Sunday, February 3, 2008

Home Repair.....Woman's Way

Being women, we tend to be a little nervous when it comes to home repair. At least we are until our husband's vanish for several months leaving us to run the house on our own! On our limited military budgets, we can't always afford to call someone to come in and rescue us! Here are a few things I have had to do in my husband's absence that turned out to be pretty easy! First of all, replacing a toilet seat. It's not difficult at all. And inevitably something even this simple will break in his absence. I found a reasonably priced seat at Walmart that I could see myself sitting on frequently and purchased it. When i got home, I discovered that these things do come with directions. Basically all you need is 5 minutes and a screw driver. The flat head kind will work although they tell you to get a Philip's head (the criss-cross pattern). First you remove the old one and then you just put the new one on the same way the old one was! It's hard to explain unless you are doing it. Seriously! The best tip I can give you here is hold the nut on the bottom side of the screw as you are screwing/unscrewing it or you will just sit and spin the screw around and get no where! I found that out the hard way! Next on my list of home repair was a kitchen cabinet that broke in two. Literally....in two pieces! Did not come off the hinges....there was a crack in the wood and thanks to children hanging on it, the door split completely! Off to the hardware store I went. If this happens to you...don't just buy the wood glue! You will also want some vice grips to hold it in place as it dries! And some newspaper to spread on the floor because the glue will drip! And it's such a pain to get up! Especially when it drips on carpet, as it did when i fixed the broken leg on the coffee table. I thought the glue was dry...it wasn't! Let it dry 24 hours....seriously, they mean that! When it came to Christmas time, I quickly discovered that I did not have a hammer! I have no idea where my husband keeps his, IF he even owns one! But a solid hard backed hair brush works in a pinch if you have to put furniture together! I bought shelves for my kids. The hair brush was all i could find. Of course a nice pair of heels works well also! Don't worry, your husband isn't there to frown and make sighing sounds because you are not using the proper tools! Good thing he wasn't too! I'd have probably thrown a shoe or two his way! Of course, I am only joking! Also, if you need to paint a room or build something on your own, try going to Lowe's for your supplies. They give military discounts. And they will cut your wood the lengths you want. Of course, you might try Home Depot on Saturday mornings. They offer many different workshops on home repair, painting, all sorts of things. Some of these i believe must be registered for in advance so you might see if you can get a schedule from them. One other tip I have is when you break a lightbulb that is still in the light fixture...turn it off first. Then cut a potato in half. Using the smooth freshly cut side, jam it in the socket and then just turn it as you would to remove the lightbulb. This has come in handy in my house when kids have thrown balls and things that shouldn't be thrown! Good luck on your home repairs. No, they won't be done the way our men would do them, but they do get done! And we feel pretty good about ourselves for not having to call a man to do it!

Written By: Kim