Hey millennial. Get yourself a toolbox!

As an anti-labour millennial, I must say, there’s a lot I’ve learned in the past 4 months about adulting that nobody ever bothered to tell me about. Since my mom’s passing in January, it’s been quite awful trying to run the house because I am not as efficient as I’d like to think. Things around the house have been breaking, leaking or generally stopped working, and it’s super frustrating because I always have to call my uncle to assist and I’m pretty sure he’s tired of my requests.

You’re probably asking where am I going with this chat, right?

Well, a few weeks ago I was invited to the Builders Warehouse store launch in Midrand where myself and other folks were taken on a tour of the new store and had insightful chats about things that previously, I didn’t think were applicable to me. Of all the discussions that were had that night, the topic around What’s In A Toolbox really stood out for me because this was something I didn’t think would be important to have in the house – at least not for me anyway.

I think as millennials, we’re very much used to Googling everything and calling on service providers who could help us out with our blocked drains and leaking taps. However, the reality is that, not all of us are fortunate enough to afford these services and would usually call on our brothers and uncles to help us out in the interim. I mean, who else would you call during mampara week when you have no coins to give?

Well, Metro FM’s Owen Hannie unpacked WHY we should have a toolbox and WHAT necessary items should be in that very toolbox.

WHY EVERYONE NEEDS A TOOLBOX?

Emergencies

Unfortunately life comes at us when we least expect it. Bursting pipes, leaking taps, broken doors happen to just about everyone and the causes differ from case to case. I’m sure we’ve all had that friend who has broken something around the house during a chillas or house party which needs fixing. We can’t avoid these uncertainties but we can plan for them. Having a toolbox around the house makes it easier if you have the skills to repair those broken items or if you have access to someone who can help – trust me your toolbox will come in handy.

DIY Projects

If you’re like me and like to decorate the house and re-purpose items, a toolbox comes in handy for these projects. Whether your DIY project is big or small, you need to have your toolbox there to not only help you reconstruct things, but also help protect you from hurting yourself. It’s very easy to hurt yourself in the process if you don’t have the necessary items in your toolbox.

WHAT ITEMS SHOULD YOU HAVE IN YOUR TOOLBOX?

Safety Glasses

Safety glasses are necessary because they help prevent eye injuries from potential hazards when DIY-ing or when someone else is at work and you’re there supervising.  Wearing these will help maintain your eye health so always ensure that they’re on at all times.

Screwdrivers

Of all the obvious things to have in your toolbox, you definitely have to have screwdrivers of all sizes. As I said with emergences, things happen and it’s not really our fault but you can manage some situations where screwdrivers are concerned. When cupboard door screws start loosening up, you can then tighten them up and keep it moving.

Safety Gloves

Safety gloves are there to help protect your hands from any sort of injuries whether minor or fatal. Things happen and we end up hurting ourselves with screwdrivers, hammers or broken glass during DIY projects. Even when we touch chemicals, it’s crucial to have these on to avoid any sort of infection or reaction.

Hammer

Hammers are the most exciting and yet one of the most dangerous tools to have. We use hammers to nail things together and keep them in tact, while on the other hand, we use them to break things. Whatever this reason may be, always have a hammer in the house and never leave it lying around carelessly because you will get hurt or others will if not used accordingly. Common uses for a hammer include, framing, cabinet making and nail pulling.

Pliers

Pliers are generally a must-have in any toolbox because these help for pretty much any bending, cutting and tightening jobs whether around the house or with other non-household tasks. There are different types of pliers intended for different jobs. The most commonly used pliers are Diagonal (for electrical wiring and stripping) and Side Cutting (for cutting and removal of pins and nails).

It’s crucial to have a toolbox around the house for all sorts of activities whether planned or not. I think it’s high time that we as millennials started improving on our household skills so that we don’t panic half the time, and actually attempt fixing and constructing things together.

Thanks again to the Builders team for “drilling” (lol) some knowledge into my head about the importance of a toolbox.