The global market for DIY in 2018 was valued at over $800 billion and is expected to grow another 4.5% by 2025. Although DIY’ing has been gaining popularity since the 1950s the largest growing user group is millennials. Motivated by personal economics and an increased self-satisfaction, people are DIY’ing everything from mending clothes and baking bread to fixing cars and home renovations.
While this is all well and good there is a darker side to DIY that often goes unnoticed until it’s too late. We’ve all been there: projects that take hours or days, costs more than if you had just bought it, and fights with significant others. You’ve heard the horror stories even if you haven’t actually been there. As DIY lovers ourselves, we’ve learned the hard way the real cost of a project gone wrong and we’re going to share some key takeaways.
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Weigh your “cost” of hassle and time against the actual cost. As the saying goes, “time is money” and many of us forget to value our own time--especially those of us who are “yes” people. Consider this, our Lint Bin Holder costs $19.99 (+shipping) but you’re feeling creative and are considering making your own. To make your own Lint Bin Holder you’ll have to head to a local superstore to get the container, magnet attachments, glue gun, and miscellaneous decorating supplies. Don’t forget to factor in the gasoline expense and time it took to go to the store. Is there a better way?
Let’s say your project took a total of two hours and supplies cost approximately $15.99. Now, think about everything else you could have done or accomplished in that time. Was it worth the $4 you saved? Was missing time with your family, reading a good book, relaxing on the deck, or whatever, worth the $4 you saved?
If the answer is no, go ahead and splurge on the Lint Bin Holder (or whatever you’re trying to DIY).
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It’s not always as easy as it looks. Pinterest and Youtube make everything easy. In just 5-minutes you can learn how to strip your old wallpaper, prime, and put up new paint. But we all know that videos are polished to look that way and cutting a straight edge on a step stool isn’t as easy as you think.
Whether you’re painting a room or building your own washroom organizer we’ve all been hours deep into a project that was only supposed to take 30-minutes. You wanted to recreate our Dryer Sheet Dispenser but instead the bandsaw is pinched, you’ve got the wrong size magnets, or as it turns out the dryer sheet box doesn’t even fit. How did it go so wrong?!
- It also might not be as cheap as it looks. Unless you’re someone who has a lot of tools or crafting supplies laying around, endeavoring on a DIY project can end up much more costly than anticipated. The supplies themselves may not break the bank but an essential tool could increase your total investment in the project over market rate prices. Do you really plan on reusing that essential tool or tools again? Before starting a DIY project, ensure that you have all the tools necessary. If you don’t, find out the costs and ask yourself, does it really makes sense to invest, before you go supply shopping? Perhaps ordering it online and having it arrive in a couple days is a better option.
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Teamwork does not always make the dream work. According to Real Simple the top DIY projects that lead to an argument are electrical wiring or rewiring, drywall hanging, and replacing an electrical outlet. The project least likely to end in an argument? Appliance installation!
The cause of most arguments is attributed to someone making a mistake, like getting the wrong part or spilling something. Experience has shown us that not all couples can--or should be allowed to--work together. And that’s okay, being in a healthy relationship means understanding strengths and weaknesses and adjusting as needed.