I’m a big believer in repurposing items in the home. You know, things that you used to use in one capacity, but now use in another. It fits with the whole reduce, reuse, recycle thought process. My motto, at the Frugal Village, used to be “Use it up, Wear it Out, Make it Last, Do Without.” So, you see that this is a big deal to me.
We’ve recently come into a lot of free books for Monkey Girl. She has a desk with a bookcase attached that is basically full.
Speaking of repurposing and reusing, Monkey Girl’s desk/bookcase is actually the desk/bookcase my parent bought for me when I was twelve. I’m 37. For that matter, she’s sleeping in the bed my parents bought me when I was 13 and her dresser is the dresser that my parents bought when I was 7. So, we practice what we preach.
She also had a tiny bookcase that was in my father-in-laws house. It was full of books, and had books stacked on top and in piles in front of the books that were lining the shelves. There were books spilling on to the floor, sitting on her dresser, her nightstand, her bathroom sink…you get the picture.
In the foyer, we had a bookcase we bought for $20 at a garage sale when the people across the street moved a few years ago. I had family pictures, my grandfather’s beer steins from Germany and a few candles on it. It was basically a display piece.
I decided to make it functional.
I moved all of the photos up to the living room and distributed them around to the mantle, the end tables, the bookcase. The steins joined the other steins in the kitchen and on top of the piano. The candles have been dispersed around the house as well.
And now?
She still has a small pile of books that doesn’t fit, but this is a MUCH better solution. She has her write-on, wipe-off board up top, as well as her “bed” she made for her American Girl doll. She likes it being up higher so the Monkey boys can’t touch her “stuff.”
I think it’s important to take stock of what you had when you find a need. So often you’ll find that you already have what you need. You just need to be a little creative.
