Bathroom renovation - Demolition

Sunday we got to demolishing the bathroom.  Turned out to be a lot more work than expected and Beau has to go back during the week to finish it during his free time.

We realized the bath tub is just a fiber glass cover over the old bath tub and tiles.  We decided to replace the bath tub.  I started taking out the linoleum floor and there were three layers underneath it.  Some layers looked wet.  To be safe we are going to take the whole floor out and put in a new sub floor.  That's one thing to keep in mind with renovating.  You don't know exactly what you are getting into until you start demolition.  Always leave some room in your budget for the unexpected. 

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My Kijiji Find

I always love reading about how people find these great pieces of furniture for their homes on craigslist or kijiji for great prices.

When I look I don't really see any great stuff. Also, I don't really consider buying big pieces like a couch because having to find friends to move it and a car big enough to transport it is just too much trouble. But I keep looking out of curiosity.

Last weekend, I was looking at these bar stools at on of the furniture stores. They were on sale because it's discontinued. But even with the sales they were $200 each. Online I found some for $150 and I'm not sure how much shipping and taxes will be. Then last night I found something similar on craigslist, four of them at $50 each.


I made an appointment to see them. Of course they aren't brand new but buying all four of them cost the same as one new one at the store. Also even the cheapest bar stool I'd consider buying at Ikea cost $80 each and I liked these better. We negotiated a little and ended up at $40 each. They are height adjustable so we were able to fit all four of them in my little compact.

I just bought my first pieces of used furniture ever!

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Garbage room finds? Would you?

A few months ago, I was with a friend - one of the most frugal people I know in real life. We were driving into her parking lot when she saw that someone threw away a ceramic planting pot outside in the alley. I ended up having to go outside with her to carry it into her place.

Her reasoning? A pot like that costs $20-$30. This one is free. All she needs to do is clean it.

I have to admit. I was a little embarrassed. What if someone saw me? What if the person who threw it away saw me?

Well as a new condo owner, I now completely understand. Things are so expensive! Yesterday I was dropping off some garbage at my garbage room downstairs. I saw someone threw out a big seagrass basket with lid. I was just looking at baskets and the cheapest ones cost $10-$20. Yep. I brought it upstairs. It's sitting outside on the balcony right now until I have time to give it a thorough clean.

To tell the truth. I'm a little proud that I could make something that someone didn't want into something nice I could use. Funny how perspectives change.

Anyone have any idea how to clean a seagrass basket properly?

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Washing my own carpet

I spent the last day and half washing carpets. The grocery stores here rents out carpet cleaners by day. Monday - Wednesdays you can get two days for the price of one. I rented one to wash both mine and my parent's carpets.

My muscles are aching right now. But it's worth it. The carpets are fresh and clean and it only cost $40 including carpet cleaner fluid (and our labour of course).

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Condo & my first piece of furniture

At 630 square feet I would describe my condo as cozy. It's one bedroom, one bathroom with a nice open plan. I have stainless steel appliances and an eating bar. There is a little corner fire place and a huge window in the living room. The bedroom has a decent size window too. Right now the walls are kind of a white with a greyish blue tint. I'm planning on repainting. However, there is a huge list of other things which require money, the painting will likely not happen for awhile.

I made a rule for myself when I bought this place. I will only buy one big piece of furniture (anything requiring over $250) a month. This allows me to save up for the piece of furniture and to take my time looking for the right pieces at the right price. It means I will have to live with a barely furnished apartment for awhile, but it makes the most financial sense to me. This month I already bought my big piece of furniture - the bed. I was planning to get a complete bed with mattress, headboard, and footboard(optional depending on the style). However, when negotiating for my mattress I got them to throw in the metal bed frame and delivery on top of a discount. Essentially it's a bed, just without the headboard/footboard. I think I can live with that until I find a suitable headboard I like.

I went shopping with Sis who was visiting. Then when I decided which mattress to buy she said she is going to buy it for me as her and BIL's housewarming present to me. It is very generous and totally unexpected. It feels good to have such supportive family. Also, I'm going to be a good PF blogger and save the money I would have spend on the purchase for that extra yearly lump sum mortgage payment I can make.

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