You can do anything you want. How I got started in DIY and you should too.
I didn't come from a DIY type of home. My dad didn't have many tools and didn't build much of anything himself due to his job that kept him busy. However, both sets of my grandparents were farmers so I gained a desire growing up to be like them and gain self sufficiency. But desire was all I had at that point.
Then one day a need arose when I was 16 that forced me to figure it out myself. I had wrecked my first car. The front wheel was just hanging on the car. I had no idea how to work on a car, but I knew I couldn't afford to pay to get it fixed on a grocery bagger's pay. So, it was either figure it out or walk everywhere.
I decided I would give it a try. I went to a junk yard and found a car like mine and spent several hours removing the parts that I needed. I had no idea what these parts were or what they did, I just knew the ones on my car were bent and I needed new ones.
I spent the next day in our driveway taking the wrecked parts off my car and replacing them with the junk yard components.
Learning to use a sawmill at my neighbors house
When this worked, and I could drive again I had the best feeling ever. It's hard to explain the elation I felt with not only being able to drive again, but that I did it myself. It was the beginning of me doing all sorts of things myself. After that I ended up with a pickup truck when I was a senior in high school. This was 1990 so of course, I had to lower it myself. I then tinted the windows, built huge speaker boxes and installed and amp, crossover and stereo, etc. All of it myself and all of it without the use of the internet (1990). I just learned to dig in and figure it out.
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Sure there were mistakes, but I considered those wins in figuring out how not to do it. Always try it again and make it better the next time. The progression since has been amazing for a self taught builder- fixer like myself. I built a deck or two, then a shed, then a gazeebo. Each time it was a new experience, but I had little to lose trying it myself and much to gain.
Learning to weld
Finally we bought some property out in the mountains and needed a barn / shed. I was going to hire someone to build it when a friend said, just start it yourself. You can always hire help if or when you need. "It's not hard, just rent and excavator and start digging" he said. With his encouragement I rented a mini-excavator, measured the size for the basement / foundation and just started digging a huge hole. By now there was internet of course so I had to use Youtube videos to learn to drive the excavator. When the delivery guy from the rental place showed up with the excavator, he asked me to drive it off the trailer. I was too embarrassed to tell him I'd never driven one before and was afraid he wouldn't let me rent it if I couldn't drive it off the trailer. So, I held my breath, tried to remember my video training and proceeded to very slowly, but successfully drive it off the trailer. I was really excited at this point.
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It took me several hours to just be able to get a good full bucket of dirt and put it where I wanted it easily. But, I got that basement and foundations dug out! Since then the barn was completed and I've added solar power, plumbing and a rain water catchment system for our plumbing. All with lots of trial and error and figuring out as I went, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Learning to dig
I learned to drive a tractor the same way and now I'm assembling new sawmill so I can make my own lumber. I'm not saying any of this to impress you. The point is that if I can figure this stuff out without internet, without any experience, without any clue what I'm doing, then you can too. Just dig in and get started. Don't let fear of screwing it up stop you. Even when you make a mistake, you'll learn from it and be better next time. It's not true that you have to have talents and skills. Practice is what you need. Don't stress it, you can do it! All you need it to get started and get that first win under your belt, even if you are forced to do it yourself like I was with my first car.
I still think often about the friend that told me to just rent an excavator and do it. I would have NEVER had done that if he wouldn't have given me the confidence. It really changed my attitude toward everything. So I'm making this post for those of you who haven't taken that step yet. YOU CAN DO IT. Just get started and a whole world can open up to you.
I very much agree with you, and enjoyed your story! I chuckled at the part where it was do or die driving the mini excavator off the truck :)
My brother is an amazing auto mechanic who has ZERO hours of formal training. At 15 he bought an old truck and set out to refurbish it using the original manual as the main reference. Taught himself everything over the years of tinkering on it, including welding. I taught myself to quilt and crochet. If you really have the desire to accomplish a certain thing, you will figure it out!
Awesome, and so true. I quickly learned that I get much more out of it than just the money saved. That may be why many of us start, but it's not why we keep doing it.
Wow, thanks for the resteem too.
My boyfriend and I would like to invest in a van so we can travel more extensively. We have thrown around ideas of building from scratch or buying ready-made. We are in no extreme hurry and it seems maybe building from scratch is the way to go. I have been weary since we are pretty green about building things. Your words have given me a little hope and lots of inspiration that "doing it ourselves" is possible. Thanks for sharing!
You can do it! There very little downside. If you get to an area you are concerned about or need help, just get it then and you still have saved money and did a lot of it yourself while learning. Or, hire someone to help you do it that knows more than you, then it becomes and learning experience while you have some oversight. Thanks for your comment, It's appreciated.
Do it! I soooo want my own truck to do up.
Save money and it’s so rewarding!
Yeah man, what's I liked is that I started doing it to save money, but kept doing it for the rewarding feeling.
I fully agree with you. Learn, learn and learn again - my motto
Exactly. I just had to get over the fear of not knowing how, or that I'd screw it up. Then the whole whole world opens up. Thanks
Well put! This is the main reason I'm on Steemit. We all can do it!... Don't be afraid to make mistakes because they are learning experiences.
Thanks @qberry!
Thank you. Agreed, Steemit is a valuable source for all of us. I had no idea how much I would learn here.
Thanks for the repost @aktinyhome !
This is very inspiring! I came from a DIY type of home but didn't learn to appreciate it until recently! May I link this article and feature your username in the next issue of the Weekly Homesteading Newsletter this Sunday? Let me know @qberry, thanks!
Wow that's awesome. Of course, I would be honored. Thanks for the recognition.
Happy Sunday! This comment is to inform you that your article has been linked and featured in the most recent issue of the Weekly Homesteading Newsletter! Thank you!
Thank you very much! I will definitely read it.
I can not tell you how much I love this post! This is the exact mentality that I I think is so important for people to imbrace. We are just like you, normal people who wanted to do things ourselves and just like you we just tried. You start to figure it out and learn from your mistakes. And I find that each new project you try or new skill you learn gives you the confidence to try the next one. Thank you for this quality content!
I've just become the curator for a new initiative called @helpie. They are all about finding individuals putting out QUALITY content and helping them grow through mentorship, lessons on the ins and outs of steemit, daily steemit related trivia, and of course upvotes. The idea is to lift up those users and help them to grow. We are starting a Homesteading curation where not only would your post reach more people but also the posts featured split the payout of the post. I would love to add yours in if you are interested, let me know. Find me on discord if you have any questions (L & L Farms). Great post Qberry!
First off, thanks very much for the kind words.
And, I'd definitely like to involved. Thanks again.
Great post. I am right there with you. I did not grow up on a cattle farm. I always just liked cows and wanted to farm.. Youtube and trial and error were how I learned. Keep up the good work!
Thank you. I love that there is something new to learn almost every day on a farm.
Quite inspirational @qberry! You and I are quite alike. My wife is always saying that I need to pay someone to do thing for me like fixing the lawnmower or building projects. But I'd rather take twice as long to get it done and learn how to do it my self.
Thank you. I appreciate it. I work the same way, if it turns out a wreck, then I can hire someone to make sure it pleases the misses 😉
I love you can do attitude, it would be nice if we can remove 'can't from the language!