Sunday, May 13 is Mother’s Day, and if you’re on a budget, you’re probably looking for a good way give Mom a nice gift without looking cheap. Start at the thrift store; there are often plenty of lightly used treasures there that are ready to wrap and give. The thrift can also offer items that form the foundation of a craft project that repurposes used goods in a glamorous new way. Better still, many of the items sold at your local thrift store come from donations to ClothingDonations.org, so that DIY project will not only provide Mom with a heartfelt appreciation, it will also help fund crucial veterans’ programs throughout the country.
Tag: thrift shops
Thrift Your Way to an Elegant Table
Decorate for an Easter brunch on the cheap by shopping at your local thrift and secondhand stores, many of which are supplied by generous donations to ClothingDonations.org. For inspiration, check out the holiday table Redhead Can Decorate blogger Julie Fiato was able to stage with a few fortunate thrift-store finds such as rose china, champagne flutes and pink plastic eggs. Donation pickups keep thrifts supplied with new items constantly, and when you buy and repurpose lightly used goods, the proceeds help fund veterans’ programs nationwide.
Shop the Thrift for Super Bowl Party Decorations
Dollar and thrift stores can be great sources for Super Bowl party supplies such as felt, pennants, gently used serving dishes and more; you might even find a lightly used NFL jersey at the thrift that was donated to ClothingDonations.org. At the very least, you can pick up paper plates, napkins and plastic flatware in the team colors — red and blue for the New England Patriots and green and black for the Philadephia Eagles — for your guests to use as they gorge themselves on chips, dips, nachos and wings from a thriftily-crafted buffet of favorites.
Organize Your Holiday Gift-Giving
With less than two weeks left until Christmas, many people are starting to feel the stress of the holidays — especially if they still have gifts to buy. It was relatively easy to shop until this point in the season, but the pressure is now on to find, buy, wrap and give those special gifts for everyone on your list.
If you like to shop online (and who doesn’t?), you must allow time for whatever it is to travel from the warehouse to your door in time for you to get it under the tree. This year, Free Shipping Day — the day many retailers offer to ship purchases free of charge with the guarantee they will arrive in time for the holiday — is Friday, Dec. 15. After that date, shoppers will need to pay expedited shipping fees or brave the crowds in stores to get their gifts in time.
The organized giver, however, has a list of people for whom they will be buying. If you make such a list ahead of time and stick to it, says Step-by-Step Declutter, you can avoid overspending and slash the stress of shopping. Use a spreadsheet to track recipients, gift ideas, spending and progress, but don’t feel you have to buy for everyone. Sometimes, a thoughtful card will show you care without adding to the clutter.
Several apps can help you manage your holiday shopping. Santa’s Bag can track your shopping list and spending on the iPhone, while Christmas Gift List can do the same on the Android OS. Stuck for ideas? Invite the giftees on your list — especially the kids — to make their wants known with an Amazon Wish List, which functions like a bridal gift registry for any occasion throughout the year.
If you go shopping during the last two weeks of the season, get creative by going beyond the strip mall. Thrift stores — many supplied by generous donations to ClothingDonations.org — are a great place to find unique, vintage items at low prices. Or you can give a home-cooked meal, baked goods, fruit or flowers instead of something that just adds to the clutter, Cambria Mortgage’s gift guide suggests.
You can share your knack for decluttering and still score a gifting “win” by giving the people on your list an experience instead of a thing, says the Our Streamlined Life blog. Give an Airbnb gift card to inspire adventures for those who like to travel frequently, or sponsor an evening class to encourage someone on your list to build a skill that will last a lifetime.
Some people will want things, of course, and once you buy them, you can keep the household clutter in check by establishing a gift-wrapping station. Better still, keep those rolls of paper, tape and ribbons in a single storage bin that you can pull out and put away quickly for every wrapping session.
An organized gift-giver is a confident, successful and stress-free gift-giver. And who knows? Maybe your penchant for organization will spread, and the gifts you get will be great, too. Happy Holidays!
(Very) Last-Minute Halloween Costume Ideas
It’s Halloween! And a few busy people, their children and diehard procrastinators, still may not have costumes at the ready. If you happen to be among those who have suddenly been spooked into action on the final morning before trick-or-treat time rolls around, don’t despair — there are plenty of creative ideas you can use to save the day.
The first stop, of course, should be your local thrift store. Often supplied by donations to ClothingDonations.org, they offer an unparalleled source of last-minute inspiration at reasonable prices. Need a puffy shirt for that pirate getup? Look no further than the thrift. Or how about some acid-wash jeans for the ultimate ’80s hair-band tribute? You’ll find them here.
The thrift store also has plenty of used sheets that you won’t mind cutting eyeholes in to create the simplest of costumes — the ghost. It may even have accessories such as costume jewelry, hats and wigs that can make or break a last-minute costume. Whatever you find, the money you spend at the thrift will help fund veterans’ programs.
Those pressed for time will appreciate the concepts behind 22 Simple, Last-Minute Halloween Costumes from Real Simple. Easy to craft from basic garments and simple props, “Breadwinner” and “Ceiling Fan” costumes are likely to inspire groans for their offbeat wordplay, but no one will be able to accuse you of coming up short on a costume.
Kids will want to grab all the candy they can tonight, and no self-respecting parent or chaperone can let them go trick-or-treating as-is! If you’re suddenly scrambling to dress up a child, cover them in green balloons to go as a bunch of grapes, Brit + Co. suggests. Wrap them in two-ply to make them into a mummy. Or take them out in pajamas and a robe as your Lil’ Lebowski.
Whatever you can create at the last minute will only lend to the excitement that free candy and/or a costume party can bring. Now, get going on those costumes — and have a happy and safe Halloween!