Michael told me there was a really nice dresser sitting next to the dumpster. He didn’t think we needed it, as we already have a nice, tall dresser in the bedroom.

I took Bijou out for a potty break and walked over to check out the dresser. It was a beautiful vintage pine dresser, dovetail construction, and built in tracks for the drawers to slide on. It even had the matching mirror! It was covered in 6 inches of snow, but I could tell it was in nice condition.

I knew Michael didn’t really want to carry the dresser in, but I had to have it. I started grabbing the drawers and bringing them into the heated hallway. It took five trips for the drawers and the mirrors. When Michael asked me what I was doing, he came outside to help. We carried the dresser upstairs. Well, he probably carried 75% of the weight, but whatever.

We left the pieces to dry overnight. This is what it looks like now:

So much better than the $20 Kmart TV stand we had before.

It also made our living room more organized. Michael put all our VHS and DVDs in the drawers.

This makes three dumpster salvaged pieces in our home – the other two are a nightstand I use as an endtable and a papasan chair in the bedroom for a kitty bed.

If I had bought this in a thrift store, it would have cost somewhere between $60 and $120. Not too bad for a few minutes of work.

After the apartment fire last May, I learned to let go of a lot of things. One was my mug collection. When mugs are 25 cents in a thrift store it’s easy to collect 50 or 100 of them. I liked this mug, but instead of buying it, I just took a picture of it. It still makes me smile and it’s not taking up cabinet space.

Kamilah says, “What kind of lame ass bamboo prison is this?”

We needed a new piece of office furniture after Michael finally convinced me to let him pitch out our dilapidated futon. I wanted to move the chaise from the bedroom to the office and then put a chair in the corner as an alternate bed for Kamilah.

This is my second papasan chair. The first (including black cushion) was purchased this Spring at Salvation Army for $22. This frame (sans cushion) was free next to the dumpster in the apartment complex.

I wondered what to use for a new cushion and had the bright idea to use a sleeping bag. I bought a navy one at Salvation Army for $2.50.

I made the mistake of laying it over Michael as he lounged on the couch last night. He claimed it for couch napping and nights when my snoring drives him from the bedroom. I pointed out the pink and blue flannel lining. He said, “I’m okay with that” and burrowed in further.

So I’m on the hunt for another sleeping bag or really large pillow in nice condition.

Update: I found another sleeping bag at Goodwill a few weeks later. It was also navy but kid sized (my size!), with a red and blue flannel lining. It makes a great replacement cushion for the second papasan in the bedroom which is for Kamilah’s use only. Plus, the sleeping bags can actually be used when we go camping.

I found this t shirt yesterday at Salvation Army. There’s a few things about this shirt that bug me. But first – the pic…

1. As opposed to the unpopular one?
2. This shirt was sold at Walmart.
3. This shirt is for children.

This is wrong on so many levels, I’m just going to let the shirt speak for itself.

I always look for change and anything else of value that people drop and are too lazy to pick up. Yesterday I found 46 cents and a coupon for $5 off a purchase at Walgreens.

With the $5 coupon and 2 in-ad coupons, this is what I got:

Two pairs of flip flops: regular price $1.99, on sale for 49¢ each

Mixed nuts: regular price $2.50, coupon price $1.99

Three cans of tuns: regular price 99¢, coupon price 59¢

Bottle of pop (since Michael was going to buy one anyway): 79¢

Total before sales and coupons: $10.24

My cost after sales and coupons:: 53¢

That’s like paying for one pair of flip flops and getting everything else for free!