Painful Projects
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Just me on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 6:01 PM
Ever take on a project and wish you hadn’t?
We have cloth diapers: two dozen one-size pocket diapers. After 1.5 years of use, the velcro was wearing out. They stuck together in the wash, and while it’s certainly fun for the children when you pull the diapers out of the dryer in one long string, it’s not so fun for the mama.
So I got the idea to convert the velcro to snaps. And for some reason I decided it would be a good idea to do it myself.
When I say “myself” I mean, fortunately, “with the help of two of my sisters.” The girls pitched in, and it was a good thing that they did, because wow. Considering its comparatively small scope, this turned out to be a doozy of a project.
There are some projects that are big, but clearly worth it. Last winter the whole family pitched in to help my parents paint and re-floor their new house, and although it was a big job, it saved them thousands of dollars. Worth it.
Converting the velcro on the diapers myself saved us about $2 a diaper. Since it took a total of about an hour of work to do each one, that meant my sisters and I were earning the equivalent of $2/hour to do it.
(Not that I paid them! They totally owe me for all the hours I spent babysitting them when we were young.)
For work that I can do well and/or enjoy, $2/hour is more than I need. For converting the diapers, which turned out to be painful and tediously detailed, it was not enough. When, days later, we finally finished the last diaper, I exhaled deeply and swore never to do it again.
My husband comes from “call the guy” stock, while people in my family tend to be do-it-yourself-ers. One of the fun challenges in our marriage is trying to balance those two points of view (and our budget).
After what I went through with the diaper debacle, I’m thinking the next couple points in that game are going to him.
Have you ever taken on a project and wished you hadn’t? Or, conversely, paid someone to do something that you later realized you should/could have done yourself?
photo credit: Alan Cleaver
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