Have We Forgotten How to DIY? Top Skills All Adults Should Have

As an adult, we are the masters of our universe. But being an adult means being responsible. We will own or rent a home one day and possibly have a garden or run a car. This means we need to know stuff; key life skills. We can’t rely on DDI (Dad’ll Do It) forever.

More and more of us struggle with the skills we need to maintain our homes and our cars. This means we are often paying someone else (when we can’t persuade Dad) to do a job that we should really know how to do ourselves.

We might be able to flex our digital muscles and be a whizz in a virtual world, but have we all forgotten how to do basic DIY?

We’ve done some investigating and have compiled a list of key skills everyone should have. How many can you do?

• Install a washing machine or dishwasher
• Hang a blind
• Gather and hang curtains
• Assemble flat pack furniture
• Repair a puncture on a pushbike or paddling pool
• Fix a dripping tap
• Unblock a drain
• Fix the flush on a toilet
• Regrout tiles
• Change a lock
• Basic sewing skills such as fix a hem, sew a button on or mend a tear
• Change oil and oil filter in the car
• Check car tyres and tyre pressure
• Change a wheel on the car
• Check and top up car fluids
• Plan a route and read a map
• Polish shoes
• Grow vegetables and plants from seed
• Prune shrubs and hedges
• Use a drill
• Fill holes in a wall
• Hang wallpaper
• Sharpen kitchen knives
• Basic woodwork skills
• Basic painting, decorating and preparation skills
• Put up shelves
• Replace a door handle or doorknob
• Change a light bulb
• Drill safely into a wall
• Replace a wall tile
• Locate the stopcock and turn the water off
• Change a fuse
• Hang a door
• Bleed a radiator
• ‘Hospital corners’ when making the bed

Whilst it’s important to have a go at something, it’s also important to know your limits. When something breaks, if you can mend it or replace it, then have the confidence and the skills to do something about it.

Not only will you learn some skills that you can share with the youngsters in your family, you’ll save money, too. And that will come in handy for the jobs where you really do need to call in the experts.

SJB