Simplistic Elements

Hey friends! How is everyone? I’m back for another chat. Today I wanted to talk about some ways save money around the house.

I’m going to talk to you about my favorite pickups at the following discounted stores:

1. 99 cent only store
2. Dollar Tree
3. Big Lots
4. Aldis

Then I’m going to touch on some items to re-purpose in your home along with some “house hacks”.

Discount Stores

I am a true believer in shopping at discount stores. I grew up shopping at the 99cent store and dollar tree for certain products. I still to this day and encourage you to do so. Now by no means can you buy everything at these stores but you can buy quite a bit and do some DIY projects.

At the 99 cent only store I always buy my carpet powder and gel air fresheners for hidden corners of my home. Side note for those kitty boxes I do sprinkle some carpet powder in their litter box as I scoop it daily. Keeps the cat closet smelling a little better.

Now I’m nervous about sharing this one out of being judged but I buy salad mix and fresh veggies too on occasion. Before you say anything, these are the same bags that go to your grocer, contain expiration dates and I know my 99 cent stores delivery date for groceries. Find out your local stores delivery date and you will really be impressed. I buy their cucumbers, broccoli, strawberries, and onions. Now if its towards the end of the week they be out of the bags or the produce may look horrible so then of course I just don’t buy it. But I luck up most of the time. However, “to each its own” as my mom would say. I also buy boxed pasta salad and jazz it up lots of vegetables. My favorite being the Italian pasta salad but I enjoy adding cucumbers, tomatoes, black olives, onions, bell pepper and feta.

Of course like many of you I do browse the decor aisle and am able to sometimes find some cut “nick nacks” that just add to my space. The fun aisle in the 99 cent store is the holiday theme aisle and its already fully stocked for Fall and Halloween! They have some good supplies for parties as well.

At the Dollar Tree they I tend to buy more stationary items. They also have a very large selection of dishware. I think there dishware is perfect when embellishing a dining table and you need more layers. There’s tons of nice drinking glasses too.

Also a large selection of flowers, vases and stones. Seriously get enough of them and you can make some awesome arrangements. Check out my friend Stephanie’s Dollar Tree arrangement below.

Another awesome easy cheap DIY is below from one of my favorite Youtubers Lone Fox.

If you enjoy crafts and DIYs I can’t encourage you enough to stop at the 99 cent store and dollar tree before you make your way to Michael’s and Hobby Lobby.

Now another discount store that many forget about is Big Lots. I really can’t say enough good things about the store and spot light it a lot on my Instagram. It’s probably one of my favorite stores quite honestly.

I will say most of their home decor product is in the traditional atheistic and some rustic elements quite frequently. Below are some of favorite items that you can find in your local Big Lots. You can also browse their website. They have some great Fall stuff that is new in stock and all their summer and outdoor patio is half off too!

Big Lots is thee place for storage supplies. They have a good selection of bins, baskets and other materials in which you can organize your home.

Also Big Lots has some pretty darn good snacks!! Below are few of my common store pick ups.

My last discount store that I do visit is Aldi’s. Now if you aren’t lucky enough to have one near you I’m sorry. My favorite thing about this store has to be the middle aisle. Some great items you may find are backyard home essentials, kitchen dishware of good quality, small kitchen appliances, furniture, bedding, baby and toddler toys and so much more. So if you have one in your city just take a walk in and peek around.

Reuse & Re-purpose

Now lets talk about ways I find to reuse and re-purpose items in my home. One thing I typically almost always reuse are candle jars. Especially the pretty ones. Clean the way out of yours, for they make great vases, pencil/utensil holders around the home in the office. As most people I also use my old clothes and towels for some deep cleaning and then just toss them.

I find the way that I reuse most in my home is by moving home decor pieces to different spaces. It cuts back on my desire to go out and spend and mixing up pieces and their function in my home has been great. I may move plants, pictures, wall hangings, pillows and other small things around my home.

I have made some DIY art with old canvas paintings I have fallen out of love with, so think twice before you toss or donate that painting. See that piece below…its new and improved and just love it. Goes perfectly with my decor as I have gravitated away from the London Ferris wheel.

A great blog I found on re-purposing some items around your home is by One Good thing by Jillee. Below are 2 of my favorite reused products: egg cartons and toilet tissue rolls. I mean the egg carton is pretty genius for accessories and then to place it simply in drawer. The wire holders are beyond convenient as we all have that junk drawer or box in the house with tangled wires. But she has so many more so click here to be directed to her full article.

A few other home hacks I wanted to share as well. So how many of you have left over paint? I have several cans that take up too much room and aren’t as sealed as I would like. A great idea is to pour the left overs in a old jar! I love repainting things, its another way I re-purpose in the house so needless to say I benefit from this hack! Paint and spray paint are your best friends, however remember not everything needs to be repainted some things can benefit from a little accessorizing.

Below are 3 hacks. One being fresh Eucalyptus in your shower for aromatherapy. Use a command trip on the back of some PVC pieces to your bathroom vanity cabinet and keep your curling and flat irons. Another trick is in the kitchen to put a rubber bank around your wood cutting board so it won’t move.

Those are ways I save some coins in my favorite discount stores, but also want to remind you check clearance sections in your favorite stores, check your local thrift stores and Goodwills for finds. I have also found some good things on OfferUp. Ikea can also be your friend on small items too, but its only worth it, if you have one local.

That’s all I have today but I hope you learned a few new tricks or sparked your interest in some of the discount stores listed. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section!!