Ever since I've been out of school for summer break, I've been trying to get some projects taken care of. Last week I cleaned the garage. I decided it was time to replace the miniblinds that came with the house when we bought it 14 years ago. For the past 14 years, I've washed and scrubbed them when I cleaned the garage, but they are so soiled, they looked bad. So, I thought I'd splurge and replace them.
I haven't purchased blinds for awhile and I can say I had sticker shock, even for the cheaper ones. I didn't want fancy ones, just basic blinds.
After visiting two home improvement places, I bought two blinds (one store didn't have the size I needed), a quart of exterior white paint, a pint of interior white paint, a brush, a furnace filter, a can of Pledge, and 4 caps for wheels for a wagon. We spent nearly $60 on this and I can say I was shocked. These are just little projects and $60 in less than 30 minutes! Ouch!
I painted the trim on the garage door and the regular door to the garage, and hung up the blinds. So, two more projects are completed. Last summer when I painted the trim, I used the paint I had bought about 12 years ago, but alas, the paint came to an end last year. I figure doing a little trim paint here and there not only freshens up the trim, it also protects the wood from the elements.
The caps are for the wagon I painted. Years ago my mom gave my husband a wagon to haul stuff around the yard. It has sat in the weather for these years and it was pretty ratty looking. I took a steel brush and tried to get the peeling paint and rust off of it and then I painted it with some paint I had purchased previously. It looks better, but it will never look showroom new...it is starting to rust out in spots, but I figure anything is better than having it look so bad.
I think I know why folks put off projects...not only because of the work, but also because of the expense. I realize this isn't a huge amount of money, but it seemed like we got so little for what we spent. But, I'm trying to look at it as an investment in our house by maintaining things.
Home Improvement Expenses
June 7th, 2012 at 10:51 pm
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June 12th, 2012 at 12:29 am 1339457391