DIY

I’ve lived in my home for 8 years. At first, I was just grateful to have a home; the Denver housing market is a nightmare. Little by little, and dollar by dollar, I’ve renovated and updated. I like DIY projects but even I knew better than to attempt replacing windows or installing central air. Last year, I enlisted the assistance of my gbabes to help spread 6 tons of rock and to stain the deck. They thought my offer of $25/hr was “too much” until they actually spread 6 tons of rock. Trust me, it was $ well spent.

This week, I decided to “save money” and install a curtain rod I purchased 7 years ago. I gathered my tools, set up the ladder, and began my “How hard can it be?” DIY project. Long story short, after disassembling the previous brackets, patching the holes, and painting the wall, all before installing the new rod, I’m here to tell ya, it’s harder than it looks.

In my effort to “save money,” I bought a pair of curtains at Goodwill for $5.99. When I got them home, I realized they were too short. I painstakingly took out the hem, pressed the creases, and hemmed them again. I then embarked on installing the curtain rod. Suffice it to say, the installation did not go well. In fact, it went so poorly I ended up paying a handyman $50.00 to fix the multitude of holes and hang the curtain rod correctly. Imagine my surprise when I hung the curtains and they were still too short. At that point, money was no object and I promptly ordered some from Amazon for $36.99. They look lovely.

A few days later, I realized the Goodwill curtains could be used in another room. (They really are nice curtains!) Unfortunately, now the curtains were too long and had to be rehemmed to their original length. I also had to buy a new curtain rod for $20.00 because the one I had wasn’t wide enough. And then there was the problem of installing it. I was determined to watch as many YouTube videos as necessary in order to become accomplished in the fine art of curtain rod hanging. It took more time than I will ever admit but I was successful-ish. Upon a final inspection of my handywork, I realized I was 1/4″ off on one side. If you know me, you know I cannot live with that kind of shoddy workmanship. My attempts to correct the problem resulted in 4 holes where there were once 2, but the project is complete.

So far, I have NOT “saved” $112.98 + tax.