Planning for repairs and replacements

I received an email from Madeline last week asking me to write about replacing household linens, crockery and odds and ends like umbrellas, as well as how to plan in the costs of maintaining a home. She wrote:

I've just had to replace my hot water system and computer printer. I also noticed the exterior of my house is suddenly looking really shabby,with exposed lining boards in places.I'm considering painting some of it myself to save money, but aware that I'm just one person trying to manage home, garden, major renovations, a business, and two kids!

And then there are all of the little replacements that add up - the umbrellas for school, crockery that's broken, towels ready for the rag bag etc….

When my very old sewing machine gave up a few years ago, I replaced it with a Janome Quilters Companion I bought on eBay for a fraction of the new price. It's still going strong and has worked perfectly since I bought it.

I've written in the past about the common sense option of building an emergency fund for unusual and unexpected expenses. Everyone has these expenses as some point - the dog will have to go to the vet, someone is sick and needs special treatment, the fridge breaks down or some other appliance you need has to be replaced in a hurry. Those expenses are best covered with an emergency fund. The fund is kept in a bank - we use the ING online bank because their interest rates are better than the local banks. You may not need to dip into this for a couple of years and when it reaches a certain level - say $1000 - $2000 - you stop paying into it. It can sit there earning interest until you need it. Don't be tempted to keep your emergency fund at home in cash. You'll be tempted to dip into it and many of us would give in to that temptation.

 Hanno doing repairs to the drains in the backyard during the recent flooding rains.

Moving, replacing and repairing fences is a fairly frequent task here.

We put aside a certain amount every month for home maintenace. That covers house painting - we have a brick house so it's only interior painting, guttering, roof repairs, fencing etc. We are lucky in that Hanno can do most of our maintenance and repairs and when he does he often uses recycled materials. Hanno never throws away nails, screws, washers, paint, timber, wire, roofing iron, steel reinforcement or anything that he thinks will be useful in the future. Luckily we have a large shed to store these thing in and having that stash of recyclables saves us a lot of money. One of the many things that impresses me about Hanno is that he is always checking things to see if they're working and in a good state of repair. If he finds anything broken or damaged, he will fix it immediately. He never lets it get worse. Get into the habit of checking around your home and do your maintenance promptly so it doesn't turn into a repair job. If you need to replace or repair anything, look at buying from renovation yards and compare prices between buying new materials from the hardware store and recycled pieces from the dump shop or renovator's store. Make sure you not only compare price, compare quality too so you get the best value for money. Madeline, if you have to pay to have your repairs done, if you source the materials, that will save on those repairs.

We put money aside every month for car registration, maintenance and repairs too.

Check your sheets and towels when you fold them after washing. Replacing household linens is best done at the post Christmas sales.

Inside the house, we only replace things like sheets and towels when they're absolutely beyond repair. I keep a lookout for frayed or ripped sheets, and repair them to keep them going another season, generally I get another two seasons from them and then the sheet or towel will be used for cleaning rags or patchwork, it won't be "thrown away". I only ever buy sheets and towels when I see them at a good price, usually at the post Christmas sales. If I don't see the quality I want at the price I'm prepared to pay, I don't buy it and we make do until I see something I'm prepared to replace it with. I don't want to waste money and I don't want inferior quality. If I can buy best quality as a reduced sale price, I know that it will last many years, it will be a pleasure to use and I haven't spent too much on the replacement. I am prepared to wait for that. If I were to replace crockery, glasses, pyrex or cutlery, I'd do it at a good sale too, and make sure I got the best quality I could afford. Second hand shops are also a great place to look for kitchen replacements. Naturally everything will be pre-used but they'll be clean and in good repair and usually the older items haven't been made in China or India and will be good quality. Taking a regular stroll through your local second hand shop is a good habit to get into because you never know what you'll find there.

Hanno with his son Jens in his workshop/shed. In there he keeps all the bits and pieces he saves that he thinks might be needed for future repairs.

For odds and ends like umbrellas, sports equipment, camping gear and bags, the obvious place to look is the closest lost property sale. Here is a link with a catalogue showing what is available here in Australia but I'm sure most countries would have similar lost property sales. These auctions happen all over the country, you may find one near you. Go well before the auction starts because you should inspect what you intend to buy. You won't get your money back if you're not satisfied. Goods bought at an auction are generally bought "as is".

When you're doing this kind of shopping, don't go overboard and load yourself up with too much. Keep your simple life values in mind and remember what your level of "enough" is. All you're looking for is good value and good quality and if you can get that you've done a good job.

 

So to recap, if you can, and I know not everyone can do this, save an amount for emergencies. Put aside a certain amount each month for ongoing house repairs and maintenance and car repairs and maintenance. To work out what that amount is, go back and look at what you've paid in previous years and if you think that is a typical yearly amount, divide it by 12 to get a monthly amount, or by 52 to get a weekly amount, and that is what you'll have to put aside. If you get to the end of the year and you haven't spent the money you set aside, use it on building up a stockpile of a small number of sheets, towels, glasses, crockery, underwear, socks, work clothes, children's clothes in sizes they'll grow in to. Once you have enough of these things in your stockpile, any excess money can go to your emergency fund or straight to savings. Take advantage of sales, second hand and auctions - either local or online and be prepared to step back and wait if what you need is not at the right price or is an inferior quality. It's okay to wait for exactly what you want. That is wise economy.

Please add your thoughts here so this pool of ideas can help Madeline and others who are changing how they live.

ADDITION: I forgot to tell you that I'll be interviewed live on Radio National's Life Matters today at 8.45 am Queensland time and 9.45 am AEDT. The program will be available later in the day as a podcast.