Cut The Crap! Shop at Thrift Stores!

So, in my quest to cut the crap, I’m not sure I’m actually cutting the crap in my house.  I did do something cool recently, though, to keep crap out of the landfill.  I propagated some plants and re-potted them in pots I bought from thrift store.  I also bought some used children’s books and a few home décor items… all from the thrift store.  Not only did I get some great items for a fraction of the cost, but these items are getting a second (or maybe third?) life at my house.  It’s a win win. 

Let me start with my plants.  I have a huge spider plant that I affectionately call Big Mama.  This plant has survived several “murder” attempts, and we’ve given countless of her “babies” to friends and family.  She continues to make babies, though, and I have to do SOMETHING with them. 

I went to Walmart to look at cheap pots.  All of the “cheap” pots  were just that.  Cheap.  The inexpensive ones were plastic or terrible plaster things.  The nicer pots were obviously more pricey.  This was the case everywhere I went: Home Depot, Lowes, Target, etc.  I found a few cute pots, but really didn’t want to spend a lot since I had about 10 (you read that right. 10.) baby plants to transplant.  So I went to my favorite thrift store and found these. 

I repotted them this weekend and so far everything is looking great!  I’ll post more pictures of the happy little plants soon… and THEN I’ll have to go buy some additional pots because Big Mama has even MORE babies coming!  Does anyone want a plant?  Hahaha!

If you’ve read my previous blog posts, you know I love books.  My entire family loves books.  So when I saw these, I jumped at the chance to buy them.  Who can resist when they are less than $2?  My daughter had so much fun picking books that from now on I’m going to bring her with me to the thrift store.  She can pick up as many books as $10 will buy!  Why not?  We should always encourage reading!  AND when we’re done with these gently used books, they’ll go right back to the thrift store so another child can enjoy them. 

That brings me to the home décor… I bought a tray and a jewelry box.  I thought the tray would be perfect for Christmas cookies during holiday get-togethers, AND it only cost $4!  Can’t beat that!  It’s in perfect condition, too. 

Here’s the jewelry box.  It’s beaded and has a small mirror and tray inside.  This, too, was only $4!  It looks great with the colors in my bedroom, and I needed an extra place to stash my growing jewelry collection.  LOVE IT.

I’m sold on the merits of thrift-store shopping.  J  You can find unique items at low prices and keep said items out of the trash heap.  Why buy everything new when you don’t have to? 

And OH How Our Garden Grows!

So, after the success we had last year with our small experimental garden, we are going to plant an even bigger garden this year.  We’ve already started growing our seeds in little pods that sit in our kitchen.  Megan is having great fun checking them every day to see what has sprouted and what is growing larger.  This weekend we put these seedlings in bigger pots to start acclimating them to the great outdoors.  Eventually, we’ll put these plants in the ground when the threat of frost/snow has passed.  Can’t wait for that!

I can’t begin to tell you how much I love eating fresh fruits and veggies.  There really is no substitute.  We hope to harvest and freeze right away to seal in freshness.  In the meantime, though, I’ve found a wonderful site of which I might consider becoming a patron: Door-to-door Organics.  I think this is a wonderful idea!  Why not support our local growers? Of course, part of the year this company procures it’s produce from California growers.  Still, I think this might be something I’d like to explore a little bit more.    

Rain Barrels

So we're hoping to buy some rain barrels with some of our tax return.  I've been pretty excited about the idea of harvesting rainwater to water our garden.  I feel green all over.

But have any of you actually PRICED rain barrels?  They're not cheap.  In fact, I'd venture to say they are pretty darned expensive for the most part.  Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting.  The cheapest I've seen so far is $89 for a 40gal barrel.  That's not too bad, I suppose, but it's ugly.  There are plenty of choices out there, though.  I just have to decide how much money I want to spend. 

Do any of you have any suggestions?