First Home Facepunch

[Nissykins2]

Face punch needed, as well as general tips, advice, hacks you love, things you wish you'd known, etc. We're in the process of buying our first home. We chose a piggyback condo in a very walkable family-friendly neighborhood 3 miles from DH's office. Although condos aren't terribly Mustachian, I suppose, my husband travels for work about half the year, and with two kids under five, I don't want the headache of outdoor maintenance.

I am finding that I just want to buy everything for the new place. In my apartments, I didn't care about decorating much and I couldn't put in stuff like closet organizers, but this is my HOOOOME, and won't I want that $100 knife block that mounts under the cupboards so the little boys won't maim themselves with the knives and I can save all that extra counter space? Shouldn't I hire skilled cleaning ladies to come in and make the place spotless before we move in, so all I'll need to do is maintain what they've done? You get the idea.

So face punch away, but at the same time, are there any things you have purchased for your home that you thought were actually valuable in terms of making your life better or saving you money in the long run for things you valued more? Also, any favorite resources for getting the stuff that we do want on a budget, while not having it be something so cheap we'll need to replace it often? We are fortunate that we are not adding much square footage, so furniture is pretty much taken care of--I'm thinking things like blinds, curtains, rugs, shelving, etc.

[pbkmaine]

For blinds, I just get inexpensive bamboo from places like Overstock.com, Wayfair, Lowe's and Home Depot. The last two will cut to fit. I live in Florida and have inexpensive cotton rag rugs from Overstock on the floor, but if I wanted something for the longer term, I would buy wool orientals at auction or wool dhurries or flat weaves from Overstock or Wayfair.

Here's a search on Overstock for 8x10 wool flatweaves under $300:
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/7x9---10x14-Rugs/8_'-x-10_',Wool~New-Zealand-Wool,Flatweave,(,300),/rug-size,material,weave-type,price,/608/subcat.html?sort=Lowest%20Price

[chemistk]

My wife and I are moving next week. We're going from an apartment (rental) to a townhouse (rental), and while our situation isn't exactly yours since we won't be at the new place forever, it is very similar.

Back when we first signed the lease on the new place, I was very excited to start looking at all the things that we might "need" for the new place, but I got taken back down to earth just hanging around here. Instead, I've done three things to cut down what we need for the new place to just the essentials:

1) I set a strict budget of $1,500. When it looks like something is going to push us over that, it gets dropped from the list, something else gets dropped, or we try to find a cheaper alternative.
2) I've made sure to wait at least a week before actually pulling the trigger on a purchase. I'll put it in the Amazon cart and let it sit. If I think we need it 1 week later, it stays on the list.
3) This is the most important - each purchase has to meet 1 of 2 criteria: It either has to be a) something which will save us money (TV antenna vs. paying for cable, bikes to ride locally, etc.) or b) something necessary to keep our son safe (knob covers for the gas stove, a gate for stairs).

Following these criteria, there are maybe two frivolous things on our list of things, and those can easily be dropped without blinking an eye.

[B L I S S]

This right here

2) I've made sure to wait at least a week before actually pulling the trigger on a purchase. I'll put it in the Amazon cart and let it sit. If I think we need it 1 week later, it stays on the list.

has saved me from making many purchases that I would have later called mistakes. The higher the cost the longer I wait.

[DirtDiva]

Thrift store!  Thrift store visits help me in two ways:

1.  Finding decorative tchotchkes and household items for a buck or two instead of retail $$

2.  Reminding me that any new decorative tchotchkes and household items I purchase will end up in a vast wasteland of semi-useless items some day.   

[GhostSaver]

My wife and I are moving next week. We're going from an apartment (rental) to a townhouse (rental), and while our situation isn't exactly yours since we won't be at the new place forever, it is very similar.

Back when we first signed the lease on the new place, I was very excited to start looking at all the things that we might "need" for the new place, but I got taken back down to earth just hanging around here. Instead, I've done three things to cut down what we need for the new place to just the essentials:

1) I set a strict budget of $1,500. When it looks like something is going to push us over that, it gets dropped from the list, something else gets dropped, or we try to find a cheaper alternative.
2) I've made sure to wait at least a week before actually pulling the trigger on a purchase. I'll put it in the Amazon cart and let it sit. If I think we need it 1 week later, it stays on the list.
3) This is the most important - each purchase has to meet 1 of 2 criteria: It either has to be a) something which will save us money (TV antenna vs. paying for cable, bikes to ride locally, etc.) or b) something necessary to keep our son safe (knob covers for the gas stove, a gate for stairs).

Following these criteria, there are maybe two frivolous things on our list of things, and those can easily be dropped without blinking an eye.

I don't know if you've purchased those knob covers yet, but you can pull the knobs off of most gas stoves and stash them in a drawer near the stove. It's no more inconvenient than the stove knob covers. That's how we do things with our 1 year old.

We ponied up for the gate and the door knob covers, though.

[MrsDinero]

I 100% understand wanting to go crazy and decorate your new place.  That is something I am struggling with right now.   The only way to describe our living room is to say it is brown...very very very brown.  I would love nothing more than to get rid of his 10 year brown leather furniture and brown bookcases and update it, but sadly it is not in our budget this year (or next).

With 2 kids under 5 you already know how hard they can be on furniture, so I would recommend you take 1 area to improve and really think about how you want to improve it.  It might be worth living with some older furniture until your kids are a little older.

One way we are working on bringing color into the living room is adding colorful, accent pillows and  painting some of the old wood furniture we have.  It is possible to paint wood, veneer, and particle board to update it, just have to work carefully.  We are also scouring antique shops and secondhand store looking for other items to buy, update, and add to our home.

One of my favorite DIY/Design sites is :  http://centsationalgirl.com/
I have been following her for a number of years and love her thrift store finds.  She also has couple of great articles to show how to make Ikea Billy bookcases look like builtins. 

[Noodle]

Congratulations on your new home! I hope you enjoy it.

My first home is a similar condo situation. I found money to be best spent on noiseproofing (due to a neighbor downstairs whose list of my unacceptable activities included "walking" and "closing doors"), space-management (the pull-out drawers for a deep cupboard were some of the best money I spent) and storage. I did weed a lot but I have a small kitchen and I cook a lot. The new place had high ceilings but not a lot of floor space for large furniture so I sprang for some more vertical shelving.

In terms of nesting, I was able to satisfy that urge by changing out some door pulls and light switches and doing a little painting. I wish I had waited on patio furniture--I bought some cheap stuff from IKEA and am now replacing it because it hurts my back.

[Frugal Lizard]

I love decorating and changing things up.  Our first house was painted very dark colours that didn't match our furniture at all so before we moved in we painted everything.  The cost of the paint for the whole two house was was equivalent to the cost of paying someone to paint one room for us.  Our second house had been unloved for 8 years and not redecorated in the 10 years prior to that.  Our family was so excited that we were moving closer to them they all showed up for painting weekend and I had to pick paint colours so quickly for the whole house because they were there and ready.  We moved in and the house was all done and I had no decorating decisions to make.  It was kind of a let down really.  The house we are now in is still a work in progress and I am enjoying the process.  Each room had to be stripped of its wallpaper first and the extended family is not really excited that we moved six blocks so they didn't show up help.  I am now the hunter pursuing design excellence and finding things at garage sales and hand-me-downs that are bringing this house into sophistication.  The hunt is a huge part of the fun.  We lived here for 5 years before we found tiles that matched the existing bath tub, vanity and sink.  The shower in the main bathroom was not operable until we ripped out the old tiles and re-plumbed it.  It looks absolutely amazing now and it is so much more pleasing to me now because of the chase.  The five years of heading down to the basement for a shower make it even sweeter.

MrsDinero is right - kids are mighty hard on furniture and on walls.  So we waited.
We have also re-purposed stuff.  Older furniture is so much better constructed.  I also shop the sales at fabric stores and end of season at places such as IKEA and JYVK.  Sometimes a ready made pillow is way cheaper than buying an insert. I keep recovering some excellent down throw pillows that came from my grandmother. One thing I invested in was a colour deck from the paint store.  It is handy to have "your colours" all in one place when you are on your hunts.  I mark the back of the chip with the closest match to the couch so that if I see something on sale that is non-returnable, I am not wasting money.

One of my best finds was a silk wall hanging made in the 60's in Denmark.  It appealed to me at this garage sale but I had no idea what it was.  I paid $30 bucks because the money would support the church and I thought it was special.  It would probably fetch three times that on E-Bay but it delights me everyday in my front entry.  It goes with the $55. dollar lights from Rona.  The area looks professionally decorated and expensive for a fraction of what it could have costed.  It didn't come together quickly but it was time invested in doing something I enjoy.  Spread out the fun over time.  Sometimes priorities change or you learn about a new look or product or see something really cool that you just gotta have.

[diplomatchick10]

It can be tough, I understand. I say don't go too crazy on things and set a budget.  I also say decorate SLOWLY. Get things you know that you absolutely love or will be useful for quite a while. I've made the mistake of purchasing something I thought would look good, but then didn't love it later on, just because I thought it would look good at the time (before I found this website). I personally feel that higher quality items are worth it more in the long run. I feel it's more wasteful to just buy things knowing that it will have to be replaced soon.  Having said that, kids can be tough on things. Luckily, my daughter is pretty respectful on stuff (although of course there has been some wear and tear here and there) but there may be a few things you forgo. I say decorate away, slowly and lovingly. Also, painting it a great way to change up a room without having to spend too much, it can make a huge difference.

[ohana]

Although condos aren't terribly Mustachian, I suppose, my husband travels for work about half the year, and with two kids under five, I don't want the headache of outdoor maintenance.

No, that's not true.  Condos with crazy amenities (business center, gym, pool, etc) might be, but there's nothing wrong with HOA fees if they go to basic necessities.  In your situation, they sound logical.

[kanga1622]

I would wait on most decisions until you've lived in the space for a couple of months. You may determine that the fancy pull out trash can you wanted turns out to be an inconvenient location and wouldn't fit in the better spot. Or that you need to rearrange your furniture to better suit your life and the cute shelf you wanted now wouldn't have a place to fit. Storage/organization tends to be the same for me - I need to work with what exists and see how functional it is before buying bins/pockets/dividers.

I'd start a wishlist. There are sites where you can create a "registry" from multiple locations. You don't have to share your list with anyone but it might give you a better idea of what you like now vs. what you need in a few months.

The one thing we did shortly after moving into our first home was to paint the kitchen cabinets (before they were loaded with dishes). The cabinets had been previously painted and their kids had really done a number on the lower cabinet paint. Give the space a REALLY good cleaning before you load in all your items and you should be set. We had to throw away lots of random things from the previous owners that were tucked away in corners on high shelves or in closets.

[Cassie]

I would give it a really good cleaning while it is empty. Closet organizers that you buy at a home depot and you install yourself are just as good as the fancy ones companies install-I have had both and the first is so cheap compared to the other.  I would live there awhile to decide what you really need.  It is an exciting time!

[AZDude]

Thrift store!  Thrift store visits help me in two ways:

1.  Finding decorative tchotchkes and household items for a buck or two instead of retail $$

2.  Reminding me that any new decorative tchotchkes and household items I purchase will end up in a vast wasteland of semi-useless items some day.

I second the thrift store. Lots and lots of stuff for little money.

[Shinplaster]

I second not rushing out and buying things before you move in.  After you've lived there a while, the house will tell you what it needs.  The only things I've ever prioritized have been cleaning, flooring, and painting.  If there is carpet that's gross, it's way easier to replace that before any furniture goes in.  Ditto for painting, but I don't worry about doing every room.   I focus on doing the room(s) that would be hardest to do after move-in, or that bother me the most.   Hunting for just the right tile, or bookcase, etc. is half the fun.  It took me 12 years to find the drapes I wanted for this house - until then, we just had blinds.  I am not sorry I waited - I love what I found, I got a bargain, and we will use them in our next place too when we move in a couple of years.

[Mtngrl]

I also think you need to live in a place for a while to determine what you really need. Keep a list and take it with you to thrift stores. You will find good-quality, unique items for pennies on the dollar -- you just won't find everything you need in one trip. All the lamps in our home came from thrift stores and garage sales and I love them all.

As far as organizing goes, simple wood shelves we built ourselves and various boxes and baskets picked up at thrift stores work great. You can spray paint all the baskets to match and cover boxes (even plain cardboard boxes) with fabric or paper.

Painting wood furniture adds color to the room and is relatively easy. It's a good way to bring non-matching pieces together.

If there's something on your list you can't find at thrifts, ask for it for Christmas.

Have fun in your new home.

[Jim2001]

Check out the Sears clearance center.  New products with a bump or scratch, which will happen anyway.  I thought it was worth the significant savings.

[slowsynapse]

I would like to suggest a programmable thermostat if only a basic one is installed.  My house didn't come with one and I found I could turn the heat/AC up or down both at night and when at work.  It is good for both comfort and saving money on gas or electric.

[Jim2001]

+1 for the programmable, but I'm cheap and can only see spend a max of $50.  The Nest at north of $200 might make sense if we had AC.

[Metric Mouse]

Congrats on the new place.  It's a true test of the frugality muscles to resist filling the new space with all new stuff.  If you spy something you can't live without, don't hesitate to get it. But for the most part, the longer you wait, the better the choices you make will be. Everyone has great tips.

Specifically, I hardly ever use any of the knives in my knife block. I have two nice choppers I got in college and a few cheap pairing knives, and use those about 100 times more often than the set sitting on my counter taking up space.

[TabbyCat]

Craigslist has worked well for us - I watched for a few weeks to get a good idea of what is and isn't a good deal. Passing on the first few listings of the dining chairs we wanted saved us $120 when a truly good deal came up (Ikea chairs - common and multiple listings). It also gave me a good idea of what I could sell our current stuff for to change the style around.

Edit to add: Join a buy nothing group (most are on FB). Also, don't go cheap on paint - you'll pay for it later when the old color is showing through after a year.

[Kansas Beachbum]

I did weed a lot but I have a small kitchen and I cook a lot.

 

Is the second one related to the first one :-) 

[snshijuptr]

I just finished a major clear out after living in our townhome for 2 years and just having another baby. Here is what I learned:

1) Redo your closet/pantry storage with a "custom" system from closetmaid. You can buy them on amazon for so cheap and then you can redo how it is organized as your needs change (like how your kids clothes get bigger!). For 2 closets and our pantry I spent less than $500 and it has been awesome!

2) Clean out before storing or buying more. Even if you do plan to have another kid, do you really need to keep all of their old clothes and toys? Craigslist and thrift stores can "store" that stuff for you.

3) Keep in mind your timeline. How long do you really plan to live here? We are only living in this place for 3.5 years total (if all goes according to plan) so I don't want to buy a ton of furniture that will be perfect just for this little place. My dream home will probably be at least half again if not double the square feet (my townhome is about 950).

4) Don't over improve. Only do what would make you happier and avoid making your house any nicer than your neighbors. In condos, the fact that floor plans are cookie cutter mean future buyers are often comparing apples to apples, or apples to the cost of cleaning another apple.

That said, there are some improvements we are making right now to enjoy for the next 1.5 years. We are putting in wood floors in our living room because the carpet is already disgusting. We are also replacing a sink and counter top after we figured out the only thing holding in the leaks were rust.

I will note we are funding both of these from only a couple months of savings. Savings that would otherwise have gone toward paying off our mortgage.

[Lanthiriel]

We bought our first house about a year ago and had a somewhat similar experience. One thing you can do is put out the word that you're looking for stuff and see what comes your way. I had a friend who bought a condo around the same time that use to be a fully-furnished corporate apartment, and she let me come grab anything I wanted off the walls for a flat $50. We also got a free dining room table from a friend who was going to drop theirs off at Goodwill.

I agree with everyone who says you should live in the place for a while first. Our house has three tiny bedrooms, and we really didn't figure out what we wanted to do with the two spares until about nine months in. Once we figured it out, we slowly furnished those rooms and were able to find good deals since we weren't in a rush.