The Many Uses of a Repurposed Piece of Furniture

I have always been one to try and figure out how to use what I have when a new need arises rather than purchasing something.  I can think of lots of examples but one sticks out in my mind that I thought I would share. Even when something seems on it's last leg (pun intended - you'll see why), it can be repurposed.

When we found out we were expecting twins the shock of needing two of most things was a little overwhelming.  Two car seats, two cribs, two high chairs, twice as many diapers, etc.  One thing that we did not need two of was a dresser and changing table to begin with.  We were gifted my husband's bedroom set from his parents and so decided to use the mirrored dresser to hold abundance of clothes that we were gifted with through 3 baby showers and many, many gifts.

We still needed a changing table and with two babies, wanted to keep things close at hand.  We had an old 6 drawer dresser on legs (much like couch legs), but one of them had broken off.  Other than that minor problem, it was still very functional.  It had a shiny veneer finish so painting it really wasn't an option for our nursery.  Even if it had been an option, I was not going to be painting while pregnant and secondly, I ended up on bedrest by my second trimester.  My husband and mother in law were both working full time and I was working part time.  There really wasn't time to ask them to sand it and paint it for me.  Once the twins arrived, I would be too busy anyway.

So my husband bought wood and enclosed the bottom of the dresser so it wasn't going to wobble (the last thing you need with a squirmy baby).  He also enclosed the top of the dresser with wood about 3-4 inches high.  We purchased a changing cushion to fit on top and then he put a wood divider at the end of the cushion, leaving a smaller section on the right end where we kept diapers, wipes, lotion, baby monitor, etc.  We used cloth diapers except for when we were away from home and for two babies there were quite a few, so those filled 2-3 drawers.  Other drawers contained towels and washcloths, onesies and pajamas.  We used this changing table/dresser combo for several years including adding another baby almost 2 years later.

When it came time to move in a bigger dresser and we no longer had a need for a changing table, we moved this piece into our play area used it for books, toys etc.

When we outgrew that need it moved to our school area, where we used it to house math manipulatives, craft supplies, crayons,  construction paper, etc.    Eventually we put up some hanging cabinets and we transitioned those supplies to that location for storage.

Again, we had a piece of furniture that was still function, while not pretty but hated to just toss it and we knew that no one would buy it.  So this time we moved it into our utility room in the basement.  It tucked nicely under existing open shelving and we were able to finally corral all the tools and household maintenance items that find their way to any house.

To say we have gotten our money's worth out of this piece of furniture would be an understatement.  Too many times in our disposable society, we think nothing of discarding something when it no longer fits our needs.  I, too am guilty of this - particularly with regards to electronics, which have planned obsolescence.  I, for one, am going to try to think of more ways that we can use what we already have.

Thrifty Thursdays - Buying In Bulk

Some of you may use bulk buying to purchase items, some may not. I see several benefits to buying in bulk. I will also discuss some of the drawbacks.

1. Generally there are price discounts (volume discounts) when buying larger quantities of items.
2. You won't be paying for as much individual packaging, as with smaller quantities.
3. You won't run out as often and need to run to the store to purchase more, often at an inconvenient time. I do the bulk of my shopping (what we don't produce ourselves) once a month through our food coop (buying club).
4. Buying in bulk in conjunction with sale pricing, brings down overall cost of the item.
5. It allows you to help out a neighbor, who went to bake and realizes she is out of flour and lives 15 miles from the nearest store, or lives in town, but has an hour to get her baking done before she goes to work and has no time to run to the store.
6. It allows you to practice charity - those canned veggies you bought by the case can be used to dontate to the food drive at your church or school function. Also you have something on hand to whip up goodies for the afternoon bake sale that your little darling forgot to tell you about until this morning's breakfast.
7. Buying in conjunction with others generally allows you to share shipping with others if not purchased directly at the store.

Drawbacks:

1. Buying bulk might require a larger initial outlay of cash than you would otherwise, which may be a strain on your budget.
2. You may not have a lot of storage space available. This may mean a pantry area, extra closet, storage totes or a freezer, depending on the type of item.
3. You may not have proper storage containers to accomodate large quantities, which will need to protected from bug infestations, humidity, etc. in the case of food purchases.
4. Some items may not store well.
5. You may not have a need for large quantities of items (you are single for example).

There are many items that can be purchased in bulk, primarily food products, but also toiletries and other household goods, also school supplies. To be even thriftier when you are stocking up on food and toiletries, try to combine manufacturer's coupons with store coupons or sale prices. If you have the time to watch these things, you can do really well. My friend Laura's blog regularly has stories of the money-saving ventures. She does really well. Unfortunately for me, I tend to not buy the items that usually have coupons for them.

I grew up about 15 miles from the nearest town, so we didn't run to town every day when we needed something. I lived in the city during college and for 3 years afterwards, but again moved to the country when I married, again living 15 miles from the nearest town where I could buy food and other supplies. So for me, buying in bulk is a habit instilled by my mother, who I know still has plenty of food on hand to feed us all when we come home for a visit/holiday (except it is not my parents and us 4 kids - it is now my parents, us 4 kids and our 4 spouses and 8 (soon to be 9) grandkids).

Buying in bulk can be a great strategy to stretch your buying dollars.

Thrifty Thursdays - Reuse

One of the things that I always try to do is to reuse packaging that comes into my home. This can take various forms:

Paper grocery bags

Plastic sacks

cardboard boxes

Bubble Wrap

Packing Peanut

Glass Jars

These are just of the few items that I can think of off the top of my head. I will try to list a few of the ways I reuse these items to give some food for thought. I hope you will add in your comments of ways you reuse these items and others that you reuse.

Paper Grocery Sacks -

• use it to hold recyclable papers, cardboards
• to hold items you are donating to charity
• cut them apart and turn inside out to wrap boxes for mailing
• use them to create a pattern for sewing or other item where you need a pattern for cutting

Plastic Sacks -

• use these for your small garbage can liners (bathroom, bedrooms, etc) - I have never bought garbage bags for these small garbage cans
• use them for additional packaging when mailing books
• use these to fill space in a box when mailing something fragile or that you don't want moving around in a package
• put a wet or soiled diaper in these till you can dispose of it (if you are away from home)
• line mud boots that might have a small crack in them
• use this to transport dirty clothes or muddy shoes or boots
• wet swimwear and towels/coverupss
• sandy blankets, shoes, etc.

Cardboard Boxes -

• use to mail items/particularly books and gifts
• use to sort outgrown children's clothing by size and gender to pass along to others so you know exactly what you have and can pass it on to the person who can use it
• group like items for your own storage (ie. camping dishes, etc)
• holding items you plan to donate to charity (they can be labeled for easy sorting - to various charities or by item) and stacked till you are ready to transport them

Bubble Wrap -

• wrap photo frames when moving
• wrap fragile gifts before shipping
• entertain your kids :)

Packing Peanuts -

• Fill extra space in packages that you are shipping
• Use extra packing peanuts to beef up the stuffing in your bean bags that have gone flat over time
• Use in the same way for the neck pillows that are full of beads

Glass jars -

• Store grease from frying foods to dispose of later
• Store bulk staples - sugar, spices, grains, honey, etc
• Store leftovers - and you won't need tupperware
• Use to store your homemade sauces, marinades
• use for cotton balls or cotton cosmetics pads
• Q-tips
• paint brushes
• pencils/pens
• hardware - screws, nails, etc

I am sure that I will think of tons more things. Please share your uses for these common household items that continually come into our houses, as I am sure we can all learn something from one another. Please add other items that you reuse in your comments as well.