Search Results for: blog frugal home improvement make your doorknobs glow

Reminders to Help You Eat In

If you have been following the frugal blog for a while, then you know how often I talk about cooking at home instead of eating out. It is a struggle to do, I know. I often want to go out because I am tired or want a change. The kids love to eat out, too, since for them it is an adventure, so I try to keep reminding ourselves about how much more it costs. I usually equate the eating out in terms of hours that I or my husband have to work. Because I work as a freelancer, this … Continue reading →

I Do Not Want To Know

Along the way on my path in being single I have learned many things. This was not by choice, but rather out of desperation that comes from having to do things for yourself. I hate it. I hate not being able to say to someone, “It is broken. Will you fix it, please?” No, there is none of that anymore. Some of you may like being this independent and enjoy being single and that is great. It is not for me though. You might love the fact that you can fix things; however, I really do not care about it … Continue reading →

Spruce Up Bedroom Furniture

If you want to add a little bit of perk to your otherwise functional bedroom furniture, then you may like these ideas. They don’t cost much at all, and yet they add just the right amount of impact. If you have a tall armoire or other piece if furniture with doors, you can add a touch of color and or pattern by adding wallpaper or contact paper to the interior walls and doors. When you open the doors, you’ll see a great bit of design that doesn’t overwhelm the room as it might if the paper were on the outside … Continue reading →

How to Modernize Your Bathroom for Less Than $200

Just because you are watching your budget, doesn’t mean that you have to live with an old and outdated bathroom. There are some great improvements that you can make that will cost less than $200 and in some cases even less than $100. So what are you waiting for? On the lowest end, and we are talking free, use a dremel tool to polish tarnished, dirty and even pitted doorknobs, facets and other hardware. The dremel rotates a brush at a high speed that will literally scrape off years of dingy build up. Replace your old outdated medicine cabinet with … Continue reading →

Meet a Families.com Blogger – Mary Ann Romans!

We are pleased to have freelance writer Mary Ann Romans with us here today. She is the third blogger to join us in our look at the writers that make up the Families.com family. Mary Ann, thanks for joining us! How long have you blogged for Families.com? My first blog on Families.com was in December of 2006. At the moment, I have more than 1260 individual blog posts. How cool is that! What topics do you blog about? I cover Frugal Living, which is so much fun because finding new ways to save money really exercises the brain cells. It … Continue reading →

Do What You Can and Save Money

If you have been reading my articles over at the Home Blog, you know that we will be having carpet installed in our family room. (If you missed that article, you can click here to read it: Adventures in Carpeting.) We came to the decision after some debate. Carpet will help insulate and warm up the floors (the family room is over a cold crawl space) and make it more comfortable. It is cheaper than installing hardwood floors. The current vinyl floor tiles are literally disintegrating and have become a safety hazard. Beside the risk of tripping over them and … Continue reading →

Home Repair and Maintenance Tips

You can’t go wrong when you review these tips that solve common household repair and maintenance problems. From hiding furniture scratches to applying caulk as a pro would, we have got you covered. Hide Those Furniture Scratches If you have a few furniture scratches that you want to hide, here is an easy solution that doesn’t involve refurbishing the entire piece. First, soak the area of the wood that has a scratch. You can do this using a wet cloth. The soaking allows the wood to open. Select a Crayola crayon in a color that is a close match to … Continue reading →

All About House Numbers

Choosing and installing new house numbers can be a great idea for your home. New house numbers can really add to your home’s curb appeal. They may even make it a safer home, too. How? Well let’s say you needed emergency services; hopefully you never will. But if you do, easy to read house numbers will make it easier to find you. Here is what you should know about house numbers. Obviously, you want to choose a number that can be seen from the street. At the same time, you don’t want to overwhelm you house or your neighbors by … Continue reading →

Basement Floor Savings (And Garage Floor, Too)

As you might now know, I am blogging over at the Home Blog (as well as here at the Frugal Blog and there at the Computing Blog), and I am sharing my family’s adventure as we clean out our garage. Now that the garage floor is nice and clean, my husband has mentioned painting it. Not only will it look much better painted, but it will help improve our home. Having the garage floor painted will also help it serve another function, as an impromptu place for gathering with friends and family during parties, when we need to expand our … Continue reading →

Make A Designer Table from Paper Bags!

Yes, it can be done. You can make your own designer table that has a really interesting leather look for pennies, and all by using ordinary paper bags. What is more, is that you can use this same technique to create other pieces of furniture and even a durable and unique floor. It is a DIY (Do It Yourself) project like no other. When I heard about this idea, I thought immediately of my friend, Elaine. She is always coming up with unique ideas for making her own household items. Well, I think I have her beat on this one. … Continue reading →