Some Thoughts on the Return to Traditional Skills

I have been doing a lot of this lately – learning to bake bread, cooking from scratch, gardening. My husband has always been handy, so we rarely have to call a repairman. And my MIL sews, which I really need to learn. I do think a return to learning these skills is a beneficial biproduct of this down economy.

I think that the best thing about DIY work isn’t even the cost savings. It’s the sense of accomplishment. A lot of us work everyday in jobs where we show up, do some stuff, go home and get paid, but are sort of left with a feeling of “well, I did some stuff, not sure if anyone really noticed,” at the end of the day.

It’s so immensely satisfying for me to take something that’s broken and make it work again. I’m an engineer (sort of — software engineer) by trade, and maybe that contributes to my feeling this way, but I usually try to do home and car maintenance and repairs myself. It saves money, sure, that’s an extra bonus, but it’s less important to me than being able to say, “my life is noticeably better because of something I’ve done myself.”

I don’t do all my work myself. I find oil changes, for instance, monotonous and basically a hassle (you have to get dirty, store the oil, dispose of it properly, etc). Since they don’t cost much anyway, I just pay the dealership to do them.

But other things I’ll myself just for the sense of accomplishment. I live in an apartment, but if a drain backs up, I’ll take the trap apart and fix it myself if I can, even though I could call the landlord and make them pay someone to do it.

I’m also restoring an old boat, and watching the condition of it improve from month to month really gives me a feeling of “hey, look at how good that looks or well it works, I did that!” And boatyard labor around here runs $102/hour, so I save a *lot* by not paying someone else to do that work.

I’ve also learned a *lot* of useful technical skills from all the various repairs and things I’ve tried over the years, and simply having been successful in the past at a lot of things like this makes trying more challenging things in the future seem less daunting.

I wonder whether a lot of what you describe is trend-based or otherwise somewhat fleeting. For instance, most of the IRL people I know who make their own bread or grow some of their own produce or make their own pasta are doing it because they are foodies–mabe foodies on a budget, but just as frequently not. The ethics of eating are getting a lot of ink lately so it makes sense that people would be thinking more about those issues and acting on them a bit more. There’s also been a real trend over the past decade toward various forms of crafts, whether very traditional or very modern or a hybrid of both–magazines like ReadyMade and websites like craftyplanet speak to that. From my vantage point, there have been a number of factors that have made all sorts of crafts (knitting, cooking from scratch, sewing) more popular. Some of it is a prouct of third-wave feminism where younger women are now feeling more comfortable exploring and reclaiming these traditional tasks that previous generations found extremely restricting. Part might be a residual part of the anti-sweatshop movement that had a ton of inroads on college campuses in the early ’00s but then didn’t make much substantive change over time for a number of political reasons. A lot of the make your own clothing folks I know have been involved in one or both of those worlds–but the universe of People I Hang Out With is an admittedly self-selecting sample, so who knows.

Anyway, I think it’s too early to say whether it’s a long-lived phenomenon, though some people writing about this recession and its longterm impact on younger generations certainly seem to think there will be some longterm thrifty tendencies, even if we aren’t sure quite yet what they will be.

It takes about the same time to change your own oil as to have someone else do it (if you’re just waiting in the lobby.) On the other hand for me, from many attempts while I was a college student with less money, I know that 75% of the time I would end up spending that much time again rubbing kitty litter into the driveway to clean up my spills! So, until and unless I can’t afford it any more, I will be getting my oil changed by someone else.

OTOH, I don’t think hiring someone to do a task you could do yourself actually helps the economy. From a logical standpoint, there is no extra value being created there – one oil change gets done either way. The only way it helps is if you are creating some value for society during the time you would have spent changing the oil.

I’ve always been one who loves to learn to do things DIY. Spinning my own yarn was one of my faves. I haven’t done it much in the last year. But I want to get back to it. It feels great to knit with your own yarn or embroider with your own thread.

I haven’t noticed an increased DIY ethic in my group of friends and family. In fact, I told my Dad I planned on changing my car’s oil, he then asked incredulously, “Why in the world would you do something like that?” I told him I enjoy it, but he still couldn’t quite understand. My Dad is the most independent-minded person I know.

Most people have a laissez-faire attitude towards their cars. Aside from a house, what else plucks that much money from our wallets? I say become well acquainted with your car, because it certainly won’t mind acquainting itself with your bank account.

We are and have always been huge DIYers. We have never paid anyone to do something we can do ourselves – including the remodeling of our house from flooring to a new roof. In fact the only thing on the house we’ve ever written a check for (other than permits) is the gutters. It was FAR cheaper to have a gutter company replace them than to buy them at Home Depot.

Although for full disclosure I have to admit that I’ve started taking my car to the car wash a couple times a year. I don’t mind washing the outside myself, but they do a much better job on the inside and for only a few dollars!

Ugh, no! Why make bread when I can buy 3 loaves of organic name brand bread at the bread outlet store for $3.50 total? I can fill my freezer for less than the cost of the same health food store bought ingredients.

I don’t even cut my own hair – why would I change my own oil? The dealership I purchased from offers free tires and batteries for life, as long as they do all the maintenance. The cost of one or two free tires more than outweighs the savings of a few DIY oil changes.

And DH is forbidden from doing any home repairs since the DIY wiring shelves doesn’t stay up. For any home repairs, we use a LICENSED, INSURED contractor.

Tyler: “It’s so immensely satisfying for me to take something that’s broken and make it work again. ”

I am an engineer too. I like to say that I enjoy reducing the entropy in the world. I am not very handy except for computers, but I have started cooking the last few years. And I have started considering gardening.

I don’t know if this is a long-lived phenomenon, but it’s something my husband and I (we’re in our mid-20s) can’t wait to do more of: we’re stuck in a Chicago apartment now, so what we can do ourselves is limited: I make all our soup and most of our bread from scratch, he’s always building/fixing things himself. DH and my FIL do all the maintenance on our car and theirs.
Friends of ours here in the Midwest make their own clothes, grow their own food, etc. Our hope is to get as off-the-grid as possible some day.

For us, there are so many reasons to provide as much as we can for ourselves (or with neighbors): we like knowing where our food came from (eggs from the back yard, not a scary CAFO), and knowing our clothes didn’t come from a sweatshop. We want to create less waste and do things that are more sustainable.

And we want to raise goats because… goats are awesome. Any chance the person you know with goats would write a guest post? I don’t need convincing, but some of my friends and family look at me like I’m a nut when I mention wanting to raise goats.

@Ryan, I don’t have human children either but I agree with you … and what’s more, kids LIKE knowing how to do things. My parents put me and my sister to work early. We were always responsible for picking up after ourselves, we helped with the laundry and the cooking and the yardwork. We lived in the country with no compatible families nearby, and we certainly didn’t have household help, so being occupied by something constructive was pretty much a requirement to avoid going nuts.

I’m trying to do more DIY. Not so much in trying to save money, but because I enjoy it.

I have started to make dog biscuits for my dog. She has a sensative stomach so I feel better doing this because I know what she is eating. Plus, it does end up being cheaper and she likes them.

I have started baking our own bread. We eat rolls almost every night with dinner and it was getting expensive if I couldn’t buy them onsale or with coupon. So I got a recipe from a friend for homemade crescant rolls. I make them and freeze them and they taste fresh when they are then heated up in the oven.

I also love to bake. So I’ve been gathering recipes to make cakes, cupcakes, icing, etc from scratch instead of buying it. I’m sure buying a cake mix is cheaper, but I get more pleasure out of making it from scratch.

I also agree with others that there is something to be said for doing things yourself. There is a sense of pride when you are finished. Husband and I bought a new house a year ago April that needed major updating. We started with the kitchen. I’m talking about new flooring, countertops, cabinets, tearing down walls, lights, etc. Husband has never done anything like that in his life. We had our last house built so didn’t do anything with that. In order to be able to afford the things we wanted in the kitchen, we had to do a lot of it ourselves. We did pay somebody to do some of the things were weren’t comfortable with (such as moving electrical wires and plumbing) but we did everything else ourselves. We saved a ton of money, were able to get those granite countertops, and when we see the kitchen now we feel proud of it and proud of ourselves for doing the work ourselves. It was a lot of hard work, it was a lot of learning as we went, but we got what we wanted without taking on any debt.

DIY is nothing new to my husband and me.

Between the two of us, we do our own auto maintenance and minor repairs; home repairs, maintenance and remodeling; lawn care; some gardening; sewing; crocheting and knitting; leather work (my husband makes his own leather tool belts and such for work, as he enjoys it and they hold up longer than what he can buy); breadmaking; canning; yogurt making; appliance repair; haircuts; etc.

Although I don’t do it on a regular basis, I have made my own wine, my own cheese and my own butter.

We enjoy doing this things ourselves, and yes, it does save money in most cases. But it also preserves a part of our heritage. These skills will be lost if some of us don’t make a point of keeping them around.

oh yeah, and I’ve been to Sausalito. It’s the PERFECT choice of a setting for a fake news article

I enjoy my DIY life. I garden, knit, I’m spinning my own yarn, cook most meals, and even though I could change the oil in my car if I needed to, that’s where I draw the line. Besides, oil and yarn don’t mix.

Luckily, I’m of the generation that if I want to, I could also can and dry fruit (learned it from Mom). I’ve also gone on sewing binges and made my own clothes and quilts.

I’m passing on as many of these abilities to the next generation (my son & step daughter). You never know when you might need to do these things.

yarn spinners,

I’ve looked into this but what kind of costs are involved? Is this a craft that the value is in the pride of doing and your own craftsmanship, or do you actually save money over standard yarn?

It’s a fact that you are either a hands-on person or you’re not, and I don’t know actually how much this is influenced by parents. I am a do-it-yourselfer and neither of my parents have a creative/artistic bone in their bodies; my husband cannot do even the most undemanding of DIY tasks. I actually cried when he got up on a high ladder to hang our Christmas wreath because all I could do was picture him falling!!
Why would you change the auto’s oil when it is so cheap and speedy to have the pro’s do it? It’s like dying my own hair- would I rather buy cheap drugstore stuff and have orange hair or leave it to the pro who studied as a colorist in Paris!?!
ALSO-having 3 young children changes everything. What should take an hour to do now takes five!

I certainly have seen this in my own life. I used to like the idea of cooking but my failures, the necessary clean up, and a hatred of leftovers turned me off of it and I ate out at least once maybe twice a day. Now I’m cooking or eating leftovers every day with maybe 3 meals (lunches and dinners) out a week maximum.

I would recommend expertvillage.com for DIY videos. There are so many good clips on there for how to do stuff on your car. I would recommend one guy, Nate McCollough, for car maintenance videos. He takes you through everything in a slow and professional manner.

JD,

I had exactly the same experience – my Dad taught me basic auto maintenance. I think I stopped once I got a job and places like Jiffy Lube opened up.

I think you have a good point about DIY. And it’s so much easier now that you can find detailed instruction for almost any DIY task on the web.

For those of you who change your own oil, this will make it easier/simpler. For those of you that don’t, maybe this will encourage you. Making an oil change painless is all about having the right tools for the job, and being prepared – both of which are very easy for anyone to do.

1.) Google “Pela 6000″. Get one of these oil extractors. It’s a manual pump that has a thin tube that goes into your oil pan through your dipstick tube and sucks the oil right out while it’s warm. Read about the use on Pela’s website. Cost ~ $35.
2.) Buy a box of disposable latex or nitrile gloves at your pharmacy section, or at your Harbor Freight or other home improvement store. Cost ~ $3-5. These can be used for many other gross things as well. Pick up a funnel if you don’t already have one. Cost ~ $1.
3.) Figure out what kind of oil you need and what kind of filter. Any Napa or Advance Auto Parts will have this info in a book. Buy at minimum 3 oil changes worth of supplies to save time (i.e. 3 filters, and 12 qts. of oil, cost varies – look for sales). Also buy an oil filter adapter for your socket wrench (~$4). This is in case the last maintenance tech over torqued your filter.
4.) If you don’t know where it is, locate where your oil filter is on your car. For both my vehicles, this can be accessed without any lift or jack. A google search will get you the answer.
5.) Plan to execute your oil change on *your* schedule, when convenient for *you* (time savings). Plan for 1 hour the first time, 30 minutes thereafter.
6.) Use the Pela 6000, gloves, filter, oil to do the job. Use a spare pie pan to collect residual oil from the filter. Collect as much oil as possible, and transfer to an empty “windshield wash” 1 gal HDPE jug. MAKE SURE TO RECYCLE THE OIL! I collect 3 jugs worth of oil, then take it back to Napa when I go for more oil and filters (recycling is free, and is the law).

With this method, I can change my oil with the only risk of getting dirty being getting on the ground to get the oil filter off on my wife’s SUV. On my car, the filter is accessible from the top. I can change my oil in work clothes without worry (if I wanted to).

Oh, and if your car has one of those annoying “Maint. Reqd” indicator lights, a google search will also reveal how you can turn that off.

Hope this helps.

There are lots of videos online demonstrating repairs and the like.
Sewing is quite diseconomic, given that globalization radically lowered the cost of clothing. That’s why there’s a huge glut of cast-off clothing which gets sent to the third world and resold.
If you like sewing, go for it. But I doubt you could make a garment for less than it costs unless you’re very talented and it’s a wedding dress or something special.

Holly @ 4:34 pm

You’re funny. My hair looks great with the L’Oreal hair color I buy. It costs $8-10 at the store, but if I can coupon during a sale, it’s $3-5 a box. I get compliments all the time on my hair. Now, I don’t cut my own hair, though.

I use to go somewhere to have it permed back when I had big hair. What I spend on my hair these days (cut more regularly) averages to about $34 every three months.

I hate paying somebody to do most things especially when I think I can do many of these things better myself. For instance, car repairs. Recently, I changed the shocks and replaced the timing belt on my Volkswagen. I am by no means a car mechanic. I, however, found a great blog on the Internet with devoted Volkswagen enthusiasts who walked me through the process. I know a few mechanics who were surprised I tackled this tasks.

I also found that for many home repairs, a person with common sense will often do a better job then a professional. It may take a lot longer, but the home owner has an invested interest in doing the best job possible, were the professional wants to do a good job, but he or she wants to do it fast. That dichotomy eventually results in compromise between quality and time.

Before I decide to take on a task, I usually research the topic first. I then decide if the task is one I can figure out without too much time invested. I also factor the risk involved in me tackling a job myself.

Many things like cooking I can do myself often better then others, but there is enjoyment in trying out foods others have prepared for you.