Value Villaging

As part of my commitment to being ridiculously cheap, I ventured out to Value Village to see what kind of swag I could pick up at major discount. I always find it fun to peruse discount/used stores and laughing at the random stuff that is available. First things first, I went couch shopping for a new, sexy, (possibly) bed-bug infected beauty:

You might think I am crazy, but this is the EXACT COUCH my family had while I was growing up. Except ours was less holey and gross.

Ok, enough kidding. I actually did a bit a research before shopping at Value Village, because bed bugs are a large concern in Toronto and frankly, Value Village doesn't scream "clean". However, I found out that second hand stores inspect everything and will destroy entire stocks if bugs are found. This is because they cannot have that kind of reputation or their industry will die! And I am sure you all remember a few years ago when all these major retailers in New York had to close because of bed bugs. So you really aren't safe anywhere and all you can do is be vigilant.

I had two goals in mind at VV: dishes to replace my soy sauce jewellery containers, and a cheap source for fabric. And yes, I did take the precaution of throwing the fabric in the wash the second I got home. But I won't be showing you the fabric today- you will have to wait until I put it to good use!

Firstly, however, I got these adorbs little white cups for my bathroom pins & rings.

Ah, so much nicer. I like to imagine these tiny bowls were for people on a diet to eat tiny scoops of ice cream out of. They were a steal at only 49 cents each!!

However, they only had two, and I still needed something for the table/desk area. Especially because I kept hitting the soy sauce container and almost sent my earrings flying a few times. So I picked up this pretty little silver dish, for a whopping $1.99.

I am also not sure what this tiny dish is for. Perhaps for fancy ice cream dieters?

In other design on the cheap news, I redid my bedside table. Remember the before, when I covered it in wrapping paper?

Well, I thought it was time for a change, because this looked a little shiny and cheap. AND it was peeling a bit on the bottom. So I grabbed some leftover material from my ottoman and I went staple-gun happy on the board.

TA-DA! I think it is super pretty now and it ties in well with the ottoman. Continuity is key, people.

Cost of the project: F-R-E-E!

Have you done any cheap-o decorating lately? Let me know about your projects!