Doing up the House (and me) while doing away with the Debt 29 May 2018 at 11:06AM edited 29 May 2018 at 11:27AM in Debt free diaries 157 replies 11.6K views

supersaver1000

Found a good blog about painting furniture with emulsion http://makery.co.uk/2012/08/handpainted-furniture-step-by-step/

supersaver1000

And really want to re-cover my poang chair in some snazzy fabric like this:

DIY Poang Chair Cover

supersaver1000

Sold an item out of the display cabinet that has to go. Made a profit after postage, feebay and pay-up-pal of £12.50. Collectables seem to really have gone down in price - I'm sure a few years ago that would have fetched £25.

But I need to empty out the cabinet so I can get rid, so no point dragging my heels. And any funds will help to do up the house.

I bubbled wrapped, wrapped with cardboard and then bubble wrapped again before putting in the box so hopefully it will get there unbroken.

supersaver1000

Listed all the stuff, in the cabinet to go, on fleabay. There's a bit more interest now I've offered to post but I am worrying about how I'm going to post all the breakables. Need to start gathering the bubble wrap, paper and boxes just in case.

Good news is that I have decided on the lounge colour scheme. So I know that I want to:

• Paint my remaining china cabinet all white (inside and out)
• Have neutral curtains - maybe with grey/blue or both. But a modern/relaxing pattern - nothing fussy or dark.
• Cover my arm chairs with something that ties into my current sofa
• And then cover my poang chair with something snazzy.
• Orange might feature a little in the above, it depends.
• Pick up some side tables and paint them in pale grey or pale blue (could use a bit of black or blue paint mixed into the white maybe?).
• Oh! and I'd really like a new sideboard so I can rid of the old borrowed one.

Its all a bit of a pipe dream at the moment, but I feel like I might make it if I write it down.

supersaver1000

Good news on the fleabaying front. Have two items currently on their way, plus another two have sold today. I've got automatic relist, so the other 14 items have relisted all by themselves at a slightly lower price. I'm really glad all 14 didn't sell - I'm not sure where I would get the boxes and packaging from. I've scrounged some old used stuff from work this week so should be okay for this weekend's sales. Will have to keep an eye out in the week for more.

So, I should have about £45 towards doing up the house. Found some curtains that I like for the living room, but am going to have a good think about it. They are quite expensive for me (its two blinds and a pair of full length patio door curtains) so I want to make sure I'm absolutely happy with them as they will need to last a long time. I've decided I'm quite a tactile person though, because I like things to feel nice as well as look good. If I have to clench my teeth every night when I close the curtains it will take away the enjoyment - feels like an assault on the senses when something 'grates' on you.

I'm quite excited about finding something I might like though - decisions are my biggest sticking point. And once the curtains are sorted I can move onto the chairs, and then the cabinet when the 'stuff' has sold or finally gone to the CS. :T

redofromstart

Signing up to cheer you along (and steal ideas too)

supersaver1000

Happy to have you along redofromstart, its going to be a very slow journey though

So, I popped into Dunelm to look at the curtains I liked and I thought they looked a bit cheap. So, back to the drawing board. I found some in the sale for £40, but asked how much to turn them up and they said £60. That just feels too much for something I'm not 100% happy with. I know some people spend £100s on their soft furnishing, but its just not something I want to do.

So I've been fleabay surfing and have found some for £20 I might try a bid on. Not 100% sure on them though, so might not. Will take my time and have a look around. Thought I might try Ikea as well. I just like to be able to see and feel the fabric. Its quite a major purchase.

I told you it would be a slow journey. On the fleabaying front, I found another item in the utility room earlier today. We bought something that wasn't quite right - cost about a tenner. Gave it a quick clean up and sold it more or less straight away so have got another item to post tomorrow

Posted the last two items yesterday. Was packaging and double boxing all morning, then had to have a good hoover. Hope they make it safely.

Starmummy

good luck.

Check out Gumtr33 for the Ik3a pine chest of drawers you want. we got ours on there for £20

supersaver1000

Thanks Starmummy.

I have about £70 in my PayPal account now, so it would be good to find a chest of drawers. I'd like to buy the new curtains but its more practical to get the drawers.

I've had a look around the 2nd hand sites but I want to get the Tarva 5 drawer set and there's nothing local and not very much anywhere, so I think its going to be new. grins at the thought of going to Ikea with money :):)

supersaver1000

So progress on my list is soooo slowwww. But I knew it would be didn't I. The important thing is that I know that there is progress.

So the unwanted china cabinet now has gaps- :j - my aim is to get everything sold/given away so that I can use it as a temporary store, while I paint the other one (still undecided on colour - but the decision will affect the curtain colour choice). I think I need to build a mood board/colour board to stop me flimflamming around about this.

I've decided that I should purchase the chest of drawers for the bedroom with the money from the sold china and bits. I could easily top up my ebay money with £15 from my 0% overdraft, but when went onto Ikea's website and they are out of stock for at least a week, which is great news as that's after payday.

Food budget this month has again broken free - I've just had a really good think about it and am not being realistic. I need to plan more and set a budget that's do-able. DD's an adult now, no longer has any meals out of home and DH is the same (:D), but it all means that the budget we had a few years ago can no way be the same as now.

As a result I've built up a small overdraft on my new 0% bank account, when my payrise kicks in that will be sorted. I'd rather have a small overdraft than not keep up with the savings, but I'd rather not have an overdraft so know I need to keep an eye on it - £15 here and there and before you know it I'm in trouble again.

I was reading a thread about whether you should sell your jewellery and realised I have a couple of items that I wouldn't miss and ought to sell. But I'd want to do something specific and tangible with the money, not just have it disappear, so maybe some towards paying off the debts earlier but it would feel good to use it to progress this thread - the chair fabric maybe. Must send out ppi letters too, I think I need to do that mood board, but also set myself some better targets.

In summary, so far:

Grocery Challenge - gone way over this month - look at budget more closely.
Flylady thread - on pause at the moment
Pay all your debts off by Xmas - on track, look at jewellery and PPI
Old style weight loss - best not mentioned, but not going up!
This thread - slow progress, but still progress, keep flea baying but set some targets.