Poppin' Tags for My Midcentury Fix

This is what my latest thrifting escapade has lead to... My lovely green couch acquired at a bargain basement price of $28!!! You might be saying to yourself- what's so great about that? It's just an old couch... No, my friends - it's a little bit of lovely in my basement! This gorgeous, classy lady is straight out of the 70s, and someone took great care to maintain her beauty despite her age. This baby probably spent its early years covered in plastic, and was barely sat on, or so it seems because the seat cushions are pristine. Finds like this just make my day. This is how I say Happy!

Here are some tips for buying furniture from the thrift shops: 

• Note the overall condition of the piece -

Does it have a good bone structure? Is it a piece you love enough that you might consider possibly spending extra time & money to give it new life - if it requires reupholstering - that can get expensive so this should factor in your buying price. Can you get it for a good price?

• Make sure it's in good CLEAN condition! A few spots here and there are to be expected, however, you definitely don't want to bring home little beasties that might be more expensive to get rid of than the price of the furniture piece. Look under cushions or open the dresser drawers and check for any evidence of critter activity. Check to see if any spots or stains can possibly be removed with a good cleaning. 

• Pay attention to the sales.... Yes, thrift stores have sales! Incredible, I know, because you're already getting a deal - but usually thrift shops will have a color coding or some similar system where certain colors will go on sale and the price will be reduced by a percentage. You might get an additional 50% off on pink tag items, or 25% off on blue. This makes the item you are buying an even better deal!

Lastly- make sure you have help getting your new item home! Especially if you are hunting a big furniture piece... Like a big green couch! Happy Thrifting!

My Sweet Pregnancy Essential - 28 Weeks

Super adorable slip on shoes!!! These are a must for the last trimester- when it's getting tough to bend over and tie laces or do buckles. You can still feel super lovely in a low heeled pair of slip on mules.

Conquering Clutter Monday

Okay, I am going to be completely honest here today- I am letting you in to a dirty secret that I try desperately to control. I have a paper clutter issue... Let's say that it wouldn't be too over the top to classify my little problem as 'bordering on hoarding' paper. I watch that show Hoarders- and feel sympathy for the guy who has amassed a huge collection of useless newspapers over the years... It's bad!

Needless to say, having four children doesn't help matters much when they are bringing home all kinds of cute artwork, quizzes, and lovely school papers. Plus, having children puts me in a perpetual time crunch! I had to find a strategy that would help me work through this problem! Especially since I don't want my children to pick up this problem and think it's okay to live like this.

Here are some clutter management tips that I've found to work for me:

Don't bring unnecessary clutter inside the house. How I've employed this strategy is that I open my mail next to my recycle bin. Any junk mail and flyers go directly into the recycle bin, it doesn't make it into the house.

Today, I actually took about 20-30 minutes of the morning- after dropping off the kids and grabbing a huge cup of coffee, to declutter my kitchen counter. This space has become an easy catch-all for paper clutter items. It's right by the door as you come in- so it's quite an eye sore. I started by grabbing an empty plastic container to dump all the recycling, and organized all of the mail into piles- bills, bank statements, etc. Then I opened all the mail and recycled any envelopes and excess papers. I store my paper shredder close by this area, this makes it convenient to get rid of anything containing personal info.

The cardinal rule of organization is that 'everything must have a place.'Recipes go in the recipe box, bills, and important papers can be stored in a large filing system like an accordion style filing folder or a large binder. I even am starting a coupon area. Knowing everything has a designated area makes it a lot less stressful.

I'm always working on my clutter issues, but today is a step forward- it's sweet progress... And it feels good!

My Quick Fix- Dining Room Chairs

My quick fix tip of the week... is FUN with SHOWER CURTAINS! WHO_HOO!! Seriously though, I had company coming over and needed a quick fix for my dining room chairs. As you know- I have FOUR little kiddies running around the house and since they are all under 8 years old, there's a lot of oopsies and extra spillage during meal-times. Sometimes with a 3 year old there's out-right food tossing... C'mon- you know what I mean! These dining room chairs had really looked like they'd been worked over by the lunchroom mafia! Originally, when we first bought our dining room set they had been an impractical off-white, but my hubby re-upholstered them a couple of years back. Even though we had chosen a dark colored fabric, you could still see spill-marks, and it was evident I had attempted to clean them MANY times but the stains were still there. It was too embarrassing! I needed a quick fix- something I could do to dress them up quickly, and inexpensively, so that I wouldn't break the bank fixing all the chairs. Well, I happened to be in the Bath section at a local store- and I was in the clearance section when I spied them- fabric SHOWER CURTAINS! Hmm... they're fabric... and they are meant to be used in the bathroom- so they are water resistant... and they are a lovely chocolate color, which would be more forgiving for spills. They also measure 72" by 72" so there was plenty of material to cover 4 chairs... so far. I think I'll have enough for all six! Since they were on sale- it was a total steal at $15 bucks! Look out Design on a Dime- here I come! My friends LOVE it- they couldn't believe it was a shower curtain- and the girls were like, 'OOOOOOH PRETTY!' Overall, it was a successful fix. I am planning to scotch guard them. Now we're in the durability testing phase :)