That staging advice always bugged me (like, a lot). My friend's a realtor in Mesa and she says forcing a total gut job can backfire. She had a listing with a bright pink bathroom that the buyers specifically said made the house feel fun and happy. Sometimes the weird stuff is the whole point.

My cousin fixed a broken comb with superglue and a toothpick once.

Oh totally! I found an old property map from the 1930s for my backyard and it showed a tiny shed right where there's now just a weird flat patch of grass and some broken bricks. Made so much sense. I never would have guessed.

I saw a whole thread on a hiking forum last year where people were arguing about how often to wash down bags. The general takeaway was that unless you're actually getting it dirty, once a year is plenty, which makes sense to me. @lisas78 has a point, twice a year does seem like a lot of washing. That thread is also where I first learned you need that special soap, otherwise the down just clumps together forever. It's one of those things you don't know until you wreck a good piece of gear.

My 2005 Civic was the last car I could really fix myself. Now I just watch a mechanic plug in a laptop. It feels less like owning something and more like renting it.