DIY/Homesteading/Life on a budget

[punk-a-doodle]

What I see is potential! That covered porch is just awesome. That is going to be so rewarding to turn from a nice house into a cute home.

Just read the part about wire cubes as rabbit cages. I built two huge cages for our pet English lops with the wire storage cubes and cable ties to keep them portable. I'll be cannibalizing the wire bits to build a new cage. They do hold up well. But, since you have a truck, I'd personally buy some bolt cutters and use thick welded wire fencing or livestock panels cut to size instead unless you can find the storage panels for cheaper than I did.

 

[Daox13]

Yeah there is lots of potential there.. You should have lots of fun!

 

[nayeli]

Thank you two. It was a great price and I thought it has a lot of potential too. It will be a good home for the next 5+ years although eventually we will need to upgrade because it might get small when you start adding kids!

 

[Life is Good!]

We're 19yrs into a never-ending homesteading project. Don't ever believe you'll be 'done'! Because there's always something to do, somewhere.

Suggestions?
- Rent a tool once. If you need it again, buy it.
- plant orchard trees NOW because by the time you'll 'get' to them, it's 12yrs into the project, the kids are teens and eat you out of house and home!
- work on indoor projects during the cold seasons; the outdoor projects in the warmer seasons; basement projects in the hot seasons. Trust me. We finally got a/c 5yrs into the project.....
- Always, ALWAYS listen to your spouse. There's nothing stronger to harm a marriage than a never-ending, budget-sucking, money-pit called home. Doesn't mean you do what spouse says....but LISTEN! And compromise when needed.
- Vacations are necessary for sanity! Don't have to blow a wad to enjoy a weekend off here and there - just a walk around a local forest preserve can preserve a lot more than a 'lost' weekend. Nope, that's called life!
- Recognize this is a team project - sometimes working together, sometimes focusing on separate projects....but always a team effort to turn this place into home.
- Create a sanctuary space - one that's "finished" and "done" and doesn't contain all the tools and messes associated with home remuddling.
- Create a 'work' zone. That's the room which holds all the 'stuff' which *should* go into the room you're working on but cannot because you're working on this other space! This minimizes moving your stuff constantly. So, if you're working in a bathroom - the sink, the tub, the cabinetry, the mirror, the paint, the tile - all is temporarily housed together in *this* other room while you're working on flooring, plumbing, electrical, drywall, etc. It keeps stuff needed in the same spot so you don't loose the matching faucet that's *somewhere* in the house! BTDT. And then you don't blow MORE cash on purchasing a replacement (that doesn't match) just to find the original one three years later! BTDT.
- Lastly, learn to laugh - at yourself, at your spouse, at the house, at the silliness of it all. Eat pizza covered in drywall dust and see who can make the best grease marks on their grubby, drywall dust covered clothes! Enjoy the time together - and it will be your home.

 

[nayeli]

19 years into it huh? Whats on your honey do list?

 

[Life is Good!]

Today - finish digging out from yesterday's 8" of snowfall (couldn't get into chicken pen because gate + snow = immovable force, so the pop door was left open last night); change electric outlet onto new circuit due to additional freezer purchase (teen boys eat, and eat, and eat); finish small sewing project with one son for Boy Scout troop (Patrol Flag); work with another teen son on adding a Minecraft mod onto his computer properly (he was downloading it into the wrong directory); obtain more feed for meat birds (oink!); muck out meat bird coop, again; purge/add new coupons from newspaper; figure out grocery lists and sale ads together to determine this week's worth of meals; 3 loads laundry (Boy Scout outing=much laundry); chicken n' dumplings boiling on stove; oh, and I really need to finish filing so we can begin tax prep - ick.

Did I mention spouse, one son and I have caught a cold? So we're not very motivated today....but managed to get a respectable amount done.

As for "BIG" honey-do list - build 3 additional beehives before April (that's time, not much money); order apple and pear trees to augment orchard (that's money, not time); get taxes filed by March 1st, as we get a refund and if filed by this date, generally get check back from IRS before real estate taxes are due; order solar screening and materials to build screens for front porch; special order storms for upstairs windows (7 windows - lots of money) because they're a funky old size; research, contact, get done - brass refinishing company to refinish dining room light fixture that has tarnished in the 19yrs it's been hanging there; determine what gutter parts are needed to add gutter to 2nd floor area that really should have a gutter (means we've got some left-over parts somewhere in the barn, but gads if we know what's in that box! It's been 14yrs since we've looked in there!).....um, that pretty much takes us up to early summer where the outdoor project this year is to RE-PAINT the house. Not so much looking forward to that one. But I refuse to pay that much money for crappy work - last paint job lasted only 2 winters. And it wasn't the paint....grrr....

Oh, by the way - we're in a 1917 house that last saw serious repairs in 1945, until we purchased in 1998. We had two choices - bulldozer or drill. We should have chose bulldozer! It would have been a LOT cheaper in the long run! But we love our home, we adore working together on this eternal project - and our children are already bickering over who's going to 'get' the family home when we decide to move at or about age 70! Not staying here forever, and a 2 story home isn't practical after a certain age....not in this climate at least!

Enjoy the journey!

 

[nayeli]

Wow, you do seem busy. Although I guess my to do list for the house is by no means small either. I tried to cheer my husband up by telling him that the three bedrooms really don't need anything done to them.... when in reality they need
1. Our master needs the closet built out (shelves installed in the middle possibly with drawers then another rod so one side will have double for his shirts/pants).
2. New Windows throughout the house (includes bedrooms obviously)
3. Popcorn ceiling removed
4. Wallpaper removed in one room
5. Paint in all three
6. Closet doors need rehung in master

.... so not exactly nothing =) but not alot comparatively.

Our house was built 1975 and is in pretty good condition but there are a few things that need done. Some carpentry work with a floor joist, extra support in the garage and under our sunroom, new breaker box/panel ours is Federal Pacific which are known for being defective and causing fires, and we need wiring out in the garage and probably sunroom (we will see). There are also smaller plumbing things that need taken care of before they cause an issue (seals, faucets).

Mostly the house will be cosmetic work and making it more suitable for us like building a privacy fence, dog houses, a coop, hutch, etc =)

I might be a bit bonkers taking on all this work of a new house and choosing to start homesteading at the same time as my 500 DIY remodels!

 

[nayeli]

...Oh did I mention we have been trying to start a family for a year now... bonkers indeed!

 

[MoonShadows]

We're 19yrs into a never-ending homesteading project. Don't ever believe you'll be 'done'! Because there's always something to do, somewhere.

Suggestions?
- Rent a tool once. If you need it again, buy it.
- plant orchard trees NOW because by the time you'll 'get' to them, it's 12yrs into the project, the kids are teens and eat you out of house and home!
- work on indoor projects during the cold seasons; the outdoor projects in the warmer seasons; basement projects in the hot seasons. Trust me. We finally got a/c 5yrs into the project.....
- Always, ALWAYS listen to your spouse. There's nothing stronger to harm a marriage than a never-ending, budget-sucking, money-pit called home. Doesn't mean you do what spouse says....but LISTEN! And compromise when needed.
- Vacations are necessary for sanity! Don't have to blow a wad to enjoy a weekend off here and there - just a walk around a local forest preserve can preserve a lot more than a 'lost' weekend. Nope, that's called life!
- Recognize this is a team project - sometimes working together, sometimes focusing on separate projects....but always a team effort to turn this place into home.
- Create a sanctuary space - one that's "finished" and "done" and doesn't contain all the tools and messes associated with home remuddling.
- Create a 'work' zone. That's the room which holds all the 'stuff' which *should* go into the room you're working on but cannot because you're working on this other space! This minimizes moving your stuff constantly. So, if you're working in a bathroom - the sink, the tub, the cabinetry, the mirror, the paint, the tile - all is temporarily housed together in *this* other room while you're working on flooring, plumbing, electrical, drywall, etc. It keeps stuff needed in the same spot so you don't loose the matching faucet that's *somewhere* in the house! BTDT. And then you don't blow MORE cash on purchasing a replacement (that doesn't match) just to find the original one three years later! BTDT.
- Lastly, learn to laugh - at yourself, at your spouse, at the house, at the silliness of it all. Eat pizza covered in drywall dust and see who can make the best grease marks on their grubby, drywall dust covered clothes! Enjoy the time together - and it will be your home.

Great advice! I can relate to almost every word of it. We, too, are in our 19th year on our homestead.

 

[MoonShadows]

Quote:
Nah, you're not bonkers, but just make sure you break down your projects into manageable tasks, otherwise you can begin to feel overwhelmed when you think off all the work that you have to do. And, while it's not important to start and finish one project before you move onto the next, try not to have too many going at once. You need to see progress, and you need to see closure on some of your projects to feel a sense of accomplishment. If you have too many projects going at once, and it takes forever to get them accomplished, that feeling of being overwhelmed, like drowning, will drag you down and zap your spirit and energy. Make sure you enjoy the ride; don't worry as much about the destination. There is and will always be more to do and more you want to do.