Halloween Costume On A Budget

Not much money at all has to be spent on a Halloween Costume. Almost every year I like to use items that I already have in my wardrobe. I just tweak them a bit, by adding certain accessories. Then, what do you know, I got a costume. With not much money at all spent. :0)

For Halloween this year I plan on being a Flapper from the 1920's. 

The Black Dress I already had on hand. Almost any little black dress would do. I had plenty to choose from. I thought this one with the feather neckline went perfect with the feather boa. 

Rose Bracelet I already had on hand. I actually wore this on my Wedding Day. This will be the first time I wore it since. 

Chandelier Earrings I already had on hand as well. 

Feather Head Band I had got on a previous Swap Meet Haul for only $1!

Pearl Ring I already had. 

Long Pearl Necklace cost $1 on a recent Swap Meet Haul. It's actually a really light blue and will match perfectly. 

Long Black Gloves I already had on hand. I actually wore these on my 9th Grade Graduation Day. How did I ended up keeping them this long? I have no idea. All eyes on me! 

Blue Feather Boa cost $5.99 at a Thrift Store recently. 

Try shopping your own wardrobe before going out and spending money on a costume. You might just have quite a few already in your closet. 

Here are some more ideas from Laurenconrad.com

Looks like I am not the only one with this in mind. 

Miss Piggy! I just adore her! 

The Cat Burglar! How clever!

A Ballerina. How pretty!

The Morton Salt Girl. How cute!

Halloween Costumes can be done on any budget. I think do it yourself ones are more unique and so much cooler than any store bought. 

Have a Safe and Happy Halloween 2013!

        

Pantry Swap Meet Shopping

We are in the process of having a Pantry built. I'm so excited and I just can't hide it! However, the pace is coming along much slower than anticipated. I'm hoping it will be worth the wait. 

Large Wicker Storage Bins cost $2 each. I think these are super nice! 

Orange Wire Basket cost $1. Great for Pantry storage. I love the color and thought it was too cute! 

Amber Colored Jar cost $1. So pretty.

Owl Poster cost $1.50. It's about 6 feet long. I think it is fantastic!

Vintage Ashtray Set cost $2. No, we don't smoke. They were just too cool to pass up. 

Small Baskets cost $1 each. They will look great in the Pantry. 

Key Sign cost $1. Keys shall never be misplaced again!

Crome Wire Basket cost $1. I might use this in the Fridge. Crome Hook cost $0.25! 

Isn't this Rustic Lamp just Terrific? Cost $4. 

Orange Bowl cost $2. It will be great for Halloween Candy. 

I think it is just groovy baby! 

Basket cost $0.50.  I think it can even be hooked onto a bike. I'm not sure how cool it will look on my mountain bike, but I might just try it. 

Picture Frame cost $1 and Milk Glass items cost $1 a piece. They are all so lovely. 

Large Flower Vase cost $1! What a great buy! It is really thick glass. 

Large Pet Bowl cost $0.50. This shall be used as our kitty water bowl. 

Colorful Baskets cost 2 for $1. I shall use them for my beauty products. 

Yellow Bead Necklace #1 cost $0.50. Love this color. 

Red, White and Blue Necklace cost $1. How adorable would this be to wear on The 4th of July? 

Yellow Bead Necklace #2 cost $1. 

Long Bead Necklace cost $1. It's going to be part of my Flapper Halloween Costume. 

That's going to be it on this Haul. Till next time! Spend wisely my friends!

          

$5 Craigslist Garage Storage Shelf

Our Garage is currently a disaster zone! This picture is of our new $5 shelf in the seller's garage.  I think their garage is super neat compared to ours. I hate to admit this, since I really do pride myself on organization. 

Halloween is my favorite Holiday and we have lots of decorations in bins. I have been going through the items and decorating our home in the Halloween Spirit. I just love Halloween. However, I have been making a big mess in the process. We don't have any type of shelving system in our garage. Our bins are stacked on top of one another. They are also not labeled. 

Can you imagine how difficult it is to find what we are looking for? It is VERY DIFFICULT and NOT FUN at all. We have Halloween, Thanks Giving, Xmas, and other Holiday decorations in these bins. To try and locate what we are looking for, requires us to lift bins off one another and shuffle them around on the ground. It's not a fun task. We also have decorations in bags and some are just thrown on top. It's a huge mountain of chaos that needs to be corrected. I can't handle it any longer. 

I have been in search of a garage shelving unit for quite some time. They can be a bit pricey brand new. So, I have been looking for a used one at a reasonable price. However, my search has found that even used ones cost more than I want to spend. 

This Rivet Shelving Unit is what I had in mind. This is a $150 Craigslist find. That seems a bit much for used shelves to me. Plus, it's going to be in the garage and I really don't want to spend that much money on shelves that are just going to have bins sitting on them. 

This is a $75 Craigslist Find. Still a bit high and this particular one is not located very close to our home. 

On my continued quest, I came across this one today. The $5 price caught my attention.  It appears to have been a hand made piece with lots of room for storing bins. At least three could fit on each shelf. That would be plenty of room for us.  I was a little surprised by the $5 price for such a large item. 

I decided to send the seller a message and confirm the $5 price. It seemed pretty darn cheap to me. They responded that $5 was the selling price and I made arrangements to take a look. I wanted to make sure that it was very sturdy and to my delight it was! The seller and I loaded it into my truck and I headed on home. And yes, I drive a truck. That's how I roll baby! I even know how to use truck straps. No wonder my Husband married me as quick as he did. ;0)

Now we have a shelving unit! I can't wait to get started on organizing the garage. I kind of like that it looks like furniture too. I was afraid that Hubby wouldn't like it much, but he did. He likes the sturdiness of it and is just looking forward to the garage looking better. He even thought it was cool looking! Success! 

I plan on doing a before and after posting of organizing the garage. Maybe even a time lapse video. To be continued...

Don't overlook something that is less conventional for storage. Especially, if the price is right! Organize on my friends!

           

Spooktacular $15 Craigslist Buys

     

Did I reel you in with our Spooktacular Photo? Happy Halloween 2013 Ghouls and Goblins! 

This is actually my hubbylicious and I on our Wonderful Wedding Day 1/11/11. Minus the scary faces of course. I used a free Halloween Photo App to make us so FRIGHTENING!!! You should try it. If YOU DARE!

Now for my Spooktacular $15 Craigslist Buys. 

Black Mirror cost $15. They initially wanted $20, but I negotiated. This mirror is much larger than it appears in this photo. I was pleasantly surprised when I went to pick it up. If you stare long enough you might just see the Evil Queen of Snow White! ;0)

Black Iron Sconces cost $15 for the pair. They were much larger in person as well. Score!  These might have been previously hung in Count Dracula's Castle! ;0)

      

 

That's going to be it for my Spooky Craigslist Buys! Happy Halloween 2013! 

          

Craigslist Cleaning Shark Vacuum

      

I'm swimming with the Sharks! Well, vacuuming with a Shark Navigator Swivel Deluxe Upright Bagless Vacuum UV410 to be exact. 

We have been in need of a good working vacuum for quite some time. We actually had two vacuums up until recently. I put a vacuum and a bunch of other items for free on the curb. Then I placed an ad with a picture on Craigslist in the free section.  Would you believe that EVERYTHING was picked up within 32 minutes of me placing the ad? It's true. I highly recommend it. 

The only reason we did not donate the items is because the mobile donation center near our home is very particular on what they accept and we didn't feel like going to the main facility, which is further away. Otherwise, donating and saving the receipts you are given is the smart thing to do come tax time. Donating can really benefit you and provide some tax relief. So, if you don't know, now you know. 

The reason we had two vacuums is that one worked really well in the upright position and the other vacuum had a hose that worked really well. However, trying to use two different vacuums at the same time can be a HUGE pain in the butt! It was super frustrating and I was always in a bad mood when vacuuming. I decided enough was enough! 

I didn't know what type of vacuum I wanted, so I decided to take a look on YouTube to watch some reviews. A good friend of mine mentioned The Shark was a good vacuum to get, so that's where my search started. 

After watching quite a few positive reviews on different Shark models I decided to see if there were any new Sharks being sold on Craigslist. There were lots of used ones being sold for around $60. That seems a bit high for a used vacuum to me. Especially because buying a used vacuum is very risky. I've never done it before. I wouldn't want to pay $60 for something that might not even work well. That would be such a waste of money.   

Then I came across an ad for a Shark Navigator Swivel Deluxe being sold in like new condition. It was in the box, with new attachments for $40.  It was also located in my City. I sent the seller a message to negotiate the price down to $30. They agreed. Woot!

 

I decided to do a quick search on how much this particular vacuum cost brand new and it is $149.99 at Costco.  It had fairly good reviews, which made me have more confidence in it. 

It's also being sold on Amazon with a new listing price of $248.50. Amazon had an average rating of 4 stars. Not too shabby. 

My $30 Craigslist find is looking more and more appealing. I can risk $30 if it is not all that I expect and then some. Life is a gamble after all isn't it? ;0) So, I made arrangements to pick it up and found out it was located only 2 blocks away! Woot! Woot!

Once I arrived, it really was in like new condition and needed to be assembled. Luckily, the seller assisted me with that. I also tested it and was pleased with the suction. 

Now to get it home and really test it out! I really couldn't start it up fast enough. Who gets excited about vacuuming? Apparently, I do. I know, I really should get out more. 

Let me tell you that I absolutely love this vacuum! I It has excellent suction!  It might just be the best vacuum I have ever owned. And I have owned quite a few. It comes with four or five attachments and I have only tried two so far. They both work great. I also like that it is extremely light weight and easy to maneuver. It can also be used on bare floor which I like. The only thing I wish it had is a retractable cord, but other than that I am super happy with it. Did I mention that it is not super loud either? Not loud at all and I like that. Who wants a vacuum that causes migraines? I know I don't. 

In all honesty, I must of picked up dirt and dust 3 inches high with this vacuum. That really disgusted me. If you know me, you know that I am a neat freak and a clean freak. To see that much dirt and dust picked up in our house that I thought was clean really surprised me. I highly recommend this vacuum.  I would definitely give it a high star rating.  I'm pretty sure the newer models might even work better. So, keep your options open and do a bit of research beforehand. 

Buying a used vacuum can be risky, but it worked out perfectly for me and saved us over $120.00! Till next time my fellow clean freaks! Vacuum on!