Since Ken and I have been fixing up or house the past couple of weeks, I must admit that I am drained ... physically and mentally! My mind can't focus on much else lately, so this "Frugal Friday" post is about DIY - Do It Yourself! It seems that with HGTV and stores like Home Depot**, more and more people are tackling projects themselves.
A major obstacle in our cruising plan has been the sale of our home. We've been postponing putting our house on the market (and our cruising dream) for about two years. Why? Well, as some of you know our house had a lot of unfinished repairs from Hurricane Katrina damage. Until now, we didn't have the extra funds or time to tackle this large project. We could have listed our home the way it was, but it is estimated that for every $1 NOT spent on renovations, a seller can expect to deduct $3 from the sales price. We couldn't afford that! We also couldn't afford to pay someone else to do the repairs for us.
By doing the home repairs ourselves we expect to save at least $10,000. Multiply that times 3 and we've just added about another $30,000 to the sales price! Actually, we think that these repairs would have caused buyers to deduct even more because the home just looked so unfinished and most buyers would not have done the repairs themselves.
From home renovations, to creating your own artwork, to refinishing old furniture ... do-it-yourself projects not only save you money, but they also provide a great feeling of accomplishment. That's priceless! If I could only get over me aversion to learn to sew ... we could really save some money on canvas work for Nirvana!
Speaking of Nirvana reminds me of how much we saved when we did all the repairs ourselves during the six week haul-out the summer of 2010. I imagine that we'll continue to save money when cruising by doing most of the maintenance and repairs ourselves.
What projects have you tackled that really saved some money? I've heard of some DIY water-makers. We'd love to hear the details about that or any other boat project!
Hasta luego ... until then. Mid-Life Cruising!
** I have to mention that Ken hates Home Depot and Lowe's because they're so much higher than the local hardware stores. Whenever we can purchase something from the local stores, we do!
*For those that missed the other posts of this series, check them out below:
- Frugal Fridays - The Rest Stop! Frugal Fridays - The Internet
- Frugal Fridays - Goodwill Frugal Fridays - The Day After
- Frugal Fridays - Happy Hour! Frugal Fridays - A Little Patience
- Frugal Fridays - An Almost Free Vacation! Frugal Fridays - Free Music!
- Frugal Fridays - The Class Room Frugal Fridays - Free Workout Videos!
- Frugal Fridays - Free Corona Frugal Fridays - Bring It!
- Frugal Fridays - Credit Cards! Frugal Fridays - Retirement Accounts
- Frugal Fridays - Portion Control Frugal Fridays - Tour Like A Local!
- Frugal Fridays - Free Cloud Storage Frugal Fridays - Free Books!
- Frugal Fridays - Close to Home Frugal Fridays - Reward Cards
- Frugal Fridays - Negotiate! Frugal Fridays - Invest in Life!
- Frugal Fridays - Wheels or Status Symbol?
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4 comments:
I cannot count the number of jobs we've done ourselves not only to save money, but because we generally seem to do a better job than people who care less about our projects. Add that to the fact that sometimes I don't know how something is going to turn out until I'm well into the project and you get a perfect storm for doing it myself. Glad you are making headway on the house!
Let me encourage you to rethink sewing the canvas for Nirvana. We bought the sewing machine and all the supplies because I've sewn quite a bit of clothing in my days. How hard could a few straight lines be? I could do it! And I did.
But the canvas was so hot and heavy to work with, it actually hurt my shoulder. Our condo was taken over by green canvas that left marks on the walls and literally knocked furniture over as I moved it around. Plus it took over my life. I did nothing but sew for months. We saved quite a chunk of change...but never again!
The sewing kits show how to make a cute dodger and bimini for a boat. A 12 foot fishing boat. That ain't anything like a 42 foot sailboat. When you get to sewing something for a boat more that 12 feet long it's construction, not sewing.
I'm proud of my work and smile when people ask if I'm available for hire for their boat canvas. I say "yes." My starting fee is one million dollars. Materials and supplies are extra. :0)
We do most everything ourself on our boat. It's amazing how "hard" people made things out to be in the beginning. The experts made it sound so difficult, but it really wasnt.
As for canvas, my mom has a little shop all by herself and has an industrial sewing machine and mad skills. She has been doing boat canvas for 10 years, 7 in the Keys. If you are looking for small work like cushions, curtains, and sail covers or bags you should check her out(if you decide not to DIY). She has good prices and does a very good job. Located in Mandeville right off 190.
Robin with:
www.thebasicbag.com
Congrats again for getting your house ready to sell!! I hope it goes fast as we spent almost 10 months trying for our house to sell. It's a weight off when it finally does.
Leslie, thanks for backing me up on NOT learning to sew .. LOL! Like you said, it doesn't sound fun!
Dani, thanks for the info! I've contacted your mom about some canvas work. I hope our house doesn't take 10 months to sell ... fingers crossed!
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