A man's got to know his limitations (Clint Eastwood)

I am not sure which movie this comes from, but this is my husband's mantra whenever we start a project.  Mine is "know your fabrics, know your colors" from Mermaids.  You know the movie where Cher moves every time she gets ticked off?  If not, go rent it.  But I digress.  We are very fortunate in that Paul my husband can do just about anything in the DIY world (yes Paul you can even if you say you can't), from plumbing, electrical, woodworking, painting, etc., that we save a bundle on labor.  BUT, if he turns to me and says, we need to call the plumber, electrician, tile guy, etc. to make this right, then I listen (however much I complain about the cost).  And it takes a lot for Paul to say that because he is "fiscally conservative."  Take heed folks, the $200.00 you spend on labor now might save you $1,000 in an emergency call at midnight.  

Then there are those DIY reality shows where two people redo their kitchen in a weekend or someone comes up to folks in a hardware store and says  - hey let me redo your house. Trust me, unless they have a bucket load of minnons behind the scenes, it ain't a happening (or if it does, I hate to see what the end product is). So if you watch them, take them with a grain of salt.  I am going to make a plug for one that Paul watches and I do sometimes, which is Holmes on Holmes, a Canadian show.  That one is scary because you are watching someone fix what so called "professionals" did.

The other tip is know what your place is in your DIY relationship.  My husband does all of the building, painting (we learned a long time ago that Cindy does not paint well - or at least well enough to satisfy Paul), etc.  And what is my part, you ask?   I'm the person who holds boards while Paul is running them through a table saw, holds boards while they are being nailed, screwed or glued,  helps unload the stuff from the local hardware store, rents the truck at the local hardware store to bring the stuff home, helps haul stuff to the curb, research on the final "look",  looks for paint colors, style of cabinets, sinks, faucets, hardware, etc.,  goes to the hardware store to get caulk, paint, etc., and most importantly finds the tape measure or other tools.

Before you start a project, know what your strong points are as well as your partner.  That's why we decided to hire a kitchen designer.  More on that in the next post.