I’m still planning on learning about electronics and electronics repair but things have changed for me in the last few months. I found myself doing general handyman or repair work more than anything electronic related. Which is weird because I do not consider myself to be particularly handy or skilled in this regard. As fate would have it though I’ve been thrown into situations that required these type of skills and I’ve found that I enjoy doing this type of work. So instead of being too narrow in my project I’m going to be expanding it to include other areas. To reflect the change in scope I’m now calling my project Becoming A Jack Of All Trades.
June was busy. Summer was upon us and with it came the revelers. More drinking means more cans. Over the course of June I raised $20.30 picking up cans & bottles. In addition I found $0.55 laying on the ground.
The Tools
The reason for the uptick in can & bottle money (in addition to the nice weather) was that I purchased a grabber from Aliexpress for $8.89.
I’m not thrilled with the grabber tool to be honest. It does not work well and is cheaply made but it has made it possible to pick up more stuff. It’s already paid for itself so I can’t complain too much. I plan on modifying it by improving the claw part with a more firm grasp (maybe if I find some rubber or silicon in the garbage). I thought about just using a broom handle with attached nail but I have to weigh the opinion of the people who see me collecting as well. If what I’m carrying looks like a weapon you don’t want to give them a reason to phone the police or hassle me in some other way. There’s no mistaking what a grabber tool is for so usually I am unbothered. When people see you rooting around in a recycle bin or dumpster their first instinct is to pretend you just don’t exist which is fine by me.
The second thing I bought in June was a Stanley Toolbox on clearance at Walmart for $8.05. It was the only one in a liquidation section without any packaging and was dirty. One of the workers at the self checkout had to manually enter the information into the cash register so I could buy it. I didn’t own a tool box but one of my cats started chewing on the shoe box I was using so my hand was forced in the matter. Now Grizzly just “juices” the box to put his scent on it.
The third thing I bought in June was a hammer. To show you how handy I am I actually do not own any tools (besides what I previously posted about) so when I started fixing things I had to borrow a neighbors. A hammer is a necessity when you’re doing general work I quickly found out. When I was placing an order at a thrift store near me I also happened upon a nice hammer for $5 so I bought it.
As it turns out it’s an Estwing hammer which are supposed to be well made. It’s in good shape besides some surface rust. As soon as I happen across some steel wool I’ll take it off.
Financial Summery for June 2025
Revenue
- Amount carried over from previous month: $1.11
- Cans/Bottles: $20.30
- Found Money $0.55
Total: $21.96
Expenses
- Grabber Tool: $8.89
- Stanley Toolbox $8.05
- Estwing Hammer $5.00
Total: $21.94
Summary
June was a good month. I raised more money than usual and I feel that I’ve found the “right” groove to be in as far as the project is concerned. I was feeling uncomfortable at how tightly I was locked in to just learning electronics. Now I have freedom to diversify and I feel better.
CatsGamesWhatever 