Bargain finds for our new home

We are in Ohio! We are loving our rental home. It's not the dream home, and there are some annoying quirks, but overall a huge improvement from our previous place.

Biggest thing we appreciate -- more space! More space for storage and more space to live. This has allowed our home to be less cluttered than before. It also helps that I've been working on minimalism to an extent. We got rid of lots of things before and after moving.

Other good things - more natural light. A nicer kitchen. A little fenced yard. Green trees. :)

Another day when everything is ready I will do a post of the whole place. But today I wanted to share the great finds we've had!

Though Jeff graduated, we still haven't "arrived," plus he actually hasn't started working at OSU yet, so saving money is really important right now! Also, I don't think my income will ever outgrow the thrifty Mary Jane Wright side of me.

Here is what I did. I made a (long) list of all the things I wanted for our home. I prayed that we would be able to find good deals (an important step). And then I kept my eyes open. I went to thrift stores, I went to discount furniture stores. We went garage sale-ing (is that a word?) and I scrolled through craigslist and facebook marketplace (the latter is much more user-friendly) many times. And over the next two weeks we scored!

First score: this cute blue couch. It was at a garage sale for $75. Wohoo! It even has a pull-out bed. (no guarantee on how comfy it is, but you are all officially welcome to come stay with us when you visit Kirtland! :D) On that garage sale trip we also got really great toys for the girls, for next to nothing. Grandma Jane was proud of me that day!

Next, after scrolling through old, brown and black TV stands, I found this beauty on craigslist. It is brand new -- it was still in the box. The owner had bought three and was only using two. $100! Very happy with it.

The most recent find was this rug! I had been looking around and had even contacted a few people on facebook marketplace that didn't work out, but this one is new as well.  Bought it this morning for only $75!

The clock was like $12 at walmart. I need to teach Elena how to tell time, plus it's always nice having a clock on the wall. The canvas art on the side is from Lowes. It was $29.99. I saw it one day and took a picture and couldn't stop thinking about it. So I thought it was worth buying to tie our room together. I love it!

The other thing was this little shelf I wanted for our bedroom to keep all our journals and things. This was on facebook marketplace for $5. This is literally the exact shelf I was thinking of buying at walmart. And the guy delivered it! What a find!

So, there you have it, if you wait long enough, you can find what you're looking for, sometimes even new, for a super awesome price. I am quite pleased.

As Elena said, "it looks like a home!"

A Little Bargain Shopping

Well ever since I was in college for some reason I've had my make-up in a make-up bag. Maybe it's because during those years I was either traveling or moving every four months. This is bag is pink and cute and all, but I recently decided I was sick of digging through to find my tweezers etc. So I thought I should set up some compartments in my drawer. I thought of a shoe box lid. Growing up we had that and some tubber ware for our hair bands and barrettes (I had to look up how to spell that...). But then I thought I could probably find something nice at a dollar store or thrift store. I went to Goodwill, and nothing was snapping my sox. But then I stopped by the 99 cent store and found these!

Aren'ts they cute? I was so happy I found these. 

Ta-da! Much better. (You can tell I'm cheap with make-up too...that's just how I do)

I just share this to show what great things you can find at thrift stores and dollar stores! Almost anything you can think of that you would like but don't need, that may ordinarily be expensive, you can find for a great deal! Baskets, for example. Baskets for organizing/decorating. Those can be pricey! But at D.I. you can get one for two dollars or less sometimes! Also, I'm a huge advocate of buying baby clothes at thrift stores - they're normally so expensive, and they grow out of them so fast and spit up and poop on them anyway! And you get nice ones from your shower, your mom and mother-in-law. : ) 

Here are some other goodwill successes I've had recently.

This cute crib bumper for $5

Four of these wonderful place-mats for $0.99 each

Happy thrifting!