They are tearing up my street this summer and in the process they temporarily took down a portion of my privacy fence. Ugh. The upside is I have scrounged the street and have found some decent sized rocks that fit in my garden and an awesome metal latter that was buried for years under the street and somehow is bent all out of shape. I lugged this metal piece of art back home and have hauled it around the garden numerous times to find the right spot. It is currently set againt a tree and looks quite cool. I would like to see some vines climbing on it. We shall see.

This weekend I repurposed a old ratty dresser. My husband picked up the dresser at a thrift store a few weeks ago. It was $5. I went over it with a whisk broom and then sanded all the surfaces I wanted to paint. I took off the drawer pulls. I didn't have to to do much reinforcing, a couple of small nails to bind the sides to the bottom shelves and that was about it. I had a bunch of paint around the house so I got creative and mixed a few cans together. I ended up with a cool aqua blue for the background color and a light brown/tan for the drawers. I painted the base first and then did the drawers. It took two coats for the base and three for the drawers. ( I was covering over some sort of black paint, I did not need to prime it.) I went to the the big box hardware store and scored six new drawer pulls for .99 each. It is not the sturdiest dresser but it fits in my bedroom and will be perfect for storing lightweight stuff that overflows from my "main" dresser. Um, I own A LOT of socks and tee shirts for working out.
I'm not factoring in the paint since it was just laying about, I now have a really pretty addition to my bedroom for $11.

Update your decorating for next to nothing

A can of spray paint can really do alot. I have alot of cheap frames that seem to look a littler classier when I paint them a nice glossy black. If the frames match, you can set up a nice decorative niche with various photo's, postcard or wrapping paper as the items framed. Try it!

My favorite "next to free" piece of artwork was a sheet of paper the dollar store used to wrap a plate I bought. It was an abstract of shapes that matched the colors in my bathrooom. I used a wider black frame that I found at a craft store on clearance. I now have a beautiful wall hanging for less than $4.

Keep an eye out for for fabric, paper or cards that would fit in with your house. It is so cool to repurpose frames that just need a spray of paint.

Cofee filters

I love to repurpose. Coffee filters can really be a useful tool around the home.

Use them to cover stuff in your micowave to cut down on spattering.
When making a bag of popcorn at work, use the filters as little serving bowls for your co-workers.
They make great wipes for your face when your have a "shine" you want to get rid of.

Goodwill finds

I'm on vacation this week and today it started to rain. It continued to rain ALL day. I knew I needed to find some decent capri's and tops to update my wardrobe for the summer. I decided to checkout my local Goodwill Store. I really focused on looking for brand names that I have in my closet that work well for me. You can avoid trying stuff on in the store, which is a big plus for me. I love certain brand name tee's and can find used ones that are a fraction of the cost.

I found a pair of capri's and four tops. Of the five items only one top didn't work out but it was no big loss as it was half off the 5.99 price tag. It was more of blouse I would wear to work, so I will either add it to my thrift sale pile or re-donate it.

I also ran across a hardcover book that is a biography of an actor I greatly admire.

The next score was the "high sided" cat litter box that can replace the one I already have when I want to scrub it out and let it dry out in the sun. These can be a little pricey at a regular store. The high sided ones really cut down on cleaning time, not alot of extra cat litter on the floor etc.

The next great find was a permanent coffee filter. We had been using one for quite some time but replaced our coffee maker recently. The filter I found was still in the box and not used. The filter fits fine, and I can use the brown paper filters I had been using for a bunch of stuff around the house. (see next post re: coffee filters). I also found some garden themed artwork with a nice matting that is designed to fit in a 4x6 frame. (see new post on how to update your decorating for nex to nothing.)

Here is the breakdown:

Apparel 21.95
Book .99
artwork 2.47
litter box 2.99
sub total 28.40
with tax my total came to 29.96.

Not too shabby at all.

Gardening

Now is the time to go to church/community thrift sales that mention "plant sale." Today I scored a wide variety of plants and expert advise at my local senior center. I paid less then five bucks and walked out with a tray full of plants. This is a great way to get perennials at a fraction of the cost you would pay at a nursery or big box store. If you have the chance, research what you want, and then go to the sale. If its just a random drop in, like mine was today, keep in mind of what you want to do and check over the labels to make sure you are getting what your garden can work with. Don't be afraid to ask questions. The folks who took the time to pot up their plants for sale are hardcore gardeners in your area who can really give you the feedback you need. I had the best day ever today, part of it was my gardening score :)

Stinky towels

After I expounded on the joys of homemade wrinke release, I remembered another laundry related tidbit. You know how in the summer your towels get a little funky? This happens because I refuse to wash a towel after one use and I hang it on the shower rod to dry. In the summer months it really takes just a day or two to get the dreaded mildew smell that really never comes out. So last summer I went online to see what the cure is. I tried all the helpful tips out there. Ammonia, baking soda etc. Nothing was doing the trick. I have more towels reserved for dog baths than I care to count.

Here's what ya do. Buy white towels. Buy smaller than the body sheet size, as I think size makes a difference when you are air drying them. Wash them with a bit of bleach. I found alot of nice quality towels at Kmart that were clearance priced and they are holding up very well.

This should also work well for all my friends who have teenage kids who just kind of let towels in their bedrooms morph into a pile of mildewy yuck.

White towels people, white towels.... and bleach.

Homemade Wrinkle Release

April 8, 2009

Hi,

I am not big on ironing. I often say I have not ironed since I interviewed for my current job, which was three years ago. Its not entirely true, but very close. So when my bottle of wrinkle release spray was getting low I decided to make my own. I bought a bottle of fabric softener for a dollar at, yep, the dollar store. I mixed 1 cup of water and 1 tsp. of fabric softener and funneled it into my existing bottle. I have been shaking it up before each use and it really is working just as good as the stuff I used to buy. If you are new to using wrinkle release sprays, they work very well on cotton and cotton blends. You spray your garment and kind of tug on it and then hang it back up. It is also working well as a fabric refresher which I am also a big fan of. I have not had any problems with store bought or my homemade wrinkle release products spotting my clothing but use good sense on the fabrics you want to "dewrinkle".

inexpensive foaming hand wash

Hi all,

I was spending crazy amounts of money on fancy soaps in pumps. I decided I liked foaming hand wash the best and came across a way to make it myself without breaking the bank.
Invest in a foaming soap product that you like the appearance of. Once you have used it up you can start making your own. If you like antibacterial soap, buy a bottle of the full strength stuff for refills. I found a good size bottle in dollar aisle at the grocery store. pour some in a empty foaming soap pump and then add some water. Option two is if you like soap that smells good. Buy a fruity smelling bottle of shampoo at the dollar store and do the same thing. Not really sure of the ratio, but you kind of know by trial and error. If its not coming out "foamy" just add more water. I love being frugal.

If you want to know why my blog is titled, Johnny always says... watch the movie Slapshot. Even easier, ask your boyfriend, husband, or random guy type fella at work.

Clean dog and new shoes on the cheap

April 4, 2009. Johnny always says... is my blog that will hopefully inspire you to be creative and frugal.

Hint o' the day.
Use rebate forms. When you get the check put it in your savings account. My best example is to accumulate enough in my rebate savings account to take the dog to the groomer. It's pretty sweet to have a cleaned up pooch done by a professional and I don't have to take it out of the weekly budget. Another goal of mine is to replace my workout shoes on a regular basis. Can be expensive but if you keep an eye on the flyers you can really save some dough. I had saved a $30 gift card from JC Penney from xmas. The flyer this week had the brand I like for workout shoes for $29.99. The flyer also had a 15% coupon. Free shoes, and a better workout because I won't be clomping around in wornout out shoes. You KNOW how awesome it is to have new shoes.