Whenever something breaks your first thought is to call a professional, but that’s not always the best plan. Many things are very easy to repair, and you may as well throw cash into the street instead of calling a repair man. Do it yourself has many rewards including learning new skills, self-gratification, and saving money.
1.) Fix broken electrical plugs
Bent the prongs on an electrical device? Not making a connection? Most of the time this is a very easy fix for what could be an expensive kitchen gadget or other appliance. I have a pre-lit Christmas tree, and of course the main plug that powers the whole tree went out last December.
For under $2, and a couple minutes of my time I fixed the plug, and have a perfectly working tree again. You can pick up replacement plugs in the hardware section of places like Walmart, or Home Depot.
Snip the cord at an even place, and feed it into the new connector. This will establish a new connection, and fix your plug shorting problem.
2. Install your own operating system
Most of the time when people have trouble with their computer it’s windows errors. Over time your computer collects junk programs, and viruses. Eventually these weigh down your computer, and effect your performance.
If a virus starts eating away at your system files it may decide not to boot even! As daunting as this task may seem it is not a difficult repair, but it is one that your computer repair guy will charge you at least $200 to fix.
You can purchase your own Windows installation disk from most any store that sells computer software. Step one, is simply insert the disk. Many operating system disks will let you run from the actually desktop interface.
If not you may have to boot from disk. Which is still fairly easy. You’ll have to navigate through the bios screen; which is mostly following directions on the screen.
After you start your installation you can simply overwrite your existing windows installation or you can delete it, and start a brand new one. If you over write it your windows files will be fixed, but you may still have to get rid of spyware.
3.) Get rid of spyware, adware, and viruses
Again, another very easy to fix problem. However, many people will slam their computer around, and pay a technician a pretty penny to watch a scanner do all the work. You don’t need to pay $50 a year for a good virus program either.
If you leave your computer on all the time like I do you can also schedule scans. Mine run from 1am to 4am. I never have to even interact with the programs unless there’s a problem. Most of the time it’s fixed automatically.Try out these totally free utilities to keep your computer safe.
AVG - Anti-Virus will run constantly, catching threats. It will let you try to repair, delete, or quarantine a virus so it won’t damage your system any more.
Zone Alarm Firewall isn;t really “needed” since Windows has a built in firewall. However, I’ve found the standard one to leave much to be desired. Especially if you want to allow exceptions, because if you’ve ever used Vista you know Windows has a hard time understanding that sometimes you DO want to run programs.
Zone Alarm will automatically block programs until you try to run them. Upon which it will give you a message allowing you to either allow the program to access the internet or disable it from doing so. You can choose ‘always use this option’ so you never have to do it again also.
Spybot Search And Destroy does exactly what it says. It searches, and destroys bot programs that take up residence uninvited on your computer.
4.) Fix your toilet
Fill valves, and chains are painfully easy to fix. Yet you’ll still be paying the plumber’s standard hour bill so you could end up paying him $80 -$100 to fix something that could cost you about $5.
Most parts come with easy to follow instructions, and are just a matter of clipping parts in place. Plus, if you get a water saving valve it could save you a bundle on your water bill!
5.) Install your own flooring
Some flooring is harder than others. However, with the right research you can get the job done quickly, and for a lot less than if you hired a professional. Linoleum flooring is super cheap, easy to lay, and requires nothing more than a pair of scissors. Carpeting requires not much more, a box cutter, and a little time.
Ceramic tiles will take a little more work, but can be just as easy if you have concrete sub flooring down already. Just make sure the work area is nice, and clean before you start.
5.) Unclog your drains
Vinegar, and baking soda can be used to unclog a drain. You can skip the chemicals, or the plumber, and do it yourself. This mixture creates a reaction that will dissolve the clog. You may need to use more than one application for it to work though.
6.) Remove stains from carpets and clothes
Oops, you spilled something on the rug! Before you call an expensive carpet cleaner you may be able to get it out yourself! Depending on what type of stain you have there’s many household items that will do the job!
Soda/sticky stains - If you have a stain from something like cola - your stain is probably not from the soda itself. Even after you mop up the liquid it leaves a sticky residue on your carpet that attracts dirt. Sponge the stain with laundry detergent; then cover it with paper towels. Put something heavy on top of them to help lift the stain out.
Blood - I won’t ask how the blood got on your carpet or clothes, but if it did peroxide helps in removing it. This common first-aid helper will eat away these types of stains.
Pet stains/smelly stains - Opps, your new puppy just soiled your carpet. You can get rid of the scent by applying vinegar to the rug. This helps neutralize the odors left behind.
7.) Fix damaged furniture
Don’t get rid of it! Fix it! If you have some damaged furniture it can be pretty easy to touch it up. Try these methods to save your old digs, and give them new life.
Scuffed paint - You can purchase touch up pens for a couple dollars. If you’ve got a couple scratches on your favorite table you could do a quick fix on it.
Torn fabric - re-upholstering is a fairly easy job and fabric is pretty cheap. You can even use a staple gun to affix new fabric to the bottom of an old stool.
Wood filling - I recently had a solid wood chair I really like get chewed up by my dog. With some varnish remover, paint scrapper, and a couple scouring pads you can get to work fixing it. Remove the old stain/paint, fill the affected areas with wood filler putty, sand it down smooth, and re-paint or stain it. It should be noted painting will yield a much better look than staining. The wood filler doesn’t pick up stain as well as wood does. However, since paint will cover it; it’ll look much better.
8.) Refinish your cupboards
If you’ve been thinking of installing new cupboards; you could save a bundle by repainting or refinishing them. Much less work, much less mess, and much cheaper. You can even get new handles to go with your new paint job!
I think that these are all great but when you don’t know how to do something ask a friend. Friends are there to help you at all times!
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