As you all might know, Jewish Holidays can be a big expense on our families. My husband calls it the "Jewish Tax". This coming week is the Jewish Holiday of Sukkot*. Building (or should I say, buying a ready to build) Sukkah for a family can easily cost hundreds of dollars even close to a thousand dollars, which not all of us can afford. Especially not my husband and I with our frugal minds. So this year we decided to think out of the box and we used what we could to build a PERFECT SUKKAH FOR OUR FAMILY FOR UNDER $10.
Both my husband and I and two other friends signed up for the $10 off of $10 at Lowe's (which is unfortunately no longer available) equaling $40 in FREE cash at Lowe's Home Improvement. That money (coupons) covered most of the cost of the 20 assorted wood studs which made the frame of our Sukkah, a bundle of lath slats which is being used as our schach on top of our Sukkah, and the box of nails he used to put the whole thing together.
6 - 2"x4"x96" wood studs FOR $2.961.48 (happened to find it 50% off) each. $8.88
8 - 2"x4"x84" wood studs FOR $ 2.85 each. $22.80
6 - 2"x3"x96" wood studs FOR $2.171.09 (happened to find it 50% off too!) each. $6.54
1 - lath bundle of wood slats FOR $12.97.
1 - Tarps - FOR $1
1 - box of nails FOR $7.47
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SUBTOTAL $46.69
MINUS $40 FREE CASH at Lowe's
TOTAL = $6.69We took a tarp that we bought at a yard sale for $1 this summer and nailed it around the frame to make walls. Our next step was to find some extra evergreen and cedar branches that were laying around (we found some branches that were perfect waiting to be picked up for garbage by a house down the street) to put on the top to add to the wooden slats to complete the schach and make our Sukkah kosher. It came out awesome!
One very important thing that was needed, to make a Sukkah on a budget was a husband who is willing to take the time and energy to work on the Sukkah, which my dear husband did with such passion and excitement. I tried, but I wasn't exactly going to help very much being that I am, thank G-d, 8 months pregnant with my second child, but he did an awesome job all by himself! It took him a few tries and about 2 days of full dedication and "walah!" He did it! We have an awesome Sukkah that was built with lots of love, from scratch, by my husband and the grand total cost was less than $10.
The very last thing we need to do is add some decorations (which my daughter is very excited about) and enjoy our little Sukkah for the holiday of Sukkot!
Chag Sameach To All!
*Note: Sukkot is Jewish Holiday that begins at sun-down on Sunday September 30 and ends a week later on October 9th. Throughout that time posts will be sporadic being that my family and I will be celebrating the Holiday!
What a cozy looking sukka! enjoy your sukkos!!!
ReplyDelete<3 the bbbb
if you put up the schach before you put up the walls, it is not Taaseh velo min Haosuy and therfore, you woudl have to put up the schach again once the walls are up. Essentially, the concept of Taaseh velo min hasuy is that, you must make a sukkah, nbot that the sukkah shoudl be made "by itself". At the time you put the Schach on the top, without walls (if that is what you did, according to your order listed in the description), then when you out the tarp, walls around the sukkah, the sukkah essentially became a sukkah by itself, without your putting the schach on it, to make it a kosher sukkah. Similarly, we find that say one had a beged (a talis say) with Tzitit tied on it, and then the Talit tore into 2 halves, by sewing the 2 halves of the Talit together, which had 2 sides each of tzitzit, you have basically, automatically put on the tzitzit, by sewing the talit together. The concept is far too difficult to completly explain here, but ask your rabbi. Definitely, the halacha is though that if you put up the schach, before the tarp walls, the schach must be reput on again before yom tov, leshem Mitzvat sukkah..... Otherwise, great sukkah! Make sure you secure it, so it doesnt blow away!
ReplyDeleteI was not exactly sure of the order my husband did it all. But if fact, I confirmed with him, and he did drape the tarp before placing the schach on top.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the clarification.
I edited the post that it should be in chronological order.