DIY or DIWH ("Do It With Help")?

We're constantly on to some sort of project, but they're more often DIWH than DIY. There are many advantages to this: others' expertise, more hands, perhaps a better idea, faster completion, and having someone there to chat with, share the experience and the results (or help in an emergency). With parental visits, it can be really great to have a project laid out in advance; with lazy Sundays, have a friend over to try out some sewing creations; with significant others, working on a project can often beat out more leisure activities as a way to bond and create something together. Who do you mainly DIWH with, or do you nearly always prefer to DIY?

Image from DIY Safe: Safety Tips for Do-It-Yourself (on AT:NY; image via carliandme's Flickr photostream)

Comments (5)

i live alone and don't know many people in the city i live in. my closest "friends" here are my two cousins and they are both married with families and lives. i ask them to help me get stuff with their big trucks all the time, i'm reluctant to ask them to help me with other stuff.

which is a long way of saying i'm a DIY!

:-)

posted by rouquinne on February 26th 2009 at 11:59am
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I am soooo not DIY. So I realized I can actually PAY for the "H"- with a handyman!

posted by MCNicole on February 26th 2009 at 12:23pm
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I envy those with serious DIY skills; I'm not just incompetent, I'm dangerous. My version of DIWH is to pay someone to do it for me. I want the job done well and that is the best way to get it taken care of.

posted by Sydney on February 26th 2009 at 1:36pm
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I'm glad there's a DIWH descriptive option out there. There's a lot of stuff in my house that I chose to alter and I'm proud of the choice and the way it turned out. But I absolutely needed an extra set of hands (or two) to accomplish what I wanted. Thankfully my mom and dad didn't seem to mind being put to work when they came to visit!

posted by cedargr0 on February 26th 2009 at 1:45pm
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it depends-- if the help is crafty and willing and can take direction then results can be great. but a clueless person who doesn't share your vision can be a disaster-- to your project and maybe even to your friendship.

posted by foodefafa on February 26th 2009 at 3:47pm
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