Before You Call the Guy....Google It!

There is nothing more annoying than to be woken in the middle of the night to an annoying dripping sound coming from your bathroom or strange knocking sound coming from your refrigerator.  Being a single homeowner, I have had my shares of annoying little things that have broken down, but do not have the "fix-it" skills that seem to be part of the genetic make-up of my male counterpart.  I have also had my share of pushy service men that seem to never show up on time, or have the part they need, and often I am left feeling like I have been taking advantage, mostly because I do not know any better.  The final straw was drawn when I called a service man because the ice maker on my refrigerator was not working.  After showing up more than three hours past the scheduled time, the man laid down on my kitchen floor with a hair dryer and blew hot air into the a coil that apparently got iced up.  Less than 30 minutes later, he handed me back my blow dryer (yes, he had to borrow mine), I handed him a check for $150 and the refrigerator problem was fixed.  But I was not happy.  It was not the fault of this service man, he did what he was sent to do….fix my frig.  My unhappiness was due to my ignorance of not taking the time to do a little homework first before wasting my time, this guys time, and a lot of money. 

My toilet with a new wax ring!

For the do-it-yourselfer, calling "the guy" is like throwing money down the toilet!  And that was exactly what I was going to do when I had to have the wax ring replaced on my toilet.  Until it occurred to me to Google it, which led me to a YouTube video on Replace a Wax ToiletRing that provided me with a step-by-step guide on how to do it myself.   The project was a success and I saved about $250 doing it myself.  I have since fixed a leak in the garage refrigerator, replaced a fuse in my 14 year old dryer, and learned how to cut crown molding, ALL from the instructions found on Google and YouTube. 

Crown molding project

Now I do consider myself handy and I am comfortable using a hammer, so I am not nervous about tackling a problem that may be out of skill set.  I have had my failures.  Snaking basement drains is worth every penny of calling in the professional. But learning more about how things work and how to fix small projects not only gives me a sense of pride but makes me happy to use the money saved on something I really enjoy rather than giving it to "the guy." 

For all those single ladies looking for simple "fix it" tips, this site may do the trick.