Let’s recap the top things that broke in 2025 shall we?
But also how we fixed them!
In no particular order because I wasn’t keeping proper track…
- Over the range microwave kept tripping after a couple of seconds – didn’t realize how dependent on the microwave we had become… took me back to the early 90s when my visiting cousin asked me where our microwave was and I told her we didn’t have one 🤷♀️…
After a few rounds of trouble shooting, finally came across this in YouTube – GE Microwave Keeps Blowing Fuse / Breaker – DIY Fix
What a godsend! Ordered about $16 worth of switches and fuses, had my son take it apart, and voila! Microwave back in business. Got to clean out the innards of the control panel as well. Saved us the trouble of removing and installing a new one, plus the cost of a new one!
Pay attention to the switches, there is one that is slightly different due to the gap size… - Kitchen sink faucet drip drip dripping – ok, maybe a more enterprising person could have replaced a washer or something, but since the sprayer had been long out of commission due to dripping, I figured I would rather just get a new faucet. Thanks again to the boy (a running theme), he was able to replace the new faucet. Saved us a plumber visit! We did have to buy a different hose because some sizing was different, and we had to figure out which was hot and cold by our powers of deduction. I think we have since labeled it… oh and because this new faucet didn’t have a deck mount, and our previous plumber had put in all 3 holes in case we needed them in the future so we ended up getting a soap dispenser to fill in the third hole. However, the hole was just not quite big enough, so we had to get a rounded filer to make it work.
- Garage door stopped opening – I think this actually broke in 2024… but we fixed it in 2025! Or should I say the boy did. He paid attention and saw a tag that was still attached telling us how to open it manually, after all this time. 😅
- Bidet stopped bideting properly – maybe I should put this to number one because we missed this one quite a bit!!! Again, kudos to the boy. He took it apart, and found that a tube had broken on one end, hence the water just dripping into the void… replaced the hose for about $12…mostly due to shipping costs, and aahhhh….
- Dryer started rumbling – okay, we haven’t really fixed this, and we needed to get the garage door open first, so hopefully soon! The boy tried, but perhaps it’s time for a new one. In the meantime, a drying rack and this thingamajig work wonders. Also something zen like about hanging clothes old school. But it would be nice not to have a drying rack in the living room in the middle of winter…
- Screen door hinge kaput – had to replace this extra long hinge, this time team work between the boy and his dad. Not being able to go out through the front door? ugh. Luckily, it was solved fairly quickly given our history of procrastination.
Well, those are the ones that come to mind. I’m sure there were many others I’ve already blocked out. The main thing is to keep calm, and figure out a way, and thank the people who share their knowledge… a lot of time, the fixes are simpler than what we imagine. I am also reminded of this book on parenting by Dr. Kenneth Barish – Pride and Joy. Resiliency is one of the key traits we can build in ourselves so we can keep moving forward. Let’s go 2026!
