Hello, My Name is Kassi and I'm a Thriftaholic

I got my fix this weekend and what a great weekend it was! Cody and I picked my Youngstown metal kitchen cabinets from an old church lady who wanted a pretty penny for them. I didn't bother haggling as I knew there would be much interest from other buyers who would gladly pay $500 for the apartment sized kitchen. (I guess it's become popular among the Yaletown hipsters to have a retro kitchen in their downtown lofts. Unfortunately for them, I'm quick on the draw!) We had to disassemble and move them ourselves which was actually an easy job. It was the 4 road trips from her place to ours to drop off each load that was time consuming.

Those many trips were meant to be as it was on the 3rd trip that we finally noticed the big painted sign advertising a Demolition Sale up near Cambie and 13th. Cody persuaded me to go which wasn't all that difficult but I do feel like I'm asking too much with all these road trips to look at sinks and stoves and cupboards and so I didn't want to push it with yet another place to drag him to. Well, Cody has no one to blame but himself for this one. He has no idea what can of worms he's opened up now!

We got to the late 1960's house and as soon as I walked in I called dibs on the light switch plates and outlet covers. Most usable raw materials were sold already like the gorgeous hardwood floors and some of the light fixtures were gone-darn! Mid century lighting is high on my list of must-haves but this house was too young for my tastes anyway. The walls were scribbled with measurements, what had been sold, what was still for sale and prices. It was so fun to walk through. The house was pretty empty but there were a few treasures lying around that if they weren't taken home, would just end up in the landfill when they demo'ed the house next week. In the basement I found three Decoware canisters -Tea, Coffee and Sugar- from the 40's/50's which I got for a buck. The switch plate covers(the top row I bought at Value Village), dated 1967 were 50 cents each. I could have spent more time in that house but the day was slipping away. I had planned to go back the next day to see what else I could find except life got in the way. You know, the usual friend's impromptu wedding, that sorta thing. ;)

For the next demo sale I'd like to be prepared with a list of items I'd like, as well as measurements. See the can of worms you've opened, Cody? Craigslist really is one of the best sources for finding demo sales. I'll have to reconsider shopping at Home Depot now when there are so many other resources out there for renovating and redecorating. Another good resource if you're in the Vancouver area is Jack's New and Used and Habitat For Humanity's Restore. What you're buying is cheaper, has history and most importantly means less trash in the landfill.