A bad worker always blames her tools

One of the problems facing novice DIYers is knowing what tool to use for the job. Another is buying the cheapest tool available then discovering it is unequal to the task.

Make it and Mend it's Anne Caborn is a bit of a fanatical DIYer. She likes nothing more than a sharp blade or a well-turned angle grinder - unless it's a nice knotty bit of html. We asked her to pull together a list of products to go into the ideal beginner's toolbox as well as her advice on choosing them and using them.

Anne's sensible advice made me think how many tools I have bought and then wasted. Like the (very cheap) electric screwdriver and cordless drill I bought in a mad moment at B&Q, intending to get back into the DIY habit. One of these tools (I forget which) I never even got to use as I couldn't get the drill bits to fit properly and then one got stuck inside and broke off blocking the whole thing. The other was so crap it didn't hold its charge and was always flat when I tried to use it. So they may have had cheap price tickets but they proved very expensive mistakes.

My personal DIY history has happened in reverse. I started out in my early 20s with great confidence and tackled anything that came my way. I wallpapered. I tiled round the bath. I painted the house from top to bottom. I stripped paint and varnish off old furniture and then repainted and changed the handles. I was given a power drill for Christmas and used it all the time. Whilst I never tackled plumbing, apart from fixing an overflowing cistern, I did some very basic electrical tasks and always knew my Dad was on the end of the phone with helpful advice if I had any questions. Then I stopped. I started telling myself I was far too busy to do this kind of thing. My spare time was for relaxing and enjoying myself. So I started buying-in help. Once embarked on, this became an irreversible trend. I spent a fortune on painters and odd-job men. My tool kit lay neglected in the back of the cupboard and as time went on, my confidence eroded. I am ashamed to say that when I last moved house, I actually paid for someone to come and hang all the pictures !

Am I alone in this backward progression towards 'de-skilling'? Have any other people lost the skills they once possessed? Has anyone got them back again? If so how did it happen?

Your advice to a novice make and mender?

"I've never done this kind of thing before - I have no confidence - I don't know where to start"
We often hear this from people who want to live more creatively and sustainably but aren't sure where and how to start. So I decided to share some suggestions and invite all our readers to chip in with your ideas too.

The projects I have chosen here cover different areas of making and mending and share the following points in common:

• Fast to do - so there's a quick win - always good when you are starting something new (there's nothing worse than starting but not finishing something and then feeling guilty about it)
• Produce big, visible results - so you'll feel it's been worthwhile and a good return on the time and energy you've invested. They'll make a difference to your life or your surroundings.
  
• Easy - so this should give you confidence and enthusiasm to continue and to move on to bigger and more ambitious projects
• Cheap - ideally you can do them with materials you already have.

So that's the brief. Here's my suggestions. Please tell us yours. We'll put 'em on the makeitandmendit website - with instructons how to do.

Get into Gardening - try growing courgettes (zucchini)



This choice was based on seeds (cheap) and vegetables (thrifty) - growing from seed can seem a bit risky, a bit slow and a bit chancy if you haven't tried before. So go for courgettes. They have big seeds (a bit like melom seeds) so they're very easy to handle and plant and don't require all that thinning and pricking out. They grow quite fast and are easy to grow. They also produce yellow flowers so you'll have some floral interest and colour as well as eventual vegetable bounty! - and you can bung 'em in the freezer after - and live off them for ages.

Get into Sewing - by making a cushion cover



Cushion covers are super easy and require no special techniques - you don't need to put zips in - you can either sew up all four sides or add a flap and a couple of buttons. You can make a few cushion covers in an hour or so and will have an instant impact on your room. Here's our instructions on cushion cover making

Get into knitting - by sewing blanket squares
If you are a complete novice knitter then starting off by knitting some simple garter stitch squares for charity is a brilliant way to learn. You can use odd balls of yarn and in no time at all you'll have a square - and the satisfaction of knowing it's helping someone needy to stay warm. Loads of charities have schemes - we like this one - and on their website there are step-by-step instructions.

Get into cooking - use some leftovers


One of the easiest recipes for leftovers is bubble and squeak. Very old fashioned - but real comfort food and so easy to do. Here's some other ideas for cooking with leftovers
But then you have to have cooked in the first place to have leftovers - so if you are a super novice then try a spaghetti bolognese - very easy, very forgiving and very tasty.

Get into DIY - hang some pictures
I'm almost embarrassed to include this but I do know people who are afraid to bang a nail in a wall. Just pick your spot. Get a hammer. Get a nail. Bang it in. Hang the picture - et voila'! Instant room transformation.
So those are my top of the head suggestions. What are yours? Please post your ideas in the Comments below

Calling "DIY virgins" - here's the book for you

Following our piece yesterday on building your DIY confidence here is a great book to help you. If like me you are a bit of a DIY virgin, you need "DIY Doctor :- Know-how with Show-how". This is a perfect gift for the would-be make and mender who wants to get some confidence and gain some more skills.

The book is divided into tabbed sections covering Alterations and Repairs, Decorating & Finishing, Outdoor Repairs, Kitchens & Bathrooms, Electrics and Plumbing & Heating.

It is packed with really clear full colour photographs, taking you step by step through each of a series of the most common DIY tasks. I love it because it covers all those annoying jobs that are quite simple to do when you know how, but otherwise would have to get someone in and pay them to do it for you - like moving the strike plate on a rattling door, filling gaps between floorboards, reviving tired grouting or drilling a tile without cracking it.

Each task lists the tools and materials you'll need to get making and mending around the house and includes helpful tips and explanations, as well as the very easy-to follow illustrated steps. Navigation through the book is helped by the coloured tabs and a bar on the edge of every right hand page showing what else is in that section - a bit like website navigation bars

Building Your DIY Confidence

Make it and mend it team member Anne has some personal tips for getting over your DIY inhibitions. She did.
Every journey starts with a single step and gaining DIY confidence is no exception. I used to be willing to give most small DIY projects a go. But then I met and fell in love with a man who had a whole range of DIY skills. I got lazy. Then, many year’s later, I got divorced.

I found that, along with the cat, I’d also acquired a certain reluctance to undertake anything that involved hammers or – even more daunting – power tools. Every picture hanging exercise conjured up images of water pipes punctured by errant drills, or me getting an instant perm as electricity from an exposed cable coursed through my body.

But it’s very hard to sign up to living creatively and sustainably, making and mending, repairing, restoring and remodelling if you don’t embrace the concept and the practice of DIY.

With a new life and a new home to deal with (plus the need to save money) I had to get back in the DIY saddle. Here are my top tips for gaining DIY confidence:

1. Safety first - You’ll feel a great deal more confident if you know you’ve taken adequate safety precautions before you begin.
Most homes now have RCD (Residual Current Device) fuse boxes. If you don’t know, go to your fuse box and check. An RCD quickly trips out the power when it detects the current flowing to earth (which is what happens when you nick an electric cable).
If you don’t have an RCD fuse box, attach an RCD adapter between the plug of the electric appliance you are using and the socket. >> You can buy one cheaply in our shop

Better still, don’t drill or nail through pipes and cable:
• spend few moments considering your drill point in the context of nearby plug sockets, taps etc
• buy yourself a metal, stud and voltage detector. These used to be worse than useless a few years ago but are now much more sensitive. Read and follow the instructions carefully. >> 3-in-1 metal, stud and voltage detector

And if you do burst a pipe (which you won’t) damage can be averted if you know where (and how) to turn off your water supply.

2. DIY is 10% perspiration and 90% preparation - Make sure you have the right tools. Tightening crosshead screws with the blade of a steak knife simply won’t do. The first step to DIY confidence is acquiring some (well made) tools and a box to put them in.

If you buy nothing else, invest in a screwdriver with interchangeable heads. I use a cordless electric one made by Bosch. >> You can buy it in the shop

3. Give yourself plenty of time - DIY projects are better undertaken on days off and begun in the morning. If you wake up and don’t feel like starting a task, consider putting it off until another day (unless this becomes a recurring theme).

4. Test and practice - DIY is not a too cold swimming pool. There is no advantage in holding your nose and plunging right in. Never used a sander before? Well, practice on an old plank, not that lovely wood floor. The same goes for filling, painting and varnishing. Try painting or varnishing a small patch of wall that doesn’t show before beginning in earnest.

5. DIY with a friend - Don’t choose anybody from your ‘dizzy’ or ‘panicky’ lists but have you got a friend who’s DIY competent or just plain sensible, who can mentally hold your hand for the first few projects? IMPORTANT: Don’t let them do the project for you. This is all about gaining confidence not passing the buck.

6. Remember, it’s only DIY – This is a really, really important point. Think about all the things you do do and feel perfectly at ease and confident about.
Can you ride a bike? That’s much tougher than plugging in an electric drill.
Can you make a stew? There are more things to remember when putting together a good casserole than you’ll ever face with most everyday DIY projects. If you hold down a job, care for a family, understand how to thread a sewing machine and sort your recycling, you’ve have all the transferable skills you need to be a DIYer.

Now pick up that screwdriver and fix something!

Send Anne an email
Anne says: “I’d love to hear how you became a DIYer. If you have a story to share you can contact me at anne@makeitandmendit.com.”