It all started with a humble electrical plug. My empowerment, that is.
We recently purchased a flat in central London, one with great potential but needs a bit of love. I’ve painted and done some of the basics, but mostly, I’ve been making lists and saving money for the experts to come in. It had not occurred to me that maybe I could do a lot of this myself.
All that changed recently. A friend was moving to Switzerland, and he was lamenting all the electrical plugs he would need to change over to Swiss plugs.
I was in the opposite situation, having moved from Switzerland to London with about 30+ electrical devices, all with Swiss plugs. Everything in our house was plugged into adapters, and not a week went by without “borrowing” an adapter from one device for another, then becoming frustrated when the original device had no adapter.
It was no way to live, but I just could not justify paying an electrician to rewire everything, not with so many other priorities that needed attention. I (half) joked with my friend, perhaps we could just switch appliances. My friend smiled at my innocence. “Or, you can just change the plugs yourself.”
Mike drop.
A few days later, we re-convened with tools and a few sample devices for practice, and within the hour, I had several updated electrical devices and a new sense of power. In that moment, I became unstoppable!
Why is this important?
For those of you who already know how to change a plug, this may not be very revelatory. But for me, this simple process for something that seemed so far out of reach for my skills was an eye opener. Suddenly, everything seemed possible. If I could change a plug, what else could I do? Fix my washing machine? Sure! Change a tap in my bathroom? No problem. Build a bespoke set of cabinets and shelves in my living room? Why not!
In typical me fashion, I promptly began rethinking my to-do lists in the context of my newfound super-power. Nothing was too hard to try. The worst that could happen would be a complete failure and the need to call a professional. But the upsides were limitless.
This blog charts my journey, sharing my experiences, ideas, successes, and of course, failures. Like everyone, I rely heavily on the greats who’ve gone before me and shared their tips on the interwebs. I thank them and hope to be able to help others as much as they have helped me. And hopefully my projects will provide insights, inspiration and ideas for your own home.
More important, perhaps I can encourage you to step forward and do what you did not think possible, in whatever area you choose. Empowerment through effort, and so much more.
Thanks for joining me!
The small print: Of course, I am not a professional, so I do not profess to offer professional advice on this blog. Here, I offer my learnings, often from failures as it is the best way to learn. And always from lots of reading about other’s experiences before applying it to my own situation. Please, if in doubt, seek a professional.