Should You DIY vs BUY? A Conversation about the DIY Space.
Hello Fellow DIY Friends!
Today ... is a little bit of a different kind of post, so bare with me here. I’ve had a particular topic on my mind A LOT lately and I just felt it was important for me to share this conversation openly because it represents a large portion of who I am as a person in the DIY space and as a DIY creator on YouTube.
And that is:
WHY DIY?
Are you letting the world of DIY take advantage of you?
I mean - Why create a diy at all vs just buying something instead - heck, I created and produced an entire digital series about this topic called BUY or DIY! And no, this post is not about passion or a love of homemade vs bought.
SO what do I mean by: WHY DIY? - A few things.
When it comes to DIY - in my mind there are three very important things that need to be thought about. Those are QUALITY, COST and TIME. Each one of these equally affect you and it’s you who has to decide how you evaluate each. Don't get me wrong, I understand that there are some of you who love to DIY because it’s your way of meditation, or it’s just a hobby but regardless of your reason for creating a DIY, these three things still affect you in some way - So let's break it down.
QUALITY
Quality is a really big one for me. I’ve said this in the past and I’ll say it again - if you’re going to put effort into making something for yourself, in any capacity; craft or build, make sure it’s going to last and frankly, be safe! I can not bare to see someone work SO hard on a project for it to just simply fall apart 3 weeks later. You need to take this into account.
Think about the materials you are purchasing and ask yourself : is, what i'm making, going to be a quality, durable piece in my home that will last the test of time? I think it’s great that people find a way to be resourceful in this DIY space. That could be from upcycling products from a thrift store or getting the materials from a dollar store. That’s all ok - as long as you believe what you are purchasing will provide a quality end product to you.
I get it, we all can’t afford to BUY the items we want because sometimes that item is WAY out of your budget range, but what is the point of spending even half that amount to make it, if it’s just going to fall apart 3 weeks or 1 year down the line? If that is the case, you were better off to just buy the expensive item because at least what you’re buying is going to last.
Now, keep in mind, there are many factors or considerations to this conversation, like the need for a custom made creation or decorative DIY pieces that you hang or sit on a shelf, but this conversation really plays into the functional DIY creations in your home. Basically, things you plan on using on a daily basis.
With that - I think what goes hand in hand with quality is just having general perspective - and maintaining your expectations on what you’re going to get out of your diy. You need to understand, most of us are not experts, i'm certainly not and your DIY is going to potentially have flaws. So you need to ask yourself, what is your tolerance for these flaws? I mean, flaws will add character, if you think that’s a good thing, then great! I DO. Over time, you can hone those flaws depending on the amount of TIME you are willing to put into it.
Which is my SEGWAY TO the next TOPIC!
TIME
Time is a funny thing. I think as I get older, time seems to feel more precious, whether that's giving myself enough personal time or really putting a value or worth in your time invested on a DIY. The big question is: What is your time worth to you?
I find time is something many diy creators don’t talk about a lot. Online, we all view DIY content and watch a project get made in a matter of 3-10 minutes - I mean, we make it look easy when in reality, these projects can take a large amount of time and effort to create - I’m speaking to general crafting or building, but even down to going out to get the materials, coming home and building it - that's all: TIME. So when you evaluate not only the quality of a project, but the time it will take you to create a DIY piece - this could really impact your purchase decisions. Was it simply easier to just go out and buy the solution?
So what is your time worth to you?
Not putting a monetary value on it just yet - what does spending an entire weekend on building a DIY mean to you? For me, I personally enjoy working on DIY projects. DIYing is therapeutic for me, I enjoy it but any project big or small is a labor of love. If you don’t enjoy it... if you don’t love it, it’s not worth your time.
Another last evaluation on time: TIME IS MONEY
MONEY
Money is not always the important element to everyone, but it is an important and valid factor in this conversation. Both quality and time play into a monetary factor.
The reality is: DIY can be costly - And truthfully, It doesn’t always make sense to DIY the solution when there is a commercial alternative that could potentially be cheaper. When you factor in the cost of materials and the cost of your time, you could be looking at a pretty expensive project at the end of it all. Then you question: was this even worth it?
I certainly take all this into account when coming up with my DIY pieces. I try and ask myself: is there a commercial version that solves this problem already? is it cheaper? and how long will this take for me to build? These questions normally challenge me to make sure that whatever I come up with is in fact lower than market value, adds additional value and will be a quality piece.
Not only that, and maybe this really only speaks to the online DIY space, but a lot of us (and I'm to blame on this too) when outlining the cost of a DIY project, only factor the materials into that evaluation. We don’t factor the cost of tools, or even general wear and tear on them and we don’t factor the value of our time. Which is all money at the end of the day.
To make a quality piece: Money.
The time it will take to make this quality piece: money.
It’s all relevant folks!
Beyond that, most DIYers (me included) are not experts and we can make mistakes causing the need to purchase more materials than originally expected.
Last, money and time could even be an evaluation on commercial pieces. Factor in the time it takes to go out and shop for the perfect piece, bring it home and potentially build it. Is all that considered into the the DIY or BUY thought process?
All three of these evaluations is completely a personal assessment, you just need to ask yourself: What is important to you when approaching a DIY project?
For me, all three of these are important.
I'm actually interested in knowing what you all think about this? In all these categories or specifically in one of them.
Do you have situations where one of these factors has taken advantage of you?
Thank you so much for reading!
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