As a single mom the challenges are never ending…that’s for sure. One of the biggest challenges for me would be all the little maintenance projects around my house. Sometimes I have to figure out if these “projects” are worth my time or if I can even do them. One gift I received in my new found singleness is the assortment of tools I inherited to help me get the job done.
If you are a single mom or just a mom without a “handy” man…I highly recommend you getting yourself …..noooooooo…not a man….some tools…and take time out to get familiar with your new tools, so when the time arises you will be ready to tackle your DIY project.
One of the many tasks that I’ve attempted to do around the house by myself has been to clean the filter tank on the pool. Yes, you could say that I should have won an award for the comedy act of the year trying to be super woman and do it all by myself. Not only did I ruin a perfectly good outfit but I found out my guns were not as strong as I thought they were because it was too heavy for me to lift out of the pool. So…I wised up…put my bathing suit on and got my strapping 12 year old son to help me with the grunt work. We figured out how to clean that filter and now it gets easier every time we go to tackle the pool maintenance! Plus, we are working together to get the job done and making memories at the same time!
Everything doesn’t always go so well, like when I tried to fix a wire in the control panel of the pool and sparks went flying! It took half a second to know this was a job for an electrician …not a mom with safety goggles and a bikini.
Even younger kids can jump in and help with DIY projects, just like when my 8 year old daughter and I installed the most important fixture in the house… the necessity (toilet) paper holder. She was so proud when we accomplished this feat and that it worked correctly AND stayed on the wall!
Oh and there is the time I installed a chandelier…but it’s not a pretty picture so…we won’t go there!
A major problem we had was when a baby raccoon got stuck up in the attic of our garage. This was a situation where I was so grateful to have a friend come to our rescue and save me, the kids….and the raccoon!
I don’t always have someone around here to help fix things but with Google (a girl’s best friend) and the right tools I always seem to figure it out. So be encouraged not to let the little things turn into big things and get you down, as one of my favorite quotes goes…
”There is joy in work. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.” Henry Ford
Laundry Mom~Melanie ♥
