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Post Election Resolutions....Nonpolitical


Calm

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I always get the same feeling with elections as I do with new years and the beginning of school and spring....change is in the air and thus why not think about a few changes for myself.

We've decided we are going to fix the kitchen floor and counter now with quality but less expensive materials....Lino rather than wood, don't want to risk the issue of mold that comes with laminates and Lino rather than granite as we live on the edge of a community where on one side of us are older, lower income, other is higher income so I think it is wise to avoid the pricey stuff even if long lasting because this is too awkward of a house to grow old in so we will eventually move, if we want our money invested to be pretty much give full value when we sell midrange stuff will work best.

We've decided we want to create a better environment at home to encourage better care of selves and less waste and less money spent going out.

I am going to talk to my dil about sharing shopping trips to Costco since I often can't drive which means my husband does the shopping, he doesn't really plan shopping well plus this makes it easy to share excess food from buying it in bulk. Another investment/Christmas kitchen gadget (my husband's traditions, I buy Legos) will be a vacuum sealer.

Husband is thinking maybe he should take that sabbatical in a year or two---which means he starts having to care for it now---to set up that business he's been thinking about. He can count it as research since business start up is his field and teachers who rely on the theoretical too much have problems with tenure etc.

Maybe come summer I can get my 'satisfied for now' bathtub and stop feeling like I am bathing in a baby bath. When we get to our final house, it will likely be a very expensive tub unless I can talk my dad into building me one....

http://www.bath-in-wood.com/wooden-bathtub/index.html

Edited by calmoriah
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I might make a suggestion that you actually just save your money. Right now I feel like spending any money is a mistake out side of necessities. Prices on life is going to go up. Be prepared.

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lino on the kitchen counter???? I prefer a good quality arborite counter with a modern profile. Granite is so hard and heavy and unforgiving and expensive and unchangable and...

cold!!!!! I remodeled my kitchen by painting the cabinets and saving up for some granite, not so happy about it but will deal with it...would have preferred a Corian or something like that, but it's more costly believe it or not. Edited by Tacenda
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I might make a suggestion that you actually just save your money. Right now I feel like spending any money is a mistake out side of necessities. Prices on life is going to go up. Be prepared.

I don't know, it might be a good idea to spend your money before its worthless.
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cold!!!!! I remodeled my kitchen by painting the cabinets and saving up for some granite, not so happy about it but will deal with it...would have preferred a Corian or something like that, but it's more costly believe it or not.

My home is 19 years old and I completed a kitchen renovation/update about a year ago... Check into CeasarStone vs granite or Corian... that's what I used to replace countertops as it looks like granite but is not as porous, doesn't have to be treated twice a year, is very impervious to heat, etc. And, not as expensive...

For the cabinets I replaced the doors and drawer fronts, and painted the rest of the exterior cabinet. I put on new hardware and hinges... replaced my sink and faucet... replaced window covering (wood shades), new stove, in addition to new paint overall. Really turned out nice for a reasonable price, about $11,000. I had replaced the vinyl floor a few years ago with a Mannington maple laminate that has been great.

I've just replaced carpet in den and living room... with a Mohawk product called "SmartStrand" which has developed permanent stain protection that will never wear or wash off, and cleans up with WATER. I was skeptical but it works, particularly when Bobbie-cat gobbles his food and then goes in and throws it up on the carpet. It used to be so hard to get up, but now with just water it is gone.

Anyway, those are some suggestions on saving money when making renovations in these economic times...

GG

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My home is 19 years old and I completed a kitchen renovation/update about a year ago... Check into CeasarStone vs granite or Corian... that's what I used to replace countertops as it looks like granite but is not as porous, doesn't have to be treated twice a year, is very impervious to heat, etc. And, not as expensive...

For the cabinets I replaced the doors and drawer fronts, and painted the rest of the exterior cabinet. I put on new hardware and hinges... replaced my sink and faucet... replaced window covering (wood shades), new stove, in addition to new paint overall. Really turned out nice for a reasonable price, about $11,000. I had replaced the vinyl floor a few years ago with a Mannington maple laminate that has been great.

I've just replaced carpet in den and living room... with a Mohawk product called "SmartStrand" which has developed permanent stain protection that will never wear or wash off, and cleans up with WATER. I was skeptical but it works, particularly when Bobbie-cat gobbles his food and then goes in and throws it up on the carpet. It used to be so hard to get up, but now with just water it is gone.

Anyway, those are some suggestions on saving money when making renovations in these economic times...

GG

I thought of changing the door/drawer fronts on the cabinets, but decided to paint instead. I don't know if I'd recommend it as it was very tough, to get it right. I was painting over maple that had a rotten finish! I did the antiquing look style, a cream color with dark gel stain in the crevices I still have laminate flooring and don't know what to get so that one day I'll be able to take out my dishwasher if it needs to be replaced. If I laid tile or even wood it wouldn't be able to slide out. I wish I'd seen the counter top you mentioned, but going to look into the carpet you mentioned!! Edited by Tacenda
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lino on the kitchen counter???? I prefer a good quality arborite counter with a modern profile. Granite is so hard and heavy and unforgiving and expensive and unchangable and...

It is not Lino, I just can't remember what the stuff is called, braindead today.
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I thought of changing the door/drawer fronts on the cabinets, but decided to paint instead. I don't know if I'd recommend it as it was very tough, to get it right. I was painting over maple that had a rotten finish! I did the antiquing look style, a cream color with dark gel stain in the crevices I still have laminate flooring and don't know what to get so that one day I'll be able to take out my dishwasher if it needs to be replaced. If I laid tile or even wood it wouldn't be able to slide out. I wish I'd seen the counter top you mentioned, but going to look into the carpet you mentioned!!

Avoid ceramic tile on a kitchen floor IMO, too hard on feet and dishes...everything breaks.
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I might make a suggestion that you actually just save your money. Right now I feel like spending any money is a mistake out side of necessities. Prices on life is going to go up. Be prepared.

These things have to be replaced eventually due to damage that was done before we moved in. Took them forever to sell the house at a much reduced rate because they couldn't afford to replace them. We are replacing with a view to comfort but more to resale value. We've waited until we had the money to do it, if doing it means we will be more prone to use our resources wisely plus doing it now before prices rise much higher seems like a good idea to me. We can't stay in the house until we die unfortunately, too big. Edited by calmoriah
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They ran out of money building the house so we have a weird combination of quality and crap. We will need to replace all the faucets and hardware, working on the kitchen first. And all the colours are yeck pastels that have turned really grey and dirty over time (the house is only 20 years old). I couldn't stand the pink countertop in my bathroom so ended up painting it and then sealing it with a marine sealant, the stuff they use on boats. It's been eight years and it looks almost new except one spot where an alcohol soaked cotton ball got left and cracked the finish, but it isn't that noticeable. I was hoping to renovate the main floor bath, but I think we will just replace the faucet and hardware and I'll paint the countertop there as well.

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