Why You Should Start with DIY – And Why DIY is Good for You

Most of us have a list of things in our mind that we’ve always wanted to have. Buying them is the first option that comes to mind—especially if you are not the best handyman. But with a bit of work and a good plan, you can do a lot of things yourself. In doing so, you’ll find that there’s a lot more satisfaction in DIY than you might think at first glance.

So why would you build things yourself instead of buying them? DIY is not only cheaper, but it also gives you the opportunity to customize projects exactly to your needs, hone your building skills, and give you the pride and satisfaction of owning stuff that you built with our own hands.

In this article, we’ll look at the most considerable advantages of DIY. Apart from that, I’ll show you how you can easily build your own stuff, even if you’re not a bonafide craftsman. Let’s take a better look at the beautiful world of DIY.

Can anyone start with DIY?

If you’re healthy and can wield a set of tools, you’re perfectly able to build just about anything you want. Of course, you won’t be able to design a complete house or a smartphone. However, there are a lot of things that are within the scope of possibilities for just about anyone.

I’m not a skilled craftsman myself. However, I’ve been able to finish some projects with relative ease and with excellent results. It was a lot of work, but I discovered it was much easier than I expected.

What are the main reasons you should start with DIY?

I found there are a couple of things that you won’t be able to get if you buy stuff in a store. For me, these reasons were important enough to do a lot more DIY in the future.

DIY is a lot cheaper

If you choose storebought products over DIY, you’ll find that it’s A LOT more expensive. If you build stuff yourself the only costs you will run into are the materials needed to create a finished product.

You should also consider the cost of electricity and the time you spend building. For me, those – especially the latter – are not significant factors. The costs of electricity turned out to be negligible, and I enjoyed the time I spent building.

In hindsight, I was able to get a finished product for about a quarter of the price I would have to pay in a store. That can add up over time. In my case, it enabled me to get all the stuff I wanted within the limits of my budget.

DIY gives you a feeling of accomplishment

I never thought I would say this, but I’m very proud of what I was able to build. When you put in time and effort into an object, you also get a bit of an emotional connection with it.

The best way to describe it is probably a sense of pride and accomplishment. You don’t get that when you pick something up in the store. I have also found I take care of my stuff a lot more if I’ve built it myself because of that.

DIY lets you customize projects to your exact needs

Adjusting your DIY plan to your exact needs is effortless. In a lot of cases, you want to personalize your object or give it a personal touch. Building stuff yourself gives you almost unlimited options in doing so.

In my case the issue was space. I have a small corner in my garden to nicely fit in a BBQ. I modified my DIY plan to get the tight and custom fit I had in mind before I started this project.

You can also give your projects personal touches and choose different materials if you want to. DIY gives you the freedom to do all of that and still keep all the core features you want.

DIY is addictive

I’m not a craftsman at all by nature. But building stuff myself not only gives me awesome projects, but it also turned out to be one of my favorite ways to spend my past time.

Working on my projects doesn’t feel like a chore to me at all. In fact, I like doing it a lot: the challenge and the satisfaction of finishing projects that add value to my day to day life turned out to excite me.

Once you finish up your first project, it is very appealing to start another one, and I can recommend it to anyone.

So what have I been able to build myself?

In my case, I was looking for a few things to improve my garden. I’m proud to say I’ve successfully built my own:

• BBQ
• Lawn chairs
• Kitchen cutting board

This might not be impressive to a skilled laborer, but to me, this is quite the accomplishment. I’ve never built anything significant in my life so successfully finishing up these projects was a big deal to me.

What am I planning to build next?

Now that I’m a bit more confident in my ability to get projects done, I’m upping the ante a bit. So here’s a list of things I want to build by myself during the summer:

• Small car trailer
• Fence to surround my backyard
• Septic tank

It’s going to be a hell of a task for me, and I’m really looking forward to tackling the task at hand. My past experiences have taught me not to overthink it though and just start building. I’m pumped to start and can’t wait.

What did I use to build my own stuff?

Not a lot. In fact, in most cases, there are only five things you’ll need to DIY most things. Here is all I needed to DIY my very own products as a non-skilled individual:

• A solid DIY plan (mine were from gizmoplans.com obviously)
• Building materials
• Tools
• A workplace to build

If you have the above in order, building stuff is almost as easy as assembling furniture from Ikea. Of course, there are a lot more bells and whistles involved in building objects from scratch.

At the end of the day, it was as simple as that though. I took a good look at my DIY plan, got the materials I needed, and started building. From that point on it’s a simple matter of following along with the steps in your DIY plan and make sure you get everything right.

I had to redo some things during this process, but as I got further along the errors I made became fewer and fewer. My skills improved a lot since my first project, and I’m faster and more confident now.

Are there limitations to what I can build with DIY?

The sky is the limit with DIY. Of course, you will have to consider your skill and experience. Everything on gizmoplans should be a good fit for a beginner to intermediate DIY enthusiast.

You can build anything from a complete house or cabin, a swimming pool or keep it as simple as a cutting board (like I did). I view it as a journey that will add to my abilities as I go along.

If you are new to DIY, then start with a simple project that should be fairly easy to complete. This will get your juices flowing and build your confidence. Take it from there and develop your skills and knowledge.

I made a list of things I want to have and prioritized projects that I want to build or need first. Then I shop for a DIY plan and pick I date to start. It’s as simple as that.

Don’t be scared to start or underestimate your abilities. If you have the mindset a good plan and some dedication is all you will need to build awesome and useful projects.

Take a look at the DIY plans gizmoplans.com has to offer and get inspired during the process. I can tell you from first-hand experience you’ll not be disappointed.

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