I do most of the home repair stuff at our house. My DH just isn't interested and is busy with work and other pursuits.

I know where all the main shut off valves are for water and gas in my house.

I regularly change the furnace filter.

I read the directions and installed a new faucet in my powder bathroom.

I too know the basics of car repair from being a teen, but confess to being a devotee of AAA and would never try to change a tire or my oil. I guess I would try to change my tire if I HAD to, but would prefer not to!

I am my father's daughter - I love to do all the things around the house. My DH is not so inclined, so we are a perfect couple.

Having 3 sons I am teaching them how to clean a bathroom properly, do their laundry and cook.

My middle one is the best cook of all - he'll make anything out of a box and is a wizard with scrambled eggs and spagetti. All things he loves to eat. I have to work on the oldest. His repertoire is a turkey/ham sandwich! I hope he marries a nice accommodating wife. She will probably come over and give it to me after they've been married awhile. I think I failed with him!

Like you Ttod, and Carol, I have been taught/learned a lot of those non-traditional girl things. One year for Christmas I asked for a screw driver set, a hammer and a flashlight. My Dad & brother got those for me and were surprised that I was more excited about those than the silk shirt and girly goodies I also received. Well, you can't very well hammer a nail with your stilletto heels or fix your table with a butter knife!!

I do confess,tho...I've left the auto stuff to DH. I AM terrified to jump start a battery!

I'm pretty much useless.

DH, on the other hand, knows many "non-guy" things (but not too many guy things). As the eldest of four boys, he was taught to make a perfect bed, clean, do wash and iron. He still does the ironing today, as he doesn't think I could do it as well. No skin off my teeth. :)

Oops, forgot something. Guess I'm not totally useless.

I'm in charge of all things concerning TV/stereo. I set them up and program them. I also take care of anything needing assembly.

For Christmas one year I got a Laser Level from DH. Must've been one of the last ones in the area because My FIL got an IOU for one from my MIL. I said "Let me show you mine!" w/ a big smile on my face.

Made me as happy to get the level as I am when I get a new pair of Enzo Angiolini shoes!

I confess that although I can do that car stuff the older I get the more I call on DH! It's still good for a girl to know though. I make no bones about being pampered becuase I know that if needed I can do it on my own.

I was taught all about "roughing it" in the great outdoors by my dad. He and I have done a considerable amount of primitive camping together in recent years, and he schooled me on many aspects of outdoor survival.

My DH and I live a fairly "alternative" lifestyle, in that I'm the one who goes out into the world and brings home the bacon -- he's the one who stays at home and keeps the fires burning. It's unusual, but it absolutely works for us.

My dad taught me how to use a fire extinguisher, how to light a campfire and use kindling, and how to play chess. Playing chess was somewhat boring but nice to have some quiet time alone with him, what it taught me was to look ahead and have plan b, c, and d. I'm very much a "what if this happened" girl and so I'm usually prepared.

My daughter took a self-defense class, can put a worm on a fish hook, and set up a tent.

My son was taught to do his laundry, iron, and cook. As a married man he has no memory of this, but he can change a diaper.

There's not much I won't do and dh is often the one to restrain me. I want him to teach me how to use the chain saw and he won't, or the tractor, but that's about it.
I don't like being dependent on anyone although I am.
There's plenty I am not interested in learning, like changing the oil or a flat but if I had to I would have it Jiffy Lubed and call triple A.
He does all is own clothes because I don't do them as well.

I grew up on a cattle ranch. I can do anything, except take a fish off a hook. Makes me shiver just to think about it.
My husband, the son of professors, was always shipped off to his Wyoming relatives for summers, so he can fix anything, cooks (he's a chef), laundry, etc.

I was raised with a wood stove so I can build a mean fire. DH, not so much.

I helped Uncle replace a motor in my car once. I'm the one who checks tire pressure and oil. I taught my kids how to do this. I'm the city driver even though I was raised in the country and DH was raised in the city. I replaced a windshield wiper motor with the help of a repair manual. I'm the one who notices little noises, etc. in our cars.

I can fix small motors like washing machines, etc. DH calls repair people. I try to fix it first. I have my own tool box.

I am queen of all techie things around here - from remotes to computers.

LOL! ideefix! I am terrified of fish *teeth*. I have no problems swimming with them, just keep them in the water. I used to fish until I caught one that came off the hook. I had forgotten a net so when it came off the hook, it landed in my kayak, jumping in my face. I nearly bailed from my boat. I started screaming and could have won the Olympics rowing across the lake that day. (Now I read to DH while he fishes.) DH thought something *horrible* was happening to me because he had never heard me scream.

I can drive large vehicles with crash box transmissions and used to have a class II license.

My DH is the cutest, kindest man that ever lived. (Is that girly? LOL.)

I think the most important thing I learned was that there isn't anything I CAN'T do because I am female. There may be things I don't want to do or that I don't do well (like peeing standing up!). Along with that, I learned that my opinion, if well supported, is just as important as that of any other person regardless of gender.

These lessons have served me well as I have always worked in male dominated industries-- research science, the airline industry and Information Technology-- and I have always quickly advanced past the levels where women were most numerous.

That said, I struggle with many things mechanical-- as I have poor eye/hand coordination. Am I able? Absolutely. However, I would rather spend my time doing other things.

I learned karate and grappling from my dad. I'd bet on myself vs any 3 random men.

I learned all the house DIY stuff from my dad, but mostly in a peripheral way. There were distinct labor divisions in our house and all the DIY house stuff was done by my father & little brother. I hung out near them soaking it in. When my brother tore his ACL & MCL in high school and was out of commission for several months, I stepped in to be my dad's assistant for apartment fixes(my parents owned several duplexes that they rented out) or other house stuff.

> I think the most important thing I learned was that there isn't anything I CAN'T do because I am female. There may be things I don't want to do or that I don't do well (like peeing standing up!)

Step-by-step instructions

Some helpful diagrams

Although it has never been demonstrated to me personally, I have it on good faith that this works. I learned this from a girl I used to live with, for whom I respectfully always put the seat down after use, as all gentlemen are taught to do, only to eventually learn she wanted me to leave it up!

My parents stuck to traditional gender roles with one notable exception: my dad did most of the sewing. And after the old 1950s Singer broke and it was replaced with a modern electronic version, it scared away my technologically-challenged mom completely and my dad henceforth did all the sewing. So my dad taught me to sew.

Actually, he also taught me to cry, but that's a long, sad story for another time....

My father and I spent every weekend at the hardware store. He was Mr. Fixit. I love hardware stores and he gave me the a lot of abilities to go beyond in carpentry, remodeling, etc. No car stuff, just not brave enough. But tools are loved as much as decorating, sewing, painting, tiling, etc. Not as good as once was in the heavy work arena, age creeps in. But still do as much as possible and love the rewards of doing it myself.

I volunteer at Restore (Habitat for Humanity) and get my hardware fix on a weekly basis.

Awww! These stories are so inspirational!

Me-- nothing. I think I could learn how to change a tire, but the one time I tried (on a freezing winter night) I could not get the lug nuts off . . .man at the gas station wouldn't come out in the cold, so I had to call my then boyfriend to help. (He was very muscular, but even he struggled, so . . .)

I used to play the harp, but I could never get it up/down stairs myself. That's one of the reasons I stopped playing professionally, because I hated being dependent on others for help. My teacher said it would be physically impossible for me to do because of my height. (She could and she was in her 60s-- but she was much taller.) I don't know if that is true.

The other day I DID learn how to rewire a lamp. But mostly DH handles things. He is in a techie professionlly, and learned how to do many home repair type things from his dad and his own experimentation. Now that we have little time, I feel like I missed the boat to learn these things since he can do them so much faster and better. BUT, then there is my mom . . .widowed when I was 13, so she had to learn a lot fast, on her own. That was no good, either! My dad did a lot, from home repair to laundry to dishes, even little things like filling her tank with gas. (My mom was a big career person.)

I was thought there is no such thing as a guy vs. girl items. Although one might be simpler for one vs. the other due to strength or smaller hands.

I was also thaught that I can do anything I put my mind to, but that I may not always be as good as I'd like to be while doing it.