Tinkering
One of my favourite past times is taking things apart just to see if I can fix them, clean them, or put them back together. I call it tinkering.
I probably learned the term "tinkering" from my parents, and I rarely hear the term being used these days.
The Oxford languages dictionary defines tinkering as; attempt to repair or improve something in a casual or desultory way, often to no useful effect:"he spent hours tinkering with the car"
Although my experience has proven the "often to no useful effect" part of the description to be true at times, I have had many successes along the way as well.
I'm getting better at making sure the item is slated for the trash first. Experience teaches you that... eventually. That way, the pressure is off if everything goes very, very far south!
And that's how I learn.
When I become curious about how or why something works or doesn't work, I can't stop myself from tinkering with it. I tinker with small appliances, furniture, and electronics just to see if I can get them back together the way they were before or even better.
There's an old saying, "Curiousity killed the cat".
I hope my curiousity doesn't put me in danger!
Maybe I was a cat in a previous life and that's why I'm so curious. I mean, I do like a lot of the same things as a cat;
Such as:
- laying on the carpet with the sun beaming down on me through the window
- napping several times throughout the day
- independence
- alone time
- having others willing to buy and serve me food daily
I have many other cat-like qualities too, but I'll save that for another post!
In the past, I lived with someone who took up PC repair as a hobby.
They had computer parts ALL OVER THE HOUSE!
Of course, it was very frustrating to live like that. They were so excited about everything they were learning, they wanted me to learn everything about fixing various electronic devices too. I didn't even want to learn how to use computers and cell phones back then, let alone fix them!
Now that over two decades have passed, I couldn't be more grateful for learning how to text and email friends and family.
But learning how to use these devices is one thing.
Learning how to fix them is not exactly the kind of tinkering I was interested in... or so thought.
Now that I find myself with more free time, and a determination to save money, I tinker with my laptop, desktop, phones, vacuum cleaners... you name it.
And, contrary to Oxford's definition of tinkering, I find myself succeeding frequently with basic troubleshooting and repairs.
(YouTube tutorials also help.)
I tell everyone who will listen to hand over their devices that are on their way to the recycling bin. I have all of the tools and parts I need to investigate, inspect, and tinker with different devices, appliances, and old furniture.
Now, I'm the one with parts and tools ALL OVER THE HOUSE!
Isn't life funny?
I also can't resist the challenge of turning a beat-up, old piece of furniture into something beautiful again.
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for all of your repair/clean/restore needs or for more info. I'd love to help!