Thinking inside the box

Ok, ok, I guess I'll give the pumpkin obsession a break, at least for a day. But, if you want to snatch up some great deals before they're gone, head to Marshalls or Home Goods where they have pumpkins and goodies of all shapes and sizes that won't burst your budget. Even if you're a witch, you'll love saving a few dimes on these fun holiday finds! Speaking of managing your moolah, I use this time of year to do my quarterly clean-out of junk. You read correctly. Not only do I spring clean, I summer, fall and winter clean, because I tend to collect fabric samples, paint samples, design magazines, etc. throughout the year that if not managed, would make my place look like the set of Hoarders, so as I bring out the holiday goodies I always look at what is hiding behind them, decide if I can use, sell or give them away. I've mentioned this every year and this one is no different. I just opened my gift card drawer where I have several from many vendors like Target, Starbucks and Macy's to Barney's and JCrew. While I've used all of them, most have a balance of $5.00 or less (and, if you've shopped at Barney's you know even a diet coke costs more than that). Instead of tossing them out, google "gift card donations" to find a local women's shelter, abuse center, etc. who would gladly take unused gift cards. It just takes a few people to help many in need. So, that's the first thing I do in my clean sweep of closets in the fall. Then I pull out items I haven't used in ages, like this vintage metal picnic basket. I found it years ago and thought it would make a great planter or look chic in a mid-century bathroom to display towels. Well, that never happened. Instead this lovely little picnic basket has moved from California to New York and never seen the light of day. Until now. I ran to Office Max the other day to buy a little file cabinet and got distracted by the holiday window decor at Pier 1 next door. When I finally made it into Office Max, I was shocked to find the cheapest file cabinet was well over $100. Then I wondered how many holiday things I could get for that amount of money and headed right back out the door. When I returned to my messy office this picnic basket was staring at my like a hungry dog drooling over a juicy steak. It's neat. It inspires me, as crazy as that sounds, so I didn't want to put it back in the closet until my next cleaning, so I repurposed it as a file cabinet. Re-imagining a piece is what fun design is all about. Hang an old farm chair on a wall in your kitchen and place cookbooks on it. In a more modern kitchen, purchase stainless steel toolboxes on wheels (Husky makes them up to five feet tall) and use as utencil storage. Terra cotta roof tiles as wine storage, an old mirror as a centerpiece with candles and rose petals on it. You get the idea. While it's great to think outside of the box in design, sometimes it's better to stare directly inside the box until a great idea pops into your head!
TIME TO COMPLETE TASK: Five minutes
COST: Zero
STREE LEVEL: Saving money by using something I already had: LOW