3 Hours, 2 Days, 1 Store

$50 plus 50 miles R/T.

Worthington, Columbia, Brooks Brothers, Coldwater Creek - the list goes on! I spent about 90 minutes in the Salvation Army two Wednesdays in a row and the photos tell the story! The top photo was a $23.00 day and the second was a $26.00 day.

For $23.00, I brought home three tanks - cream cable, an ocean blue knit, and a ribbed brown, a long-sleeve (with tags still on) white dress shirt, a linen short sleeve top, a coral shirred dressy top, a dri-weave zip top polo, my new favorite summer pajamas (mid-century modern house, push-lawn mower and FLAMINGO-print bottoms, I mean come ON!) and a pretty bowl, MADE IN THE USA, that cost me $1.99, listed on eBay for $25. I was thrilled and had everything washed and in my closet by dinner time!

The following week I hauled in this $26.00 score: brown dress chinos, a sweater tank, 3 versatile scarves, two skorts in aqua & denim, pink plaid shorts, a fun embroidered skirt, an aqua tank, purple linen 3/4 sleeve shirt and my find of the day - a french cuff Brooks Brothers wrinkle-free dress shirt for $2.50.

What did $50 buy you on your last shopping trip?

Plant Sharing

Here we are in the middle of summer and the garden centers at your local home improvement stores are packed with people, money pouring from their wallets. Now, for the Annuals Set of people, it is what it is, but for perennial lovers? Don't buy, share!

When I first started gardening, I actually had to BUY hosta - the plant you can divide into 6-10 plants every 2 or 3 years. None of my friends gardened, so there I was. Buying hosta, (head shaking).

Finally met some local gardeners and we started giving plants to each other. I still remember my friend Sandy helping me unload all of the plants I had brought her, and that she gave me a back-seat-full of cone flowers. I was smiling the whole way home as I saw them in my rear-view blowing in the breeze of the open windows...

After my joyous afternoon, I decided to expand the sharing and started a Garden Share group page on facebook. I love seeing a new member request pop up and I feel so much hope that the new member will actually participate in the group by at least posting some photos of his/her garden. My garden has grown from the gifts of people in the group and their gardens have grown because of me. The photo above includes (l-r) hairy onions from one friend and foxglove from another.

So before you go out and spend your hard-earned money, take a few minutes to look up the local garden groups in your area. Many have scheduled meetings, but you might just get lucky and find a Garden Share site like mine online, so get growing!

Facial hair removal - CHEAP & EASY! (didn't say painless)

Ok, so sticking true to my goal of chemical free and low-cost or free living, here is one of my fav beauty tools in my bag. After reading dozens and dozens of reviews, I put it on my Amazon wish list and received it for Christmas in 2011.

I was interested in this product because I hate tweezing, I've been lasered (NOT permanent as claimed, but does last a few months), electrolysis is too $$$ and painful, and, though I have my own hot waxing system, I have a very difficult time removing the fine hairs right under my nose and on my chin - wax irritates me and causes break-outs in those areas as does depilatory cream. I was willing to risk someone else's $5.00 on this.

It took some getting used to, but after about four uses, I think I now qualify as a professional user of a hair threader.

My now-expert advice? Bend it (not quite in half), set it against the skin and twirl the spring at least two or three rotations in one spot, first one way, then the other, for maximum hair removal. After several minutes, gently pull the spring apart (I do not use the handles for this part - too afraid they'll break off) and blow the hairs out. It will seem awkward at first to use this, but it won't be long before you, too, are singing this little device's praises.

After using, I swipe on witch hazel (which is the best and cheapest astringent you can buy at about 70 cents a bottle) until the cotton round is clean. No oil is left on your skin and witch hazel is soothing so no break-outs. Have fun! Or at least as much fun as one can have ripping one's hair out by the roots!

Gosh, I love being a girl!

Under the Sink Organization - LOVE this idea...

This just came in my Inbox today - marthastewart.com's Organizing Tip of the Day!

Just one of those ideas that will make you say, why didn't I think of this? Short on space? Think UP.

Tired of spray bottles getting knocked around under your kitchen sink? I must admit, I do not have many since I have stopped using chemical cleaners, but I do have three bottles that I use on a regular basis. PLUS, I think the curtain rod would be a better place for me to hang clean kitchen towels waiting for use instead of taking up valuable drawer space in my kitchen cabinets. Hey, I NEED that space for all of my cool spatulas, bamboo spoons, cookie droppers, skewers, you get the idea!

My only words of advice are to be sure to get a rod stronger than you think you need (liquids are heavy!) and be careful not to screw into your neighboring cabinets - so check screw depth. I plan on employing this idea very soon!

Challenge Yourself to Re-use!

You've heard of the 3 Rs:  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Of the 3, reuse is best for Earth. Reuse means no additional resources are needed to repurpose an item to its new life. Reuse means something old is new again and nothing goes to the landfill.

I happen to be quite happy with my makeup organizer - it's huge & needs to be - I love makeup and I love helping others make the most of their faces with makeup. My only complaint was with brushes, eyeliners and mascaras. They flopped over too much for my liking. Enter my $1.00 for both beakers that I found at the Salvation Army - high school chemistry set beakers have a new life in my bathroom! And, hey, you get a peak at my bathroom vanity tile job, too!

Challenge yourself - put something in your home to work in a new way and share your results! Before you throw stuff away, take a photo and send to friends - you never know who you might help or what creative spark your items might set off in others!

Organize that Refrigerator with MINIMAL effort, using what you might already have!

Ok, so it's 2012 - the year is new, but some stuff in your refrigerator? Maybe not so much.

I want to share with you an organizing tip I employed last fall and I am about to expand upon this weekend.

You know all that pain-in-the-rear stuff you have to keep in the frig? Little bottles (the kind that sit below the rail if you put them on the door) and bags of whatever (in my case, cheese!)? Ever find them shoved in the back or, worse yet, you went out and spent money on more of what you had but didn't see it?

Look around your house for some plastic bins. Maybe they're in the garage, a craft room, wherever. Different sizes, doesn't matter, though I prefer the 7x10 or so size pictured here:

Entertaining in Minutes:
As you can see, this particular bin is being used to store all of our cheeses and specialty mustard, so all of those bags never get lost in the Behind Stuff Abyss in our refrigerator. Grab a box of crackers and you have a party waiting to happen!

Outdoor Dining made Easy:

I have another bin that I use during outdoor dining season. Ever get tired of hauling 'sweating' bottles back and forth from the deck or patio the frig? How about the awesome wet spots all over the table, too. Appetizing! Well, put all of your ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauces, relish, etc. in one of these storage bins and make setting your outdoor dining table an absolute breeze!

Create Calm Mornings:

Why not expand your thinking to the members of your family?  If you make lunch for yourself or others each day, why not make it one trip to the frig? Put everything in a bin - bread, sandwich meats, condiments, snacks, and drinks in an appropriate-sized bin and not only will you have one trip to the counter, but you just might improve the way your mornings flow each day. If you are feeling truly amazing, label the bins with laminated tags or stickers!

Need Bins?

Ask your friends if they have extras! You would be surprised how easy it is to get what you need by just asking. I bought the one above for 50 cents at the Salvation Army.

If you employ this organizational strategy in your refrigerator, post your comments & photos here! Thanks for reading!

Stop Buying Christmas Gift Tags - Forever!

Took this photo with my tablet - not my best work, but you get the idea...

The steps are easy and kids love the project:  making next years gift tags from this year's Christmas cards. 

1. Using a paper cutter or just scissors, cut off the sentiment side of the cards. Trim rectangular to your liking. Sometimes you can get two or three tags from one card!

2. Angle cut one side of the upper card corner, then flip the cut piece to the other side and use it as a quick guide to cut relatively even corners on both sides of your new gift tag.

3. Punch a hole & add curling ribbon so that, next Christmas (only 11 months away!) you are good to go with colorful, gorgeous gift tags! 

Believe me when I share that matching your tag to your wrapping paper does not matter at all with these babies - the tags are all big and gorgeous. Every year people comment on them! SO... what are you waiting for? Don't throw away your cards from friends and family, OR throw them into an abyss of a stockpile. For what? Put them to USE. : )

Reduce, reUSE, recycle - beautifully!