I’m certain it grew from a couple thing: challenging upbringing up to my formative years and some deliberate behavioral bends in my 30s.
Bouncing from apartment to apartment, roommate to roommate, girlfriend to girlfriend and city to city I’ve had a seemingly endless string of residential experiences. From so-new the paint’s barely dry to late ’60’s era; moderately high-end to seemingly marginally above Section 8 Approved I’ve lived in much of the continuum. Many places have landed in the middle–that middle spot can be at the same time sweet as troubling. A little character and a little savings yet often right at the point things start failing. A heater, a lock, a leak, some fixtures, a door, a few outlets, a fence. The list goes on. During my personal formative years (30’s) I stopped replacing and started repairing. Usually team efforts with roommates or the gal-of-the year which made the learning more fun and frankly more confidence building.
Water and electrical have consistently been sore-spots. Largely because of lack of training–taking a hands-on 101 class in both would have boosted both skills and confidence. Instead I’ve been shocked, drenched and often caused more damage than originally existed. All not wasted; I’ve picked up a few things through missteps.
Recently the disposal stopped working. I was completely prepared to remove and replace when I shifted gears. In researching the specific make/model I learned it’s a darn good unit and I wouldn’t spend near as much with a replacement. Digger further into this model I found the top five reasons for failure and started cycling through recommended fixes. Scouring through the garage I found a couple make-shift tools (unbent clothes hanger and drum stick from Vegas’ Hard Rock). Fifteen minutes later we once again had a functional disposal, diy-style. Given the very small amount it’s used due to high volumes of composting, it seemed a complete waste of money to remove/replace. Me of 12-15 years ago would have opted for that route; me of today takes a couple minutes to identify another way.
AniMal