An example is home improvement done by the householder without the aid of paid professionals. The term was in fact not coined in the 1960s by British TV presenter and craftsman Barry Bucknell although he is often credited with its invention.

This is applied commonly to home improvement but also applies to other areas. Do-it-yourself has obviously had a lengthy history around the world, since through the ages of camp life, and later village and town life, the most common situation has been for the people living in a home to take care of it themselves (and, for most of the centuries now past, even to make their own tools, clothing, etc.). In recent times, rural and small-town people have continued the old tradition, which is why small-town hardware stores were traditionally so important. However, in North America and much of Europe, population has moved increasingly into city and suburban environs.