Make the New Year full of fulfilled resolutions

Well folks, it’s resolution season, and if you are anything like me, your resolutions were broken by lunchtime on Jan. 1. So let’s ignore the arbitrary date on the calendar and move on to some new, simpler commitments, shall we?

Now, because this is a hardware guy column, I will skip the deep self-help promises we humans consistently make and subsequently break. My education on such matters comes entirely from watching television’s favorite authority on abject failure, Dr. Phil.

However, by the powers vested in me by the hardware world and this marvelous medium, I offer the following hardwarian resolutions — some simple promises that we do-it-yourselfers may actually be able to keep.

Resolution 1 — Be more adventurous: I’m not suggesting anything crazy like bungee jumping, scuba diving or eating mayonnaise and mustard on the same sandwich. Just try a new project. I don’t care if it’s rewiring a lamp or changing a p-trap. If you haven’t done it before, do it now. Life’s short, so get wild, and step out of your hardware comfort zone.

Resolution 2 — Splurge on yourself: Quit buying and using low-cost junk tools. They won’t last long, and they are frustratingly ineffective. Look at yourself. You’re an adult for goodness sake; you deserve better. Treat yourself to quality tools.

Resolution 3 — Be nice: How many times have you said to yourself, “I should fix the cabinet for my husband” or “I should replace the toilet seat for my wife” or “I should repair the wobbly kitchen table for my my Mom.” Should, should, should. Just do it. Be nice! Sure, you might invest some time and a couple bucks, but you will make someone else happy. Likewise, you will preserve a bit of your precious sanity by, you know, ending the nagging.

Resolution 4 — Be healthier: Shovel the snow or mow the grass yourself instead of paying the neighbor kid to do it. The exercise and fresh air might do you some good. Feel free to exempt yourself from this one, though, if you live in my neighborhood and employ my kid to mow or shovel. College is expensive after all.

Resolution 5 — Don’t be afraid of failure: Time after time, I see fear in my customers’ faces as they listen to me describe how to strip paint or plant grass. Afraid to fail, they routinely give these jobs to professionals. But what’s the worst that can happen? The paint doesn’t come off or the grass doesn’t grow? So what! Stop being such a chicken. Failure happens, but from it comes experience and knowledge.

So there you have it. A simple list of resolutions, all of which make perfect sense and are very doable. Unlike traditional New Year’s resolutions, we just might keep these “hardware” resolutions. If we can’t, I guess we all better start watching way more Dr. Phil.

Ed Pfeifer is a Tribune-Review
freelance columnist and owner of Pfeifer Hardware Inc. If you have hardware-related questions, call the store
at 724-625-9090.