1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to try doing something for yourself that 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: you're used to leaving to the pros. When you do 5 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,239 Speaker 1: something for the first time, like cutting your kid's hair 6 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: or baking bread, you don't have to be afraid. Yes, 7 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: people get better at things over time, so the pros 8 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: will do it better. But much of day to day 9 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:39,159 Speaker 1: life isn't rocket science, and a reasonable job can be Okay, 10 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,760 Speaker 1: watch the videos, do your research, then take a deep 11 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:48,599 Speaker 1: breath and tell yourself you've got this now. I want 12 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: to start this episode with the caveat that some stuff 13 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:55,280 Speaker 1: really does require the pros. When our heater broke before 14 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,280 Speaker 1: the recent cold snap, we were glad that certain residential 15 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: construction and repair is categorized as essential. Some stuff is 16 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,839 Speaker 1: pretty dangerous to attempt yourself, like cutting trees, electrical work, 17 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: or roof repair. I'll also state that in normal times, 18 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: I'm a big believer in outsourcing chores that you don't 19 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 1: want to do in order to preserve time for leisure 20 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: and relationships. But with social distancing, it's definitely more difficult 21 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: to just call someone or make an appointment than in 22 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:29,320 Speaker 1: the past. So consequently, when it comes to basic home 23 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 1: repairs and grooming and the like, many people are having 24 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,680 Speaker 1: Bob the Builder movements. In the children's show, the characters 25 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 1: often ask themselves, can we fix it? The answer is 26 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: always yes, we can. Odds are good that this is 27 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: the answer for you too. For instance, I'm pretty sure 28 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 1: that you can color your own hair. I've actually been 29 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:54,200 Speaker 1: dyeing my own hair for years, since long before COVID. 30 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: This is the sort of thing that I suppose could 31 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: be intimidating, but I did my research and learned the 32 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: bay sick stuff that's going to matter, like do you 33 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: want warm undertones or cool undertones. I noted that in 34 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:09,839 Speaker 1: salons the colorists are often pulling strands of hair through 35 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,360 Speaker 1: some sort of cap, and I realized that this is 36 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:15,799 Speaker 1: how you create highlights, which would probably look better than 37 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,080 Speaker 1: just throwing the bottle on my head. By choosing an 38 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: appropriate color and then imitating the highlighting technique, I think 39 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:25,080 Speaker 1: I've done an okay job, or at least I've saved 40 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: a boatload of cash and time over the years. I've 41 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: also realized that furniture, as simply is just not that 42 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 1: big a deal. I started out with the occasional ikea bookcase. 43 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 1: I wind about it, for sure, but then over time 44 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: I became more confident wielding an Alan wrench and a 45 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 1: Phillip's head screw driver. Recently, my ten year old son 46 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: and I put together our new dining room table and 47 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,800 Speaker 1: the baby's crib. I built an outdoor table lots of fun. 48 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:56,360 Speaker 1: I hemmed our curtains, and now I'm pondering doing the 49 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 1: same for my new jeans, since I doubt the tailor 50 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 1: is opening soon. Learning skills always feels good if the 51 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: parking lot at home depot is any indication. People are 52 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: taking on all kinds of home projects, painting, landscaping, home repairs. 53 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,800 Speaker 1: Parents are realizing what their kids are capable of. The 54 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: Internet is full of teenagers teaching themselves to sew and 55 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 1: making face masks for those in their community. So if 56 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,960 Speaker 1: there's something reasonable that you've never tried before, do a 57 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,640 Speaker 1: few things. First, figure out if it's likely to end 58 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:32,639 Speaker 1: with you in the e er if you can safely 59 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,240 Speaker 1: do it. Then read up a bit on what matters 60 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:40,520 Speaker 1: the equivalent of warm versus cool undertones, watch a few videos, 61 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: gather your materials and talk yourself through the steps. Then 62 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 1: sees an uninterrupted period of time and do it. Yes, 63 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: it might not go perfectly, but you can recover from 64 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: a lot. We're having an excellent risotto for lunch today 65 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 1: after it didn't quite make it to dinner last night. 66 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 1: Turns out it needed to simmer, not come off the heat. 67 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 1: The maide from scratch pizza dough needed some extra flour, 68 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 1: but it was quite tasty. There are two good reasons 69 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: for trying do it yourself projects, beyond the good feelings 70 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,559 Speaker 1: well and saving cash. First, we don't have to wait 71 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: for whenever things get back to normal. I do believe 72 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: that life will get back to normal, but who knows 73 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: for sure when that will be. By learning how to 74 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: do things for ourselves, we're able to live fuller, more 75 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:34,280 Speaker 1: comfortable lives in the meantime, or at least lives without roots. 76 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,279 Speaker 1: And Second, by building our skills when we do decide 77 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 1: to outsource in the future, we'll know what a good 78 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: job looks like. We are smarter consumers When we know 79 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:48,040 Speaker 1: what the problem is and how to solve it. We 80 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: can ask smarter questions and troubleshoot the little things. So today, 81 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:55,479 Speaker 1: go ahead and figure out how you might tackle that 82 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,840 Speaker 1: project that seems slightly intimidating. Just like Bob the Builder, 83 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 1: you may find yourself shouting can we fix it? Yes 84 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: we can. If you've had any Bob the Builder triumphs 85 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: inspired by social distancing, you can tell me about them 86 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com. In 87 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's 88 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 1: to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd 89 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:30,760 Speaker 1: love to hear from you. You can send me your tips, 90 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:34,520 Speaker 1: your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, 91 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:39,600 Speaker 1: Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's b E 92 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 1: the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can 93 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at 94 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: iHeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out 95 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,920 Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward 96 00:05:53,960 --> 00:06:02,159 Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of 97 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:05,520 Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, 98 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,520 Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 99 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.