8 Reasons to Jump Off the DIY Bandwagon

The abundance of DIY tutorials currently flooding magazines, books and the web is supposed to make creating a one-of-a-kind space easier than ever. But what happens when everyone else is on the DIY bandwagon, handcrafting up a storm (and making it look supereasy), and you would rather spend your Saturday morning as far away from the paint cans and power tools as possible? If you’ve been feeling less than adequate for not wanting to craft your own furniture from found objects, sand and paint flea market finds in your garage, or make homemade pickles, you are not alone. Here are eight reasons to jump off the DIY bandwagon, guilt free.

1. Save precious time and energy. I find that any tutorial claiming a project is “easy” or “quick” or (this is the real winner) “can be completed in an hour” is usually being, shall we say … optimistic. While there are exceptions, any project involving a long list of tools and supplies, and/or any project you have never done anything like before is bound to take at least twice as long as it is supposed to.


2. Support handmade artists and craftspeople. Just because someone else made a charming embroidery hoop wall art for his or her child’s room doesn’t mean you can’t just buy some. There are many extremely talented artists and craftspeople trying hard to make a living from selling their work, and by purchasing handmade goods, you can help support them.


3. Making it yourself does not mean you will spend less. It’s the dirty little secret of DIY: By the time you’ve bought all of the materials for your project, and possibly had to rebuy materials due to royally messing up (not that I would know anything about that…), you may realize it would have cost less to buy rather than DIY. Instead of sprucing up a really worn-out old piece of junk shop furniture, why not spend a little more from the beginning and get a vintage piece that can be used as is?



4. Accept your skill set. All do-it-yourself projects tend to get lumped together these days, no matter which skills or tools they require, misleading folks into thinking that DIY skills are interchangeable. They are not. If you have repainted a table or sewn a curtain hem, that does not necessarily mean you will be able to reupholster an armchair or build a shelving unit out of pipe fittings. Be honest about your skills and pay others to do what you can’t, to avoid DIY disaster.


5. Avoid danger (seriously). Errors in DIY projects involving electricity or plumbing come immediately to mind as potentially disastrous, but there are plenty of other DIY danger areas around the house. Tread cautiously and hire a pro to help with anything that could cause you or your family serious injury if something went wrong.



6. Give in to instant gratification. You go to a store, see something you love and bring it home. Ta-da! Instant living space improvement. When you just need something done already, shopping beats DIY, hands down.


7. Give yourself permission to be a DIY voyeur. I own at least six sewing and knitting books, even though I do not knit and can barely sew a seam. Why buy them? Inspiration! Good craft books (and crafting and DIY blogs) can be rich sources of inspiration for color palettes and interior styling. It’s perfectly OK to feel inspired by DIYers without feeling pressured to do what they do.


8. Love your home. If you feel happier without a bunch of half-finished DIY home projects littering your living space, be honest with yourself about it. Embrace who you are and what you value spending your time on, and let the rest go.

Tell us: Do you DIY? Why or why not? And please share your worst DIY disaster story in the Comments!

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