Tag: Frugal Living Tips

Give Your Furniture a Makeover

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Last May I posted about remodeling my house. We painted almost every room in the house, put down new vinyl floors, painted kitchen cabinets, fixed cracks above the door frames, and put in a new bathroom sink and toilet. I bought new furniture for our bedroom which I got on clearance. We only had nightstands, and we needed a dresser. I wanted a nice set of matching furniture for our bedroom. When it came time to redo our son’s bedroom, we didn’t want to buy him all new furniture. He has lots of shelving in his closet so he doesn’t need a dresser. He already had a couple of mismatched pieces of furniture in his room. He had an entertainment center and a nightstand. They were still in great condition but in dire need of a makeover.

We watch a lot of remodeling shows on DIY and HGTV channels. My husband had already completed the kitchen cabinet hardware project (you can read about it here). The obvious solution to our problem was to paint the furniture. It was going to be a lot of work with sanding, priming, and then painting. I already did that with the kitchen cabinets and was not in the mood to do another big painting project. My husband had a brilliant idea to solve our problem. He decided to spray paint the furniture. We already had the black satin spray paint from the kitchen hardware project. My son’s room was gray with diamond plated outlet covers. Hubby thought black furniture would compliment the room nicely. He was exactly correct. I told you we watch a lot of remodeling shows on tv.

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The spray paint had primer already mixed in so no need for another step. He did rough up the nightstand with a 120 sanding block. Then he wiped it down thoroughly. He used a satin black finish which brought out beautiful details of the piece. He used two coats which dried very quickly outside. It was a very sunny day with little humidity which helps it to dry faster. The one mistake we made was not using a clear coat protector afterwards. The nightstand has a few chips as you can see in the pictures. I am going to wait until spring to add another light coat and then apply a clear protector coat. To further protect the top of the nightstand I had a glass top cut by the local glass shop. It cost me $12 plus tax. I think it adds a nice touch to the nightstand. I also did the same thing to my nightstands and my bathroom vanity. It’s a built-in vanity to the wall. I spent around $80 for all four items. It makes cleaning so much easier and protects the pieces more from water stains.

glasstopThe project was very easy and inexpensive. I paid around $15 for two cans of spray paint to makeover the entertainment stand and nightstand. I didn’t take pictures of the entertainment stand, but it looks just as nice. Hubby also spray painted the drawer pull a nice silver which gives it a wow factor. It was just a plain brass color. We already had the silver spray paint color. I am planning to do the same thing for my living room end table and entertainment center. I promise to do more of a step by step with pictures for those pieces. This project extends the life of furniture you already own. Why spend more money when you can just give your furniture a makeover. Do you have any furniture you would like to makeover? I would love to read about it.

TMR Frugal Living Tip #88

Today’s thrifty living tip is to use baby wipes to spot clean your clothes. I know they have the Tide fabric wipes, but baby wipes do the same job and cost less to buy. Baby wipes are very effective at cleaning up spilled food or drink. I keep a small pack of wipes in my purse. They have the hard case or you can buy the small pack of samples. I also receive free wipe samples from time to time in the mail. My little one is a tween, but I still keep a box of baby wipes in my house to use for many things as they are so versatile. You can even use them as makeup remover especially for your eyes.

TMR Frugal Living Tip #87

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Today’s thrifty living tip is to take an inventory of purchased gifts. This is the time of the year I take advantage of clearance sales by purchasing gifts now to give throughout the year. I like to have a stockpile of gifts for teachers, last minute gifts, kid birthday parties, or gifts you know a certain person would love. You aren’t saving money if you forget you have Aunt Sally’s gift sitting in the closet so go out to buy her another one. What if no one else on your list likes poodles? Then you’re either stuck with it or donate it to charity.

I like to keep a list either on my smartphone or computer with all the gifts I have purchased. I know what I have in my gift closet, and I know who is getting what. I do make changes if I find something else during the year, but I make sure to change it on my list. This keeps me organized and on budget. I also have a special closet where I store all the gifts. Lately I have started storing them in a chest, and I keep an extra list taped to the inside lid. I have my list in two spots. Do you have a system to keep you organized for extra gifts? I have also created a gift list that is printable for anyone to use. I would appreciate a link back to my blog if you decide to post it on your blog or website. Just save the picture and then you can print. Enjoy the free printable gift list.

TMR Frugal Living Tip #86

First I have to comment I never post two frugal living tips in a week so consider this a nice bonus for the end of 2011. I don’t have any pictures to show for this daily tip so I apologize for cleaning it so quickly.

Today’s thrifty living tip is to clean or fix appliances before replacing. I know this seems pretty logical, but many people get discouraged by older appliances and distracted by new shiny ones. My Kenmore gas dryer is 14 years old. I already replaced the washing machine a couple of years ago with a front loader. That was a great decision which has saved me money in water and electricity. I just want to say it wasn’t worth fixing so it was time to replace. The dryer works great, and works less as my clothes are drier when they come out the washing machine. I do like to line dry which also helps extend the life of the dryer.

Lately it’s too cold and rainy to put it on the line. I’ve been a little too busy to keep up with laundry because of the holidays. We noticed all these scuff marks inside the dryer while doing laundry this past weekend. It wasn’t getting on the clothes so I wasn’t too concerned. Hubby mentioned maybe it was time to replace it with our income tax refund next year. He tried to clean it but said the marks weren’t coming out.

I looked at it again today as I needed to do laundry. I pulled out my Mr. Clean magic eraser, and viola! The marks were coming out quite easily. I did take a wet dish towel to wipe it out a couple of times to make sure no residue is left. I wiped it with a dry towel afterwards, and over 90% of the marks are gone. I’m not sure what caused them, but now they are all gone. I have dried a load of towels and all looks good. No marks on the towels or the dryer. I will keep an eye on the dryer, but I’m hopeful I can get a few more years of service. I will also start a new appliance fund just to be on the safe side.

TMR Frugal Living Tip #85

Today’s thrifty living tip is to save money by coloring your own hair. I usually get 2 boxes of hair color for $5 after sale and coupons.Do not be intimated by using a coloring hair at home kit. Many of the do it yourself home kits are super easy to use with great instructions.

My stylist charges me $35 so I was going every 3 months. I was spending $140 yearly not including tip so around $150+ with tip. I can color my hair every 8 weeks which costs me $30 a year. I am saving over $100 each year. It might not seem like much, but it does add up.

I use Garnier hair color, and I have used all of them. I prefer the ultra color as I find it covers the gray well and the color lasts. I have become a bit of an expert on coloring my own hair. I don’t do streaks or frosts. I just want to cover those stubborn grays. I’m much too young to have gray hair. I love the dark auburn color as it is closest to my natural color. I love how the red looks when I’m outside in the sun. I get lots of compliments on my color so I must be doing something right.

Do you color your own hair at home or do you prefer to have a professional color your hair?

TMR Frugal Living Tip #84

hollyjollychristmasToday’s thrifty living tip is take your own Christmas pictures. When I received photo studio coupons in the mail, I would bring my son for his Christmas pictures to save money. The catch was you could only pick the first pose. The whole time I had my fingers crossed the picture turned out nice. I know some photographers would retake the picture if I wasn’t happy with that pose, but many of them are making minimum wage. Taking my child’s perfect Christmas picture is not high on their priority list.

I began taking all of my son’s Christmas pictures when he was about 5 years old. I was already taking pictures of the items I sold on ebay so why not take his pictures. I take shots in front of the tree, in front a white sheet (just like the studios), outside, and maybe on location. I do not own a high quality digital camera, but it is a decent camera. I upload all my pictures on Snapfish. I can edit all the pictures and have the ones I wanted printed. You can add fun borders and other neat options. I’m not sure if you can order the pictures with borders. I think that might be for online use only. I usually spend $20-30 for many pictures in different sizes such as 8×10, 5×7, and wallet. This price even includes the price of shipping.snowflakes

You might be thinking…well, I don’t know. This idea might not work so well if you want to be in the pictures such as a family picture. You might be lucky and know someone who takes good pictures that might do you a favor or barter for taking your pictures. I have a couple of people in my family who love to play photographer for fun. They would never dream of asking for money. Save some money and have fun taking the pictures. I also love the editing. The picture shown is one I took a few years ago and added a fun holiday border.

TMR Frugal Living Tip #83


Today’s thrifty living tip is to stop throwing money in the trash. You read that correctly. I am guilty of buying perishables that never get eaten. Fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, cheese, yogurt, etc. It never fails I will buy items that just don’t get eaten before they go bad. I don’t do it too often, but I’m still throwing a few bucks away each time. Sale items are the biggest temptation. It’s not a good deal if you won’t use eat it in a timely manner. One method I now use is by keeping track of which items were getting thrown out. Now I rarely have to throw out bad food.