I made the decision earlier this week to move my mom into my home. I'm just not sure she is being properly cared for living with my brother and his girlfriend. (Long story).  So with that decision made, my first task is to turn the room that my 15 year old is curently in, into a room that my mother would be comfortable in. This means painting, new furniture, new accessories, a new recliner for her to sit in, new decorations, a new chest of drawers for her things, the works.  Keeping in mind that I don't "do new", I headed for the thrift stores with my daughter this morning.  I would have loved to have found some garage sales but it's Mardi Gras here in town, so there weren't any. So a thrifting we went.

As I stated in my title, God must be on my side with this, because it is all falling into place with ease. I found a beautiful set of curtains for the large window that is in the room for $8 which came with two extra pieces of material cut into  rounds for  those three legged round tables, I found a lamp for $2, several decorative items for pennies, and some shirts that would be easier for us to dress her with for $1 each. But the best thing  that I found was a recliner for $10. Yippee!!! I was so afraid that I was going to have to spend a few hundred on that item alone. But there is was at the Salvation Army waiting for me. Granted, it does need to be steamed cleaned, but it is in perfect condition and will serve the purpose. I'm so excited, the whole project is coming together for me. I just hope that at the end of the week when it's time to go and get her to bring her here, she doesn't change her mind, LOL.

I also found a couple of shirts for myself, a few throw pillows, and this:

This complete unopened scrapbooking kit made by Susan Branch. I love Susan Branch designs, they are so colorful. I got this entire kit for $3, unopened. These types of kits sell for up to $20 new, but I don't do new, LOL.   It comes with the album with sheet protectors, paper, vellum sheets, and tons of stickers. Even though I'm not going to have any time for scrapbooking in the near future, I still love picking up bargins to put away for when I will have time. ***Note to self -- get another big box for bargins hiding in the closet.

Have a great weekend, and don't forget that I'm hosting the Homesteading Carnival this week coming. Since Mardi Gras is Tuesday guess what the theme of the carnival is going to be?

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Thursday, January 24, 2008
Thrifty Thursday

Posted in Thrifty Finds

 Being thrifty  to me, means more than saving money, which I love to do.  I also like to  be thrifty with my  time too. 

I love to bake bread in my bread machine, which by the way I got at a "thrift" store, lol.  So I have come up with a this little routine that I do each week to save a little time. I measure out all the dry ingredients included in my bread recipe and place them in   ziplock bags. I plan out how many loaves each week I will need and make that many bags.  That way all I have to do is add the cup of water, 2 tablespoons of butter, and the yeast on top. Then I hit the button, and it's off to freshly baked, smelling up the house goodness. Today I am baking two loaves, so that will save me some time with all ready busy day of cleaning and cooking.

 

Now, share with us your time saving  tips....................

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Friday, January 18, 2008
Organizing Frugally

Posted in Thrifty Finds

      Recently while shopping at one of our thrift stores I purchased  some organizing tools for my home. One being this photo box in perfect condition, you know the boxes that you can store and organize  your photos in,  for all of 50 cents.  But I'm not using it for that purpose, I'm using it to organize my greeting cards. A while back I posted about how I constantly receive address labels,  calendars, note pads, and other things in the mail from these different organizations wanting money for their charity. Well I also receive many many greeting cards, really nice cards for all occaisions. And I also tend to pick cards up at garage sales and such when they are soo cheap.  So I decided that I needed to organize them.  When I saw the photo box I thought that would be perfect for the job.

 

   I cut a red poster board into the perfect size spacers and labeled each piece with the type of card to be filed behind it.  Aniversary,  birthday-boy,  birthday-girl, sympathy, holidays, ect.,  and even blank note cards. Each card has an envelope with it  in place. 

    I also found this unused card and events organizer at the same thrift store, but a different day, for $1. It is beautiful and I couldn't believe that it was unused.  It has a  section for each month so you can write down each event or birthday. Each page is decorated with seasonal type decorations, gorgeous. This shows the month of December.

It also came with several cards for different occassions and container type pages to hold the cards. Only problem is that it doesn't hold too many, hence the box.

 

    Well it's all getting done one step at a time. I  was also  able to go through all of our file boxes and declutter papers  that were no longer necessary to keep. I had owners manuals for things that we no longer owned, lol.  I do love this time of year when it's cool and you feel like getting things done without sweating.  I think I will tackle some closets next. Have a blessed day and weekend.

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Thursday, November 29, 2007
Thrifty Thursday

Posted in Thrifty Finds

      Now  is the time of year when you can stock up on many many different types of things for the rest of the year. Most are the usual things like turkeys, ham, candy, Christmas decorations for next year, wrapping paper, you know, the usual. But here is a  few things that I pick up right after Christmas when they are on sale really really cheap.

     

 

     This is a drink tub, I think. I got this on sale for $1. At first I really didn't know what I would be able to use this for, but let me just say it came in very handy. Here in the south we tend to eat a lot of seafood, crabs, shrimp, and yes even crawfish. This tub is the perfect size to hold our boiled goodies on the table. It's also great for going into the garden with and bringing in the  veggies.  And yes, it is even good for holding  can or bottled drinks when having a get together at your home, LOL.

 

 

    These are the small containers that you can use to put your baked goods in as gifts. These things are so handy to have in the kitchen year round. I have had these containers for going on two years now and there is not a crack on them. They are very well built and the lid closes very tightly. I send food to my dds and mothers often and these are perfect for transporting soup, gumbo, or just about anything you need to.  I payed $.25 a piece for these containers. I plan on purchasing more if I can find them.

    Another thing that I stock up on with the after Christmas sales is storage bags. They usually have the decorated ones for pennies a box. I bought several boxes last year and just recently ran out of them.  So this year while shopping, check out the sales on the usual seasonal items, but also keep an eye out for the unusual ones too.

Thanks for visiting................Kitty

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