DIY

Yesterday, I woke up and the outlets in my room were out, all three around the perimeter of the room. At first, I thought it was a circuit breaker that was tripped, but I didn't see one that was out of place. So immediately, I thought, damn, there's something wrong with that breaker and it needs replaced.

I usually do a lot of stuff by myself. I've installed dishwashers and fixed dryer belts and put down flooring. I've done plumbing and replaced sinks and light fixtures and outlets. But I draw the line at BIG electricity that can kill you easily.

So for the first time, I set up an appointment with an electrician. Literally right after that, the outlets came back on in my room. I still needed someone to check out why, though, I didn't feel comfortable leaving it at that.

My first thought was to make the electrician's job easier and find which breaker was controlling my room. At that point, I still thought my room was controlled by one fidgety breaker, but it turns out that like half the upstairs all runs off the same breaker. The culprit was actually a loose wire in an outlet next to my daughter's bed.

Total repair cost: $3 and 30 minutes of my time.

I feel bad for having to let down the electricians... I've got to be more careful next time and really make sure I need it. But seriously, y'all, look up some YouTube videos and spend some time tooling around Home Depot. You'll save yourself a bundle.