Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to go shopping in your own home. Often,
Speaker 1: when there's something we'd like, we already have something that
Speaker 1: might work, we just may not realize it. By looking
Speaker 1: around our homes with open eyes, we might be able
Speaker 1: to save time and money. A lot of people have
Speaker 1: more stuff than they need and then end up buying
Speaker 1: still more stuff because they don't know what they have.
Speaker 1: There are many reasons for this, and over stuffed and
Speaker 1: under organized attic or storage closet, or just a lack
Speaker 1: of attention to things you see every day. Either way,
Speaker 1: it can be wise to examine what you have before
Speaker 1: you go shopping in search of something new that you
Speaker 1: may not actually need. For instance, after rearranging your guest bedroom,
Speaker 1: you might decide that you'd like a comfy chair for
Speaker 1: the room. Before you start perusing furniture websites, take a
Speaker 1: walk around your home, including through your attic or basement
Speaker 1: if you have one, and see if you have something
Speaker 1: that fits the bill. Even if you spot a chair
Speaker 1: that's already in service elsewhere, don't assume it's off limits.
Speaker 1: Often rooms can stand to lose a piece or two,
Speaker 1: so if you pluck a chair from your living room
Speaker 1: to put it in the guest room, you may not
Speaker 1: need to replace the living room chair. The space may
Speaker 1: actually be more comfortable and attractive when it's a little
Speaker 1: less full. You can go shopping in your own home
Speaker 1: for clothes you need for particular occasions too, whether you're
Speaker 1: looking for something silly to wear to a costume party
Speaker 1: or a nice outfit to wear to an important event.
Speaker 1: It helps to actually look at the clothes you own,
Speaker 1: just like you'd flip through the rack at a boutique.
Speaker 1: Don't just think about what you have, or you'll fall
Speaker 1: into the trap of believing that you have nothing to wear. Instead,
Speaker 1: brows your own closet and drawers to see whether anything
Speaker 1: catches your eye that you might not have thought about.
Speaker 1: This is one reason that professional organizers sometimes style closets
Speaker 1: to look like clothing boutiques. It makes getting dressed see
Speaker 1: more doable and fun. When it comes to purely decorative objects,
Speaker 1: you can really win by shopping in your own home.
Speaker 1: Perhaps you want to create an attractive vignette on your
Speaker 1: entryway table. I am guessing that almost no one actually
Speaker 1: needs to go shopping for more stuff that is just
Speaker 1: pretty to look at. Somewhere in your home, you already
Speaker 1: have an interesting vase or a piece of pottery that
Speaker 1: can catch your guest's eyes as they come in. Take
Speaker 1: a look in your kitchen and around your house to
Speaker 1: see whether you can find a tray for keys and such.
Speaker 1: Then perhaps you can grab some art books to add
Speaker 1: a little height under the lamp that's already there. Voila.
Speaker 1: Without spending a dime, you have restyled your entryway. It
Speaker 1: probably only took half an hour or so, which may
Speaker 1: be less time than you'd waste looking through all the
Speaker 1: potential decorative objects in the world, because guess what, the
Speaker 1: world has a lot of decorative objects. Unfortunately, some of
Speaker 1: them are probably already within your walls. By going shopping
Speaker 1: in our own homes, we save money and get more
Speaker 1: use out of the stuff we have, which sounds like
Speaker 1: a big one to me. In the meantime, this is Laura,
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter. Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod that's b E the number four than
Speaker 1: breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast podcast. At iHeartMedia dot com that
Speaker 1: before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks
Speaker 1: so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For more
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