I am far from the handiest man you've ever met. I am also reluctant to change this trait because I am so afraid of doing something wrong and ruining something to the point where the damage is irreversible.

I am slowly learning that most mistakes are correctable.

But it's hard for me to pull that trigger and drill a hole in the wall.

This weekend, though, that's exactly what I did when my wife asked me to install a bath storage cabinet in the bathroom.

New Thing!

Originally we were going to put the cabinet above the toilet. But it turns out there's a bit of a curve in that wall and the cabinet wouldn't sit flush (ha! unintended pun) against the wall. So we decided to move it across to the wall above the towel rack, across from the toilet.

(This also serves as a nice courtesy to our visitors because if you are using our toilet when the cabinet inevitably falls from the wall due to shoddy workmanship, you will see it as it falls on you rather than have it blindside you.)

There were no instructions with this fixture, so I thought I was on my own and called my dad for advice. Should I use wall anchors? Butterfly thingies that open up in the wall? Do I need to find a stud? (I know, I know. If there was a stud in the house he could probably have installed the thing.)

Turned out, as I was talking to my dad I saw the instructions on the box. They recommended the butterfly things if you couldn't find a stud. I couldn't. So I went to the hardware store.

That night I measured carefully - four spots on the wall and four spots on the cabinet where I would be drilling. I drilled the holes. Turns out, my drill bit was a little too small for the butterfly things, and anyway, with this kind of a fixture, I think those things would have been too complicated to install anyway. So I used the wall anchors.

And then I accidentally drilled one spot too big. So five holes for four anchors later, I screwed the cabinet into the wall.

Yes, I would have liked the screws to feel a little tighter in the end. Yes, I would have liked not to have a 1/8'' hole visible in the cabinet next to where I had to drill another hole because of my wall hole screw-up.

But the anchors are secure, and the screws have that cabinet attached to the wall pretty tight.

But slowly I'm coming to the realization that I can handle a drill. I can make some home improvements. I can D I Y. (That's "Do It Yourself" for those not in the know. Although, I suppose I should say I can D I M. "Do It Myself", you see.)

The only catch is that my wife shouldn't put anything too heavy in that cabinet. Or lean on it too heavily.

And if I were you, next time you're here...I'd ask to use the downstairs bathroom.