As a boy I loved doing the odd DIY job. I built a birdcage. (My parents had to buy me a budgie after that.) I had a fret saw and used to make letter racks, toy cars and guns. (that fired my dad's prized pop rivets) So as a boy I started gathering tools. When I started as an apprentice plumber we were allowed to purchase some tools at the firm's shop and they were paid for by deductions from our wages. I still have some of them. I have been buying tools, or receiving people's old tools ever since. I have always said that tools are an investment. I have a workshop full of all manner of tools. Tools for fixing the car; tools for doing electrical repairs; tools for plumbing, for farming, for gardening and also heaps of carpentry tools. We purchased a new fridge. Our fridge is built into the wall of the kitchen, the back of it protrudes into an entrance way by our backdoor. The new fridge was taller and narrower than the old one so I had to reshape the hole in the wall today. First I had to pull out a cupboard I built years ago. Then I had to move an electrical plug. Then I had to pull out old frame work, cut the new hole and re-frame the new space. Then of course I needed to finish it off so it looked presentable, replace the cupboard and tidy up. As I worked I was so pleased I had a great supply of tools. When I needed to cut a bolt, I had the disk grinder. I had a jig saw, a skill saw, chisels, hacksaw, nail punches, pinch bars, tenant saw, and drills. (I needed a mitre box... mine was on loan, so I had to do without it!) It was so good to be able to just go out to my workshop, messy though it is, and find the right tool for the job. I had fun, tools are an investment.
Hoarding is OK...
I am a bit of a hoarder. My ever patient running friend sometimes gets exasperated when I stop and pick up screws, bolts, washers and nails. I gather old "stuff", electrical stuff, old rusty nails people would throw out and screws out of old furniture or appliances. I try to keep them in containers so that I roughly know where they are. I keep bits of wood others would chuck, and pieces of steel, you name it, I hoard it. (I am not as bad as some, mine is usually good stuff.) Now it often just sits there. A man looked at my workshop recently and asked, "Do you know what all you've got?" Well when it comes to doing a job like I was doing today, I smile with satisfaction. I have nails, screws, hardware and timber all on hand. There is a smug feeling of satisfaction in not having to buy new stuff all the time. I needed a new power outlet. I went to my old cardboard wine cask that is marked, "Electrical stuff" and there was one that came from "somewhere"! I needed hardboard, and some packing. A quick rummage through my supplies and behold there they were! Some old 4x2's were down in a garden shed. etc. etc. My kids might bless me when they have to clean up my estate when I die though! I have been slowly depleting supplies, figuring at my stage of life it is not much use adding too much more to my stock. I love recycling other people's cast offs. I helped an elderly gentleman clean out his garage once. He was moving to another town and a small housing unit. There was a bit of plywood there. As I moved it he asked me if I wanted it. "Oh yes" I replied, "I might find a use for it one day." He grinned and said, "That's exactly what I said about it 50 years ago!". Hoarding is sometimes OK.
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