Budgeting and financing tip #2 - upcycle/repurpose
I find that we live in such a consumer throw away society. Remember going to your grandparent's house and they had the yellow or green appliances that they have had for the past 30 years and they are still going strong? They weren't constantly trying to change things to match the latest Pinterest craze. Also, the house may have been dated, but they were solid! My house is 6 years old and I have already replaced our hot water heater, dishwasher, toilet flushers (they broke) and I am pretty sure that the stove and fridge will be the next to go. It blows my mind!
I get wanting to spruce up your space - I am a big fan of it. We change and our tastes change. This year, we had our couch and ottoman painted white from black and our bar stools recovered. I wanted to brighten things up but I also thought that we had some more life in our furniture, they just needed a little love. I also am not in the position to make big purchases right now, so I worked with what I had to breathe new life into my old stuff (the couch is 15 years old). I was so happy with how it turned out.
So, this month, if you are cleaning out and organizing, take a look at what you have and see what you can re-use or re-purpose. You can also check out local buy and sell groups and see if there are trades or some cool finds that you can put your personal touch on. Before you throw something out, see if there is a way that you can give it new life and save yourself some cash. Do you have a cool item that you have re-purposed? Share a picture in the comments. I would love to see your ideas.