just write a check and pay a professional, there is great satisfaction in doing it yourself.
If you have ideas for projects, but can’t afford them, make a plan for DIY. Of course, there are some things that might not save you money to do it yourself. That’s why it’s important to plan and research everything involved. Find out all the costs involved before you begin a project. But, if the money saved is worth it, go ahead.
What are some of your favorite things to do? What projects have you tackled? I hope you enjoy doing it yourself and saving money, too!
@2019, copyright Lisa Ehrman
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- Lisa has been blogging since 2013, and loves sharing resources and ideas for living a simple life. To get free printables, bonus words, and more - sign up for the newsletter.
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Be aware WHY you do it. Do you like the doing, or do you want to achieve the goal of having and without problems using it? If the second applies to you, I suggest buying!
Why is always important. I always think it could be different with each project. One year, my daughter and I made Christmas ornaments to sell at a craft fair. Our intention was to learn about creating a business. But, my daughter LOVED creating the ornaments. She’s very creative! So, for me, it was an educational reason, and for her, it was for fun.
It turned out to be a wonderful project! We also made amazing memories together, so it was a win-win 🙂
honestly I’m not good with diy’s, my older sister though is really good at it. My fiance’s grandfather says that he needs to come over one day and show us how to fix stuff around the house instead of us paying someone to do it for us
It sounds like you’re marrying into a great family. I would love for a grandfather to teach me stuff 🙂
I love DIY. It is so exciting to receive compliments from Friends. Also, I actually enjoy doing DIYs, the projects make me happy and I look forward to the finished results.
You must be very talented! Do you have a lot of Christmas projects planned?
We have always saved scraps of fabric, odd ends of twine, yarn, and silk flowers. My mom loves when we bring her baggies full of this type of stuff. She makes the coolest decorations for all seasons out of them.
She must be very artistic and I know she looks forward to all those baggies 🙂
You can save so much money by DIYing! My son will razz me from time to time about saving things. Last Christmas while making cookies I need a powdered sugar shaker. I had several clean empty cinnamon plastic jar with the lid with the holes in it as I used that. It worked perfectly!
Good for you! Many times, just after I throw out something, I’ll need it and wish that I had kept it.
Great take on DIY, I just took apart my pc last week, cleaned it, and installed new components, definitely a nice low cost upgrade.
I’m so impressed with people who can do this. Wow!
You are so smart! Thank you for sharing your advice!
You’re very kind. Hope it will be helpful 🙂
Living rural, we’ve definitely needed to DIY. My husband built the house, garage, learned how to put in a septic tank, did in-floor heating connected to an outdoor wood boiler he fixed and modified. I upcycle, recycle, make jam etc. It makes us feel good to do things.