Master Bedroom Reveal

I am so excited to reveal before-and-after pictures of our master bedroom with you! The room is just under 10 by 13 feet, so it is hardly a "master" bedroom by today's standards. But, we have worked hard to make it a cozy oasis.

First, some before pictures...

This picture is blurry, but if you look closely you can see some faint graffiti on the wall (a heart is the most noticeable bit). Our best guess is that it was done with white spray paint, but who knows. That heart bled through layers of primer-sealer! You also can see general damage to the wall. You can click on the picture to open a larger view.


Here is general filth on another wall-- in addition to the mystery filth stains, there actually is stuff dripping down the walls! The floors are very scuffed and water-stained. You can click on the picture to open a larger view.


Making progress...primed walls plus refinished floors. We switched primer brands midway and the trim is not painted, so the walls still look weird, but they are on the right track.


And now
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how it looks today!

The paint color is a blend that I made myself after buying a too-dark color. That will have to be a blog entry unto itself! We still need to get the rest of our wall-hangings up and we will probably install a ceiling fan at some point.


I love having a TV for movies only, we don't have TV services to the house so everything we watch is deliberate. When I have TV, I tend to just get sucked in and watch to watch.

Having the aquarium in the room was a debate, as the little table is not my optimal style and narrow though it is, it take up space in a small room. But, I love watching our aquatic frog swim around--living art!


Behind the entry door to the room is the door to the tiny closet. Because I rarely have to wear ironed/dressy clothes, I need little easily-accessible closet space. So, I use this closet and hubby used the larger closet in our shared office, one door down. I use a closet in the basement for fancy dresses and off-season clothes.

Foaming Hand Soap

Making foaming hand soap is super-easy and saves money by lessening concentrated soap usage. While you can certainly buy a foaming soap dispenser from Bed Bath and Beyond, Target, or online, I've chosen to reuse empty disposable foaming soap dispensers gathered from others. I figure, why pay for something new when I can get life out of something that would otherwise go in the trash or recycle bin? From Freecycle I've received empty Dial Complete and Bath and Body Works foaming soap dispensers. The Dial ones work great; I haven't tried the Bath and Body Works ones yet.

The recipe is simple: 1 part soap to 9 parts water. I just estimate 1/10 of the volume the bottle will hold. More soap to water is fine, so don't nitpick over the amount. Personally, I use Dr. Bronner's Unscented Baby Mild Liquid Castile Soap which is vegan, fair trade, organic, and friendly to the water supply.

Squirt in the soap then fill the rest of the bottle with water, leaving enough space for the bulky pump to fit in. Voila!

Sometimes I scent each batch of soap using essential oils (start with 10 drops, but you may need even double or triple that you get the level of scent you want), but usually I just leave it unscented.

HVAC Replacement--Saving Money on Major Appliances

It is Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) replacement week at our house. Yay! We are replacing our broken system with one that is 1.75 times as large (so we can provide some heat to the basement) and twice (or more) as energy efficient as the 12ish year old dinosuar we had that could only run on emergency heat. Specs for the new system for those so inclined: 2.5 tons, 15.75 SEER, 13.00 EER, 8.50 HSPF

We looked into a geothermal system, but the just the drilling cost, not even including the actual system itself, was 1.5 times the cost of upgrading our electric system. Maybe in a decade or so when we have to replace this system there will be even better and affordable options for us, but for now we're sticking with electric.

We've been patiently waiting for just the right time to get the new system and the stars finally aligned to give us maximum discounts:

• Comparison Shopping- We got quotes from four companies to really get an idea of costs, options, etc.
  
• "More for the Money" Negotiation - We asked the two companies with the best prices to give us a bigger system for the same price so we could eventually heat the basement (hubby will do the ventilation work himself down the road)
  
• "Match Competitors" Negotiation- We asked the cheapest company (who was now offering us the larger system for the same price) to match the warranty length of the competitors (bringing it from two years to five years). They said yes!
  
• Vendor Coupon- Hubby found a coupon online for the vendor knocking off another $200
  
• Manufacturer's Rebate- The system manufacturer is offering a $350 rebate right now
  
• Cash/Check Discount- Accepting credit cards costs vendors money. Because we can pay with a check the HVAC company knocked off 2%. This is a great tip for many things that could be financed. We got 10% off our bedroom furniture by not financing.
  
• Federal Tax Rebate- We'll get $1,500 back next April. See details on qualifying products here.
  
• Virginia State Tax Rebate- The latest incarnation of this program began on April 28. We'll get $300 back. (Here is the complete list: Heat Pump - $300 Natural Gas Furnace - $250 Tankless Natural Gas Water Heater - $225 Clothes Washer - $75 Refrigerator - $60 Storage Natural Gas Water Heater - $35 ) Make sure your product meets the efficiency requirements! Not in Virginia? Check to see what your state is offering. The feds gave money to each state.
  

Total savings (once we get back the rebate and credits): 40%

Bonus: Programmable Thermostat! The old system could not sync with a programmable thermostat, something that we had loved in the condo. I am so excited to have one again with the new system.

Tips for Hosting a Yard Sale

We're planning a yard sale for May 15. Here are my tips from past yard sales:

• Pick the right season- pick a season (or day) that is warm enough you want to hang out outside and cool enough to not be miserable.
  
• Involve others- bigger is always better when it comes to getting people to stop at your yard sale. Invite family, friends, and neighbors to set up shop along with you. Then, advertise as a multi-family or community sale.
  
• Advertise- I advertise on Craigslist and by posting signs.
  
  • Craigslist: include date, time, address or intersection, and if you don't want early birds, say so! (Expect early birds and have in mind a way to deal with them. Early birds are usually looking for things dirt cheap or scour for valuable things for really cheap that they turn around and sell. I usually tell early birds to come back when we are all set up. If they start rifling through our stuff anyway, I never, ever give an early bird a great price. I think it is a rude practice and inevitably slows down my set up time every time.)
    
  • Posted signs: Be sure to remember where you put your signs so you can take them down promptly. Make your signs clear and don't overwhelm them with details. Make sure you can read them from a passing car. Make the date and time large and use arrows. Use one color of paper and design style so people know they are following the right path. Put signs up at intersections near your house, but not too far away. Posting signs is illegal in many areas, so proceed at your own risk.
    
• Don't make price tags- People will disagree with this, but personally I don't put a price on anything unless it is more than say $2 or $5. It is a waste of time, in my opinion, to tag cheaper items because people will haggle over everything anyway. Also if they talk to you about what they are getting you can upsell other things (e.g. "Did you see the bathmat that matches that shower curtain? How about both for $7?") Also, price stickers makes clean up tougher because if you are donating leftovers some charities (almost all in my area) will not accept yard sale leftovers. So, if you have good stuff left over that is worthy of donating you would need to remove every tag.
  
• Negotiate less at the beginning of the day when you have the most time to sell things. But, as the day goes on be willing to sell cheap. To me, the point of a yard sale is to get rid of stuff with the added bonus of making some money. Who wants to lug all of that stuff back in if it doesn't sell?
  
• Prepare lots of change and small bills and keep it close at hand. I like to wear my old reversible apron from waiting tables that has lots of pockets. Twenties and larger go into my pants' pocket for security, but smaller bills and change stay in the apron.
  
• Use plastic bags. In my world, these are normally evil, but they are just great for yard sales. When people have paid for their items, tie it up in a bag. It makes it easy to see what is paid for if they stick around to peruse.
  
• Hold the cash that people give you in one hand or set it on a table while you make change. I've had people try to scam me by saying they gave a larger bill than they actually did. Don't put their money in your pocket until proper change is given.
  
• Keep track of the money you make. Either know exactly how much change you started the day with or keep a tally of each purchase. If you are selling items for other people, keep a small notebook and write down the price and their initials.
  
• Table tops are premium real estate. While it is tempting to fill your card tables with knickknacks to make your sale look tidier, instead use table tops to feature the things that are most valuable. Use as many tables as you can! It is much easier for customers to see what you have.
  
• Going through piles of clothes stinks. If you can keep clothes on hangers and hang them from a rack or tree branch, do so.

Building Raised Garden Beds

Here's what we did:

Step 1: Gather untreated wood in proper dimensions

For us, this was a combination of reclaimed wood off Freecycle and new wood from Home Depot. All three of our beds are 4x4 feet. Two are six inches deep and one is eight inches deep to accommodate carrots. I really riled up Mr. Random Customer behind me in the wood-cutting line at Home Depot by getting untreated wood, which will eventually rot away. We figure, better to replace it in a few years than to have chemicals from treated wood leeching into our organic veggie garden. He was shocked by the idea of letting the wood rot and re-found us four times in the store to give us new ideas of how to prevent the wood from rotting. We stuck to our original plan. I really struggled with buying conventional wood, but I could not find lumber that was the right dimensions and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) (or the like) certified, save for one bed-building kit at Home Depot that came with—oh irony—treated wood.

Step 2: Mark Starter Holes

Ascertain the width of the boards. Half of that distance is where you will make your mark. Our boards were 1.5 inches thick so our marks needed to be ¾ inch from the end of the board. Spatial things are my kryptonite and this did not initially make sense to me, but hubby explained that this will line the screws up precisely in the middle of the adjoining board in the next step.

Step 3: Bore Starter Holes

Pick the drill bit that is the appropriate size for your screws (be sure to use galvanized/outdoor screws). We bored three starter holes in each board. All three should be in a row go all the way through the width of the board. You will only make holes on one side of the board.

Step 4: Outline the bed

Lay the boards in the shape of the bed.

Place sides with holes against sides without holes.

Step 5: Prepare Middle Pilot Hole 1

Make a pilot hole to prevent the wood from cracking when you put in the screw: with the drill bit, drill through the middle hole of one board squarely into the middle of the adjoining board.

Step 6: Insert Middle Screw 1

Now, put in your first screw.

Step 7: Address remaining middle holes

Create a pilot hole and insert the screw for each of the remaining three middle holes. Drill and screw at each corner before moving to the next one, as your wood will shift slightly each time and pre-drilled pilot holes may not line up.

Step 8: Address remaining holes

Create a pilot hole and insert the screw for each of the eight remaining holes (two at each corner). Now that the frame's shape is secure, you do not have to keep alternating between pilot holes and screws. Drill all remaining pilot holes at once; then do a round of just inserting screws.

Step 9: Place the bed in the yard and watch the sun

The bed is empty and light now. So, place the bed then watch the sun on it. On a day I was home all day, I set a timer and on each hour I made notes as to the sun conditions and then checked back in another hour. The empty beds are easy to move if one position doesn't work out.

Optional Step: Create a bottom
(visible in picture above)

We are concerned about moles and groundhogs digging up into our beds, so we decided to put a galvanized wire "hardware cloth" bottom on the two beds that will be in the backyard.

• Decide which side you want to be the top of the bed and put that side face-down.
  
• With the bottom of the bed facing up, line up one edge of the hardware cloth with one edge of the bed, centering it.
  
  
• Fold the sharp ends of the wire under. Staple-gun the wire down, using just a few staples.
  
  
• Unroll the wire to reach the opposite side of the bed.
  
  
• If the wire is too long, you could cut it, but we chose to simply fold it over.Make sure the hardware cloth is lined up to amply cover the remaining two sides.
  
• If the wire will not line up, remove the staples on the first side with needle-nose pliers and try again. If it does line up, staple-gun the wire down.
  
• Then, heartily staple down all four sides.
  
  

Cost

Lumber for three beds $26 (plus the free wood from Freecycle)
Galvanized screws= nominal cost, about $0.50
Hardware cloth for two beds: $26
Subtotal: $52.50

Still to be determined: supplies to keep the squirrels and birds away…