The New Floor

We just finished (about a month ago that is) redoing the entire hallway and kitchen floor. I'm so excited about it! It looks wonderful; much better than the yucky flooring that was under the tile removed tile. Unfortunately, the hardwood that should have been beautiful could not be restored due to the cheap stick-down tile that had been placed on top of it (3 layers!) Some of that wood had to be replaced where a previous tenant had let water pool and it warped and rotted. (Yuck!)

What has been placed down is a stick on vinyl flooring but looks much better than the yucky brown "tile." The new flooring is imitation wood in a walnut color. I'm so excited about it! It was purchased by the owners over a year ago. Since I had never installed flooring before one of them showed me how. It's actually much easier than I had envisioned and I'm ready to tackle it by myself next time.

The next floor to be redone is the secondary bathroom. Oi, it needs a lot of work tiles need to be reset in the bathing area, flooring needs to be put down, and the whole thing needs a general remodel.

Wondering why all the remodeling on a rented house? Check my post on saving on rent: HERE.

Pictures will follow but my camera is dead!

Stay green,

Yasha

Drying clothes!

Sorry I have been away for so long! We moved and it has been hectic trying to get floors refinished, walls torn down and rebuilt, cabinets painted, and things organized!

I'll leave you with this little bit of green living before I have to fly away to do some more remodeling! One of my many improvements to the house has been this wonderful clothesline! Assisted by by washer, basket, and some clothespins!

Stay green,
Yasha

The Glamorous Life of the Country Wife

I didn't know when we moved to the outskirts of our small own that life would be so... so... well strange. I figured we had a yard, a larger space, and less neighbors. Life would be great!

This is not what I had in mind.

There are no "quick trips" to the store anymore. I can't go next door to borrow a cup of sugar; my neighbors live a mile away. The garden? Gone. The deer ate the whole thing. And then there are mice.

Mice.

We aren't talking cute cartoon mice who trade blows with the cat. Noooooo, we're talking a mouse who chews holes in he cheerios, steals mac and cheese noodles, and strikes terror into a girl from the city.

One tiny 4 inch long mouse. I caught the thing this morning. I . Was. Terrified. Yes, scared of a tiny mouse. First time in my life I wish I had a pet snake. I was so happy when my husband came home and could take care of this terrifying rodent. Apparently mice are prevalent around here.

We may be moving again soon.

Stay green,
Yasha

Another score!

This "dumpster" score brought to you by a closing daycare. Any time a day care or preschool closes, moves, or wants to update equipment check with them to see if they are willing to part with older equipment and toys for cheap or free.

Here are some things I acquired for free:

 A Swing! Hooray! This one works!








A sink and Stove combo! I'll have to build a refrigerator and install some shelves under the sink for storage but it's very promising!







Some things I scored from dumpsters and lucky finds!

 Lucky Find! A Friend found this for me and saved it! It's a child's card table with matching chair.

 That same awesome friend found this couch for the kids. It was actually less stained before my kids got a hold of it!

 My Luckiest dumpster find! A working non smelly couch! It's lazy boy brand and works perfectly. I couldn't figure out why they tossed it except that it was stained and had a few tears.

And a like-new very sturdy bookshelf for the kids!

Stay green,
Yasha

Use It Up, Wear It Out...

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. That's what grandma said right? I try to take it to heart at our house so food, clothes, and other assorted things don't usually get wasted.

This is a big reason I shop used stores. I feel bad paying full price for kids clothes that I know they will grow out of before they get a hole in them.

I've scored pretty big over the years by shopping used but the biggest score is using it until it wears out completely. Take these shoes for instance. My favorite sandals have lasted me 4+ years of heavy wear. These poor shoes are practically the only thing I have worn in warm weather during that time.

It may now be time for new shoes but by using up my shoes until they have completely worn out I have probably saved about $40. That isn't much to some people but it's a day's worth of meals for my family.

Hope this inspires you to keep something a bit longer than you would normally!

Stay green,
Yasha

Dumpster Score!

Say what!?

Most Parents discourage children from touching, going near, or even thinking about dumpsters. I try to encourage mine to look at them. Why? Well sometimes people throw out completely good things. Toys, chairs, couches. Any of these things can be spruced up and resold or kept depending on he condition.

Now I haven't gone so far as to actually jump in a dumpster nor would I let my kids do it (or see me do it if I ever work up the courage.) Jumping in a dumpster takes some preparation and caution. You don't know what is in there. If it will shift. If it will break. If there are bugs. *shudder* However, things conveniently placed next to a dumpster are fair game.

Trash day has become one of my favorite days. I have found some of the more affluent neighborhoods are awesome to cruise through on trash day. Amazingly, there are still a lot of people out there that never take things to Goodwill. They just leave them on the curb.



Still think I'm crazy? Take a look at some of the treasures I found.

Kitchen Chair needed a new bolt
(Please ignore the pile of blue bags in the corner. They're full of donations waiting to go.)

Fully functional keyboard needed new batteries

Dora the Explorer chair Hole needed sewn up

Un-paper towels.

I find myself, on a daily basis, wiping up sticky messes, eewie gooey crud, and just random "what is that!?" spots. So, of course, I love prepackaged wipes. I mean loooove. As in dewy eyed drool on myself trip over my feet L-O-V-E. Not everyone feels this way about wipes but not everyone has kids either. (I'm sure other moms out here have a similar infatuation.)

Small problem with wipes... They're expensive!

So how to solve this? Unpaper towels. A simple linen napkin that I wet with either water or vinegar to wipe up messes. Works just the same as a pop up wipe but I can toss this into the laundry when done.

What's that? Do they scrub? You bet your cookies they do! I never dry these with dryer sheets and most of the time I hang them so they do scrub really well.

Now if you don't like my simple linen wipes they have a ton of cutesy ones on etsy. If you prefer scented just fill a container with 3 parts water, 1 part vinegar, and your choice of essential oil (just a few drops should do). Either put the mix in a spray bottle to spray and wipe or put he mix in a container with the wipes and leave them until you need them. I personally prefer the spray method but I know some people that use the soaked ones.

Either way you look at it unpaper towels will save you a bundle.

Stay green,

Yasha