Manual Labor

[mph]

I spent the last two days painting with a guy who pretty much hates manual labor. He'd rather spent 8 hours behind a desk than 30 minutes lifting heavy things. This got me to thinking about how I spend my free time and how physical work (yard work, building, painting, etc,) serves a therapeutic purpose for me. It's not just the exercise. For me, there's a sense of accomplishment that's different, although not necessarily better, than what I experience at my job.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Years ago, I figured out I had time to either cut the grass or play golf. I hire someone else to cut the grass. Nuff said.

[DukeUsul]

My first instinct was to answer I love it. Because I think I do enjoy working around the house and yard. However, judging by the condition of my yard and the housework that I keep putting off..... I must not like it as much as I think I do. I answered "I do it begrudgingly"

[Clipsfan]

What home? I do wash my own car...I don't look forward to doing it, but don't mind it while doing it. Manual labor is fine as long as I don't have to do too much of it.

[CameronBornAndBred]

It really depends on the job. I love my garden, and being in it. And I enjoy home improvement repairs (I was a framing carpenter for 7 years, killed my body), but I loathe house cleaning and any cleaning related tasks. Even if it's yard cleaning. I'm a slob. I enjoy my slobbiness and any labor related to cleanliness is worse than a dentist trip.

[2535Miles]

I hated doing it when I was kid. Now I really appreciate all the raked leaves, and laps around the yard with the lawn mower. There is definitely something satisfying about kicking back with a cool beer and admiring your accomplishment.

[hc5duke]

I rent - so I voted "avoid it"... but if I were a home-owner I would think the answer would be "love it".

[billybreen]

I hate it and contribute to the local economy by outsourcing everything possible.

The sole exception is shoveling snow. I love that until about March 1. If I'm still shoveling then, chances are I'm sick of it.

[Shammrog]

Manual labor sucks. And who has the time?...

[Turk]

Depends on the job, but I actually look forward to certain chores: snow shoveling, routine car maintenance, cutting the grass, splitting wood, raking leaves, etc.

I hate plumbing and trim painting - too afraid of messing up. And I'm not too fond of fixing things that aren't broken and such other home "improvements" of that sort. Why do we need to put a new screen door in the kitchen when the old one works fine? Why do I have to put in a new faucet in the spare bathroom when the old one wasn't leaking? They can last another year or two.... (But see, look at these these golf grips - they're all shot to hell... I better go to the store to get new ones and it will take me most of the day to replace them... And I'll need to set aside some time tomorrow to test the new ones out and make sure they;re OK... heh heh)

So I guess I am an outside yard boy...

[rasputin]

I'd rather play golf too. I'm not fond of yard work. I do like to cook, if that counts as manual labor. The only other exception for me is an odd one--I enjoy splitting firewood. (But not in July.)

[mph]

I'd rather play golf too. I'm not fond of yard work. I do like to cook, if that counts as manual labor. The only other exception for me is an odd one--I enjoy splitting firewood. (But not in July.)

I like splitting wood, but what I like even more is splitting wood with a hydraulic wood-splitter. Anyone who doesn't think this is one of the coolest inventions ever hasn't used one.

http://www.boreas-online.com/catalog/pics/Logsplitter__Log_Splitters__Wood_Splitter.jpg

[CameronBornAndBred]

I like splitting wood, but what I like even more is splitting wood with a hydraulic wood-splitter. Anyone who doesn't think this is one of the coolest inventions ever hasn't used one.


Sorta takes the manual out of manual labor.

[rthomas]

Years ago, I figured out I had time to either cut the grass or play golf. I hire someone else to cut the grass. Nuff said.

Word. But I make my kid mow.

I grew up doing manual manual manual labor. I'm not kidding: My first job at 12 was driving a mule through a tobacco field.

[billybreen]

Word. But I make my kid mow.

I grew up doing manual manual manual labor. I'm not kidding: My first job at 12 was driving a mule through a tobacco field.

Actually, RT, that is man-mule labor.

I'll be leaving now.

[UVaAmbassador]

I spent the last two days painting with a guy who pretty much hates manual labor. He'd rather spent 8 hours behind a desk than 30 minutes lifting heavy things. This got me to thinking about how I spend my free time and how physical work (yard work, building, painting, etc,) serves a therapeutic purpose for me. It's not just the exercise. For me, there's a sense of accomplishment that's different, although not necessarily better, than what I experience at my job.

Not all of us have a handy dad to help us plan/implement these projects. I'd imagine if the roof was falling off your shed you wouldn't get quite the same sense of accomplishment.:D<oh...burn>

As for me, I try to run the dishwasher once a month and the vacuum cleaner once a decade.:o

[Jarhead]

Manual labor sucks. And who has the time?...
I have the time, if it doesn't interfere with golf. I am retired, and I enjoy the creative side of yard and house work. I hate paying to have things done that I can do better myself. I'll pay to have someone mow my lawn when I am unable to do it.

Some exceptions -- having the interior of our house repainted. The guy who did it was a registered pharmacist who enjoyed the lack of pressure and the greater income of house painting. I hired him when he told me he would move all of the furniture. Scott's Lawn Care takes care of all the chemical applications that one must make in the yard. It costs me only slightly more than the cost of chemicals if I purchased them and applied them myself. It's nice when I see weeds in my yard. I just call Scott's and yell at them. The weeds are gone within the week. I prune the shrubs and trim trees in my yard, but I use the Branching Out Tree Trimmers when I need a seventy foot long leaf pine cut down. I have about fifty of those suckers in my yard, along with a few maple and a willow oak.

[mph]

Sorta takes the manual out of manual labor.

Some, but you still have to cut the tree down, trim the branches, cut it into logs, get it to the splitter, and stack it when your done. Not to mention clearing all of the branches. There's still plenty of work and did I mention how cool a wood splitter is?

[mph]

Not all of us have a handy dad to help us plan/implement these projects. I'd imagine if the roof was falling off your shed you wouldn't get quite the same sense of accomplishment.:D<oh...burn>

As for me, I try to run the dishwasher once a month and the vacuum cleaner once a decade.:o

True. But those of us that don't have a handy Dad usually have a Mom who needs lots of work done around her house. Don't you have a pool to clean or something? :p

[Bostondevil]

I pulled tobacco for one day in August of 1974. I think everyone should pull tobacco for one day. It makes you value an education. To me, it ain't manual labor unless you are doing it outside in August in North Carolina.

I avoid it.

[dukemomLA]

First of all, I LOVE saving $$. Secondly, after my passions of reading and watching sports-of-all-kinds, gardening/home improvement, etc. make me feel proud and cocky. Why pay someone to paint/wallpaper/plant stuff or kill your snails when one can do it oneself?

The satisfaction I've felt by wallpapering, painting, fixing plumbing/sprinklers, and of course reseeding lawns, trimming trees, and whatever else needs to be done around the house is awesome.

A lot of this comes from growing up in a poor family in Jersey. There was no one, except us to do everything. Mow the lawn, shovel the snow, plant the flowers, wash the dogs, paint the house, ...etc.

Good training -- as I've learned. I have a new granddaughter (my first). And I guarantee that she will know how to yield a hammer, pull a weed, wash a car, know the difference between a phillips and flat head screwdriver, etc.

Who knows. We all might be living in the wilderness soon.

[2535Miles]

First of all, I LOVE saving $$. Secondly, after my passions of reading and watching sports-of-all-kinds, gardening/home improvement, etc. make me feel proud and cocky. Why pay someone to paint/wallpaper/plant stuff or kill your snails when one can do it oneself?

The satisfaction I've felt by wallpapering, painting, fixing plumbing/sprinklers, and of course reseeding lawns, trimming trees, and whatever else needs to be done around the house is awesome.

A lot of this comes from growing up in a poor family in Jersey. There was no one, except us to do everything. Mow the lawn, shovel the snow, plant the flowers, wash the dogs, paint the house, ...etc.

Good training -- as I've learned. I have a new granddaughter (my first). And I guarantee that she will know how to yield a hammer, pull a weed, wash a car, know the difference between a phillips and flat head screwdriver, etc.

Who knows. We all might be living in the wilderness soon.
And, if I recall, you own multiple axes. Axes always make manual labor more fun.

[DevilAlumna]

And, if I recall, you own multiple axes. Axes always make manual labor more fun.

I used to think that, until I got my hands on a saws-all. Those things rule - nothing beats them for big, destructive tasks! :D

[2535Miles]

I used to think that, until I got my hands on a saws-all. Those things rule - nothing beats them for big, destructive tasks! :D
Indeed! Our neighbor dropped off a fixer-upper boat in our yard when he was stationed in Okinawa. After a couple of years, he let us know that he wouldn't be keeping it so my dad, my brother, and I broke out the saws-all and slow dissecting it. We carried a few pieces to county landfill every weekend. Massive, destructive, fun!

[Ben63]

Cant stand it!!!!!!

Its probably because I work in a warehouse 9 hrs a day lifting and moving boxes.

But other than that I don't mind it occasionally, cutting the grass, painting a room, etc.

[blublood]

Ditto. I love do-it-yourself projects around the house, especially not having to pay a huge, outrageous bill. Next up is painting the bedroom gray, to get rid of the horrible, horrible mocha colored walls that the former owners left behind and their 70's style wall border.

The only thing I'm willing to outsource is lawn maintenance and that's only because we have an infestation of Florida betany that's worse than anything I've ever seen. (and if you don't know what Florida betany is, rejoice and be exceedingly glad! It is a weed straight from hell)

[Johnboy]

I voted the second one when I intended to vote the third one. I begrudgingly do yard work and home improvement. I'd rather build things or work on keeping them running. I hate cleaning, even though I rather enjoy having a clean environment. Yard work I can almost vote "avoid at all costs" but in fact I do it to save my marriage - if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy - and she's not happy with tall grass.

[Johnboy]

Indeed! Our neighbor dropped off a fixer-upper boat in our yard when he was stationed in Okinawa. After a couple of years, he let us know that he wouldn't be keeping it so my dad, my brother, and I broke out the saws-all and slow dissecting it. We carried a few pieces to county landfill every weekend. Massive, destructive, fun!

Earlier this year I used a saws-all to cut up a 15' sailboat that I had acquired as a fixer-upper that was beyond rehabilitation. Fun!

the weird thing about my not liking to do stuff around the house is that I really do get great satisfaction from the completed product when I manage to get up and do it. I am very handy around the house when necessary. I hate yard work and gardening, though, and do as little as possible.

[mph]

Earlier this year I used a saws-all to cut up a 15' sailboat that I had acquired as a fixer-upper that was beyond rehabilitation. Fun!

the weird thing about my not liking to do stuff around the house is that I really do get great satisfaction from the completed product when I manage to get up and do it. I am very handy around the house when necessary. I hate yard work and gardening, though, and do as little as possible.

Demolition in general is great fun. You can do a lot of damage with a saws-all and a sledgehammer.

[billybreen]

No love for "man-mule" labor? Dang.