Reusing What You Have – For Bookends

Several weeks back, my son came to me and was complaining because his books on his dresser kept falling over. He wanted me to buy him some bookends to help hold the books up. So I started looking around at the prices for some that would match his room. Ha! The prices were outrageous for anything that was made for a child, and honestly even grown up style bookends are pretty crazy. I found a few cheaper ones, but they weren’t very heavy and would not have held his heavy science related books as well as his enormous collection of … Continue reading

New Uses for Old Doors

You read that right, old doors. If you’re like us, you have at some point acquired, sitting out in your garage, an old door or two. And if you don’t, consider yourself lucky, or maybe not once you see what fun things you can do with them. Table My favorite use for an old door is to turn it into a table. You can create craft tables, or use them for when company comes to eat (just set the door on two even items at either end). We created tables for our garage sale out of them by placing two … Continue reading

Frugal Tips to Decorate Creatively

Decorating your home with little touches, is a wonderful way to make it yours, and comfortable. However, it can be extremely expensive when you got purchase all the extras and wall hangings. Here are some ideas for decorating a bit more creatively, with not a lot of money. Tip #1 – Stock up on Frames Keep them on hand. Buy them at garage and yard sales, antique stores and on clearance at local department and discount chains. If someone offers to give you some, take them. Store them in a closet until you need them. THEN, when you are ready … Continue reading

Decorating on a Dime – Finding the Inspiration for Free

Decorating in a stylish way, yet on nothing more than a very small budget, is possible, but it takes a bit more work than just walking into a store and purchasing all the matching furniture pieces for thousands of dollars. Where do you find inspiration to design the room or rooms of your dreams? New Homes The first place I recommend looking is in new homes. On Sunday’s most new homes have open houses and you can walk through and gain color inspiration ideas, furniture inspiration ideas and decorating ideas. Most of these homes purchase cheap furniture and low cost … Continue reading

Decorate on a Dime – The Basics (2)

Looking to start a home decorating project, but don’t have a lot of money? Decorating your home is expensive, yet often makes your home feel better and more relaxing. So how do you go about decorating an entire home, yet saving money in the process? Read on. More – Discover I started this section in the last article, but I have more to say on discovering where to get your decorative items and home furnishings but save in the process. Many second hand items, have imperfections that can be repaired, but some are damaged beyond repair. This doesn’t render the … Continue reading

Decorate on a Dime – The Basics (1)

Decorating a house is how many homeowners make it feel like a home. The cost of decorating however, can eat a real whole in a families budget, and can really get expensive. Knowing how to do it right, can help save money in the long run, and allow more freedom and flexibility in your style. Budget The first thing you have to look at, is the budget you have to work with. Some people don’t start out with a budget, which is fine, but you will need to watch what you are spending and keep track of your thrifty purchases … Continue reading

Reuse Review: Common Household Items

Do you have something on your list to buy the next time you head to the mart store, or home improvement store? Well, get ready to cross it off of your list, because you probably already have something right in your home that will do the job. I really enjoy this review of common household items because it shows how creative people can be with what they already own. And, reusing common household items can save a lot of money, of course. You’ll be surprised at how much you can do with what you already have. So, relax and enjoy … Continue reading

New Uses for Straws

With all the cleaning and purging we are doing as we prepare the house to go on the market, we are coming across dozens of items that we seem to have a lot of. The other day I opened a kitchen cabinet and way in the back behind bottles of seasoning and other things, was six – yes you saw that correctly – six unopened packages of straws. Four of them have more than 200 straws in them. Why in the world do we have so many straws? I seriously have no clue, but I do know what I will … Continue reading