Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Spending a Lot to Save a Little

We wasted the better part of the afternoon at a Home Depot. We were there on Sunday and back today on this day off. In Canada most people don't work on Remembrance Day.

At the store, I wasn't wandering aimlessly around the aisles as is the case sometimes. I spent most of my time waiting to talk with the sales staff. The apartment's 25-year old PVC vertical blinds were in dire need of replacement. After seeing the prices of 20 linear feet of Levolor, the decision to go with generic 1" aluminum was nearly instantaneous. Setting up an appointment for carpet replacement was fairly easy too. Now, however, thinking about how we're going to move around stuff so there'll be empty rooms is starting to be frightening. We bought this apartment in 1998 and didn't even need to have the carpet cleaned. However, I assume it must be the original standard-quality carpet which was installed in 1986. That means it's nearly a quarter of a century old. It's getting quite thin and ratty. I'm glad the federal government's tax credit got us thinking about getting something new.

Photo: Small counter section in kitchen.

I even wrote to Joel Thomas wondering if he and Lynne could come up for a long weekend. Then, I tactfully mentioned about wanting to replace the laminate counter tops in the kitchen and bathroom. He's a terribly handy guy. If you know him, you already know that. On the other hand, I have one little tool box that contains a set of screwdrivers, a tape measure, and a pair of pliers. That's it. Oh, and some duct tape. If he can come up before the end of January, then I can deduct more purchases on the 2009 home-reno tax credit.


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