Repurposing and Refreshing

Sometimes I have to use a little ingenuity around the house when I want to spruce things up but don't want to spend much money, like when I took a pink flat sheet we had in storage (I don't use flat sheets for the kids!) and cut it up and sewed it into Barbara's window treatments. Or like what I did to our loveseat, today! That thing was handed on to us from my neighbor friend down the block, and it was stained when we got it from her. Then put it through the crazy wild usage my kids have put it through, and, well the results were not pretty!!

Today I had Robbie pick up a brand new cream with khacki slipcover for $15 from some one on craigslist that lived right by his office. The original huge pillows had zip-off covers, which I previously hadn't taken off to wash because inside there are not actual pillow forms, but globs of foamy stuff molded into a pillowish shape. But I couldn't put filthy yucky covers on and have the loveseat look nice, so I carefully took out the insides, washed those suckers on super stain cycle and voila! I doubted that they could come clan, as bad as they were, but they came SO clean that they actually now perfectly match the cream slipcover! Yay!! I was ready to toss that loveseat out in the alley and just do without it for a while, but now it looks nice and clean and freshened up.

Also, I borrowed my friend's carpet cleaner and HOLY COW. I did just one quadrant of our living room throw rug to show Robbie the difference. He was amazed how grey it had gotten without noticing and how nice it looked after! I'm going to clean the rest of the basement carpet as well, now that Leo is rolling across the room and doesn't just stay on a blanket! I always want the floors to be so clean for my new crawlers, then somehow I slowly slip back into nonchalance as they get older and more durable and I don't worry about them being on filthy floors as much anymore!

I love making things look nicer in my home without spending much money (or any!) It's such fun!