The end is near, and by “end” I not only mean the end of this renovation but also the end of our savings. On Thursday, the walls were primed and on Friday, the first top coats of paint were applied. The tiles were cut and installed for the baseboard in the kitchen and other tiles cut ready to be installed for the baseboard in the hallway. The washer and dryer have been moved to the laundry room giving us more storage in the family room. The punch list is getting smaller and the contractors hope to have most of the work wrapped up by the end of the first week of June (this Friday).
And the end doesn’t come a moment too soon as our savings has been depleted and our money is running out. My plan to have some money left in the bank as “seed money” towards the addition and garage is a pipe dream. We will be saving towards that project from a starting point of zero.
I did manage to get some cash flowing back our way on Thursday and Friday as I returned some unused materials that I had purchased but I also managed to spend most of it again on some new needed items.
One thing we have not done on this project is go into debt, unless you count a “six months same as cash” purchase from Home Depot which I will pay off during the interest free period. That’s something to be thankful for.
We should be getting the countertop this week, which will allow the contractors to finish tiling the back splash and for us to finish moving into the kitchen. Most of all, I’m looking forward to being able to use our oven again, rather than being confined to preparing meals on the grill or in the microwave.
And I still have to install the shelves and rods in the closets upstairs. I also want to replace the ivory switches and plugs with white ones to match the trim. Plus I want to get the satellite hooked up in our bedroom and the guest room, which means the tedious job of wiring up the QuickPorts. And my wife still have to shop for window coverings, lest I forget to get changed in the walk-in closet one of these days.
Yes, the end is near, but for every major item we tick off of the punch list, another small item pops up. But at least we will be getting relief from the constant outflowing of money.
