How You Too Can DIY Anything

How You Too Can DIY Anything!

I didn’t start out with the ability to renovate a room or build a house! Would you believe I actually studied Illustration and Art Therapy in college? It’s true. I have single-handedly jumped from a career as an illustrator and graphic designer to writing a DIY Tutorial blog (where you found me) and then I followed my dreams of flipping houses and earned my general contractor’s license several years ago.

Over the years, I’ve met numerous people who have lamented that they wished they had skills like mine. Or have professed that they just didn’t have it in their DNA to be handy. Consequently, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to persuade people that they are handy but just don’t know it yet. Granted, growing up in a family of DIYers helped me take the leap of faith from paying someone else to fix, build, or create something to doing it myself. But, that doesn’t mean you don’t have what it takes to become an avid DIYer. 

Today I’m going to convince you that you have what it takes to be able to DIY anything!

Lesson 1: What’s Holding You Back?

First, let’s get to the core of why you don’t think you have the ability to be a DIYer. You might have to look back to your childhood to think about how you were brought up. While you were growing up (or even now) did you get a lot of comments about how you should hire a professional for a simple project? Or when you tried to accomplish something yourself, did a well-meaning individual push you aside and “help” you do it. Maybe you were told it was a man’s job or you’d mess up a project because you didn’t have the skills to complete it. Or maybe you were told not to try to use power tools because you might hurt yourself.

Okay, yes, a toddler or child might not be safe using a power tool. But read on to learn why you may not have gotten off on the right foot as an avid do-it-yourselfer.

Let’s look at another skill you probably learned as a child — swimming. Would you agree that a child could get hurt or killed when they are first learning to swim? Yes, I think we can all agree on that. But, how were you taught to swim? Did well-meaning adults shoo you away from the water and scold you saying, “You might hurt yourself.”

Quite the contrary, an adult or swim instructor probably guided you through swim lessons starting with the basics and adding on complexity when you were ready. They probably gave you empowering messages, such as, “You can definitely do this!”

Believe it or not, all those positive messages were ingrained into your mind and gave you the self-esteem and belief in yourself to be able to swim.

Whereas, if you were brought up with negative messages, they would create a mental roadblock keeping you from believing in yourself. Do you see where I’m going with this?

Gaining Confidence:

I’m here to hold your hand as you jump into the DIY pool for the first time. I promise I won’t let you drown. Instead, I want you to trust me and start breaking down that big mental barrier that has kept you from learning how to complete any DIY task whether it be fixing a toilet, building a piece of furniture, renovating your home, or becoming a general contractor! Whatever it is, let’s get you on your path to being able to DIY anything! Ready?

Great! Tomorrow I’ll be sending you the second step in this Guide to Learn How to DIY Anything! Be sure to check your email inbox. I’d also love to hear from you. Let me know what’s holding you back by leaving me a comment or emailing me.

P.s. Want to start browsing some DIY projects you can complete after this guide? Go ahead and click on the button below to be taken to my project gallery. Feel free to pin the projects you want to tackle.

21 replies
  1. Mary Lou
    Mary Lou says:

    I am so excited to have found you! Growing up, I was allowed to do lots of things and my parents both taught us what they did. My dad was the first editor of The Family Handyman magazine, so as you can imagine, there was a lot of DIY going on. Over the years, I got busy having children and helping my husband in his drug store, but he died and now it’s my grown son and me. When the drainpipe in the kitchen sink rotted, I decided there was no reason I couldn’t replace it myself. A new sink and faucet would be nice too. So I went online and studied like crazy, then did it. I have replaced a toilet and fixed furniture, built all sorts of things for my garden. But I want to tackle bigger things, and I don’t want to specialize in plumbing! I

    Reply
  2. Nicole
    Nicole says:

    I brought a fixer-upper and want to make it cute and updated. I want to make this cute little house feel more updated. And I don’t want to wait for anyone to help me. I met a woman recently who is on her 3rd fixerupper (and like me, she hopes its her last). Besides, I need a new hobby and focus. DIY-ing would be so empowering and rewarding.

    Reply
  3. Andria
    Andria says:

    Brittany- I’ve been following you on Facebook and want to learn more. My husband always did everything around the house. After he passed away I’ve tried to take care of things around the house and have done a few projects like putting a keypad on my garage door opener and putting in a Ring security system. Other things I’ve gotten stuck on like trying to replace the toilet fill valve- just couldn’t get the screw to turn Half the time I’ve just ended up hiring a handy man. I would like to try doing more things myself.

    Reply
  4. Sandy
    Sandy says:

    When I was a kid my father would tell us to go get a particular tool or something and if we couldn’t find it or didn’t even know what it was, he’d threaten. On the other hand, my mother – more present than my father – would often “putter” and fix things BUT we girls were never invited to actually learn what she was doing. As an adult I would TRY to fix something or WISH I could build something but only could do it haphazardly. I am now in my 70’s and am determined to learn at least a few CORRECT techniques to accomplish what I’ve “wished for” so am looking forward to following your guides.

    Reply
  5. Clara
    Clara says:

    Brittany, I am so happy I came here! I can’t wait for the next email! You are awesome! We all need that boost of confidence sometimes. 👍🏻🛠

    Reply
  6. Mindy
    Mindy says:

    That negative mental chatter is hanging around too much and it is also starting to affect my daughter. I need to block this negativity and find my “Can Do” positivity! I found your blog about a year ago and love that you do everything with such confidence. You are an amazing virtual mentor and cannot wait to gain the confidence and learn some diy projects that my daughter and I can conquer together!

    Reply
  7. Jessica Meade
    Jessica Meade says:

    Thank you so much for this. I’ve been learning on my own and from great women like you for a few years. We are currently planning on building a deck and I realized I was feeling like I couldn’t possibly do it – but I can. Of course I can. One step at a time, learning each piece as I go, the same that I have done with everything I have built so far. Thanks for this awesome post and I will be here reading the next one too! – Jess

    Reply
  8. Carole Garrison
    Carole Garrison says:

    I like several of my friends are single females who own our own homes. But in school I took sewing and cooking but the girls did not take shop. I did take some classes at a community wood working shop that not longer exist. My friends and I tired to find classes at local community centers and tech schools how to fix things in our houses but none exist. So I am so thankful for people like you. I do worry about making/fixing things as I am afraid of messing something up and having to call in a professional to fix. But I am doing a few projects the more I do the more I feel like I can fix stuff. So thank you.

    Reply
    • Brittany Bailey
      Brittany Bailey says:

      Carole, so happy to virtually meet you! I had the same experience. Took a relationship class instead of shop in high school. I never took a woodworking class, but in College I had an intro to 3-D sculpture class and using power tools for the first time had me hooked.

      Let’s break down your fear of messing something up. If it’s broken, it’s already messed up. Or if it’s not your style, it’s already not right. If you do get stuck, you can always call in for help. But, why not give it a go first? Most “fix it projects” are simply unscrewing a screw, nut, bolt, and replacing the fixture. Go ahead and do your research upfront, i.e. YouTube or other resources. I’ve got your hand on this! I know you can do it.

      Reply
  9. Diane
    Diane says:

    Brittany, I wish you could be my mentor! I grew in a household where the boys got to do all of the fixing /and DIY stuff,while the girls basically, didn’t 🙁 I have always wanted to fix things, or make things but really do lack confidence. I am looking forward to reading about the next piece of advice you have. Thanks , Diane

    Reply
    • Brittany Bailey
      Brittany Bailey says:

      Diane, I am your virtual mentor. Stick around here and kick out all those negative messages building up the 🚧road blocks. Give yourself some credit, you can do this! We all started at zero experience somewhere along the way. There’s no reason you can’t start now!

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.