Redecorating on the Cheap: Printables

Yesterday I posted about how I spruced up my apartment for free. Today and tomorrow I'd like to post about how I added some pizzazz to my place by spending very little money. I was able to use some things I had around my house to keep it low-cost, but you may need to purchase some of these items to make it happen.

I have five 5x7 frames in my dining room from Ikea. They have floral prints (also from Ikea), and they've never really been my favorite. I just put them up because I already had them and didn't want to spend more money at the time. I went on Pinterest and searched for "free kitchen printables." I chose these ones, from Questionable Domestique.  They are legit, and not stolen! Holla! They are also super fun. I like that they're neutral, so they'd work in almost any kitchen/dining area (mine are connected, so the kitchen theme works in the dining room).

The prints are available in both 4x6 and 5x7. If you have a better printer than I do, you could print these at home and keep it even cheaper. I chose to upload them to the Biola print shop (where I did my wedding invites) to have them printed and cut.

Inspired by how great I think these will look, I started looking for seasonal printables as well. I already had an 8x10 black frame, so I searched for prints in that size. I collected ten different prints that I liked, and again had them printed at Biola. I put all ten in the frame so that I don't have to go searching for them when the time comes; I can just take the back off and rotate the correct one to the front. I found most of them on a site called Over the Big Moon in the printables section. I also searched her blog for various holidays. I searched Pinterest for the holidays I didn't see on this blog. Here are a few of my favorites:

I liked this for January because all the other one's talked about snow...doesn't really work for Southern California.

I used a 40% coupon from Michael's to get a picture frame stand for under $5. I set up my frame on the corner of my dining room table, and I think it will be really fun to have a rotation of prints all throughout the year.

These two changes really added a lot to my dining area. I find that buying wall art or decorations can be SO expensive, but with these blogs giving away prints, it really keeps things affordable. If you don't have a printer, you could also upload the jpg files to your local drugstore photo department, which would keep the cost low as well.

Have you used free printables before? There were also a lot of fun ones that could be used for party favors and decorations, so I will probably use them again in the future. Hurray for creative bloggers who are kind enough to give things away, right?

I am going to attempt a craft this weekend as part of my cheap decorating scheme. If it comes out, I will take pics and post about it. Wish me luck!

Redecorating for Free

So after my shower on Sunday (which was great! People were so generous, including my aunt who gave us the money for our table, chair, and linen rentals as a gift!) I suddenly became very dissatisfied with the decor in our apartment. Something about having some nice, new things made me annoyed with all of my old decor.

When we moved in, I did decorate. However, most of my stuff was just what I had from my old apartment. I was feeling very blah about it, so I decided to do some redecorating. BUT, obviously I didn't want to spend much since we are paying for the wedding.

So, here are my ideas for how to spruce up your home FOR FREE. Holla! I'll do another post on some of the cheap upgrades I did (spending very little), but let's start with the things you can do today to make your place look better without spending a dime!

(Of course, it would have been awesome if I took before and after pictures...I didn't. Boooo.)

1. Organize your books by color. A friend of mine did this, and even though I thought it looked great, my Type A personality just couldn't handle it. I had all my books organized by genre, alphabetically by author. (I know, I know.) But aesthetics finally overtook my need for library-like order and I did it. I did a blue shelf, a red shelf, and half green, half yellow shelf, and a black shelf. My other bookshelf in the spare room contains all my other books. It does NOT look pretty. But this one, in the living room looks great! I also have a million frames, so I put the ones that are these colors on the shelves. I took the random collection of candles off of the top of the bookshelf so that it would have a more clean look. Finally, I printed a 4x6 photo of a quote from Dr. Seuss (from "Oh, the Places You'll Go"). I searched for "free Dr. Seuss prints" and found one that's super cute. If you have a photo printer, this would be free. I paid 21 cents at Walgreens for the print. This looks SO MUCH BETTER than it did before.

2. Declutter the bathroom. I used to have a bin with all sorts of bathroom products on top of the toilet tank in my bathroom. But, after I put out my new bath and hand towels I got at the shower, I thought the bathroom could use some sprucing up too. So, I reorganized under the sink and made room to keep that bin out of sight. Then, I grabbed two blue candles that I had laying around (anyone else have a candle surplus??) and put them on the back of the toilet. I kept a couple of rolls of TP there ('cause let's keep it real), but even that tiny change made it look better in there.

3. Vacuum the couch! Freddie cleaned out the vacuum hose that had lost its suck (and no wonder! So gross how much dirt was trapped in there!), so I used the opportunity to put on the brush attachment and clean the couch. It made a surprising difference in how it looked. I also flipped all the cushions, which made it look much fluffier and inviting. So, if you are the type who keeps up with this, than this tip doesn't apply to you. And maybe you all do. But if you're like me and let things slide sometime, this is a chore that's worth doing.

Tune in tomorrow to get my tips for low-cost decorating tips!

Wedding Plans: Saving Money on Invitations

We've done lots and lots of wedding planning lately! Our biggest update is that our wedding invites have been sent! Here's how we did invites on the cheap!

First, we went to Etsy and perused their invitations. We found some really cute ones with a flag banner and little birds on them that we liked. They are very simple, but cute. The cost to personalize them and have the file emailed to us as a pdf was $12. I went ahead and added on the thank you notes and programs as well, which were $5 and $10 respectively. So, we spent $27 on that part.

Then, I went to the print center at Biola, the college I went to. They worked with us to print our invites and thank you notes, which included the cutting and folding as well. Including tax, I paid $45 to have them printed. I haven't had the programs printed yet because I haven't figured out what I want on them. That's my project for this month!

I ordered envelopes for both the invites and thank you notes on Amazon for about $15. So, we've spent a total of about $90 so far, BUT that includes our thank you notes and the program design. I'm guessing our programs will cost another $20 or so to print.

I addressed the envelopes myself and didn't do the double envelope thing. Honestly, people are just going to throw them away and my writing is semi-decent, so I was fine with that. Invites just aren't something I care too much about, and the envelopes are definitely at the bottom of my list of concerns.

We also saved by making our RSVP online, rather than printing another card, buying envelopes and putting stamps on them. I used weebly.com to make a website that includes a map of our location, our registry info, and an RSVP form. All of the RSVP's go straight to my email. We figured only our grandmas might have trouble with the online RSVP, but we know they're coming, so it should be fine. :)

We could have kept it super cheap if we ONLY did invites, but I figured since we'll need thank you notes and programs anyway, it made sense to go ahead and get it all at once, so that they will all coordinate. I'm happy as well, because I think we will spend the same amount on all three things that many people just spend on invites.

I think the fiance spent about $20 on stamps as well. But, there were a few extra that a stole to send out thank you notes for my shower.

How much did you spend on wedding invitations? Are you traditional-wanting the double envelopes, calligraphy, etc.? Or are you more like me?

Wedding Update

Here are some of our most recent wedding plans/purchases:

1. I reserved our tables, chairs, and linens for the big day. I called a few places, and went with the one that had what we wanted. They'll charge my credit card after they are delivered, so that's not something I have to pay right now. The total for the rentals is $350.

2. We ordered a pdf of our invitation on Etsy for $12. I'll have them printed at the Biola Duplicating Center, which is usually very reasonable. The same seller also does matching thank-you's for $5 and programs for $10. So, I'll spend $27 on all of the designs and then have them printed.

3. I ordered 12 white cloth napkins on Ebay for $12. I'm going to put these down on each table, with a vase of flowers on top for centerpieces (my tablecloths are royal blue). After the wedding I'll be able to use the napkins again, and the cost was close to the same to rent them for the day.

4. I also ordered 100 glow-sticks for the reception. We did this at a friend's reception: during the height of the dancing, we passed out glow-sticks to everyone on the dance floor. It was super fun, and made for some great pictures. I ordered them on Ebay for $15!

5. My last Ebay purchase for the day was a bra/corset from David's Bridal. The original price is $70, and I got mine for $26 with shipping. Yesssss.

Oh, and we're doing cake tasting on Thursday! FREE CAKE!

Do you Fitbit??

I spent $60 on a pedometer a few months ago. It's called a Fitbit Zip, and I think it might be serious. Yes, it might be love.

The Fitbit is a high-tech pedometer that tracks your steps, mileage, and calories burned. The super part is that it syncs to your computer, so you get to see charts and graphs of how many steps you took each day, week, month, etc. You can also break down the day into five minute increments to see when you were the most active. You earn badges on the site for steps in a day and total distance. All of this is compelling, making it much more fun than a regular pedometer. Because I am a giant nerd.

BUT, I haven't even gotten to the super-awesome part yet. The super-awesome part is that you can compete against other friends who are on Fitbit. The leader board is based on a seven day running total, and it updates anytime someone syncs up their info. I have been pretty constantly logged in since I've gotten it. Because, for those of you who don't know me in real life, I am uber-crazy competitive. It can be a curse, but in this instance, it's a blessing. My competitive drive has made me work to get in way more steps than I normally would, simply because I am competing against my fiance and several other friends and relatives.

The competitive-factor has actually added many other benefits to my life. So, without further ado, here are the ways wearing a Fitbit has improved my quality of life:

1. Obviously, walking more is healthy. I am moving more, which research shows is important not just in working out, but in spending less time sitting down. So, this is the most important and most obvious benefit.
2. My house is cleaner, because when I want to get more steps in at the end of the night I go from room to room tidying up. I can get in a couple of hundred steps just by taking things from room to room to put them away.
3. I take out the trash a lot more. That's around 100 steps by itself. I used to avoid taking out the trash like the plague, but now I see it as an opportunity to squeeze in a few more steps.
4. I walk around my classroom more. This makes me a better teacher, since I am more aware of what all the students are doing and I am able to stop and help them when needed.
5. I watch less TV because I want to get steps in. Last week I went on several short walks and even went on a hike after work, simply because I like to win.
6. I have been walking on more of my errands (grocery store, post office, library, etc.) This is also a benefit for my wallet, since I save on gas.

Anyone else have a Fitbit? If so, let's be friends! I can't wait to beat you compete with you!

Re-embracing Frugality

Over the last nine months or so (since I've been debt-free) I've definitely relaxed in the area of frugality. I'm sure I'm still more careful with money than many people out there, but I let loose in a lot of areas. I buy myself clothes, joined boot camp, went to some concerts, and just generally relaxed about money. I don't stick with a budget anymore, though I do keep an eye on my accounts. I am still contributing to my Roth IRA, my house down-payment fund, and saving an additional couple hundred dollars a month to my emergency fund.

Sounds pretty good, right? Enjoying the fruits of my labor, but still making some good choices.

But lately I've realized a few things that have made me realize it's time to get back to some of my more frugal ways.

Realization Number One: Even a budget wedding is still going to cost me quite a bit of money.
In order to pay deposits, pay for our honeymoon, buy my dress, etc. I've used all of the extra money I've stocked away in my e-fund each month, as well as my tax return and a financial gift from my grandma. I still have the same amount I started with when I got engaged, but I haven't been able to save any extra. This would be fine, except that the day of the wedding we are going to owe quite a bit of money to different vendors. As in, I need to have a couple of grand ready to spend on the big day. If I don't start aggressively saving each month, I'm going to have to tap into my savings (e-fund) in order to pay for it. No, it wouldn't drain it completely, but my goal is to keep three months of expenses in there.

Realization Number Two: I really, really want to buy a house.
For a while, I was content to take my time in saving for a house and just see what happens. But, prices are starting to creep up again, and I don't want to get boxed out of the market. I also would like a bigger place for entertaining/having family over for holidays. We're also talking about starting a family, and it would be great to get into a house before we have a kid. So, I definitely don't want to stop contributing to my house down-payment fund, or my Roth IRA (which could also be used to supplement a down payment).

Soooo...back to frugality. Here are a list of things I am going to go back to in order to save more money each month:
1. Make an effort to have ten "no-spend" days per month. This stops me from the little purchases that add up throughout the month.
2. No buying clothes (exceptions include wedding-related events like showers and bachelorette party, but I am going to try to borrow clothes for those). I legitimately need some new clothes since I've lost weight, but I am going to try to hold off on that until after the wedding.
3. No stopping for coffee on the way to work. I want to work on making coffee at home, or--even better--just not drinking it.
4. Rather than buying new shoes for the wedding, I am going to try to get my white wedges repaired and use those. They are super comfy, and just need new insoles.
5. Cook from the pantry...I have a lot of stuff in there, and this would cut down on my grocery bill.

I also called T-Mobile and got my bill lowered, and I am working on being more diligent about my electricity use (though this has never been a huge expense for us).

What other frugal things am I forgetting? It's been a while!

Saving Money for an Out-of-Town Wedding

So, besides planning my own wedding this July, I am also a bridesmaid in my dear friend Shelley's wedding at the end of July (just three weeks after mine). Her wedding is in Oregon, so my fiance (who will be my husband by then!!) and I will be traveling to the wedding shortly after our honeymoon.

I'm thrilled to be a part of Shelley's day, and also thrilled that I have found some ways to save money as a bridesmaid/guest at her wedding. I thought I'd share a few tips for those of you with out-of-town weddings to attend this summer.

First, I bought my bridesmaid dress used from www.bridesmaidtrade.com. I'm not getting any kickback from them for posting this, but I wanted to share this resource. My dress is from David's Bridal, where it would have cost $99+tax. I scored this one for $65 flat. I tried it on in the store so I know my size, and this one was worn once, no alterations made. Seems pretty cool (I'll confirm that when my dress arrives in the next week or so). If the dress does not come as described, you have 48 hours to mail it back for a full-refund.
Savings: $35

Next, Freddie came up with an idea to save us more money. I will fly up on Thursday morning to help and hang out with Shelley. I bought a one-way ticket. Freddie is going to drive his car up to Oregon (a 15 hour drive, yikes) that same day. He'll be there for the weekend, and then we'll drive home together Sunday. We may stay at a cheap hotel on the way home, just to break up the driving. This saves on his plane ticket, my ticket home, and we won't need a rental car. Even after gas, we'll definitely come out ahead on this deal.
Savings: $200-$250

Finally, I started researching places to stay. At first I looked at hotels, but then the bride suggested I look at cottages for rent. The wedding is in wine country, so there are lots of cute places available. I found a two-bedroom, one bath cottage that sleeps four for $135/night. I found two friends that can share it with us, so it ends up being an amazing deal! It also has a kitchen, so we can save money by cooking breakfasts and lunches at the cottage rather than eating out. Score!
Savings: $100 (plus whatever we will save on food...that is a looser number, but definitely cheaper than eating out every meal).

So, we are saving between $335-$385 so far! I'm definitely happy about this, especially since we will just be coming back from our honeymoon and money will be tight. Plus, I think the cottage will be a great place to stay!

How do you save money on out-of-town events? Any other ideas for me?