#a screwdriver might not be of use when you're trying to hammer down a nail. so don't use it for that?

[moleshow]

sometimes what gets passed around on this website as economic theory/analysis just like... is not

[mcyt-peach]

Hi

So me and my father we have been building together new kitchen and I was really surprised how much I actually helped so that got me thinking 🤔

Dream team (separate) when they came home to help the reader (preferred female) put together like new furniture and they would be like “I was gone for only one hour how the f did you build all of this?” Or something 😂🙏🏻

I trought it would be fun and cute lill headcanon 💗

Yours 🎧anon

dream team building furniture with their s/o

⋆｡˚ summary: building furniture is frustrating to begin with, but your boyfriend never expected you would be this good at it

⋆｡˚ including: cc!dream, cc!sapnap, and cc!george

⋆｡˚ warnings: technically reader uses they/them pronouns, swearing

⋆｡˚ note: 🎧anon this was so fun to write, I love doing stuff like this where it's just sort of day to day, domestic situations that are still fun because of the people you're with

Dream

Dream would always say you were his favorite, but Patches came in a close second

so when he found the most expensive, highest rated cat tower being advertised on twitter... of course he bought it

the box that came a week later was much bigger than expected and to his horror, the tower didn’t come assembled

with all the pieces laid out, the two of you got to work, hoping to finish it within the day

Dream, in typical fashion, was completely confident that he’d have no problem with the building process

but the tiny tools included with the pieces were giving Dream a run for his money

“Why would they even include these? It doesn’t even fit the screw!”

“I think you might be using the wrong end.”

“That’s it! I’m getting the tool box.”

with Dream searching the basement for his collection of screwdrivers, hammers and nails, you decided to test your theory

just like you expected, he had been using the wrong side of the tool and with that, all the pieces fell into place

when Dream finally emerged from the basement, he was beyond confused at the sight of Patches purring happily in her new tower

“What the fuck!”

your gasp was followed by you covering the kitty’s ears, “Not in front of the baby, Dream!”

Sapnap

visiting home wasn’t something Sapnap got to do very often, so when he did finally visit, his family was sure to take advantage of his presence

they were even more excited when he brought you along, saying something along the lines of “having an extra pair of hands” as they ushered the two of you into the living room

there lied boxes and boxes of new furnishings they had bought, leaving you, Sapnap and his little sister, to set everything up

while Sapnap struggled to understand the instructions, his sister bounced around the room, waiting to be given instructions

instructions that would sadly never come, as Sapnap decided she was too young to help move around the bulky materials and trying to help her would just take more time

she pouted a bit until you asked about lunch and Sapnap left to pick something up from a local restaurant

once he left, you beckoned the little girl over, “You ever play with legos?”

“YES!!!” she was more than excited to show off her building skills as she worked on setting up the pieces and you handled the more dangerous tools

“I’m back! Hope you don’t mind pizza...” Sapnap was quickly quieted by your shushing, as his sister was curled up, napping on the newly built couch

“How did you do all this?” his confusion was genuine when he settled on the couch beside you

you shrugged, grinning a bit, “Your sister’s really good at legos, I guess.”

George

George had decided your trip to IKEA and subsequent building of your new furniture was prime stream material

so while your time at the store was full of him goofing off and getting suggestions from chat, your time at home was anything but enjoyable

ever the one to enjoy his rest, George has a hard time coming to turn with the fact that he bought so much furniture and he had to build ALL of it

after nearly an hour, he basically gave up, laying down on the carpet and closing his eyes

he was clearly tired, so you decided to disconnect the speakers and move the microphone closer to you to chat quietly with the viewers

to your surprise, many of the viewers had advice for you, sending in donos about pieces that fit differently than the instructions described

in the end, you were able to get the furniture together much faster than expected with the help of chat

you were saying your goodbye’s to the viewers when George finally decided to come back to the land of the living

he took one look around the room, seeing the new chairs and tables already built, and shot straight up

“OH MY GOD HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN ASLEEP!”

mans really thought he was passed out for a couple of days because of how much you got done

[labelleizzy]

Go. Fix things.

Six screenshots of a Facebook post by Meagan MvGovern:

Text ID:

I grew up in rental houses. Dozens of them. We never fixed anything, and I didn't know you *could* fix anything.

But when we got married, Mark owned his house, and when I moved in I was gobsmacked. This wasn't a rental! You could hang up pictures with nails? Buy new carpet? Get new flooring? Fantastic!

But when Mark went to replace rotten siding on the house, I was *horrified*. I couldn't believe that he'd do something like that to our house, that he wouldn't call a repairman. How could he know how to fix a HOUSE? A house is a specialized thing and needs a fixer.

But Mark ripped out the siding, and put in new siding, and painted it, and it looked just fine.

And then we needed a new hot water heater. And Mark took a saw to OUR PIPES IN OUR HOUSE. I was convinced he'd be dead and the house would be flooded. He pointed out that he was an engineer who designed the water systems at chemical plants and might know what he was doing. I wasn't convinced. But we had a new hot water heater in a couple of hours, without a plumber.

And so I watched Mark fix stuff over the years, but I didn't get how to do it.

I couldn't get the hang of the tools. I wanted to try carpentry, but I sucked at it. I tried fixing a few things, but didn't know how.

My dad was great at carpentry, but he left by the time I was ten, and all I knew from him about carpentry was that it was a mystical skill like glassblowing that you did as a way to show off your talent and you needed special tools and training. He liked to talk about how you had to hammer in a nail in three blows, and how the right hand tools made all the difference.

And whenever I tried to fix anything, it was all wrong. This wasn't meant for me. The tools were too heavy. I was too short for everything. I couldn't get crowbars to work. I couldn't lift the circular saw to go where I wanted it. Drills stripped out everything I tried. Nails bent, every time.

I couldn't keep track of tools, and they didn't work right anyway.

And then, slowly, I realized that the reason these tools didn't work for me is because they weren't built for me.

No, I can't use screwdrivers and hammers very well. And drills are heavy. And circular saws are way too big for my hands. And everything I want to do is always about a foot above where I can comfortably reach. Everything is awkward and hard.

And I started to see that it really is the tools, not the user. One year I got a set of lightweight, small, cordless DeWalt tools for Christmas and it changed everything.

I had a circular saw that fit my hands! One that was light enough to use everywhere, and that I didn't have to lug around extension cords for, and that I could take inside and outside for jobs.

And it turns out that you don't have to hammer in nails for every job.

You can get a thing called a driver, that's really a fancy cordless drill, but it screws in screws for you and has interchangeable bits and you can do huge amounts of work in a fraction of the time it takes to screw around with a hammer and nail.

If you get a good stepladder, all of the sudden, that screw that won't go in? It goes in like magic. You just have to know where to stand and when you're in the right place, it all works.

And there are Youtube videos for EVERYTHING, and they show you how to do it, and while sure, there is a guy who will mansplain everything to you at every hardware store, every single time, there are also a whole lot of men who listen to what you're asking, give you pretty decent advice, take you seriously, and show you exactly what you need to get the job done -- especially if you've watched enough Youtube videos so you know the right terminology and know what to ask for and how to explain what you're looking for.

People who I've asked for help with design, planning, and with tools have been patient, kind, and eager to help someone learn the skills needed to do the job.

And now I have a cordless driver, drill, and circular saw, all sorts of bits and batteries, a jigsaw, a weird tool that hammers nails into concrete with small explosions, a table saw (this one still scares me, TBH, and I avoid it, and there's no "small/inexperienced-person friendly" version of a table saw -- it's just a scary beast,) and about ten measuring tapes and squares because I lose them ALL THE TIME.

Mark does plumbing and electric.

I do all carpentry and painting.

And in the last two years, I've remodeled a storage room in my basement into a huge pantry, added a closet to the basement bedroom, put in French doors to replace sliding doors (this was a fail and they don't work right and might have to be redone but they work better than the sliding doors did!), put in vinyl flooring in two rooms in the basement, replaced the windows in the basement, took up carpet in the hallway and put down hardwood flooring, and then took up carpet on the stairs and put down oak treads.

Two years ago I couldn't run a saw.

And now I've rebuilt a barn.

Go get tools that work for you.

Use ladders to reach where you need so you can see things clearly. Having the right angle and the right perspective is everything.

Don't let tools made for other people keep you from fixing up your life to be the way you want it to be.

Go get the tools you need to do the job right, instead of thinking you're not the right person for the job.

Go fix things.