a few thrifting tips

 A while back I shared some thrifting tips over at make happy. In case you missed it I thought I would share a variation of my guest post today.

Last year out of the blue I started shopping at thrift stores.  At first I felt a little out of place but soon I got over that and started to have some fun.  Often I come up empty handed but it's all worth it for that occasional trip when I come home with some amazing finds.  I love the thrill of thrift store shopping and also the fact that I often save our family some serious money too.  For example I have started finding some great name brand clothing for the boys in excellent condition at our local thrift stores for less than two or three dollars per item.  You can beat that!

I am by no means a thrifting expert but I have learned a few things over time {often the hard way}.  Today I am going to share a few simple guidelines and tips for you to keep in mind the next time you visit your local thrift store.  These tips can also come in handy for shopping at yard sales and antique stores too!!

:If you are looking for a particular item be patient.  I am the worlds worst at being patient so I have to really try hard to enforce this one for myself.  Sometimes there is something particular I am searching for at thrift stores or yard sales. This past year I really wanted a new lamp for our bedroom and a globe for the boys room.   I took me a while to find both but I did eventually find them. Several times I almost bought a lamp I kind of liked but I held out though and eventually found a lamp that I REALLY loved.  I brought it home and gave it a new look with some silver leaf.   

If you are looking for a specific piece of furniture for a space in your house it might be wise to know the exact dimensions of the piece you want.  That way if you find a dresser that you love you don't have to try and eye ball wether it will fit in your room or not.  You can measure it {if you keep a trusty tape measure in your purse or car} and know right then and there if it will work in your house before you load it up and take it home.

::If you have extra storage space you might consider buying items you don't necessarily need now but could use down the line.  Sometimes I come across something at a thrift store that I don't need right at that exact moment but know that I could maybe use in the near future{within a year or less}.  If the item is a good deal, on the small side, and easy for me to store then I will usually go ahead and buy it.

A while back I found a set of four plate hangers for $1.51.  If you have ever bought these at your local craft store then you know that just one of these alone would cost more than what I paid for all four.  I would like to hang some plates and platters on one of our walls someday soon so I bought these plate hangers to save for that particular decorating project.

::Use your imagination!!  As you can probably imagine, you are going to run across a lot of outdated and ugly stuff at thrift stores.  Most of the time you may find something you like but maybe it's not the right color or finish.  Now everyone repeat after me, "Spray paint can transform ANYTHING!! "

I found the bunny on the left at a thrift store but didn't love the purple flowers.  Of course this was nothing that a few coats of spray paint couldn't change.


When I first started thrifting it was hard to look beyond the uglyness and old school factor of everything in the store.  Then being inspired by thrift store makeovers on other blogs I slowly was able to use my imagination more and more to see the potential in thrift store "treasures".

Obviously a little bit of imagination was needed to look beyond the hideousness of the topiary I found at Goodwill for 99 cents.  


::Don't buy an item just because it's inexpensive.  There have been many times that I kind of liked something at the thrift store so I went ahead and bought it because it didn't cost very much.  Most of the items that I did this with are now sitting in my closet untouched.  Make sure the items you buy are things you really like or that you can makeover easily.  Sometimes it seems silly to leave something behind at Goodwill because it only would have cost me 99 cents.  But seriously that is a dollar you could have spent on something else and you may not realize it but it's all those little purchases that we make that really add up!


::If you love something you come across and it won't break your budget then by all means buy it all ready!!  If you spot an item from an aisle away and your heart starts going pitter patter from the excitement of finding something amazing then snatch that item up and run directly to the cash register.  There have been a few times where I was really in love with something but I didn't buy it for one reason or another.  Sometimes I don't know where I would put an item in my house so I talk myself out of buying it.  That's OK and all but I have kicked myself for doing this when I was really in love with something.  I've actually gone back to the store a day later to find an item again because I had decided I really couldn't live without.  And I'm sure you can guess where this is going. The item I loved wasn't there anymore.  Thrift store merchandise generally moves fast so you can't guarantee the same stuff will be there the next day.

This past Spring I purchased two white milk glass planters.  I loved both of them right away but I sat there and debated about getting them because I wasn't sure they would go with my existing home decor.  Then I decided it was silly I was hemming and hawing over something that cost a dollar and that I really liked!  In the end I was able to find a spot for them in my kitchen and whenever I see them they make me smile.  I am so glad I didn't pass them up!

:: Ask for a discount and pay attention to the specials that your thrift stores have.  Our local Goodwill has a deal every week where a certain colored tag is 50% off all week long.  Of course every item I want has the wrong colored tag.  Another local thrift store always has yellow tags at 70% off, green tags at 50% off, c.  Also, don't be afraid to ask the cashier for a discount, especially if an item is slightly damaged. It never hurts to ask! {Definitely ALWAYS ask for a discount at antique stores!! They will usually  give you one.}

{image source}

Well there you have it.  Some simple things to remember and think about the next time you go thrifting or find yourself at a yard sale!  These tips weren't meant to overwhelm you so keep them in mind but don't stress over them.  Just have fun and of course enjoy the thrill the of the hunt!!

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tips. and tricks. {kitchen utensils}

You know what I love more than fun and fancy kitchen gadgets?  When a kitchen utensil can do double duty. 

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The potato masher.  Last year my SIL told me about this handy dandy tool that Pampered Chef sells that mashes up your ground beef.  I went online and looked at it and it looked pretty darn similar to a potato masher.  So the next time I was cooking ground beef I decided to try to use my potato masher to help break up and separate my meat.  And you know what, it worked like a dream.  Try it next time you are cooking ground beef or turkey!

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A spoon.  I have several yummy recipes that call for fresh ginger.  I don't know if you have you ever tried to peel ginger with a peeler but it's sort of awkward.  Enter your everyday kitchen spoon.  Using a small spoon, gently peel off the ginger skin/peel.  This is way faster and easier {in my opinion} than using a peeler.

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The ice cream scoop.  Apparently I am the world's worst pancake maker.  Wondering how on earth you can mess up pancakes? I don't know but I always do somehow.  Sure they taste pretty good but they look awful.  They are usually mishapen and never uniform whatsoever in size.  It finally dawned on me one day to use my ice cream scoop to measure out my pancake batter on to my electric skillet.  I like to place three scoops of batter on my skillet and then add chocolate chips, blueberries, or whatever yummy filling I want directly on top of that.  Then I take one heaping scoop of batter and place it on top of my fruit, chocolate chips, etc.  My pancakes are a far cry from the perfect ones my husbands cranks out with ease but at least now they sort of resemble circles!


Do you have tips for other kitchen utensils that can perform double duty?  I'm all ears!

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snack baskets for new moms

In my opinion one of the most helpful thing you can do for someone who has just had a baby is to prepare a meal for them.  I was SO grateful for the meals we received after each of our sons were born.

I love to take my friends meals but sometimes I can't always do that.  Last year  I had twelve friends that were all due right after me.  Seriously every three weeks or so another friend was having her baby.  Since I had a newborn myself and was trying to figure out life with two kiddos there was no way I could prepare a meal for some of my friends.  I wasn't even really cooking real meals for my own family!

I had to figure out another way I could help out and bless my sweet friends.  Enter my wonderful friend Kelly.  Last year right after Graham was born Kelly brought us a big tote basket full of all kinds of snacks. Homemade bread, rice cakes, cinnamon graham crackers, ginger ale, dark chocolate covered soynuts{my fav!!} and some other seriously yummy stuff.  It's so nice when you are nursing to be able to have snacks at your fingertips! 

 I loved Kelly's snack basket idea so much that I totally copied her and started giving these to my friends whenever I wasn't able to prepare an actual meal for them.   I wasn't the only one that loved Kelly's idea.  Our MOPS group has started using the idea too when the moms in our group have a baby. 

 Recently my friend Christina had a baby while my husband was out of town for a few weeks.  Since the boys and I were surviving solely on Chick-fil-a {I'm only sort of kidding about that} I thought it might be easier for me to bring my sweet friend some yummy treats rather than a whole meal. 

When I went to visit my friend in the hospital I asked her what her favorite snacks were.  She told me fruit and anything with chocolate.  So I packed her a basket with dark chocolate and nut granola bars, chocolate covered soynuts, snickers protein bars, apple chips {these are so good!}, fruit, and some homemade apple bread.  I like to add something homemade in there so I don't look like a total slacker.  It looks like I had an apple theme going with the apple chips, apples, and apple bread!  {I hope you like apples Christina!!}

My friend decorated her little gal's nursery with pink , green, and white so I found this pretty green and white basket at Michael's that I thought would coordinate.  I always love having baskets around for toys, books, diapers, burp cloths, etc.  I don't always get a basket that will match the nursery but I think it's a fun idea!

We also decided to pack a little snack basket for older brother Will.  Noah picked out his basket for him!  I like that it looked like a little shopping cart and that Will could use it to play "store" with.

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{cleaning} tips. and tricks.

01::  Do you use sponges in the kitchen?  I do.  The thought of a wet dish rag hanging out in the kitchen kind of grosses me out.  In order to keep my sponges super clean and to also make them last longer I use a few tricks.  Whenever I am about to start the dishwasher I throw my sponge in the top rack.  When the dishwasher cycle is done I take out my sponge and wring out any excess water.  You can stop right here if you want because your sponge will be 99.99998% cleaner but I like to go one step further myself.  I then I throw my sponge in the microwave for one minute {some people even suggest two minutes!!}.  Be careful when you remove it from the microwave because {obviously} it will be hot!!  I have been cleaning my sponges this way for years.  A few of my friends think it's kind of funny that I do this but hey it gets my sponges clean!!  

02:: Do you wash your make-up brushes?  I am embarrassed to admit that for many, many years I never knew that I should clean my brushes from time to time.  Gross, I know!!  A few years ago I was reading an article in Real Simple by make-up artist Bobbi Brown and she suggested using baby shampoo to clean your brushes.  She uses Johnson and Johnson classic baby shampoo but I am sure you could use whatever you have on hand.   The baby shampoo does a good job at cleaning your brushes but is still mild enough to not irritate your skin the next time you go to use your brushes.  

03::  Shortly after we bought our first front loading washing machine I noticed that the rubber ring at the front of the washing machine would start to get a little mildew-y every once in a while.  I thought for sure that something was wrong with our washing machine.  I even went so far as to have a repair man come out and check it out.  He looked at our washer and then looked at me like,  "Lady!! Are you serious? You called me out her for that?"  Apparently that is pretty typical of front loaders.  He advised that I try to leave the door open after each wash cycle to let the water that might have collected in the front rubber section completely dry out.

Now when I see that the rubber part is getting  a little gross and mildew-y I pour a little bit of bleach directly into the rubber ring and let it sit for a while.  Then I go back and using a paper towel I soak up the bleach.  I then use q-tips to clean out the little groves really well.  It only takes me several minutes to do this and leaves my washer squeaky clean.  I also ocassionly run a cycle with no clothes in the washing machine.  I add bleach instead of detergent to give the machine a good cleaning.

Now it's your turn.  Do you have any good cleaning tips?  Please do share!!

{images: tipnut,johnson's, clorox}

p.s. I'm linking this post up to DIY day.

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some tips. and tricks.

01:  If I find myself at Target with one of the boys {i.e. in a hurry} I will put a shopping basket in the back of my cart.  I mainly do this when I know I am purchasing a lot of smaller items  {toiletries, birthday cards, cleaning supplies, etc}.  That way when I go to check out I can just place my basket with all of the small items in it directly onto the little conveyer belt.  Usually by the time we are ready to check out and leave one of the boys is had enough of Target and one of us is about to have a meltdown {usually me of course!}  Using a shopping basket helps to cut down on the time I spend schelping items from my cart to the check-out counter.

  

02.   For  the last couple of months my hair has been looking pretty blah.  I am pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that I have had two babies within the last 2.5 years.  I think my hormones are still tying to regulate.  

One day I stumbled upon a post over at the PW.  Ree was talking about how her hair had changed and she had been rinsing her hair with a vinegar+water concoction to remedy the situation.  My first thought was," Hmmmm vinegar?  Won't I smell like a pickle?"  And my second thought was, "Well if the PW does it then it must be ok."  So the next time I washed my hair I tried out the vinegar rinse.  In between shampoo and conditioner I rinsed my hair with the vinegar+water mixture.  And you know what?  It left my hair feeling really clean, lighter, and shinier than before.  Since then I have been doing this about 1-2 times per week.  I would recommend using conditioner after the vinegar rinse or mixing a small amount of an essential oil into your vinegar mixture.  Both will help to eliminate the pickle smell.  For my vinegar rinse I use a large nalgene bottle {32 oz} and use one part warm water and one part distilled white vinegar.

03.  I have started keeping a swiffer duster in the glove box of my car.  Whenever I find myself in the car and have a few minutes to spare {the pre-school carpool lane, waiting in the drive-thru at Chick-fil-a, etc.} I bust out my duster and give the interior of my car a quick wipe down.  Of course I can only reach the front seat but still it's nice to have at least that part of my car clean and tidy.  {If you thought my post on bills, mail , and recycling was dorky I am sure you are loving this.  ha!!}

p.s. Apparently my topiary has gone international.  Click here and scroll down a little ways.  I really hope they aren't making fun of me in Italian.   Thanks Katie for the translation!! :)

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