We saved over $10,000 remodeling our house by using craigslist and ebay

[nellebird]

Hey everyone!

We just bought a fixer upper house this year and have been slowly renovating it pretty much from top to bottom. Since starting this project last April we have bought almost all our materials used or off of used sites (often times the materials themselves are brand new).

I just wrote a blog article detailing our journey and giving some tips on how to thrift for remodeling supplies. I hadn't added up the numbers until then. I knew we were saving money - but the figure came out for around $9,000 in savings just for Craigslist alone. These are things that we needed to buy and do for our home. If we had purchased them new we would have gone seriously into debt.

If anyone is remodeling - you've gotta check out craigslist and ebay.

I'm not trying to sell myself here, but if you want to read more, or see some specific breakdowns you are welcome to check out the blog. Let me know if link sharing isn't allowed.

Good luck on everyone's remodel
Here's the link

http://hammersandcurls.com/frugal-renovating/2016/1/23/how-to-remodel-your-house-by-thrifting-part-ii-craigslistebay

[act0fgod]

We're almost done with our kitchen remodel.  Not all of our materials were purchased off craigslist but we definitely would have spent a lot more if we hadn't used craigslist (all of our appliances, flooring and some tools).

My favorite was the flooring.  My wife had been going back and forth on which flooring to get based on pricing and what she like the look of.  I checked craigslist one day and sure enough there was some laminate that she had considered for about 20 cents per sq foot.  It only had about 2/3 of what we needed but we figured we'd still be saving a ton.  Well when we went to Home Depot the lady in the flooring area let us know her husband worked at the home depot on the other side of town and they had some returned flooring that was on discount (it was a special order only so having it available immediately was another sweet bonus).

I was surprised you are in a pretty rural area and still able to get your supplies on craigslist.  When we lived in LA and DC we found craigslist had everything, not so much in the smaller areas.  Are you driving to Ft. Wayne or South Bend?

[MrSal]

how in the world did you get a washer and dryer for 35 USD especially recent models??!?

even used they usually go for 200 each

[act0fgod]

how in the world did you get a washer and dryer for 35 USD especially recent models??!?

even used they usually go for 200 each

My guess would be they are giving you a net cost (ie they bought a washer and dryer off craigslist for $300 and then sold theirs for $265...or something like that)

At least that's kind of the way we are tracking our expenses.

[nellebird]

I'm still learning how to reply on these forums. The washer and dryer was net cost.
We sold our old units for $175 and bought new ones for $200, then we had to buy a $10 part to repair it.

It was $35 after selling and buying.

[nellebird]

We're almost done with our kitchen remodel.  Not all of our materials were purchased off craigslist but we definitely would have spent a lot more if we hadn't used craigslist (all of our appliances, flooring and some tools).

My favorite was the flooring.  My wife had been going back and forth on which flooring to get based on pricing and what she like the look of.  I checked craigslist one day and sure enough there was some laminate that she had considered for about 20 cents per sq foot.  It only had about 2/3 of what we needed but we figured we'd still be saving a ton.  Well when we went to Home Depot the lady in the flooring area let us know her husband worked at the home depot on the other side of town and they had some returned flooring that was on discount (it was a special order only so having it available immediately was another sweet bonus).

I was surprised you are in a pretty rural area and still able to get your supplies on craigslist.  When we lived in LA and DC we found craigslist had everything, not so much in the smaller areas.  Are you driving to Ft. Wayne or South Bend?

That flooring story is awesome! We went with floors to your home which is based out of indianapolis. They have AMAZING prices on flooring and we were able to do engineered hardwood for under $1/sq foot!

Yah, living rurally really makes it hard. I drool over the chicago craigslist sometimes. If I lived closer to a more populated area I'd be unstoppable! We basically have to drive the hour. Usually we try and coordinate several trips together. But most of the things I listed on the blog were only about 20 minutes away. The siding and the kitchen sink we picked up the same day about an hour away. We also visit family in Indy sometimes and have had them snag stuff for us occasionally.

This is a silly question - but how did you figure out where we were located?

[act0fgod]

This is a silly question - but how did you figure out where we were located?

Your blog has a link to your Houzz page which lists your location.