Author Topic: Rather than renovate her kitchen, she learns to appreciate it  (Read 4564 times)

Inaya

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Rather than renovate her kitchen, she learns to appreciate it
« on: January 01, 2018, 04:00:54 PM »
http://momastery.com/blog/2014/08/11/give-liberty-give-debt/

Quote
In terms of parenting, marriage, home, clothes – I will not be a slave to the Tyranny of Trend any longer. I am almost 40 years old and no catalog is the Boss of Me anymore. I am free. I am not bound to spend my precious days on Earth trying to keep up with the Joneses- because the Joneses are really just a bunch of folks in conference rooms changing “trends” rapidly to create fake monthly emergencies for us. OH NO! NOW IT’S A SUBWAY TILE BACKSPLASH WE NEED!  No, thank you. Life offers plenty of REAL emergencies to handle, thank you very much.

tyrannostache

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Re: Rather than renovate her kitchen, she learns to appreciate it
« Reply #1 on: January 03, 2018, 04:34:37 PM »
Yes! I don't always love Glennon's work, but I love this post, especially the before and after shots.


I mean, I'm still angling to put new flooring in my bathroom, but that's because carpet in a basement bathroom is close to the worst idea ever.

Miss Piggy

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Re: Rather than renovate her kitchen, she learns to appreciate it
« Reply #2 on: January 03, 2018, 06:45:29 PM »
Well...that was refreshing!

NorthernDreamer

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Re: Rather than renovate her kitchen, she learns to appreciate it
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2018, 07:29:36 AM »
I found that blog post/manifesto a few years ago and I leave it open in a tab on my phone to refer to as needed. I love pulling out my "perspectacles".

Before getting serious about FI, I read a ton of home improvement/DIY blogs. Now I simply don't care about all that stuff. I mean, I want a nice house, and as stuff wears out I thoughtfully replace it. But the need to replace perfectly good hand me downs and change out my pictures and vases every season has vanished.

Aelias

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Re: Rather than renovate her kitchen, she learns to appreciate it
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2018, 07:51:51 AM »
The part of the faucet--clean, drinkable water, on demand, any temperature, throughout the entire house--resonated with me.  It's a modern miracle.

You know what else should inspire us with awe every day?  THE GROCERY STORE.  Food from all over the world--including fresh, out of season produce and food that has already been cooked for you and just needs to be heated for a minute in the magic cooking box (i.e. microwave)--available in unimaginable bounty, every day of the week. 

I try to avoid buying produce out of season for a lot of reasons, but the fact that I CAN--I can get a pint of fresh strawberries tomorrow if I want--Miracle!

ohsnap

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Re: Rather than renovate her kitchen, she learns to appreciate it
« Reply #5 on: January 18, 2018, 06:24:18 PM »
She renovated her kitchen within a year of that article.  Lots of pics of it on Instagram.

It's beautiful.

Travis

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Re: Rather than renovate her kitchen, she learns to appreciate it
« Reply #6 on: January 18, 2018, 08:45:22 PM »
She renovated her kitchen within a year of that article.  Lots of pics of it on Instagram.

It's beautiful.

So was she being hypocritical or did the kitchen actually need some work?

MasterStache

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Re: Rather than renovate her kitchen, she learns to appreciate it
« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2018, 05:30:16 AM »
I personally enjoy fixing up our house. But we also bought a cheap, run down, fixer upper. In fact now that I am semi-retired, carpentry has brought in some good side income.

With that being said I always look for ways to cut cost, often times drastically. For instance, instead of replacing our builder grade kitchen cabinets for thousands of dollars, I painted them for less than 100 bucks. I went with subway tile only above the range and put in bead board back-splash everywhere else. It looks great and saved a ton of money.  I also built our kitchen table, TV stand and a host of other furniture pieces. It's a fun hobby that has helped me develop some very marketable skills.

I do agree that styles change and hopefully I can resist the urge to want to redo everything again within 10 years (roughly when we plan to sell the house).

Eucalyptus

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Re: Rather than renovate her kitchen, she learns to appreciate it
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2018, 05:28:01 PM »
Fantastic article. What a f*** you face punch to consumerists that read her blog!


I'm seriously pumped and refreshed. Thanks for sharing!

Just Joe

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Re: Rather than renovate her kitchen, she learns to appreciate it
« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2018, 09:15:01 AM »
You know what else should inspire us with awe every day?  THE GROCERY STORE.  Food from all over the world--including fresh, out of season produce and food that has already been cooked for you and just needs to be heated for a minute in the magic cooking box (i.e. microwave)--available in unimaginable bounty, every day of the week. 

Our dogs must think we are the best hunter-gatherers ever!