More Tips, Tricks, and Lessons Learned...

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When you're in a store you tend to get everything you need there; but it's so worth it to shop around. It takes a little more time, it's true, but we've found that it saves big to check other prices. Oftentimes, particularly for small, light parts, online is the best way to go. This means you have to plan ahead to allow for shipping, of course, but even between Lowes and Home Depot you can save dollars which add up quickly by comparing prices.

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Big stores throw away damaged containers all the time. If you're willing to take it off their hands, they're usually happy to cut the price big time -- you're cutting their losses. It pays to look for the broken or open containers, and it never hurts to ask. We've gotten half off several things this way, all perfectly good. By far the biggest savings we got this way was with our hardwood flooring -- 9 boxes which were falling apart and missing a few pieces, all 50% off. Saved us over $300!

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Buy coupons on eBay. The most common is 10% off, but there are occasionally 20% or other special ones, like $10 off $50 (it sharpens your math skills considerably to be constantly adding so that you're always checking out in $50 increments!). They usually cost less than $1 each. We have been able to use a coupon nearly every time we've checked out, and we've calculated the savings around about $600. Both Home Depot and Lowes take competitors' coupons.

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Buy a good angled paintbrush and learn how to cut in. (Thanks, Christine! :)) Painter's tape is expensive, and it takes far more time to use it than it does to cut in. I always thought I'd be horrible at it, but come to find out a good brush and a bit of practice and it actually turns out even better than using tape! It's faster and easier too, with less waste.

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Both Lowes and Home Depot sell corner bead with paper edges, and it's much much easier to use than regular corner bead, plus it makes a cleaner edge. For inside corners, a better deal than the 8-foot pieces are the roll of metal-lined tape which folds in the middle. It's a little more than twice as much as regular drywall tape, but makes the inside corners much cleaner.

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When standing on the very top step of a step ladder, verify its sure-footedness before trusting yourself to it entirely and loading your paintbrush full of (a very bold color of) paint. The alternative involves an artistic splattered effect on the walls, an eight-inch-long bruise, walking in a geriatric manner for a few days, and leaving a DNA sample of your skin cells on the lid of the bucket whose edge tried to break your fall.