The Joy of Insourcing

As a student of economics, I was raised on the stories of Adam Smith’s pin factory, and the value and virtue of specialization. I totally get why, theoretically, comparative advantage results in a better outcome in aggregate for trade- none of this is lost on me.

However, on a very personal, micro, level, I am finding myself embracing the DIY movement. I do know that others can do many things better than I can, but there is something to be said about the satisfaction of creating something with your own hands. Perhaps a little background is in order…

As a kid, I made many of my own clothes. My parents were frugal by necessity and also by philosophy. We didn’t have a lot of options for clothes shopping but we were allowed to by fabric, patterns and yarn as we wished to make clothes and sweaters. As a result I became an expert seamstress and crochet-er (less expert in knitting, where my sister was certainly the star). I don’t sew as much these days, but I do enjoy the process of buying a piece of fabric and transforming it into a garment.

Likewise, when I was about 12, I learned that I loved to have my nails done. In those days there weren’t nail salons on every corner, so learning to paint my nails myself was the only way to have a manicure. Today I still mostly do my own nails- partly because I am cheap, but also because I can do it so much faster. It’s efficient.

My father in law loves to tell the story about how, growing up in Poland before the war, his family made everything they needed to live on their farm, with the exception of salt and sugar. They made shoes, fabric, tools- everything. It was a hive of manufacturing. How many of us would be able to even do a fraction of that today? My father in law became an engineer and professor, but even in his later years he baked his own bread, made his own wine and continued to enjoy the fruits of his hands.

As a result of being raised with this “can do” mindset, my husband is an incredibly handy guy- which is not always the case in this world when someone makes a living with their brain as he does. He recently fixed our broken refrigerator for the $6.99 it cost for the replacement part. It would have cost $150 for a repairman to walk in the door to look at it- and who knows how much to actually fix it. It took him about 10 minutes.

About a year ago I started coloring my own hair after years of having it done at the salon (shocking, I know, that my hair color isn’t natural). I am not saying that my salon based colorist doesn’t do a better job- she definitely does. But for about 15 times the price, she doesn’t do THAT much better of a job. I recently did my own highlights for the first time. For those of you who don’t know that process, that is almost like the equivalent of me building a space shuttle in my dining room….almost. But I did it and I was actually pretty happy with the result. I will do it again. Time-wise it is so efficient- being home while the color sets to be able to do things is awesome.

Now I am on the lookout for other things that I currently outsource that I could do- or try to do- on my own. While it may be more efficient to deal with experts, there is a pleasure in doing things yourself that is unmatched. I have always loved to cook, so that is something I do pretty much every day- and now I am finding things that I would normally only buy (pastrami, gyros etc) that I can make at home.

What else? I am not sure — but I welcome any suggestions that people may have to continue on this trend of finding entertainment and enjoyment in the world of DIY!