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How do you “inspire” your husband to do home repairs?

7 years ago

Husband/wife/significant other of any type...

How do you inspire that person to want to tackle small house projects? Is there I secret I should know?

Comments (15)

  • 7 years ago

    I do them myself.

  • 7 years ago

    Cool but that wasn’t my question. :)

  • 7 years ago

    People are either handy and motivated or not. In my experience you can’t make them want to do projects around the house unless they want to. My husband is great at this; my brother in law is not and no coercing makes him. Hire someone or do it yourself if your spouse doesn’t care enough to do it himself.

  • 7 years ago

    Get a big price tag to pay someone else to do them. At least my husband changed his mind about us doing our own smallish fenced area for our dogs when we got the $5600 quote. But mostly I do them.

  • 7 years ago

    I start doing them myself, and when he doesn't like the way I'm doing it he will take over. We both know this. I have no idea why we play this game, except that we do. :) This only works on projects that are outside my scope of knowledge; otherwise I just do it myself.

  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    In my experience, people either are up for this and don't need to be urged, or they don't like it -- often because they have no skill at it -- and there is little hope of motivating them. The only solution I know of is to trade him in for a different model.

    ;-)

  • 7 years ago

    How do you inspire that person to want to tackle small house projects?


    You don't. Either learn to do them yourself, hire them done or trade up.

  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Sometimes I start tackling a project that hubby knows is too large for me or I have no knowledge of how to do it . He just jumps in to help and I walk away letting him do all of the work. Sometimes I just write him a list of things that needs done.

    Men love to have their egos stroked. Even if it is a small stupid job tell them how wonderful of a job they are doing. How you couldn't do it , how wonderful they are, that they are so smart, so strong, etc. Play it up and they will eat it up and want more. Karen's lingerie idea is a nice reward.

  • 7 years ago

    “Do you think you could.....”
    “Would it be too hard for you to....”
    “I was thinking we should get a quote for...”
    “Have I told you how sexy you look wearing a tool belt.” Lol

  • 7 years ago

    No reason that if you want something done that you can’t do it yourself. Manipulative tactics to get the other person to change always backfire. If your spouse isn’t who you want them to be, then you either accept that, or you don’t.

  • 7 years ago

    I've learned my husband will never be handy around the house. I'm trying to learn to do things on my own.

  • 7 years ago

    Start it yourself, either your spouse will join in or you'll learn how to do it. The person not doing the repairs watches the kids and cleans or goes grocery shopping, or whatever chore you wish to pass along

  • 7 years ago

    See if you can find some friends or family to assist in return for assisting them with a project. Make a work date, plan on providing food and drinks and maybe put on some upbeat music. Just save the alcoholic beverages until after the power tools are put away!

    Sometimes it just helps to have some motivation from just watching projects get completed. Hire someone to assist or complete some tasks and take advantage of the positive energy. Some people are lots of fun to be around and they help everyone get going so if you know someone like that, figure out how to get them involved.

  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    No one learns how to cook by you dropping hints or leaving cookbooks around, or ordering takeout. It takes teaching. Which takes a teacher. And an interest to learn. If either the desire, or the teacher is absent, it won’t magically happen.

    Go buy tools and learn how to use them. You don’t depend on someone else to make your fairy tale want list to come true. You take charge and make things happen yourself. Or you pay someone else to do them. Or you do without.