Taming My Pioneer Woman Envy

I am an independent woman, in many respects.

My husband might joke that "independent" is an understatement; my parents would perhaps prefer "stubborn" or "headstrong." My siblings might choose a word not fit for publication.

However you choose to describe it, I'm the kind of person who likes doing things for myself, and who, whenever faced with a challenge, takes a secret, perverse joy in finding a creative solution that I can design and implement all by myself.

When I was around age 20, I had to handle a minor mechanical problem with my car by myself. I called my dad on the phone, and he talked me through the process. When I was finished, I nervously put the key into the ignition and turned it, fully expecting that the car might not start. When it did start, I felt an amazing rush of excitement thrill through my body. Suddenly, things that had before seemed overly complicated and mysterious seemed within reach, and I was drunk with power! That was the beginning of what I like to call my "pioneer woman envy."

This trait has gotten me into more than a few fixes over the years. I didn't grow up on a farm, learning nifty pioneer woman skills from my parents. I grew up in an apartment in a resort city, calling the maintenance guy when there was a problem and cooking any meals I prepared straight from the box, with all the cardboard-y goodness of powdery mac and cheese! So it should come as no surprise that when, at the age of 25, I purchased my first home, some of our fixer-upping was not as fixed up as we initially thought. That, paired with a failed attempt at a garden that year as well as several unsuccessful attempts at baking bread from scratch, should have been enough to break me of my super-woman delusions, but I'm much to determined to give up that easily.

For me, doing things myself isn't as much about efficiency, or finance, or aesthetics. It's about reclaiming something that we've lost— something that was taken from us gradually as a casualty of the increasing specialization of our society. Instead of knowing enough about a variety of topics to grow and preserve our own foods, sew our own clothes, and cook meals for a large family from scratch, we have become increasingly dependent upon others to provide us pre-made goods, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Still, I feel like I'm missing something when I read stories of the hard old days, when people built houses with hand-hewn logs, grew most of their own food, and could make simple furniture by hand. I am no fool— I understand that things were likely much harder back then, and I, myself, would not enjoy knowing I had to make something if I wanted to have it at all. However, the craftsmanship urge has chased me now for many years.

In time, I discovered a wonderful tool for my do-it-yourself endeavors— INSTRUCTIONS! Following simple instructions, I've been able to do things I wasn't sure I'd ever do, including canning, gardening, simple carpentry, and plumbing repairs. I have also discovered that there are some things I enjoy doing every day, and others that I only enjoy doing occasionally. With that in mind, I've developed a few questions to help me determine which do-it-yourself projects are generally worth my time.

First, how much time does it take? As a busy, work-at-home mother of five rambunctious children, I don't regularly find myself suffering from an overabundance of free time. If it is something that I want to do regularly, it needs to be something that fits into my weekly routine. In order to stay sane, I regularly work time into my schedule to do things I enjoy, so if it is something that I enjoy doing and find relaxing (such as crocheting, knitting, or gardening), then it gets filed under hobby or relaxation time. If it is something I enjoy, but not enough to call it "relaxing," then I need to make sure that it does not take excessive time away from other priorities, such as my family or my businesses. This is an instance where I might do something incredibly inefficient and time-consuming once or twice, just to say that I did it and see how it feels, but would not make it a regular part of my schedule. After all, simple living should not require making your life unnecessarily complex.

Second, is it economical? As much as I enjoy doing things for myself, I don't enjoy spending money unnecessarily! So, if my do-it-yourself project costs me more than a pre-made, similar quality purchase, it's not worth it. Again, I might do it once or twice, just for the experience of it, but it won't become a regular part of my schedule.

Third, what kind of access do I have to training or assistance from someone who knows what they're doing? Few things are as frustrating as getting into a project, only to discover that you might never get out of it. This is where the internet can come in handy, as it gives you access to tons of helpful information on how to do many different projects as well as discussion forums for certain fields and trades. Still, there's a lot to be said for picking up the phone to ask someone a question, or inviting a friend over to help troubleshoot a problem.

Fourth, is there a modern solution that allows me to do it faster or easier and still get the same results? A good example of this in my recent life is my obsession with my bread machine. I can put in my ingredients at night before bedtime, set a timer, and awaken to the smell of delicious, homemade, whole wheat bread for a fraction of the cost of a loaf of similar quality at the grocery store, and without any added colors or preservatives. Like the way your bread tastes straight out of the oven? My bread machine has a dough cycle as well, after which I can transfer the dough to a bread pan and bake it in the oven. If what you're looking for isn't necessarily the zen-like feeling of being lost in the work itself (kneading and stretching the dough, noticing how it feels between your fingers), then don't feel bad about using modern conveniences to your advantage!

Finally, can I make something of good enough quality to feel pleased? Of course, your first efforts at many projects will not be the greatest quality. That's okay! Ultimately, however, if you are to put a lot of effort and time into something, you may want to know that the quality of the product you make reflects the amount of effort you put into it. We discovered this lesson in a wonderful way last year, when we decided to make bunk beds for our children, rather than buying them. We found detailed plans online and ordered them, purchased all our lumber, cut it to the specified lengths and drilled as instructed, and stained and assembled them ourselves. It was a huge commitment of time and energy, but in the end, we had a beautiful, solid, sturdy set of real wood bunk beds for a fraction of what the retail cost would have been. Additionally, our children helped with the sanding and assembly— what a wonderful lesson for them!

As it stands now, I'm learning to tame my inner pioneer woman, at least a little bit! There are definitely things outside my ability to do, and things outside my practical ability to handle in my everyday routine. However, few things are as much fun, or as rewarding, as occasionally donning my frock and apron, lugging my tools across the house, and making something awesome out of simple parts. I don't think I'll ever fully be able to treat my raging case of pioneer woman envy!

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Looking for some fun projects to try out?
- soap making
- candle making
- homemade breads
- canning/pickling
- gardening
- dehydrating veggies/fruits/meats
- build your own bunk beds

Article reproduced with permission by Crunchy Carolina