Second Hand

We like to buy furniture second hand. My husband thinks I'm kind of funny because I will stock the Craigslist ads for whatever it is that we need. My most recent purchase was a living room table set. We got a great deal, practically new tables for 80 dollars. It took me about two weeks to find these. I love them! They really work with the Feng Shui of our house. 

Buying things second hand is a green way to decorate your house. You can buy all sorts of items and repurpose or refinish items to make them updated or match your own style. I also feel that it has made me develop my own sense of style while saving a ton of money.


We also love buying clothes at thrift stores, my favorite store is the ARC. They are a non-profit and their mission is to enhance the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families by providing funding to support the Arc and ACL chapters in Colorado. They are so great and are stocked with something for everyone. They always have something that I will wear and always have sales. Their prices are the best. I don't think that I have paid more than three dollars for a shirt in a long time. 
I love going their to get my 2 growing girls clothes there. They grow so fast and get thing stained, I just don't see the point in buying their clothes new.

 I used to be embarrassed to go to thrift stores but not anymore. I think it's because people can be very judgmental and cruel. I would get some really interesting and disgusted looks when I told people where I got my clothes. Now I just don't care what anyone thinks. I am saving money and getting clothes that are stain free, cute and practically new. I get so many compliments on our clothes. The best thing it that a lot of the clothes are no longer in stores so you really are unique and can develop your own style rather than wearing something that everyone else has. Most sales are on Saturdays.

Hairspray Rerecipe

I have tried several different hairspray recipes and talked about one I was using in a previous post. After using the one I made up for a week it became fermented. I really liked that hairspray as it worked great and smelled wonderfully but had a very short shelf life. I went back to the drawing board and tried a variation of the citrus hairspray which instead of putting the whole Orange in I just used the zest. Well this turned out the same worked and smelled great but still only lasted a week. After a few more trail and errors I came up with a simple recipe that does not go bad or ferment.

1 cup distilled water
3 TB sugar
5-10 drops Orange oil (you can use any scent)

Bring water to a boil then take off heat and sugar and stir until dissolved. Add Orange oil.

Presto, Done!

This is the easiest to make and works great with all day hold and smells great. I have had this made up now for over a month at room temp. and its smells like the day I made it.

Light Bulb Upcycling

I had all these light bulbs in my garage from when we bought our new house. We replaced all of our light bulbs to energy saving ones. We were going to recycle them but never got around to it. Yesterday I googled what can be made out of incandescent light bulbs and got lots of ideas. My favorite was the mini vases. So I took them and strung them up on my valance in the kitchen. I wraped different colored string around each top to add a little something extra. Now I just need to add some plants that I can put in them. I can't wait. I'm also wanting to make more for presents. They look so cool and they were so easy to make!