New York Renovator » frugal

Appliance Repair Help Online

Mrs. Mecomber — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:18:15 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I hate paying extortion prices for appliance repair. My whole household is disrupted when one of the major appliances breaks down (I work full-time, so a disruption like that is a major headache for the family)– not to mention my budget. JUST to have the appliance repair dude step into my house is $200, and that doesn’t even include the repair yet. :-p

Well, one of the benefits of writing how-to articles online for a home and garden website is that I get to learn about all KINDS of nifty tips, tricks, and online resources, like this appliance repair website. Woo hoo! I no longer have to rely on the repair dudes for stuff like this! We recently got a new GE washer (more on that later, as I plan to write a review on it), and it’s comforting to know I have access to all the GE parts should I need them. Another nice thing about researching appliances and getting parts online is that you can haggle with the repair dude (I do this all the time with the plumber). For example– if your dryer belt tears off and you need a new one, but don’t want to pull apart your dryer to fix it, ask your repair dude if you can get the dryer parts if he will install them. My plumber does this for me, and it’s a win-win situation. It saves him the hassle and time of going to get parts for my appliance, and it saves me money because I do the legwork. And if the parts are online, you can have the mailman do all the legwork!

Anyway, repairing the appliances are expensive enough. I recommend that you do a little research yourself– find out what’s wrong, buy the parts if you need them, and maybe even install them yourself if you can. Believe me, it saves a TON of money.

Appliance Repair Help Online

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Buying for the Home Business

Mrs. Mecomber — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 01:15:15 +0000

I have a home business. Somewhere in here, lol. It’s kind of in limbo right now, because of our ongoing renovations… but I DO actually have a home office here at home. I am realizing how very, very important it is to have a quiet, tidy, and organized home office, because mine is always dirty and chaotic right now. If it’s not filling up with plaster dust wafting in from the demolished kitchen, then it’s full of sneakers, dishes, boxes, pet supplies, and more…. wow I sure miss my tidy, organized space! I will have it, soon, once the kitchen and dining room are rebuilt and organized again.

I’m rethinking a lot of the organization here. My house has no storage space– there’s no attic (not for storage, anyway!) and the basement floods. So the only space I have is the attached garage… and the small bedroom closets.. and my office here in the living room. :-p Thank God that Buy.com has a special section for office storage and desk workstations. I’ve been looking into getting a corner desk (those are such great space savers), and other things like bookshelves and carts. This Kathy Ireland Huntington Club Executive Desk is absolutely gorgeous. Wow, this would look SO good in my living room. At $1300 and some change, it had better! It’s not in my budget right now, but it’s definitely what I’m looking for in a desk: warm wood tones, a furniture-like appearance, and lots of drawers.

If you;re inthe market for office supplies, or even school supplies since school is right around the corner, you should definitely check out Buy.com. They have loads and loads of stuff for the office and school: binders, storage boxes, desk organizers, pens and pencils and everything that goes with them, file cabinets, desk chairs, printers, tape, staplers, everything! The prices are very good, and Buy.com’s shipping is SUPERB bar none. When I order stuff from Buy.com, it is always here in a matter of a day or two, even with free shipping. They are just amazing with their customer service. I haven’t found anyone better than Buy.com, and I do a lot of online shopping, believe me.

Anyway, do check them out. Buy.com is renowned for their exceptional electronics sales and deals– they have them every week and weekend– but they are also a great place to get everything else, like household goods, clothing, books, household supplies, and more.

Buying for the Home Business

Original eloquence at New York Renovator.com. This content is copyrighted, so no stealing! Don't make me angry, you don't want to see me when I'm angry!

You Can Do It, Yes, You Can!

Mrs. Mecomber — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 03:01:18 +0000

In my recent post about my new textbook, Lin from Duck and Wheel with String asked a question in her usual elegant and poised manner:

Head gonna ’splode. Are you seriously gonna do that yourself??? Wow.

Hee hee!

I thought I’d post my response here (rather then have it buried in the comments), because I realized that a few of you “newer” readers did not go through the excruciatingly crazy time when we gutted our living room, in the summer of 2007. It was SUPPOSED to be a simple tear-down-the-walls-and-slap-news-ones-up-again job.. but my house is 150+ years old. I guess that kind of project never happens with old homes.

When I opened up the walls, I found a few surprises. One, noggin– noggin is brick, installed in the studs. We’ve no idea why the original builder did that; it was rare even back then. We suppose it was to help keep the house cool. And it does… both summer AND winter. :S

I also found mouse-chewed wires, and quite a few bare wires. And a disastrous mess of mangled wires. Oh Lord, it was a disaster. Long ago, the previous owners ripped off the flooring to the second floor, installed wiring, and put the floors back on– basically encapsulating the wiring. And this is what it looked like, 70 years later when I opened it up.

You can read more about the craziness if you click the links. I had no intentions of doing the wiring myself, but I couldn’t find an electrician who would do one room– well, I did finally get one quote, but he wanted $1500 for it. I decided to study at night and do it myself.

Electrician Shock
Why My Electricity Won’t Work
Things Looking Brighter
The worst part was going into The Attic
It was a very frustrating job at times.
I also installed Cat5 ethernet wiring for the living room.

ALL MY WORK PASSED Codes Inspection! I was so happy.

Besides the living room, I installed wiring in my daughters’ bedroom above, light switches for two bedrooms upstairs, and separate outlets for the washing machine and sump pump. However, half the house still has no electricity. After seeing the condition of the living room wiring, I was too terrified to turn the rest of the old wiring back on. I disconnected everything I could. It’s been almost three years, and I’m ~~hoping~~ praying I can get electricity into the kitchen, dining room, stairwell, and upper bedrooms very soon. This year, we’re tackling the kitchen. The dining room and bedrooms will have to wait, unless a miracle happens.

This is our living room. ALL MODERN wiring!!!

You can read more about the House History and Our History here and all about Our Story of renovations up to now. After the massive 2007 renovation, which was the largest project we’ve ever accomplished yet here, I got a job blogging, and life just got hectic. I haven’t done anything else besides garden work around here. I’m praying the kitchen will be accomplished this year because it’s almost unlivable now. Please keep us in your prayers! I’m a little older now (40s) and rather out of shape because of my desk jobs for the past three years. I’m a little apprehensive about the physical labor involved. But God willing, it can be done. Thanks for reading.

You Can Do It, Yes, You Can!

Original eloquence at New York Renovator.com. This content is copyrighted, so no stealing! Don't make me angry, you don't want to see me when I'm angry!

Super Sale on Holiday Getaways!

Mrs. Mecomber — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:16:42 +0000

Summer is over and winter’s chills are beginning to roll in. Need a good reason to start planning your mid-winter vacation early? There’s an incredible travel promotion if you’ve been waiting in the wings for a deal. It’s the Accor Hotels 3-Day Super Sale Asia Pacific deal. I’ve spent the morning looking it over and it looks amazing!

Accor Hotels has opened up more than a million hotel rooms around the world– for all needs and budgets– for three days: October 27th, 28th, and 29th, 2009. You can obtain the steep discounts when you order online for stays from December 9, 2009, to April 10, 2010. The Super Sale is occurring at a time of record-low airfares across the Asia Pacific area. It’s a frugal paradise, people. The hotels are simply beautiful: locations available for Accor Hotels 3-Day Super Sale Asia Pacific include: Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Korea, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia, Taiwan, India, and Bali. Rates are as low as $30 per night (Thailand!) with most rates in the $50-70 range. Accor Hotels, the European leader in hotels around the world, has hotels in over 90 countries with over 4,000 hotels. I’ve browsed the site and the hotels are just exquisite!

Next to the beautiful hotels and outstanding service, the great thing about Accor is that they have built a structure of hotels to accommodate various needs and budgets, all revolving around the “name brands.” For example, the All Seasons Accor hotel brand is perfect for economically-minded travelers, or brief visits. The Mecure and Pullman and other name-brand Accor hotels are more expensive and have more luxurious features (such as regional, gourmet dining experiences and such). So no matter your travel need, be it a backpacking experience in New Zealand, or a business meeting in Japan, or a honeymoon in Hong Kong, you can stay with the reliable Accor brand. Plus, Accor is known throughout the world for it’s outstanding hospitality and beautiful locations.

This is such a great getaway opportunity! I would think that this would make a beautiful gift, too, and just in time for the holidays. See the Accor Hotels 3-Day Super Sale Asia Pacific page for more details.

Super Sale on Holiday Getaways!

Original eloquence at New York Renovator.com. This content is copyrighted, so no stealing! Don't make me angry, you don't want to see me when I'm angry!

For the Dad (or the Tool-Crazed Mom) :)

Mrs. Mecomber — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:35:17 +0000

It’s hard to believe that it is JUNE already, people! Father’s Day is just several days away. If you’ve been scrambling for ideas for gifts for the Dad of the family, maybe I can lend some assistance. —> Men love their power tools. Take your pick:

-OR-

Personally, I like the second choice. It’s more, uh, practical. A little more money, but hey, it’ll get the dad off the couch and outside for some fresh air!

And the Black & Decker powered handsaw is still a reasonably-priced tool, for $50 at Buy.com. The Turbo Grip n’ Play Excaliber joystick is about $13. Go for the powersaw. It’ll be something the whole family can use. heh heh. I know I’d be borrowing it often!

Buy.com has stuff like this and more, with a nice sale page and a special page devoted to ideas for Dads and Grads. Buy.com os a super-cool online store! They have just about everything under the sun (including waaay more power tools) and the prices are discounted. You can find software, electronics, apparel, appliances, cookware, vacuum cleaner parts, outdoor tools and accessories– tons and tons of stuff! Buy.com also offers free shipping on lots of items. And the sales are the best– the weekly deals and daily specials are the best I’ve seen, and I do a lot of online shopping. Check out Buy.com. Dad will love ya for it (and so will Mom).

For the Dad (or the Tool-Crazed Mom) :)

Original eloquence at New York Renovator.com. This content is copyrighted, so no stealing! Don't make me angry, you don't want to see me when I'm angry!