Ah, you know, I really sometimes struggle with posting something here as an illustration of what I'm talking about, because I don't want you to think that I think of myself as a “good example.” For one thing, I know perfectly well that gazillions of you are a hundred times more whatever it is than I. (But it's fun to compare notes, right?)
So you know that anything you read here (and especially any photos, which are only included because… I like a post with photos) is offered in the spirit of “If I can do it, so can you!”
At this particular moment, the “it” I'm talking about is living on one income.
I'm talking about having lots of kids if they come to you, sending them to college, feeding your ice cream habit, and in general living with what some would consider some sort of crazy risk-taking — but, once you get used to it, just seems normal and actually gratitude-inducing for how much plenty we encounter all around us!
I have some great friends, and along the way I have been edified and often rescued from some fairly silly pity-parties by their resourcefulness and can-do attitude. I think everyone needs a friend, someone who is going to encourage you and tell you that you can do it.
Take, for instance, when you need a rug. You know that I firmly believe that if you make up your mind that you actually need something, it will turn up. “Something is bound to turn up.” (Mr. Macawber in David Copperfield, of course; in a slightly different and not altogether apt context for the present discussion, as he was referring to longed-for relief from his pecuniary entanglements. Well, in a way, that works.)
Either you will get the money you need to just go out and buy it, or more likely, somehow the right thing will surface at a yard sale or even free from someone who considers it a cast-off. You must be patient, and thereby you often have the surprise of discovering a better solution after all — one that wouldn't have occurred if you had been able to instantly gratify your desires!
Don't get me wrong. I am all for the more well-to-do spending their money on quality things! If they didn't do that, there would be nothing for those of more modest means to thrift! I get an anxiety attack when I read stories in the newspaper about the well heeled dabbling in second-hand shopping.
What a bad idea.
But, the rest of us have to be committed to spending very little for the sake of a higher good (in this case — maybe yours too — so that you can be free to make your home and educate your children by providing a beautiful environment for them). To make things work, you have to be willing to look everywhere, and you have to tell everyone what you need!
Want to hear the whole thought-and-action process?
In the back of my mind I had a rug for the third-floor bedroom in mind — something to go under that squeaky iron bed from which Sukie has the habit of letting her book drop as she falls asleep! (My room is directly beneath!)
I don't know what I wanted, but I thought that a rectangular rug of some sort, big enough, would be nice. I checked all the usual places, but anything remotely to my taste was too expensive, even on clearance. We have two weddings to get through! And it's not really yard-sale season here yet; the junk-shops had yielded nothing.
Meanwhile, remember back when I queried you all on the sleeping arrangements when you visit your parents? I decided that what we need to increase our capacity is a sleeper sofa in the rec room (on the second floor), and suddenly, a deadline loomed when friends who really need to be near the bathroom were visiting. In our house, rooms near the bathroom are few. My own room is a good solid minutes-long sprint, as far from the bathroom as you can get.
I found (actually, Rosie from California found for me here in Massachusetts) on Craigslist the ideal used sleeper sofa: never even used as a sofa, with the mattress still sealed in plastic. Because we can all imagine the issues with buying furniture this way.
Ever willing to put my needs out there, I asked the seller (a used furniture dealer) what else he had. Any rugs? Well, amongst a rather stunning number of dining sets and crazy stacks of chairs from some sort of institution, he had one, and one only, rug.
At first I wasn't sure. I hadn't thought of a braided rug at all. What if the colors didn't go? It was certainly big enough and in very good, nay, perfect, condition. He hadn't priced it yet. I waited (the sofa, which I paid his asking price for, as it was well worth it, was safely in the Suburban) while he decided (and in my own mind, I decided how much I wanted him to say — $30). He said $50. I offered $40. And that was that!
Home we hauled it, and it waited on our truly herculean efforts to get the sofa in the (I now fully acknowledge) inaccessible rec room. (And a big tip of the hat to our neighbor Ben who rescued us from divorce, destruction, and despair by figuring out how to get around the last bend!)
So Bridget and I deep-cleaned the rec room, got the sofa-bed in place, and then headed for the third floor.
I was still not sure!
By dint of inching that large rug under the bed, in a display of hilariously exhausting and inefficient and incompetent making do (I think the Chief was on a deadline and unavailable for what was clearly a 3-man job), we got it deployed. And — voila! It's perfect!
It even goes with the funky curtains I made to cover up the two odd closet-y things (without doors) built into the eaves beyond the chimney, on either side (it's an odd room and impossible to describe).
_____________
*I do believe that it's the wife's vocation to make the home, even though I don't usually describe this as being a “stay-at-home-mom,” just because in the course of history, wives and mothers have done a lot of things while making their homes! Most of the time, though, in our present day, making a home is going to mean that the family will live on the husband's income, as it's his vocation to be the provider. For most folks in an economy based on raising one or two children on two incomes, devoting oneself to creating a beautiful environment for one's family will require hard work and dedication, and is well worth the effort. If I can help, even just by cheerleading, I will!
Rachel C. says
I love it! The rug is beautiful and the philosophy behind it is right on target!
Jennifer says
You are helping! Thank you for the encouragement. With baby #6 on the way, I needed it right now.
JRo says
Oh how I wished you lived next door so you could mentor me in thriftiness and intentional mothering as well as keeping that husband happy and loved while doing the former. But I don't do snow. Thank you for your blog. Thank you that I know I am not alone, and for giving us tips to make homemaking a little smoother. Thank you thank you.
Lisa G. says
That's a very pretty rug – nice, bright colors.
Amy says
What a fun, encouraging post!! Thank you!!! I think part of the joy of this sorta decorating is not only the finished product but the hunt itself! So exciting! 🙂 And I LOVE this room!
Katie says
This post was such a wonderful encouragement to me! My husband and I are praying and planning in the direction of me leaving my job outside the home just as baby number two arrives this December. It seems like we're about to climb an impossible mountain, so “If I can do, it so can you!” absolutely means the world 🙂
kimberly says
Very nice!
I love your description of the room. Living in a 1920 farmhouse, we have all sorts of nooks & crannies & gables & very little storage areas. It's all good.
We live on one income, and a much smaller income than most would believe possible, but we are a loving family and so we live very well indeed!
GentlyLed says
I love it. Also love your encouragement to us SAHM's, as we look at our working friends' beautiful homes with longing but still know that we've made the right choice!
Some advice, please, Auntie Leila. I would love to make our home more beautiful. It sounds, though, that it would take a lot of time to go to thrift shops, etc. When I do, I usually don't find anything worth buying. I usually buy things we really need (e.g. furniture) on Craig's List, which can take a lot of time too. With two young kids to rear (who don't want to go shopping!), and not being a crafty person who can make pillows, curtains, etc., am I consigned to live in a bland, boring house until the kids are older? Please help 🙂 thanks!
Anne-Marie says
Not Auntie Leila, but I will agree with you that circumstances can make thrifting easier or harder. My SIL lives a few blocks from two great thrift stores, and for a while there was a weekly auction just down the road from her house. I on the other hand was at least two towns away from the nearest thrift store. Needless to say her house was (and is) a lot better decorated than mine.
One thing that helped me was to pay attention to what resources I do have: yard sales (which can be combined with pushing a stroller round the neighbourhood), freecycle, ebay, craft stores,maybe a crafty friend who'd exchange some sewing for some cooking or babysitting or lawnmowing. Another was to learn to be more crafty/handy. Youtube and the public library are wonderful for this.
_Leila says
Dear GentlyLed,
Yes, things in this world take 1. time or 2. money or 3. both! Usually when you don't have money, things take more time.
My biggest tip to you would be to poke around sites like Flickr (check out the “corners of my home” group) and great blogs like this one: http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/ where the principle of one person's junk is another's treasure. Train your eye! Once you “get it” you will see things everywhere.
I have high standards and take it for granted that any given trip to the thrift shop will yield nothing. Just make a lightening strike and get out. When you find something, it will be worth it.
Beauty in your home starts simply and can be the result of just keeping your eye out wherever you go. Many things in my house have literally come out of the trash or the side of the road (my bed, my living room coffee table, the great iron planters in the yard). Ask your guardian angel to help you make your house lovely, and you will see the opportunities pop up. Also, the two things you named — pillows and curtains — are by far the easiest possible things to make, accessible to the least crafty person!
Focus on a real need — a rug, a sofa, kitchen chairs, plates, a kid's bed — get ideas on pinterest and flickr and wherever, and then go on a mission. You will be surprised what turns up!
GentlyLed says
Thanks, Auntie Leila. I've been praying about it and keeping my eyes open and have found a few nice unexpected things.
Mostly, though, I've been challenged by your Reasonably Clean House posts (we had been pseudo-blitzing! every day!) and so now I'm catching up. I think once I've gotten the Reasonably Clean habit, I can focus more on beautifying. I'm learning SO much from you about how to make a home. Thank you!
LJ says
Thank you for the vision and encouragement! I think another part of living simply is really humility and adjusting expectations, both your own and those of your relatives. Those of us who have grown up in more prosperity have to adjust to notions of not everything matching all the time, and not being able to start all home improvement projects with new materials, and not always having matching dinner plates, etc etc etc. It's a big jump to make, but I think it's worthwhile if that's what it takes to have the peaceful family that God calls us to! (But it takes a lot of guts to host relatives at your house in a situation of more poverty/ simplicity, especially “chosen” poverty/ simplicity, than you grew up in! Thank you for your encouragement, Auntie Leila… there's a lot to overcome in this way!)
Lori says
You make an excellent point about the “big jump” of adjusting expectations. It's mostly a mental thing, isn't it? And like most worthwhile endeavors, many of the rewards come further down the road than we can immediately see, so it's an act of faith.
Dixie says
Regarding it taking guts to host people in a well-worn home: you betcha. But have you seen this lovely little post on the difference between entertaining and offering hospitality? http://www.suscipio4women.com/2012/04/12/entertai…
It makes a very encouraging point. Plus, don't we all feel more welcome in a home in which we are treated as one of the family — allowed to clear our own dishes and hear the dryer running, but also treated with caring thoughtfulness — than in an impeccably-decorated but competitive home?
Colette says
My in-laws have the impeccably decorated home– it looks like something out of a magazine. It is also INCREDIBLY stressful to visit with 5 young children! I have taken that stress to heart and adjusted my expectations of how I want my own home to feel: in a word–comfortable!
Our lifestyle–one income, no set limit of children, homeschool etc has been such a shock for them!
Ann Marie says
love this post….if only I could remember and practice it! 🙂
Elizabeth says
I love the rug and it ties in with the room nicely. I was dying to know what was around that corner since you last posted…thanks for the peek! Just today I inherited an ice cream maker–I have the time and energy to experiment with using it and if I end up not liking it I will have no reason not to give it away.
Mary says
I LOVE it! Job well done. I am getting ready to embrace my inner thrifty when re-doing my daughters room to make it more appropriate for a young lady. I am looking forward to the challenge…sort of! LOL! Thanks for the cheerleading !!
HollyElise says
It's perfect! I love Craigslist deals – we furnished our home with mainly Craigslist-found deals and steals! 🙂 (like our $20 futon-couch that fits the room perfectly AND pulls out into a double bed for visitors…!)
And thank you for your encouragement, Aunty Leila!
Sarah Marie says
My husband and I were just talking about the secret thrifting phenomenon! He pointed out that I always seem to find what I'm looking for eventually. And it's true. Like you said, it usually turns out even better than I imagined, if not a little quirkier. 😉
Jula says
I'm glad you borought up the attitude that people have of staying at home being a luxury. I think that full time homemakers are many times looked on as being elite and not knowing what it is to struggle and live in the real world. We are told that we are “lucky to be able stay at home” (and yes, we are) but at the same time a woman with a good paying, professional job isn't told that she is lucky to be able to work outside the home and make a lot of money. Is it implied that she is lucky to be able to mooch off of our husband?
Here's an anecdote you may apreciate: My son went to public high school for a year and a half after five years of homeschooling. Another boy asked him about homeschooling and was wondering if we did school before I went to work. When my son told him that I didn't “go to work” the kid asked him what I did all day. This kid couldn't even comprehend stay at home motherhood it was such an alien concept to him.
Dawn says
I think it came out wonderfully! Thanks for the encouragement.
Blessings,
Dawn
abby says
So encouraging! I am in the midst of seeking a non-ugly rug solution for my dining room. I was complaining about my “champagne taste, dumpster diving budget” to God at the very moment I opened this in my reader.
And I love your comments about the one-income sacrifice and joys, too. I'm basically a stay-at-home wife with my husband working on his PhD; our family blessings have been disguised by miscarriages. Maybe it's because my husband is SO busy and appreciates the extra zeal I can bring to the mundane – laundry, grocery coupons, church, etc., – but I'm amazed at what a gift we have found with me being home, blessed with a growing love for frugality and my growing music studio, even though we're not yet juggling babies like we'd imagined.
Lori B says
I get the comment that “I'm so lucky” to be able to stay at home all of the time, and frankly it angers me a little. We are not rich (in fact we sacrifice mightily to keep me at home), while they are jetting off on family vacations, have two cars, etc, etc. I am not 'lucky' to be at home, I work darn hard to make sure that my family can manage on my husband's income. Comments like the one above infer that I am a pampered puss with a rich husband, which completely dismisses my contribution to my family.
Sorry, rant over.
BethanneB says
Cheer-leading is so important for all of us. We all need encouragement–as in “to be given courage.”That's one of the blessings you offer. There are too many places where we find ourselves and our families beaten down by the culture, the media, our own government…I'm thankful for your courage–keep waving those pom-poms!
Dixie says
Thank you for the post! You are such a source of encouragement. A question, though: how do you account for the fluid cash needed for thrifting in a budget? Our budget is very detailed, which is great for keeping down extra spending. But it gets us into trouble when we see a perfect bed/set of chairs/bedside table for $40 somewhere, because we can't anticipate that. If we know we need a new couch, we can save up for it, but how do you make sure you have the cash on hand when you see something unexpected but important at a yard sale? Or even just something that you know will make your home more beautiful?
Tamim says
Thank you for the post! You are such a source of encouragement. A question, though: how do you account for the fluid cash needed for thrifting in a budget? Our budget is very detailed, which is great for keeping down extra spending. But it gets us into trouble when we see a perfect bed/set of chairs/bedside table for $40 somewhere, because we can't anticipate that. If we know we need a new couch, we can save up for it, but how do you make sure you have the cash on hand when you see something unexpected but important at a yard sale? Or even just something that you know will make your home more beautiful?
_Leila says
Dixie, put it in the budget!
Start with $20. If you don't find anything, roll that dough into the next month's budget. If it's something you know you simply have to have (every family just simply has to have a table and chairs, for instance) and you know the prices and you see something special, then eat beans to buy it. Why? Because unlike something in stock in the stores, it won't be there next time.
If you don't have $20, then clearly God doesn't want you out there thrifting 🙂 And that's fine. Obviously!
Dixie says
Thank you both! Those are great ideas. I will insert a new category. Also, this week we ate beans so that we could buy the ingredients for a month's worth of homemade baby food, so we could surely do it for something thrifted another week! Plus, it meant we discovered that pureed cantaloupe — one of our daughter's new favorites — tastes as sweet as cotton candy. Holy moly!
Pippajo says
Leila, once again your post is so timely. We've hit a financial rough patch and for the past two days I've been completely preoccupied by the question of whether to quit homeschooling and get a part-time job to add to the family income or to keep at it and trust that we're doing things according to God's plan for us! It's hard when your principles seem to come to cross-purposes with each other and seem unable to coexist (as in: me being at home vs. not incurring debt). Thank you for reminding me of my perspective! I'm not sure what we're going to do, but at least I've got my face turned in the right direction again as we make decisions!
P.S. To illustrate and perhaps further your point: After your first post about the third floor renovations, I was so covetous of that red bed that I began looking for a similar one, alas, to no avail. I think perhaps God did not want to indulge my covetousness. Anyway, I gave up on the idea and, of course, we made do with what we had. Well, two nights ago, Mom told me of a friend who is getting rid of a beautiful brass bed in the perfect style and size and she thought I might want it! Sometimes you don't even have to put the word out! Sometimes God brings something your way just to give you goose bumps!
nt12many says
Hip Hip Hooray! Great post Leila! It's wonderful how those “wants” (not always true “needs”) show up just at the right time, as if the Lord is saying, “Here you go, my darling, just for you.” I have a series of interviews for the woman whose heart is at home (but she feels she has to work)…I am adding a link to this article at the bottom of mine. Thank you for all you do.
Jill Farris ” target=”_blank”>http://www.generationalwomanhood.wordpress.com
Kathryn says
Thank you for this post. You don't know how timely it is! I've been grumbling to myself lately that no one understands how hard staying at home really is and I can't wait to send everyone off to school so I can work again and we'll have a little money. I know it's not the right way to look at it, as I'm finding there is more parenting to be done as they get older, not less. Still, I'm so tired of struggling with the budget and feeling like we can't do all the things I did as a child. My mom doesn't understand because my dad has a job on commission, works hard, and brings home a lot of money. We grew up much more comfortable than my husband and I are now, but I need to remember that we are much better off than many. It's just difficult to have to explain why we pay cash for everything and don't just “put it on the card” or why I'm always scouring grocery fliers and clipping coupons, or why, *gasp*, I'm buying her grandchildren clothing at Target.
_Leila says
Kathryn, others' expectations can be hard on us — it's good to step back and know that you have to identify your own goals and the means to achieve them.
Being misunderstood happens, but the reward is knowing you are fighting the good fight!
Kara AP says
So wonderful to hear your voice cheerleading! My husband and I sometimes discuss with awe the crazy way we spent money when we had two incomes and how simple and contentedly we can live on one. One income has made us prioritize, plan ahead and lead a healthier life. Honestly, after learning skills like canning, sewing, gardening and thriftying, I think I probably save us more money than I'd be able to make once you factor in daycare and other costs to working.
It's not a flashy life but we really cherish the blessings we have!
Helene says
Love this! That rug IS perfect. Thanks for the reminder to compare with those less fortunate, not more fortunate. As Robert Louis Stevenson said, “the world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings!” Had to chuckle at your “divorce” comment…..seems whenever my husband and I get into “divorce” mode, it's because of something really dumb and insignificant, like the thermostat or the Christmas tree, never because of anything big and real. I'm going to take that as a good sign, I guess! Though perhaps I should work on not sweating the small stuff either, eh? That whole bedroom is gorgeous and ready to be featured in a home magazine. Your house is so beautiful and inviting. I love reading all these tips!
_Leila says
Helene, I consider it a triumph that Ben remarked to his wife that we kept making funny comments the whole time. So divorce was further off than it could have been, thank God! The Chief is most long-suffering with my crazy ideas!
Helene says
A triumph indeed! Keeping it funny keeps everyone in the safe zone. I'm going to remember that!
Tamara says
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I needed your voice today.
Kyle Suzanne says
I am always inspired by pictures of your house because it is lovely and frugal. I appreciate seeing a pretty room and knowing it didn't cost you a mint. I was also so encouraged by your cleaning series! Blessings to you Auntie!
Linda says
You're a darling! Thanks for the encouragement. YES we can do it.
Mel says
Very encouraging…I alwaysthink.your home looks lovely and I am always encouraged to hear it is done frugally! Our master bedroom is very much like this…finished attic space, long, low, funky closet space under the eaves.
Kathy says
Ooh, ooh! Auntie Leila, can you teach us how to get used to being thrifty with food? I'm still working on the home making thriftiness (for example, my nesting urge just won out over my patience, and I paid more than I budgeted for something I've been looking for on Craigslist). But food? We have a tough time living poor when it comes to food.
_Leila says
Kathy, please check the sidebar under food! All my best thoughts are there!
Gail Finke says
Beyond that, check savingdinner.com — I subscribed to it for years. For the price of one expensive cookbook, you get weekly recipes that are easy, inexpenisve, and good! It is run by the FlyLady cleaning guru, and the idea is to build a pantry and cook for your family without becoming a gourmet or spending a fortune.
Margo says
I love your home (I too love posts with pictures – on my blog and everyone elses). Thank for your wisdom, for your frankness. I totally agree with you.
Haus Frau says
What an amazing little room. I wish I had one in my house–I could use a quirky room.
Thanks for mentioning the bit about patience and waiting for things to turn up. You're right–they almost always do. 🙂
Ginger says
I agree whole heartedly….i like nothing more than a good deal. I just bought a bike for my son for his birthday, exactly what he wanted, and as I was driviing on my way somewhere. Saved 200 dollars. I calculate all my savings into how many times I can get my house cleaned for the savings. As it turns out, I have yet to spend my own money to get my house cleaned.
Joan says
Leila,
My dear 36 year old daughter, mother of 5, recently passed away. She was the one who introduced me to your blog. She had a tremendous struggle to get by on very little income as her husband with an advanced degree was out of work for 2 years. You were a great inspiration to her and I thank you for that. You are a treasure and a great blessing to all of us.
Joan says
…and my daughter was the champ at living the truth that “all you have is all you need.” And if you don't have it but need it or want it it will show up. You would not believe the number of times that EXACTLY what she needed or wanted would show up in the most unexpected way!
_Leila says
Joan, so sorry for your loss! God bless your family!
Deirdre says
My condolences to you, Joan. We'll pray for your family!
sibyl says
Joan: I am so sorry that your daughter has died so young. My prayers for you today.
Sibyl
Christina says
Oh Leila, this is just the cheerleading I needed today! Thank you, thank you (as always) for knowing how to put things gracefully, so that I can be far more thankful for what I have, and far lesser impatient about what we don't have, or about what is not yet done. Bravo!!
nancy says
Rug looks great…and love the bedroom of thrifty furniture. I also have decorated like this and bought clothes this way for over 30 years. Even when we got to the point we could buy new, I continued to shop this way. The experience is comparable to going on a treasure hunt. It requires creativity and like you stated patience.
I live in a neighborhood where women buy an entire set of living room furniture from Ethan Allen or Ballard Design .And talking about Ballard Design, my adult daughter made a look alike pillow with fabric from JOANNE FABRICS on sale for 5.00 comparable to 55.00 at BD. She has learned to look for inspiration then make it herself. She just made burlap curtains now the rage ( who would have thought?) for pennies comparable top what they sell in design stores…$100.00.
Young women need to know that with creativity and effort, living on one income is very doable and enjoyable.
CC Jen says
Fantastic rug, and a great story as well!
Amelia says
Auntie Leila, this is an unrelated question….but I couldn't figure out where to post. I am from a culture where kids sleep in parents' bed for quite some time. Soon moving to Europe, and baby's dad would like her to sleep separately. Babe's 19 months now. A toddler.. I am still breastfeeding. Is it too early or late to move her out? How do I decide?
_Leila says
Amelia, there's no way I can answer this here, but you know, you have to discuss with your husband and come to an understanding. I'm not sure why moving to Europe changes what you do. It's not like anyone would really know 🙂
The main thing is that everyone is sleeping and everyone is happy. Discuss and understand!
Emma says
hmm..ok….
sibyl says
Yes, staying home to make the home. So many times I forget that it is a privilege; after all, it's just what I do, and it is quite challenging to me most days. I'm not naturally good at decorating, and I'll gladly live with “whatever there is,” but not like it very much because I'm too timid or lazy to figure out what I DO want. My homeschooling suffers from this same problem.
However, this is a good reminder to me that I have a lot more power over circumstances than I think. Going to start praying for and scouting for a LIGHT-COLORED COUCH to offset the dim, dark, heavy look in our tiny living room. I don't care if it ends up looking dirty after two years. At least it wouldn't be dark.
Dawn says
Rich people purchasing nice things so there would be great stuff to thrift and the horror of the well to do thrifting! That made me laugh and echoed my sentiments exactly!!
Maggie says
I love to hear these stories, thank you 🙂
Gail Finke says
I just recently found your blog and here is the first thing I have to contribute: There are lots of ways to be thrifty. Where I live, there are tons of nearby thrift stores, more pricey second-hand stores, and even an antique mall that has a lot of bargains. So if you look, you can find all sorts of things. Of course it's a slow process, but fun. If you don't live in such an area, there are lots of ways to be thrifty. A friend of mine who is now quite wealthy used a sofa for YEARS that she bought a Big Lots, a discount chain, because why get a new one when this one was perfectly fine? Expensive furniture is a great investment if you have the money, and if you really want to keep the things forever. But if not, cheap furniture will do fine for a couple of years. And if you can shop sales and clearance, and accept things with a rip or a ding (that they would get anyway), you can have really comfortable and lovely things. But you have to choose from what's available, which many people don't know how to do. You can't get your hear set on a style. The brass bed here is lovely, but so is a wooden headboard that you paint in a fun way, and if you find one at a garage sale for $5 or $10, take that instead! I have been in ugly, bare homes of wealthy people. Money doesn't buy taste or even (sometimes) comfort. In the end, a wealthy person has the same things a thrifty person does, they just cost more. And if you don't like to decorate, just go for clean and comfortable. You are not less of a person because you have other interests.
wanderingsue says
Oh, you are such a cheering-up thing, my dear! And I'm proud to be able to say, I don't even need cheering up today- things are looking up around here. Love to you and all yours.
Elaine says
A story for you…. I had two boys, then a girl. When my second boy graduated from his cot to share his brother's room I couldn't buy a second duvet cover to match the eldest boy's, so at that time (when we had a bit more disposable cash than we did later on) I bought FOUR new duvet sets so that my boys would have matchy-matchy bedlinen, one on, one in the wash. By the time my little girl needed bedlinen the economics of being a stay at home mummy had hit home, so she inherited Boy No.1's bedlinen – blue gingham, but with hearts on, so not too boyish. Even so, I still had a little nag at the back of my mind that she 'ought' to have something more, well, girly. So, she is now 8, and recently a lovely friend gave us some hand me downs from her daughter, including – you've guessed it – two sets of pink flowery duvet covers. I thought immediately of this blog post and really appreciated that I had never caved in and bought replacements myself!
The really funny thing is though that I put the new covers on my daughter's bed this afternoon and when she came home she was genuinely distraught. “Mummy, why didn't you ask me? Those are too soppy – please can I have my old covers back?”
Sometimes what you have already IS all you need….
Colby says
I couldn't help noticing that comfy looking chair (papasan?) I picked up a similar one from the side of the road sans cushion. Buying a new cushion would cost about $60 (out of the question.) The shape is more kidney bean than circular, and I tried rigging something up, to no avail. My other challenge is an upholstered chair also picked up from the side of the road. It. is. an. eyesore after a few months in our house. It is looking dirty and quite the worse for wear. I saw a pattern for a slipcover in a book, just have to figure out how to get ahold of some fabric (which can in itself be expensive) and fabricate it. Unfortunately I don't have the requisite skills to do these home ec. kind of projects. (Though my grandpa taught himself to sew.) I told my little brother that my grandpa sewed mom a suit, which he misunderstood as “sold' her a suit. On a similar note, I asked my husband if I could commission him to construct me a plate rack like you have in your kitchen. Silly guy: he said I can show him what I have in mind, and then we can negotiate a price!
Jessica says
I love this post and these comments! I have so many thoughts…. I am so blessed to be a full time homemaker. And while we are able to get by fairly “easily” on my husband’s income, we also just go without a lot of things and it doesn’t really bother us. I rarely buy anything new…. our entire basement, including TV and furniture cost us about 50 dollars to furnish. I’m also finding that less is more!! And like others said, if I really want or need something it usually comes if I wait long enough!