YouTube is Your Friend for Home Repairs

While I had been a home owner for some time, when I became single, I realized how much I didn't know about fixing things.  I had always had a basic set of tools.  My dad gave me some duplicates of his tools when I went away to school, and I knew the basics of how to use a screwdriver, wrench, and hammer, but that was about it.  

When the crack in my concrete steps became bigger, I had to figure something out.  So I turned to YouTube.  I watched a few videos to see how to make the necessary repairs.  One of the guys in a video said that it didn't hurt to try, after all, the steps were already broken, so you couldn't make it worse.  So I gave it a try.  

My concrete patch didn't go so well, it turns out you really should measure the amount of water you're adding to the concrete mix.   But my repair got the steps through another winter and I was able to patch it again the next year.  My next goal for the steps is to get them replaced entirely, but for now, patching has done the trick.  

I've also fixed both my washer and dryer with the help of YouTube.  The washer was super easy, I needed to cut 1 wire to bypass the lid switch.  The hardest part was figuring out how to get into the control panel.  Once I saw it done on YouTube, I was able to do it, no problem.  

The dryer took a bit more because the belt snapped.  I had to take it apart completely, then put it back together.  I had to go to 2 different stores as the Home Depot did not carry the belts.  The gentleman there told me exactly what store I needed to go to for appliance parts.  While I was getting the belt replaced, I decided to get a new light bulb as it had been burnt out for awhile.  

While it was opened, I vacuumed out all the lint and dust.  I had my youngest helping me to put it back together, but we got super frustrated with each other.  Once she left, it turned out I was able to do it alone.  I was surprised that I could fix it by myself.

Being able to fix things makes me feel like a badass.  I try to involve my kids so that they know that they can fix things too.  It's a learning experience for me and a teaching moment for them.  

I highly recommend checking out YouTube and watching a few videos to figure things out.  You might be surprised by how much you can fix too!  Have you done any repairs?  Let me know!  

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