Interesting fact about me: I absolutely love HGTV. My husband might venture to say I'm obsessive. Anything involving home renovations, kitchen updates, or ways to spruce up a small space on a limited budget sparks joy for me. One of my hobbies (outside of writing), is finding frugal ways to make our home more cozy, more inviting and ultimately more enjoyable for my family.
If you know me though, you also know that I love frugal finds. And when I say frugal, I'm not talking about the $100 curtains "frugal" - who can afford that??? I'm talking about if it's more than $10-$20 it's difficult for me to wrap my brain around it. Don't judge me.
The problem here is...I DO like nice things and I'm pretty particular about satisfying my inner Joanna Gaines.
So what's a girl to do????
Well, in my case, I've learned to mix really old with fairly new, a little gray, a little blue :-) Here's how:
1. Shop your local Goodwill
I have found so many great buys at Goodwill Industries. I have two tricks for finding great purchases at the Goodwill. First, go on a random day of the week in early to mid afternoon. Why? Your competitors are usually working. Ha! I've founds the best buys on random Tuesdays or Wednesdays around 2 pm before everyone is leaving work. I try to avoid shopping the Goodwill on the weekends because it gets a lot more traffic. My second trick is to shop the Goodwill near your "fancy" neighborhoods. You can define "fancy" for yourself, but I love purchasing thrown away goodies from my wealthier Central Ohio neighbors.
2. Don't limit your search to the same stores. Shop EVERYWHERE!
Who knew that Aldi had so much to offer? I shop Aldi often for grocery basics. They offer perishable goods at ridiculously low prices, organic brown eggs and high qualify affordable meats. Not to mention, their baby section is SUPER affordable!I had no clue though, that I'd find a tepee for my son's enjoyment and other room decor at Aldi for under $40. For me, this was a good reminder to shop everywhere- including the home departments at your local grocery stores.
3. Decide what you can buy really cheap without looking cheap.
I hinted towards this at the beginning of the blog post, but window treatments can get expensive. I've found nice window garments at various departments stores (even Family Dollar!) Look for thicker fabric in areas you're looking to "warm up" or make cozy and lighter or sheer fabrics in smaller areas or spaces you want to keep bright and open.
4. A little paint never hurt nobody.
This idea ties back to your Goodwill buys. If you find something you like that has really good bones, but has previous experience in another home, make it your own! A bottle of spray paint goes a long way. Paint the item to your desired color choice and it will shine like a brand new piece.
5. Gifts are GOLDEN!
When we purchased our home, our realtor (who is AMAZING by the way) gifted us a cute "Welcome" sign. It was free and perfect as decor for our entryway. For my wedding, eight years ago, we received various gifts. Some of my favorites gifts included candles and picture frames. I LOVE BOTH! Candles create an intimate environment inside the home and make your space smell lovely. (The first thing people notice when coming into your home is how it smells!) We've also been gifted things from friends. One of my favorites is a wooden plaque with our son's name, date of birth, and weight carved inside. It's beautiful and so special to us.
6. Reuse party supplies!
My mom is the best at party decorating. She has a gift for it. For my father-in-law's repast dinner, she created gold and brown fall-like centerpieces with pine cones and paper confetti. Instead of throwing them out, I kept a few. Now, every time I look at the flowers I remember my father-in-law. His spirit lives on in our home.
7. Make a date night out of decorating!
Last year for my birthday, I celebrated with my husband by attending a local wood shop class. Together, we created a "mantle" piece for our then, super tiny condo. I loved it then and I still love it now. It looks great in our new space and it reminds us of a sweet time we shared together.
How do you spruce up your space???
From my family to yours: Enjoy every moment of "mommin" or "daddin" with your little ones in the comfort of whatever home you have, because it's really the people inside the home who make it special.
