Improvisational Home Repair
By Brad Robertson, Partner at OYF
“Notice more, Let go, and Use everything” is a six word guide on how to improvise, captured by our colleague Rob Poynton in his book Do Improvise.
Let’s see if it works around the house.
Part one: Cactus crisis
In my house in SE Portland, I had a cactus that I wanted to upgrade to a better-looking pot. The plastic pot and old Christmas tree saucer was not quite the aesthetic I was going for. But after buying one and seeing it was too small for the root system, I was frustrated.
I had planned to go back to the nursery to buy a larger pot, but they closed in 15 minutes and it was raining. Rather than wait for tomorrow, I started looking around my house for alternative solutions.
Notice more . . . Do I have any other pots in the house? Maybe in the backyard or the basement? That one won’t fit. That one will NOT work for my wife. Hey look, there’s a wicker basket over by the piano with some unimportant stuff in it. Interesting. Let me measure it. If I adjust the metal bars at the base of this light this all will fit nicely.
Let go . . . Maybe I don’t need a pot. Who said I needed a pot? This was my assumption, but why? What I really needed was simply a better-looking solution.
Use everything . . . If this fits, I don’t need to buy a new pot AND I don’t need to replant the cactus. I can just put this old plastic pot into the basket, where you can’t even see it. And I just saved $60! AND I can use the pot I bought for a different plant and use it to complement the cactus. Double victory!
Part two: Coffee cup crisis
I wanted someplace to put my coffee next to my reading chair. I had an old box there that was doubling as a magazine and book rack (the one that was originally sitting where the cactus is!), but there was no place to put a cup of coffee.
Maybe I can find a small piece of wood that I can use to create a tiny shelf on one side of the box opening.
Notice more . . . Maybe there’s wood in the basement? Let’s check it out. No, that is too small. No, that is way too bulky. I guess I can go to the hardware store tomorrow. Hey, there’s my son Jack’s old Empire Strikes Back lunchbox. (2010 version, not 1980).
Wait a minute, that lunchbox lid is about the right size. But it’s not wood.
Let go . . . Hey, maybe I don’t need wood. Who said it had to be made out of wood?
Use everything . . . Lunchbox lid coffee table. Enough said.
I guess now I should buy a miter saw?
Conclusions
We often think of things like home repair or habit change or business team improvements as things that requires a lot planning. And yeah, sometimes these things require big planning.
But often, these seemingly big things can be largely repaired or improved in a few minutes or hours with just a little bit of improvisation.
