How Do We Remodel So Cheap?: The Anderson Ten Step

This blog is addressing another frequently asked question of both Derrick and I. As most know, Derrick and I (mainly Derrick actually doing most of the hard work) have been remodeling our home for about the last year and a half. And we have done it 40-80% less than it would normally take price wise. This has caused many people to inquire how we do it.
The main thing is we do almost all the work ourselves. Not everybody is as talented as Derrick or has the tools to do the major work we do, but if you are serious about saving some real money it is the only way to go. If you can learn how to at least do minor finishing work yourself. Minor finishing work includes things like painting, trim, staining wood, installing sinks and basic installation of products with electricity like fans, fume hoods, etc you will save a lot money instead of hiring someone to do it. Also, we like to ask our amazing friends to help out sometimes or borrow tools. This makes jobs go quicker, usually it is a bonding experience and a a great way for others to do service. Of course be willing to return the favor later or buy lunch/dinner.

Second is knowing when to buy. Always buy materials in the off season (winter- early spring) if you have the money and the place to store them. Businesses will be offering better deals to try to encourage sales. Of course they aren't going to lose money via deals if everyone is going to buy the same thing full price during summer and fall.

Third, we price shop like crazy. In Springfield, MO I have listed some stores we usually hit up and items they usually have good prices on.
-Surplus Warehouse- This place is wonderful! I would check this place out for about anything you need first. Although you can get tile cheaper else where.
-Lowe's- Generally the rule of thumb is to avoid this store unless buying speciality items or basic wood or plumbing products. Often, especially in winter, they have amazing sales on unique items. They have a good selection of paint too.
-Habitat for Humanity ReStore- Don't always have the nicest things since it is a non-profit charity organization business. If you don't mind used or possibly refurbishing then this is a good place and the proceeds go to a good cause. And every once in awhile the they have a gem item for dirt cheap.
-Sutherlands- Good prices on wood. It is somewhat hit and miss so you just have to watch it.
-Discount Builders Supply- This place isn't as good as it used to be since it changed locations, but it is a good place to look for cabinets, sinks and doors. They used to have good tile for dirt cheap, but it seems they don't do that anymore. I hope they get their stuff together.
-Mussino Tile Distributors- Amazing business for anything tile, flooring or niches. Great quality for good prices.
-Sherwin Williams- We don't buy paint here, but rather chemicals that are hard to find elsewhere.
-Carpet Barn- Carpet wise they are average, but they have some good prices on tile and linoleum.
-Meeks- This is the right place for commercial sized orders of wood.
-Garage Sales- It might be used or left overs, but often you can find great stuff. Just be careful that what you are buying isn't damaged or a dud.
-Freecycle.com- If you have the time search through the ads that are sent to your email when you register. Sometimes people just don't want to have to deal with selling something so they freecycle it. Be careful of what you pick up making sure it is something you can really use.
-Harbor Freight- Has tools that aren't the absolute best, but if it something you aren't going to use often it is a good plan to buy here. They also have decent blade and accessories. Plus they have wonderful sales.
Fourth, buy discontinued items. This can be scary especially when concerning tile, but if you take the risk it can equal big savings. Just remember with tile that if it is a big project like a kitchen buy 5% more than you need and with a small project like a bathroom that has tricky corners buy 10% more than you need.

The fifth tip tends to make people uncomfortable. Don't be afraid to ask for a discount or purchase a discounted floor display. Another hint is if product in question has some damage that does not interfere with its performance opt to repair it (if possible) if you are going to get a good deal.

Number six also gives people the sweats. If you know for a fact that something is an amazing price and it is something you want or can make work, don't wait to buy it. Also, if there is a real wood product on a freakishly good sale, but it doesn't match the color of your other wood you can always stain it the correct color (though be careful it is real wood because particle board doesn't stain well).

Tip seven, be flexible in your design plans. If you don't allow any changes or improvising you will be setting yourself up for costly custom designing and possible many things not on sale.

Eight, don't buy new pieces or parts in your home if you already have ones that are functional and look nice/ and or can be repaired for every job. Make old things work to make everything look new.

On to nine, do NOT have too many projects going at once. Try to finish one before starting another if possible. If you have too much going on you lose track of materials and what you need to buy. Also letting certain materials sit around for months can degrade them.

Lastly, do the job right the first time. It you do a half done job at something and it breaks or is easily damaged you just lost money or made grounds for a lawsuit if you are renting out.

All in all this is a good system for success. Working together Derrick and I have made a pretty good team. I hope it helped!

I Read My First Twilight, So Does That Make Me a "Twi-Tard?"

Oh my gosh, two posts in one day? This won't be the usual, but I felt the need to express my opinion on Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer before it subsided.

Honesty, I started reading the first one recently not knowing what to expect. I finished it today. A part of me fully expected them to be awful, but at the same time people for whom I generally respect their opinion really liked it.

My feelings on it: it was okay. It definitely knows who to make a girl secretly swoon and want her own Edward. The way it was written in the first person view point was enjoyable and an easy read. But other than those two things I wasn't really inspired by it.

This book seems to have many of the same pitfalls much entertainment media has today. The emotions portrayed by the characters are so fake. The book in my opinion gives girls that unrealistic picture and hope often portrayed in movies. The idea of a perfect love and undying affection. This most assuredly accounts for many young girls and some women's unrealistic expectations of love. In dating this causes much frustration to the possible partners that will never be an Edward. Love is something that is cultivated over a long period of time. No one will think that your poo never stinks. While all of us, especially women, have that desire to be loved fully and unequivocally, it just isn't a realistic prospect. These perfect snap shots in entertainment media are jading reality and our expectations. Not that is a bad thing every once in a while to escape the real world, but I can't help but feel Twilight takes it a little too far.

Another thing that particularly bugged me can be summed up in this quote; "Harry Potter is all about confronting fears, finding inner strength, and doing what is right in the face of adversity...Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend," by Andrew Futral who I believe is aspiring artist out of New York. Of course Twilight has some good messages, but comparatively to other young adult books, like Harry Potter, I do feel that the lessons learned fall short.

And like the lessons learned the lack of the deep, questioning thought is disappointing. What I found disappointing is Meyer didn't draw more attention to ideas like what makes one truly human? Does one have to be human to truly be human?

Anyways, I am done criticizing. I have only read one book thus far so I can't judge completely yet. I hope it develops a little more in the other books. I am looking forward to a more rounded plot and characters. These flat characters and flat plot isn't tickling my fancy. Some more foreshadowing and more of other literary elements would be welcome as well.

Okay, now I am really done!

RIP Ted the Slug: The Blog

So several people have asked me about the Ted the slug story. It is one of my favorites because it involves one of my favorite past times; that past time is torturing Courtney.

Our story beings on a typical cold and windy night in January. Derrick and his brother transported a shed safely to our home from Pleasant Hope, Missouri and needed to return the borrowed truck and trailer that belonged to Bishop Jarvis. Daniel, Derrick's Brother, needed to return home. This left me to drive the truck with the trailer (I cannot drive our truck since it is a standard) back to Willard, Missouri. Courtney was at our house already living up to her title "the second wife" since she is always around and joined me on the journey.

After we put the truck and trailer in place we knocked on the the door to return the keys. As on other such occasions we were greeted warmly by Brother Jarvis and Sister Jarvis. Donning their PJ's they talked to us just to catch up. While the chatting was taking place I noticed an inch long, brown object on the floor. I went to pick it up and it moved. It was a slug on their light brown wood floor. Courtney, never pouring salt on a slug, wanted to take him home to make his death a salty one. I decided to name him Ted.

Sister Jarvis quickly grabbed a note card, Courtney scooped him up on it and off we went back home to Springfield. The journey mainly consisted of Ted revolting against his note card attempting to slide off of it. Courtney with ginger effort made sure he stead on that note card the whole ride home and joined Derrick and me in our talk of other ways to end a slug.


Once home we came in quickly and set Ted, on the note card, on the floor. But I could already see something was not right with Courtney. She looked at Ted tenderly and eyed Derrick grabbing the salt.

"You know I think I am just going to let him go," said Courtney coming to the realization that she had already bonded with Ted.

Of course I knew this was going to happen. I have no self control when it comes to torturing Courtney. I had formulated the unfolding scenario mentally the second Courtney wanted to take that slug home. I named him knowing full well that it would only add to Courtney's attachment to the slug. For you see, Courtney is a bleeding heart. I knew she would have mercy for Ted since he had a name and spending a long truck ride home made Ted more stapled in her life.

So there I sat with Courtney and Ted, but took no shame is teasing Courtney for her weakness. I fully had prepared to go with her to release Ted, but before we knew it Derrick was charging forwards with the salt. He apparently knew she would also fold in killing Ted. He took it upon himself and in a flash Ted was writhing on the floor with salt covering his body.

Courtney let out a cry and buried her face in her hands. It was strangely satisfying and sad to see Ted pass away and see Courtney's reaction towards it. Thankfully Courtney holds no grudge towards our treachery.

RIP Ted the Slug.

The Come Back From What Never Came

It officially has been more than a year since I posted my three and only blogs on this thing. What brought upon this random entry was reading Tasha Early's amazing blog today as I do often and felt a pang of jealously. Only if I could be that good at expressing myself or if I were that interesting. Then I thought about it some more. I reconciled to myself that actually, I am a pretty good writer if you excuse the my habits of leaving out words, over-use of commas, bad spelling and awful proofreading skills. None of that is really important, right? But jokes aside; without my technical down falls, I actually am a good writer. I have taken many English and writing classes outside the requirement; I am paying for it now because it seems like I will be in school forever. In fact, I have had my stories and research papers used numerous times and have been told I need to publish some of my short stories.
P.S- The picture is compliments me while eating out after Derrick, Courtney, David Crisco, Chauncie Marshall, and I graduated from OTC.




But I am not here to brag about myself, but more or less self contemplate. I think what bugs me about blogging is how vulnerable it is. Facebook allows about three sentences in a status to express a thought. A blogging allows one to go much, much deeper into your personal thought and being.

Being a politician's daughter/granddaughter has made me very guarded about my feelings and not letting people in too much. My goal seems to be to let people in just enough to take note that I am human and move on. Otherwise I never divulge myself. I hate even facing my own humanity in a personal journal that I always attempt to keep, but fold under my rational. For those who know me well and ask my advice often know that last line is one of the most hypocritical things I can write when concerning myself.

So I now attempt to blog. I have no good reasons to try, but for some reason I feel the drive to. If I continue doing so it will hopefully be more interesting than this one. I just had to reason with myself before moving on:).