At one time, we just assumed we would fix anything that went wrong with our property–in or out of the house–ourselves.  We would no more think of hiring people for repairs than flying to the moon.

This hasn’t been a majority view for decades, but we still know people who live it.  Perhaps a holdover from pioneer days, it’s still held onto by those without much disposable income, farmers, and stubbornly self-reliant contrarians.

Of course, the attitude can be taken to extremes, a facet of machismo run amok–or sheer stubbornness.

Its demise can be traced to things like the built-in obsolescence theory (where fewer and fewer things can be repaired, let alone by a normal person–let’s hear it for that amoral-at-best entity which is the corporation).   Then there’s the rise of the leisure class; so many of us now have enough income that we hire out for everything–including the install of a “new one” at the first sign of trouble.

I’ve inherited the ol’ self-reliance gene somehow; our family just always operated that way, and I can’t help but feel a bit of a failure if I can’t solve a household problem. I experienced the tail-end of an era where many things could be kept going with baling wire and duct tape.  But then I got into computers, and I’ve seen the circuit board (for practical purposes, unrepairable) has made the repairman an all but forgotten profession.

The universe I can reasonably operate on shrinks every year.  Car repairs have gone the way of the dodo; just as I was gaining some skill, that industry’s made it impossible (and too expensive to make mistakes).  Still, there’s electrical, plumbing, drywall, painting, landscaping….  Of course, you have to weigh each project versus the cost if you screw up.  And, being self-employed by day, I know first-hand how dicey it is should you need to test your healthcare coverage (let’s just say the odds aren’t in your favor, and the hassle is worse than the injury).

Still, I persevere with DIY.  It’s a way of life, for me.  I’ve tried to analyze why:  certainly early family life was an influence, then reinforced by periodic “bust” cycles–not many “booms,” but plenty of busts.

Fundamentally, though, I guess it’s part of my endless quest to know how stuff works.  The applied side of the search for the meaning of life, you might say.  I’m always on prowl for new skills, finding out what everyone else’s job is.

And–hey; it’s fun to find excuses to buy more tools.