Simple yard sale tips, how to budget for yard sales, and some of my great finds!

Starting in the Spring, Saturdays are my favorite day of the week. 

Sure...my husband is home with us all day.

Sure...there's usually fun stuff going on.

But really, it's my favorite day because of YARD SALES!

I've shared with you the details of how I go yardsaling before, so I thought it was about time to prove my successes! I'll share some of my favorite finds with you throughout the summer in hopes it inspires YOU TOO!

People are usually shocked when they walk through my house and learn that (not actually exaggerating for once in my life) almost every decoration we have in our home is from yard sales.

Here are some of my finds from that last two weeks:

I got this cute night stand for $20 for the baby's room.

 I got these drawers for $2 or $3 each, for our garage which we are currently overhauling (more on that soon!)

I got probably 40 children's books, for $1 TOTAL!

I got this bench for $8. All we had to do was wipe it down with a rag to clean it up (with "help" from the kiddos of course)

And had to put some wood glue on one of the legs that was a bit rickety.

Caught red-handed, Priya!

 My hubby sprayed it white in about 10 minutes,

And Voila!

I got this marble run for $1, my kids LOVE it.

This past Saturday I only had about 40 minutes to go, so I only made 2 stops...but check out what I found!

I got these HUGE trunks, storage for blankets. $5 each.

Literally as tall as my 3 year old! huge!

I got this hutch and mirror for $20 (it opens up and has tons of storage - always a plus), and the window mirror for $3

I got all these boy/baby boy coats for $2 or $3 each, many of them are Gap and Old Navy.

I got this brand new Charlotte Russe coat for me, $2...tags still attached!

Great stuff, eh?

And those are only a FEW of the things I found!

In terms of budgeting for yard sales, it technically should come out of your Other Budget. For us, we choose to give me some extra money each week (OUTSIDE of my typical budget) for yardsaling since my "Other Budget" is so low. 

What we do is keep an envelope of cash on-hand. I simply grab it and go! We randomly put cash in it throughout the year, so that by summer time it's full and I can spread it out to find some great stuff for our house. It might be getting cash-back on a purchase at the store, leftover birthday money, or random cash that my husband seems to accumulate in his wallet somehow. It might only be $5 or $10 here or there, or maybe $50 if we have a great budget week or if I make a little extra money from blogging. We just chip away at it and it adds up pretty well over 12 months.

Giving it a weekly budget would be tough for me. Some days I come home only spending $10, and other days it might be $100 because I found an amazing patio furniture set. So it's helpful for me to have an envelope of cash that has already been set aside, doesn't eat up my budget, and when it's gone, it's gone! Keep a running total on the outside of your envelope and mark off each time you spend money so you know how much is left, much like my weekly budgeting system. So I'm motivated to focus only on stuff we could really use.

You want to make sure to focus on the money on things you really need, so MAKE A PRIORITY LIST! Carry it with you so you don't get side-tracked by stuff that might be an awesome deal, but that you don't need right now. It also keeps you from getting overwhelmed because you have a purpose and goal in your shopping. 

Don't buy it if you can't physically picture a place for it in your house! Pre-measure spaces in your home and take a tape-measure with you so you don't make any mis-purchases. 

Simple tips, but they make all the difference!

Have YOU gone yardsaling lately? 

Post some of your finds! Follow along on instagram by adding the hashtag #funcheaporfree.

Can't wait to see what YOU find!

How to add length to ponytails...WITHOUT extensions.

When I was in high school I was on 3 different cheerleading teams. What did that mean for me?

1) Chronic hoarse voice  

2) Lots...and lots...and lots...of ponytails.

One day I was complaining to myself about my poor, stubby ponytail. I held my hair in two sections and my hair suddenly went nearly halfway down my back! I thought, "man, if only I could get my hair to STAY this way!"

Well guess what?

I did

I figured out a little trick that I used for years...then completely forgot about (because I cut my hair short)...then rediscovered this week!

Time to share the good news, people.

To add length to your ponytail follow these simple steps:

1. Split your hair into two sections. 

You want your top pony section to be where you would normally wear your ponytail. As you can see by the pic, it should contain more hair; about 2/3 of your hair I'd say. You want the bottom ponytail to be hidden; it's simply to add length. You want the top one to be more voluminous - thus, it works MUCH better if you add some wave or curl to your hair before doing this.

Notice how the side hair coming into the top ponytail goes down to my ear; you don't want to see a line across the middle of your head. I also like to pull the hair on the top of my head loose, or even back-comb it a little so the ponytail isn't slicked back tight against my head. It allows more room for error; it's a natural, "slightly messy" look.

Once you get the pony's where you want them, pull the hair so the elastics go tight against your head. 

2. Hide the elastic.

The purpose is to HIDE the bottom pony, so I like to smush and spread my hair around to get it to fall nicely around the bottom pony so it hides it. You could even pin a few strands here and there to strategically hide it (just don't let the pins show). 

Often times I will take one long strand of hair and loosely wrap it around BOTH elastics, then secure it with a bobby pin. It helps hide any black that might show and gives it the illusion that it's one thick pony.

3. Enjoy the before and after!

Voila! 

You've added length and body to your ponytail, without it costing you a dime.

Won't your man be proud?

What tricks do YOU use to give your hair a special touch?
Leave a comment below, I'd love to hear it!


 Pony on!

Killer deals on learning and classroom supplies!!

Seeing as how the school year is ending for most, right now you can get KILLER deals on learning/classroom supplies. I went to Joann Fabrics yesterday and found these goodies:

No, I'm not a teacher. However, at only $1 or even $0.25 a piece, these MASSIVE, oversized tablets and poster boards will come in handy for behavior charts, summer activities, chore charts, and more. 

I am actually doing a video post on this in a few days (with lots of ideas for entertaining your kids during the summer!), but just thought I'd give you the heads-up on the good deals now...before they are all gone!

Talk to you more about this soon!