Thrifty Thursday-Recent Finds

It's been a busy fall so far,
what with putting the house back on the market,
and Sister Deb coming for a week-long visit.
She had all kinds of ideas about staging the house
and worked non-stop while she was here
to help us get ready for our new listing.

We actually had an offer on the house a few months ago,

but the folks changed their minds when they learned about the HOA,

so we took the listing off market for the rest of the summer.

When Sister came to visit a couple of weeks ago,

she was set on staging our home with lots of little projects.

Some of our belongings are already packed and stored in the garage,

so we are as decluttered as we are gonna get.

We just rearranged some of the things we have for a fresh look.

She cleaned and removed a lot of practical items from the back porch

and we picked up this cute lil' table and chairs from a Craig's List ad.

Instant extra living area.

Of course, I had to find a few flowers for the new hangout.

This pot was found at a recent community-wide yard sale.

Love the blue and white combination.

I got the placemats from the same seller.

We paid $1 for four of them.

The other three are used on the kitchen table and work well with our color scheme.

The funny thing is that the lady I bought them from

is the person who bought the house from a neighbor of mine,

who has since moved to Sarasota.

Wait until I tell her I bought something at her old house.

A thrift store find keeps the sage green theme going.

These two brand new pillows were found at an estate sale two weeks ago.

I like the way they add a pop of color to the hall tree

 that Deb painted on her first day here.

I paid just a few dollars for them both.

They had so many goodies there.

This vintage basket was one of the items picked up at the

39-mile yard sale last weekend.

What a treasure for $5!

I'm sure I'll find some way to repurpose it for something practical.

At the same event, this stool was picked up for $10.

It's large enough to place a book and a cup of coffee on

for those times when I can notch out a bit of reading time in our master bedroom corner.

I was thinking of painting over the patriotic, 

as it doesn't match our color scheme,

but perhaps a cover will do for now

until I find another place for it in our new home.

It would serve us well on a patio or front porch.

Just this week, we had to leave the house for a showing,
so that's always a great excuse for us to go thrifting.
This basket, in perfect condition, was marked at $8,
and the clerk thought the price was too high, 
and sold it to us for $5.
C has needed a new hamper for a while.
This bin holds more than a week's worth of clothes,
in case he forgets to do his wash on Wednesdays.
I like that it's open on the sides too,
so that the clothes can breathe between washings.
For now, it works well here,
but it's another item that can be repurposed in the future.

It feels good to have a fresh, new look to the house,
and hopefully, it appeals to buyers too.
We've gotten really good feedback so far,
so I think we're on the right track.
We'll keep you posted!
 

One Simple Thing-Kitchen Drawer Liners

I like lined drawers and shelves.
It not only adds color to the kitchen,
it gives a more finished look and makes cleaning a breeze.
The older I get, the more I look for 
easier ways to keep the house clean.
After all, I'd rather be gardening, reading or sewing.
With the house on the market, it just makes sense
to keep everything neat and tidy.
Here's our simple solution to messy drawers. 

I found these brown cloth napkins for a steal at a thrift store.
It's one of those things that I keep my eye out for,
as they have so many uses.
Here we used them to line our kitchen drawers.
I don't like using the vinyl liners with adhesive
because I think the glue attracts bugs.

Not all of our drawers are the same size,
so the napkins were just folded over to fit.
Custom for a fraction of the cost!

With a dozen in the set, there were enough to fill every drawer
in our kitchen, which has generous storage.




When they get crumby or dirty,
we just take them out, shake them off,
or launder if necessary.
 Our drawers never looked so good!

One Simple Thing

Thrifty Thursday-Recent Finds

Recently I made my way to Jane's curiosity shop

and came out with these beauties.

This corn seed sack was a total surprise.

I've never seen one for sale before.

I'm thinking of keeping my homemade bread in it.

This linen napkin was the perfect shade of brown

and only cost a buck.

If there had been more of them,

I would have snatched them up.

I'm looking for some this color 
to line the insides of cupboards and cabinets.

I prefer using fabric to paper liners.

For now, this one will be used on the foyer table.

She had several of these colored metal bins.

 

It's being used in the bathroom drawer

to hold our supply of bar soap.

I couldn't pass this beauty up.
I've gotten aprons from this shop before,
but this one was callin' my name!
And just in time for Valentine's Day!

Hope you get to spend the day 
doing something you love
with someone who means the world to you. 

 
photo credit 

 
 

We Were ReStored

 Last week, we visited our local

Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

It's a warehouse where folks can donate 

home improvement discards.

Most bigger cities have one.

Our Restore is small, but has a good variety of items.

 

It's fairly organized, 

so finding just what you need is easy.

Used furniture and household furnishings 
can also be found.

Look at this treasure!

This is Lil' Guy's favorite area, 
as he is currently studying electronics.

Ahhh, here's what we're looking for.

We need a flat-paneled door for an upcoming project 
 that will soon be featured.
See the finished project here.

Most of these were around $15, 
but we struck a deal for twelve.

What a great resource for do-it-yourself projects.

We try to reuse whenever possible 

and are happy to be part of the solution

of keeping stuff out of the landfill.

Recycling rocks!
Find a ReStore near you.

Treasure Depot

Sister told us about a place called The Depot in Concord, NC

where vintage treasures were to be had.

She took the day off to share the experience.

This place was HUGE!

It was a cold day,

but one step inside warmed us right up

with expectations of a treasure hunt!

The floors of this once textile mill

were rich and solid beneath our feet.

Tons of canning jars, blue and otherwise,

were located in many of the booths.

The furniture as well as the contents of each booth

were for sale by folks who lease the space.

Love the Hoosier-type cabinets.

Many had enamel countertops,

perfect for rolling out pie or cookie doughs.

Vintage lugguge like the one I recently purchased

were a common sight.

Some folks had collections of items to offer.

Several buildings housed row after row

of gems just waiting to be discovered.

Old windows looking for a home

could be used outside or inside.

What a gorgeous vintage stove.

And another.

Here's a girl's toy stove.

After all, why should the grownups have all the fun?

Miles of fabric made me wish I knew how to sew.

Maybe it will motivate me to take a sewing class!

I'm a big fan of screen doors.

They work great as room dividers or used on a pantry door.

These old toy bowling pins

made me think of one of my students

who is quite fond of the game.

This classic oil jar has a recipe for mayonnaise

printed right on it.

Here are a couple of enamel Frigidaire refrigerator bins

that Sister picked up.

These would be great used anywhere in the house

to organize.

I picked up a few glass items.

We now have a few official refrigerator dishes!

Whoo-hoo!

It'll be fun using these back at home

and remembering what a fantastic day we had with Sister.

We're out and about today

celebrating Lil' Guy's 12th birthday

and then heading home this weekend.

We are hoping that the next time we make this trip,

it will be as residents of the state.

Have a beautiful fall weekend, y'all!