Every DIY Dad Project Follows These 7 Stages

You know the feeling. A loose cabinet hinge. A dripping faucet. A squeaky door.

"It's a five-minute job." Those four words have probably cost Dads more weekends than any home improvement project ever invented.

Here's how every DIY project really goes.

1. Unshakable Confidence

The project hasn't even started yet, and you have already convinced yourself you can bang it out within the hour. Whatever you're fixing has been broken long enough, and now you finally have some free time to step up and fix it. You think to yourself what a hero you'll be after you complete it all without any help. After a quick 5 minutes of watching YouTube videos to prep, it's time to dive right in.

2. The Hardware Store

You have your list now it's time to hit the store. You load up the cart with all your supplies, only getting sidetracked a few times. Sure, you only came for some nuts, screws, and washers, but it would actually be irresponsible not to buy the shop vac that was on sale, even though you have zero use for one right now. Time to get started.

3. The "While I'm Here" Stage

Half the bathroom is torn apart. It looks like a Swat Team just raided the bathroom. While you're still in the demo phase of this project you start noticing small things here and there that also need fixing. You think to yourself, "While I'm here, I might as well fix those first before I forget" The leaking sink is now in the back of your mind as you start taking hinges off the doors trying to find the source of that nagging squeaking.

4. Controlled Panic

Somehow you are now 3 hours into a 30-minute job, and you've created more problems than you started with. You forgot to shut off the water before working on the sink and now you have all the towels in the house scattered across the ground like you're attempting to soak up the Atlantic Ocean. During the water incident you lost multiple screws for the cabinet doors and now they're all hanging on by a thread. On the bright side, now you'll finally have a use for the shop vac you bought without your wife's permission.

5. The Second Hardware Store Trip

As you walk back into the hardware store, shirt soaked in sweat and failure, you find the remaining few items you need to turn things back around. Your look of confidence has definitely wavered, and it's almost like the store employees can smell your fear. As you go to checkout, the kid working the register smiles and says sarcastically, "Good luck pal we'll see you in an hour."

Now you need to get this done. You can't give them the satisfaction of knowing you couldn't fix a simple leaking sink on your own.

6. The Dad Lock In

Frustration has ignited a new sense of focus. Your reputation is on the line here. You can already hear your family telling you, "Why didn't you just hire a plumber like we told you?" You turn into Bradley Cooper from Limitless and snap everything back into place. The sink stops leaking. The cabinet doors are back on their hinges. The squeak is gone. Victory is finally within reach.

You notice a few extra screws and washers laying around but at this point who cares? Everything seems to be working. If they were important than the whole place would've broken down by now. Toss them in the junk drawer for the next battle.

7. The Victory Lap

The project is finally finished. You stand in silence. Hands on hips. Admiring your work from twelve different angles. Was it worth losing your entire Saturday?

Absolutely.

Will you volunteer for another project next weekend?

Without question.

Because every dad secretly believes the next one will only take twenty minutes.

And that's the biggest DIY myth of them all.

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