We're in for the long haul.
Over the weekend, we decided that we're going to continue to tackle the house by doing one room a year. We're both in entry level positions, and we want to borrow as little money as possible because paying interest is so not appealing.
The bathroom will be done this year. That's 2011.
2012 - Living room and hall
2013 - Master bedroom
2014 - Office
2015 and on - ??
We're in no hurry to do either of the spare bedrooms (one of which we're sleeping in right now). They may have bumpy walls and unfinished floors, but that's okay because they're not often seen by visitors, or us, for that matter.
The kitchen isn't even on the radar right now. It will definitely be the last room to be dealt with - so maybe we'll get 10 years out of it. This will be a job that we'll have to borrow money for...although maybe not because we likely wouldn't be purchasing new appliances. We'll see.
Now, this timeline doesn't mean we're going to be sitting on our behinds doing nothing. Believe me, there's plenty of little things to do around the house. But the big expensive stuff will be saved for. Our house is livable, and we're lucky. It may be ugly inside right now, and I do find it tough to deal with when I'm browsing Pinterst daily and seeing lovely homes. But, our house will be there one day; having a pretty home right now isn't worth going into debt over.
In the mean time, we'll strip and repaint trim and doors. We'll rehab windows. We'll put in exterior outlets so that we can put up Christmas lights (Mike did this yesterday, actually!). We'll plant a garden and work on landscaping.
And we'll also enjoy our house for what it is right now - our home, not just dream of what it can be.
We're in a similar position--only one income for the five of us, and despite the "non-entry-level" status of my husband, his salary might as well be! Paint will have to do for now. In the meantime, I'm gathering ideas from magazines and having fun brainstorming!
ReplyDeleteBrainstorming rocks! I'm pretty sure I draw a new sketch every single day.
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