To DIY or not DIY

When we started a family I felt like the time left in my days were seriously crunched.  I am constantly running around doing things and filling my time up with taking care of all the tasks that come along with family life and managing a household.  In doing these things I have had to really decide for myself what is worth doing and what I can let go of. It is a constant struggle for me. I am confronted with so many choices every single day.  And one of the choices that I find really difficult is to decide between what to do myself and what to outsource or pay for. This can be in the form of meals and cooking, home improvement projects, educational resources, personal grooming, car repairs, financial and business decisions.  I think it comes as no surprise that sometimes you just have to pay for conveniences, for things to be ready-made (even though you can make it yourself) or for someone else to do things (even though you can do it yourself). I value my time and my family’s time so if something takes up that limited resource (time), I often will decide to take the most time-saving approach and just pay for it.  I feel lame sometimes because I know am capable of teaching my kids piano, I can make my own marinades and salad dressings, I can pickup and assemble all my own furniture, and we can do our own taxes, but we have had to weigh that out and sometimes we let the professionals do it. It hurts my pride, but doing this frees up more time and energy for other things.