Organizing on a Wee Budget

Use The Space You Have

At what point in our lives did we grow up and stop having fun? When did we change?

When my daughter was handed her seventh-grade locker combination, the first thing she asked was, "When can I decorate the door?"

I was taken back to those mornings at Glenlawn Collegiate when I'd tape up the last of my posters before the first bell rang. My locker was small, but it was my own corner of the world where I was free to decorate as I pleased. I'd often clip photos from teen magazines, or jot down Bible verses on pretty stationery, so I'd have something new to look at each week.

After coming across this photo by Country Living, I realized that I have similar decorating space in my kitchen that's waiting to be creatively used--interior cabinet doors.

What a great place it would be to hang a small calender, or a photo of my latest heart throb, Michael (*wink*). It would also be a fun place to tape artwork that that kids give me or pretty Bible verses that I want to remember. The insides of our cupboard doors give us extended wall space, where we can get creative and make our mark on the world without breaking the budget.

"Guess what, kids? Mom has a locker too!"

Image source: White hutch: CountryLiving.com

Look For An Alternative Use

Look what putting up a simple magazine rack on the wall can do to clear up space in your entrance. This photo from Desire to Inspire, shows us that it doesn't have to cost all that much to add storage space, as long as we're willing to use our imagination.

When I'm shopping at the thrift stores, I'm always looking at items wondering what alternative use they might have. For some reason shoe storage has been a big one for me this year!

Take a look further down the checkerboard hallway, and you'll see that the decorator has put hooks on the wall to hang purses. What does that cost? Maybe $3.00 each?

Image source: Checkered Hallway: Minor Details



Group "Like" Objects Together

And finally, this is a cute idea  (below) that I found through Better Homes and Gardens.

This look can easily be achieved by picking up a group of small baskets from Walmart or the dollar store and adding a printed label to each one. Of course the painted cupboard undeniably adds to the charm. But lining up baskets like these would give any shelf an instant face-lift, don't you agree?

You'll also notice that they have used a group of three planters on the top shelf. I'm guessing that these would be inexpensive, and placing one alone on the shelf wouldn't give us nearly the same affect that grouping a few together does.

See the stacked suitcases below? I love them! And I'm starting to see them everywhere I look. I only wish that I had a bunch of them to decorate with. Here's the thing... if you placed one suitcase here and one suitcase there, you wouldn't get quite the impact you do when you stack them together, would you? Not a chance!

Image sources:

Blue Hutch: The Decor Scene
Stacked suitcases: Where My Heart Resides


A tight budget is often a blessing in disguise, ladies! It moves us to be creative with the resources we have, and in doing so we can come up with some creative ideas!


You are loved by an almighty God,


Darlene

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