How to Renovate a House on a Budget - Without Using Credit!

Since renovations have really been in the forefront of our minds lately (and realistically, running our lives), I figured I should write a post about how to create a nice home on a thrifty budget - without borrowing!  Here's how we've been able to pull it off:

1.  Start Saving Early! - 

About a year ago, Colin and I knew that there was a possibility we would be buying a home at our next duty station.  We also knew that houses come with increase costs.  Therefore, as silly as it sounds, we started putting $25 of each pay check into our savings account.  Sure, it's only $50 a month, but after a year, it magically turns into $600 that you didn't even miss from your checking account!  This is even easier if your online banking allows you to set up a direct withdrawal like ours did.  We didn't even notice the $25 being shifted after a while! 

In addition to this, we also started putting any checks we received into our savings.  This includes holiday money (yay for still getting money from your grandma on your birthday!), refund checks from rebates, closing accounts (like cable/electric), etc. etc.  Now, I understand that sometimes these checks are worth a lot, or you need a deposit from one thing to pay for the next.  Those checks can definitely be exceptions.

2.  Comparison Shopping - 

I am a huge believer in comparison shopping.  Now, I will admit that it takes a serious amount of extra time, but in the end I promise it pays off!  Every time we had something we knew we were going to need, I would look around online to see what the going rate was, and how I could beat it.  A lot of times a company you may never have heard of has a great deal on some wholesale product.  That's how we found our flooring!  I was determined to find someone who would sell us high quality flooring for under $2/ sq ft, and in the end I found it!

Something important to remember is that people have a lot of negative feelings about big box stores (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.), and rightfully so.  BUT if you cash in on sales and study the store policies, you can get some great deals there too!  For instance, Home Depot has a really great program where if you find an add where someone else sells something for cheaper, they'll match that price and then beat it by 10%.  I'm pretty sure they bank on no one taking the time to read newspaper circulars, so prove them wrong!


3.  Waiting for Sales - 

When you move into a new house and the inspector hands you a list a mile long of things that "should" be fixed, it can be seriously overwhelming.  I know I personally had a miniature heart attack during the inspection, and definitely started to get the "in over my head" feeling.  However, once I broke the list down and put it into categories, and realized that not everything was going to get done right away, it wasn't nearly as scary.

The first thing I did was write down exactly how much each thing would cost at two different places.  Then, I mercilessly scanned the weekly newspaper circulars in our FREE Friday newspaper for what was on sale that coming week.  So yes, our dryer went without a vent hood for an extra week, but we saved money in the long run.

Holiday weekends are especially great for this.  However, if it's something that has a rebate, make sure you don't forget to send it in.  We bought all of our paint for the whole house over 4th of July weekend because Home Depot was running a special where for each 5 gallon you bought, they gave you $20 back, and for each 1 gallon you bought, they gave you $5.  So we bought what we needed for every room (even though we haven't even painted them all yet!), and went home to put in the rebate!  Then, Home Depot sent us visa cards in the mail for $75 that we can now use anywhere! So yes, we may have bought more than we needed right then, but it saved us almost $100 in the end!

Now, I just have to note here that this can also go the other way.  Something that drives Colin nuts is when a sale is going on, I feel like I should cash in on it because I know we'll be paying more for it later - even if we don't have the storage for whatever it is, or the money in the budget.  Sometimes it's definitely worth it to go for it, but if it overextends the budget, remember that sales usually do come back around.  For instance, the 4th of July paint sale that I mentioned earlier came back for Labor Day.

4.  Prioritizing -

Colin is a huge believer in this one.  Prioritizing can be difficult, especially when you feel like everything needs to be done and it all feels important.  We took one day after we actually moved into the house to sit down and look at what needed to be done, then we made a list of things that needed to be done due to safety concerns, and those immediately moved to the head of the line.  After that, we made a list that was dependent on when things typically go on sale.  For instance, getting chimney's swept is cheaper in the summer because people aren't thinking about lighting fires, so have someone come out in July, and yard stuff is nearly always on clearance at the end of the summer/early fall, so work on the yard projects then.  We also planned all of our big projects around holiday weekends.  That way we could buy the supplies on sale.  Once we were done we had a whole years worth of projects prioritized by season and necessity. 


5. Do the Work Yourself (or with friends!) -

 We have been so fortunate to have lots of great people come and help us with the dirty work of renovating a house (pulling up carpet, breaking up tile, chopping down trees).  Not only is it a great way to spend time with friends and family, but it's also much cheaper than hiring someone!  When we started this reno we were beyond beginners when it came to any household projects, but thanks to youtube and some parental direction we figured it out!  We have spent hours on end watching youtube about anything you can imagine (installing moulding, tiling entryways, installing new light fixtures where there wasn't one before) and it really has paid off.  Lowes.com also has great DIY videos with supply lists that I would recommend. 

The biggest obstacle that comes with doing the work yourself is buying the tools.  Now, borrowing is also an option, and one that we use frequently, but some tools are worth the investment.  We searched craigslist, garage sales, and pawn shops, but had a hard time finding inexpensive, used alternatives.  I'm pretty sure this is just a product of living in such a small area, but the end result was lots of tools that we had to buy new.  I had a hard time with this at first, but really once you buy a tool, chances are you keep it for life, so next time you work on a project the labor will truly be free!

6.  Get to Know Your Local Hardware Store - 

This one is so important!  I would recommend taking a trip to your local hardware store and just look around at everything.  Ask where they keep clearance items, and what their policy is on special orders.  For instance, our Home Depot (we don't have much else up here) has a clearance section for random items at the end of the isle by the light fixtures, but they also put all of the big clearance items (tools, cabinets, bathroom vanities), in the front of the store next to the contractor counter.  Knowing where these items are and checking them every time you visit can really help your budget.  We bought nearly all of our indoor and outdoor light fixtures from the clearance section and saved a bundle!

One important tip I learned from a Home Depot associate was that they tend to stock middle of the road products, and special ordering isn't always more expensive.  Therefore, if you have a price point in mind, ask someone about what they can do to help you meet it, instead of settling for something that costs more, or something that you don't really like.  When we were trying to find inexpensive door moulding, I asked someone about their special orders, and ended up finding something that I loved for only .51/ linear foot, when everything in the store that wasn't just a plain white line was over $1.  They set up the order, shipped it to the store for free in 1 week, and we got moulding for the entire house for less than $150. 





Now, obviously every case is going to be different, but these tips have worked for us (so far!) and we've learned an invaluable lesson about not buying what you can't afford, and the importance of saving for those good deals!  Not everything in your house has to be expensive, just look like it is :)  If you have any questions about our renovations, or would like referrals about products used, feel free to email me directly or leave it in the comments!

I am officially the worst blogger.

I've had some long breaks from blogging before, but I'm pretty sure this one takes the cake.  I promise you though, there is good reason!  Not only have we been kicking butt on the house during the week, but we've also been spending the weekends with all of the wonderful people that we love and missed over the last two years! (If we haven't spent a weekend with you yet, it's not that we don't love you, or that we didn't miss you, it's that we're saving the best for last!) 

I'm going to spend the rest of this post sharing pictures from our fun adventures over the past two months.  However, I have to preface this by saying that I wasn't the best at capturing every little detail this summer.  Sorry.  And most of the pictures are of the new best thing in my life little Lydia Hutchinson (so sue me, she's an adorable baby).  Check back for updates on each and every room in the house as the night progresses!  Happy Labor Day!

We spent a long weekend with Colin's sister Kristy and her husband Aaron, and the only pictures I came away with were of their adorable little hedgehog Oxford.

Kristy made me this sweet hat.  And I'm sorry I made you so jealous wearing it while holding that adorable little animal.

Let the Lydia show commence:

Sure there's a baby now, but we're all still the same crazies.

One Room Down!

I know, I know.  I promised a post about Colin's awesome anniversary present.  Well, it's not going to be it's own fancy post like I had hoped, but it does get a post that shows it's full awesomeness potential.  This year, Colin got a table saw for our anniversary!  It's pretty high tech and does all sorts of cool stuff.  He absolutely loves it.

Colin getting to work on cutting the first boards!

In it's first true table saw test, we got to work on the floors today!  We're a little late in starting this project, but we ended up heading to Portland this weekend for Shannon's quarter of a century surprise birthday party (SURPRISE!).  It's been planned for a while, but of course I had to pretend like we had all of these housework plans this weekend to keep her in the dark.  Now that we're home and thoroughly rested from the ultimate fiesta (complete with unicorn pinatas), the work has begun!

I can't take a house picture anymore that doesn't have a cat somewhere in it.  Lao loves the new floor!

We finished laying the floor in the dining room and part of the hallway and it looks wonderful!  While Colin does a great job cutting the boards, I put them all into place.  We had a little bit of a shaky start at first, but once we figured out what we were doing we got into a pretty speedy rhythm.  Our new goal is to have the whole upstairs finished by next Wednesday (since we started a little late).  Wish us luck! 

What do you think so far?!?

Renovation is more fun with friends!

This weekend our dear friend George drove up for a visit, and we put him straight to work!  I can't express enough what a huge help it was to have some more manpower to get us through the end of the demolition.  After the "hey, hi, how are you" moments had passed, we busted out the mini sledge hammer and got to work on the rest of the tile in the entryway and in front of the fireplace.  This is one of my absolute favorite things, but since the boys were so much more efficient, I decided to finish scraping the back room instead.

The finished fireplace demo.

The boys working on the entryway

Since we're replacing 13 doors in the house, and hardware can get expensive, we decided to try and spray paint what we already had to match our bronze fixtures.  I only took a picture after I applied the final coat, so I'll be updating this section later today after I finish with the sealant.  It worked great and saved us a ton of money!

The last thing we did for the day was finishing priming all of the door frames (we're also saving those since they're in pretty good shape and it'll save lots of $$).

George working hard!

Since the boys worked really hard all day, we headed to the Bremerton Brewfest for the rest of the evening!  I volunteered to be the DD (of course), since these two have long awaited a beer drinking reunion (and I don't like beer).  Ultimately, it was a little bit of a letdown.  The "commemorative beer cups"  were small, plastic, and paled in comparison to other cups we've gotten at brewfests before.  The lines were long and there were no food vendors, so the restaurants along the streets were selling hamburgers and hot dogs over the fence.  It seems super silly unsafe to me to have a beer festival without food, but it is Bremerton I guess!  The highlights were definitely getting more information on local breweries (including some from Poulsbo!), and catching a glimpse of Colin's future ship, the USS Stennis, after taking a wrong turn and ending up at the base! :)

The first beer -

The last beer.

After only being there a short time, 10 vendors had run out of beer, and the lines were getting longer and longer, so we decided to head back to a local bar in Poulsbo to get food and end the night.  After our stint at Tisley's Europub, these boys got back to what they do best - eating tots, drinking beer, and playing video games!  What a successful weekend long reunion!

Obviously, after the previous days excitement and hard work, we took Sunday morning nice and slow.  Once we had gotten George on his way back to Portland, Colin tried his hand at cutting the tiles for the fireplace with our new tile saw.  I think it came out perfectly, and I can't wait to lay them today!

We had initially chosen these pretty expensive accent pieces (almost $3 a piece!) for this area, but after a great suggestion from a friend, we looked into buying a sheet of smaller tiles used for back splashes and bathrooms, and cutting it up to make our own.  It worked out great and saved us a bundle!  Not to mention we love these accent pieces better than the ones we had originally chosen, and because they were netted together, we only had to use scissors to get those cuts perfect :)

Our floors should be getting here today (yay!!!!!!) and thus begins a long week of getting tile and laminate done.  My goal is to be done with all of this and on to painting doors and moulding by the time Colin's mom comes to visit the first weekend in August!  Wish us luck!

It doesn't matter to Lao Tzu if it's covered in cling wrap, a couch is still for napping!

The end of an era :(

Last night, the magic died.  The last Harry Potter film is finally upon us, and we celebrated accordingly!  At the last minute, Colin and I decided to make an impromptu visit to Portland to watch with friends since he got Friday off from work (yay!)!  This is the last film, and the last time we can wear our shirts without looking like crazies, so we figured it was more than worth it :) 

After a three hour drive we (of course) headed to buffalo wild wings before the big movie with some of our besties! (I also reunited with my baby!)

If my old girl would make it up to WA we wouldn't even need to find a truck!  She could haul everything for us!

My first attempt at getting a picture of the boys.  Apparently saying "this is for the blog!" doesn't elicit the exact response I was looking for :)

Much better :)

The Winging Beauty!

After we had our wing fill, we headed to the movie!  For the first time ever, we didn't have to wait in a huge line outside, they let all Harry Potter moviegoers into their auditoriums to wait!  It was a much better system.  Much warmer.  After finding seats together, we conjured up some free popcorn from Yahoo!  with our wands.

After two hours and five minutes of pure emotional roller coaster, we gave our final review:

I'd say that was one successful conclusion to a Harry Potter lifetime of fun.  Now, please excuse me while I go read all seven books again and cry about how it's ended too soon. 

PS
Um, did I mention there was an ever so short teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises?  Yeah it was pretty much the most epic moment ever and I can't wait until Summer 2012!!!!

Congratulations are in order...

again for my dear husband Lieutenant Junior Grade Podelnyk.  That's right, little ol' Colin has moved up in the world and is no longer an Ensign.  As of today you may refer to him as Lieutenant Podelnyk, or sir :)  Whatever works best for you.

Now enjoy these highly embarrassing photos from the first Navy ball we went to together back in 2006.   Apparently we didn't take any pictures together. 

From the ridiculously silly look on my face, and the ridiculously serious look on his, you would think we were polar opposites.  Extra credit to Alex (who is also sporting a ridiculously silly look) for noticing that we weren't :)

Welcome to the world little Lydia May Hutchinson!

The absolute best news I've gotten in as long as I can remember came via text around 4:36pm on May 19th while sitting at the bar in Buffalo Wild Wings in New Haven, CT (which couldn't be more perfect as it's one of her parents most favorite places).  Meg and Steve Hutchinson welcomed their new adorable baby girl who is a tiny 5lbs and 17.25 inches of pure perfection.  From what I've heard from the new parents she's super alert, has a more than healthy appetite, and prefers cooing over crying (so lucky!).  I absolutely cannot wait to meet this beautiful baby girl, and plan on spending the next 18 years of her life spoiling her rotten (Colin looks forward to sending them box upon box of the loudest, most obnoxious toys possible, of course).  If only Hawaii were just a little bit closer!! 

Here are a million adorable pictures that I've been drooling over since her mommy sent them to me:

Little Lydia all ready to head home!

Lydia and Dad

Lydia and Mom

The happy Hutchinson family

Congratulations Hutchinsons!! Who would have known that after years of rockin' it on the adventure track, you'd be the first ones to have an adorable little baby! <3