My Mom had a habit which all of her daughters have inherited—rearranging the furniture. My father used to joke that he’d better never come home drunk (he never did) because he’d be sure to crack his shin on a chair or table that hadn’t been there when he left.
How does this relate to saving? You get a whole new look for your living space with virtually no outlay. And you can do it several times a year.
In the winter, I pull all of the seating close together, away from the windows in the colder part of the room. I switch to long, lined drapes. House plants are prominently displayed, to compensate for the lack of green in our lives.
Last weekend, I switched to summer mode (I had done the “spring reorganization” in March). My goal was airy, light and spacious. I have lamps that look like seashells (picked up at a Christmas Tree Shop sale for $9 each). Barely there sheer blue curtains. And seashell/beach glass décor—picked up on the beach, or purchased for pennies at a yard sale.
“Wow! It looks all light and airy in here—more spacious!” said my very intelligent husband when he walked into the room.
It’s a wise husband who knows his wife.
I am not going to say that I was necessarily drunk…, but I have definitely walked into the house late at night with the lights off, and found myself bumping into furniture that had not been in that same spot the last time I was in the house. Sometimes with loud results, like walking into a shelving holding hundreds of tiny wooden boxes.