"I hold on to You for dear life, and you hold me steady as a post..." Psalm 63

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

I wonder if you know...

how very frugal I am?  I'm not sure I've ever admitted it here.  It seems very obvious to me, but I realize that I've never actually fessed up and announced it.  So, here it goes:

Hi, my name is Terri and I am a bargain-lover. 
I lurk around places with names like "Goodwill", "Salvation Army", "Garage Sale", and "Flea Market".  I also stalk the SALE aisles at Target (sometimes several times a week) waiting for something to be marked down.  But, my most favorite things are from that side of the road Wonderland marked "FREE". 

You don't have to have two pennies to rub together when you open the back hatch for one of these....

Yes, the bed in my daughter's room was F-R-E-E. 
I found it alongside the road where it was waiting for me
This chair in my room...also F-R-E-E.  Still in need of an Extreme Makeover, but free is not always perfect.

{My favorite F-R-E-E-bie}
I had to do a little begging to keep her.  She lived (and aged) through Hurricane Katrina and begged me to take her to a good home when I discovered her knee-deep in a moldy Dr.'s office.  The rest of my clean-up team insisted she be laid to rest at the garbage pile with the rest of her friends, but a little begging and pleading won her a spot in the back of our bus.  (Wrapped tightly in a garbage bag and duct taped shut)  They wouldn't even consider rescuing the matching desk. 
I couldn't save 'em all.  But I did save her.  Beside her is a mirror salvaged from my grandmother.

Which leads me to my next best type of bargain. 
The kind that is free to you because someone you know has no use for it and you happen to be at the right place at the right time.  Like my grandmother's mirror.

And like my grandmother's other mirror. 
As well as the suitcases that belonged to an old friend of a friend.
And the rusty "gate" that I snagged from my mom's yard sale before the customers came.

I guess gifts would fit in this category, too.

Like the bed my mom bought me at an auction. 
(Does it matter that the pieces did not go together?  No, it does not.  You improvise and lean it against the wall, and no one would ever know - unless you tell them)
Or the table my son made me in shop class. 
(Actually, I guess I technically paid for this, since my taxes paid for the wood and materials,
but you get the idea)
I'll save some of my other THRIFT-y bargains for another day.  But since we're in my room, I'd like to introduce you to a pair of fraternal twins that made their way here all the way from the Goodwill showroom.  One lights up next to my bed...

...while her sister lights up a corner of the livingroom. 
The pair set me back a hefty $10.00. 
 
I can't help it, I just LOVE to get a great deal. 
I don't think you have to sacrifce having a nice home just because you're on a budget.  With a little creativity, a little search and rescue, and a little appreciation of things of yesteryear I think we can live on a tight budget and enjoy it, too!

7 comments:

Amber Jacoby said...

Terri...I think it's safe for me to say...though maybe in a hush, hush tone...but it needs to be brought into the open and out from amongst the cob webs under the bed...

....terri my friend...you're addicted to blogging...there whew it was said!

haha jk..but very possible..and I MUST say i'm so thankful...because I love, love reading into your thought on here! :)

Jeane` said...

OH the TOUR of your HOME was better than peering at the Star Tracks section of a new People Magazine (I'm almost certain you are not as shallow and worldy as I to know what I meant there). It was as lovely, feminine, PINK, inviting, warm and wonderful as I thought it would be. Thank you for the peek inside!!!!
(and i hope i pick your name.) :)

Fan said...

Hi! I am Janelle Stoltzfus' sister and I found you through your comment on her blog. I like the way you think! And I enjoyed browsing your blog tonight.

Just a little something from Judy said...

I am so excited about this post! I just knew this was how you thought and with your huge dose of creativity that our Heavenly Father blessed you with, I knew you would create beauty out of nothing. Your home is beautiful! Really, I like your vintage style which is why I would find great joy in visiting your gift shop. You need to share your creativity with everyone is blogland. So many wonder how to decorate on a shoe string budget. I hear that desire expressed so often with my girls and their friends. This was so interesting.

I just heard this weekend that there is a new huge Goodwill store in the banquet rooms of Doneckers and that it is so nicely done. FYI

amy said...

Yes Terri!

I think you should share a little more of your creativity here. You are so talented! The way you put things together and make them beautiful-a gift!

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

Terri!

Your home is fantastic! I love a bargain myself - fellow Goodwill shopper! We have a chair or two from the side of the road, we will take cast offs...etc...

I love your style, too!

The lady of the house... said...

spring=people cleaning their homes=stuff out along the side of the road=happy strasburg dwellers!
LOVED this post.
more of your "scrummy" home please!

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