The backhoe showed up in our driveway last week as our home renovation finally got underway. After months spent getting a survey of our land, then architects drawings, then building permits, then brainstorming meetings with our builder, our renovation is a go.
What are we having done? Primarily we are replacing the retaining walls in our backyard, but we're also putting a 40′ X 12′, two-story addition put on the back of the house. This will allow us to break free of our 10′ X 10′ circa 1960s kitchen and finally have a dining room that fits a dining-room table. In addition, it will give us the mudroom and entrance out to the pool that this house desperately needs.
One of our goals when we embraced frugality two years ago was to save up for this renovation. Now that we've attained those finanical goals, we are continuing to be pennywise with other areas of the renovation. In addition, whenever possible, we are trying to make the greenest choices. Here are some of the ways that we're acting both green and frugal during the renovation process:
- Composting landscaping scraps. Our builder let us know that it costs him money to haul away any rubbish from our renovation. Since he needs to clear out a lot of greenery in order to make room for building, we're saving him (and us) money by having him compost the landscaping scraps. We have a wooded area across the street from our house, and any branches and greenery that aren't reusable are getting tossed there. If there are any plants that could be reused, I'm either keeping them for replanting in the front yard or giving them away on Freecycle.
- Earning interest on our renovation money. Last fall we took a big chunk of the change we'd set aside for our renovation and put it in a six-month, interest-bearing CD. We figured if we didn't need the money right away, why would we keep it sitting in our regular bank account as liquid? Instead I researched CD rates at all of the local banks and found one offering close to 4% for a six-month CD. I just got a letter telling me that the CD, which matures shortly, has already earned more than $800 in interest. I can't wait to see how much money we'll have when the CD matures fully. I know we'll be able to use this extra "found" money in the renovation somehow.
- Making a few extra bucks on clutter. Part of the renovation will involve demolishing the back wall of our house's second story and breaking through to my daughters' bathroom and one of my daughter's rooms. In preparation for that, we've been clearing out as much clutter from those rooms as possible. When I find something of value that I think I can make a few bucks on, I'm setting it aside so I can put an ad up on Craigslist. In addition to selling items, we now have an entire bookshelf of chapter books that my 6th grader hasn't been interested in reading for years, and last night I put those books up for a "swap" on PaperBackSwap.com. While this doesn't actually put any money in my pocket per se, you earn credits for free books on PaperBackSwap when you give your old books away. So now I can use the free books I can get off PaperBackSwap to supplement my book habit when borrowing from the library isn't an option.
- Giving stuff away on Freecycle. With all of this clutter we've been combing through, we've been dividing the stuff we find into different categories: items we can sell (see the previous bullet point), donate to charity or give away on Freecycle. As you know from my earlier Suddenly Frugal Seal of Approval for Freecycle post, I can't get enough of this notion of keeping items out of the trash stream by giving them away to others. So as we clear out clutter to prep the house for the renovation, I will continue to set aside items that I think someone else will want via Freecyle. Eventually, when we renovate our kitchen, I plan to give away our kitchen cabinets on Freecycle as well. We can't reuse them here, and I definitely don't want them going to the dump.
- Collecting loose change. I recently read a survey from Coinstar, the folks behind those machines you find in banks and supermarkets that count your change for you. This survey said that the average home has $90 worth of loose change floating around. I believe it. Just in moving furniture around this weekend upstairs, plus a little bit of cushion diving on the furniture downstairs, and checking the dryer for any "money laundering," I uncovered $33 in crumpled bills and at least $10 in change. I try to collect loose change at least twice a year, and I'm always surprised at how much extra cash I feel like I end up with in my wallet. Next time I go to the bank, I plan to deposit this "extra" money in our renovation fund.
What are some other ways you might recommend that we think and act green and frugally during our renovation? Email us at
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