00:00Rating things my husband has brought home from the dump in Italy.
00:03If you're new here, we're renovating our home in Italy on a very tight budget,
00:07and are doing everything in our power to keep costs down.
00:10Free materials are always a bonus, and the dump is full of them.
00:13First up is this Belfast-style sink.
00:15This is actually the exact style we wanted for our kitchen,
00:18so to get one in pretty good condition for free was definitely a welcome surprise.
00:21It's also made by a local manufacturer, so I give this find a 10 out of 10.
00:26Next up are these butcher's blocks.
00:28Their best days are certainly behind them, and the one on the right is all wonky on top.
00:32While they won't be serving their original purpose,
00:34we've found them handy to use as beverage tables for the backyard,
00:37so I give these an 8 out of 10.
00:39Next is this tabletop and pieces of a doorframe.
00:41While the table is kind of ugly, it's also pretty strong and sturdy,
00:44so Paul's hodgepodged them together into a very practical workshop table,
00:48so I give this a 9 out of 10.
00:50Next up is this china cabinet.
00:52Technically, we saved this from ever going to the dump in the first place.
00:55This was part of a larger piece of damaged furniture that we found in my sister-in-law's property.
00:59My partner salvaged this part of it and screwed it up here to be a glassware cabinet for our outdoor kitchen.
01:04It successfully served its first night at a party we threw the other week.
01:07This is a 9 out of 10.
01:08And finally, we have this used toilet and bidet.
01:11My initial thought was, that's gross,
01:13but what's really the difference between this toilet and any other you'd use at a hotel or restaurant?
01:17However, I'm not sure why he grew up with a bidet,
01:20as we already agreed we'd sub the traditional Italian bidet out with a shatafa,
01:23something we became accustomed to while living in Vietnam and the UAE,
01:26and something I find more practical and a better use of space.
01:29But we'll keep the toilet.
01:30I'll give it either a 4 out of 10 or a 6 out of 10,
01:33depending on whose job it ends up being to clean it.
01:37Come with us to the dump in Italy to find materials to build a kitchen.
01:40If you're new here, we're currently renovating our house on Lago di Iseo on an extremely tight budget.
01:45During the renovation, we've been living in my sister-in-law's apartment,
01:48which also needs renovation but is habitable.
01:51We've made her apartment functional and comfortable enough,
01:53but I do love to cook, and the kitchen was just a constant rotation
01:56of whatever tables or surfaces we had available.
01:59Improving the kitchen has been on my partner's to-do list since we moved in,
02:02and we're finally getting around to it.
02:04This was my first trip to the dump,
02:05but my partner's been making trips there pretty regularly since we moved in,
02:08and the guys there seem to recognize him.
02:10He told them he was looking for strong wood,
02:12and they showed us this office furniture that had just been dropped off.
02:15Not the most beautiful, but strong and functional.
02:18We strapped the wood to the roof of the Panda and headed out,
02:20but not before looking around for any other treasures.
02:23We left the toilet this time and took the pot home.
02:25I think it could make a nice planter.
02:28When we got home, my partner mapped out the design,
02:30measured up the parts, and got to work sawing and drilling.
02:33The whole project only took him about a half a day to finish, which was really impressive.
02:37Look at how much better the space is.
02:39I finally had some space to do some proper cooking,
02:41and tried my hand at these stuffed Algerian flatbreads I've been wanting to make.
02:45They turned out pretty good, and this place feels even more like home now.
02:49In other news, my request to have TikTok change my region to Italy
02:52so I can join the creator fund have been denied.
02:55TikTok basically said, the answer is no, and please stop asking.
02:58So instead, we've set up an account for my partner,
03:00and we'll start posting some videos over there as well.
03:03If we can get to 10,000 followers,
03:05we can finally start making some of that TikTok money to put toward the renovation.
03:08I've linked to his account in the description.
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