The day will come when you will send your children onward to live on their own. You hope that as they walk out the door and into their own home, you have taught them all they need to survive out in the real world. As the first week goes by, you begin to realize a pattern for their constant calls. “How do you change the light bulb?” and “The toilet won’t stop running, what do I do”? Ahh yes, the every day repairs that they should have paid attention to all those years! Silly kids! Here is a list of “fix its” that you can start teaching them now to prepare them for their new adventures into adulthood!
Things to know how to do:
☐ Change a flat tire
☐ Fix a running toilet
☐ Change a light bulb
☐ Fix a sprinkler head (we are in Florida after all)
☐ Change the air filter in the air conditioner
☐ Spackle a hole in the wall and repaint
☐ Fill up air in a low tire
☐ Sew on a button that has fallen off
☐ Unclog a toilet, aka use a plunger
☐ Fix the hem on pants
☐ Jump-start a dead car battery
☐ Clear a clogged drain in the bathroom
☐ Reset a blown fuse
☐ Clear a clogged garbage disposal
☐ Change a broken windshield washer on the car
☐ Clearing a paper jam from the printer. No, you don’t just yank!
☐ Turn off the main water valve in the house if flooding occurs.
☐ Remove the lint from the dryer.
Remember to encourage them to NEVER try these on their own and call the professionals:
- Anything that has to do with electrical rewiring
- Removing asbestos or mold
- Major plumbing issues
- Fixing a Roof