Clutter, wear & tear, and breakages. Like any home that’s been occupied by busy (non-OCD) people for 20 years, my flat has accumulated plenty of clutter, non-urgent breakages and general wear & tear. If I intended to live in it for the next 20 years, I’d be content to fix things whenever I found myself at a loose end. But …
I’ll definitely be out of here by summer 2025 and possibly by 2022. So, whether I sell or rent, the flat needs fixing to standards which new residents would accept. Hence this project. A time-limited programme of work. But …
I have next to no DIY knowledge, skills, experience or aptitude. Making things fascinates me and I’m heartily sick of built-in obsolescence and its corollary, throwaway culture. But I’ve rarely felt any compulsion to DIY. I’d much rather pay skilled craftspeople to do a proper job. Tragically …
Skilled craftspeople are in short-supply — shorter after Brexit, and pretty-much monopolised by the rich. So, like many on middle incomes, I’ve got into the habit of buying things to replace broken stuff that’s perfectly fixable — just not affordably. But this planet-harming behaviour has gone on too long, and my tolerance for it is exhausted. So …
DIY is my only option — but I can’t afford visible bodges or kludges. So, not only do I need to learn some DIY, I also need to achieve some level of compentence, quickly. Without any significant previous experience, I’m going to need to start right at the beginning — attempting things that most people would consider laughably unambitious.