Ladies,
Having lived in apartments, an RV, a mother-in-law’s back guest bedroom, and more, I have had quite the lifetime of lessons on homemaking in less-than-ideal circumstances.
In fact, it has been my most dire of circumstances that were the training ground for the fact that it is my determination, my creativity, and my effort that determines the outcome, not just the income. Having been in other people’s nice houses with good income and seeing their own dire circumstances of a lack of homemaking skill or will, proves that it is not just about income. It is the homemaker that produces the good outcomes, the person working to make things clean, pretty, and keep people fed. This is possible with very little money, and it is also possible to lack this with a lot of money.
In these dire circumstances, it is of utmost importance to do the best with what we have. The Holy Bible teaches us that we must manage a little well. We must see our dire circumstance as an opportunity to be excellent in it.
The Will to Make Things Lovely
I cannot speak for other countries, but we Americans live in a prosperous nation. There is wealth all around us to the point that even people of low income have access to beautiful things for free or almost free. Owning nice things takes the will and the willingness to seek these things out. People have this idea that low income has a particular look; it does not.
Rich people live in RVs. Poor people live in RVs. Rich people live in small houses. Poor people live in small houses. Some rich people live in very simple outdated RVs, some poor people live in newer nicer RVs. Some rich people live in very modest homes; some poor people live in very modest homes.
Whatever home you live in can be beautiful and well kept. So much of what your home looks like and functions like is based on taste not money and your personal effort to keep it clean and styled. Beyond that, curating nice items takes perhaps, a level of humility to make your needs known.
Ask friends and family to donate their old items to you instead of taking them to a thrift shop.
I have received shoes that I wore for upward of 5 years doing this, clothing, kitchen utensils and machinery, furniture, etc. If people do not know what you need or want, they will give it away and never think to run it by you. Tell them that you will go through it for them and keep what you want and donate the rest yourself. Think of the decluttering movement and how many people are just dumping good things off to a shop that will sell them, when they could just be given straight to you. Let people in your church know, let your family know, let your friends know. Tell them specifically too, “I need bedding”, or “I need kitchen supplies”, or “I need lamps”. People are eager to help because most people, especially older people who are downsizing and anyone who is moving for that matter, has a household full of goods they want to offload.
Go thrift shopping in the nicest areas where high end goods are donated.
You will find higher end goods in nicer areas. This is good for things like furniture and higher end fashion. However, unsuspecting small towns with thrift shops often yield beautiful pieces as well as quality vintage clothing.
Thrift Shop on Sale Days
Even thrift shops have sales! That means the already inexpensive items are even less money. They will usually have certain items on sale certain days of the week. Go on the days the items you need to shop are marked down. All of my dishes, mugs, glassware, vases, and lamps came from thrift shops. If you shy away from thrifting because of the potential of mites, bugs, and lice, then stick to these solid items that are easily disinfected and will not bring pests with them as easily unlike fabrics and upholstery.
Garage Sales/Moving Sales
Even cheaper than thrift shops, people are practically giving away beautiful items in their driveways. We have such an abundance in this nation, and we have such incredible access to necessities let alone beautiful items. Make garage and moving sales a regular outing on the weekend mornings to find what you need for next to nothing to make your home lovely.
Learn the names of flowers and how to identify your local wildflowers.
This means you will be able to pick flowers for free, which I did quite often. However, you must learn to identify properly because some highly toxic and poisonous weeds look like regular flowers.
Plant your own “cutting garden”.
If you have a plot of land, even a small area, or even just one large pot, you can plant inexpensive seed packets for flowers to cut, or buy one rose plant, which will produce abundant blooms! This way you can plant your favorite colors and varieties of flowers to have fresh flowers in vases. One rose bush planted in one pot gave me beautiful bouquets of flowers. Stroll over to my garden in this article to see some of my cottage garden favorites!
Buy Faux Flowers on Hobby Lobby’s Floral sale days
There are some very realistic faux flowers sold at Hobby Lobby, but be sure to shop them on the week that florals are on sale. I have collected floral items that are timeless to set out at certain times of the year. Read my guide here on how to shop and style realistic faux flowers!
Keep a Clean House
Simply keeping a dust free, polished, and well cleaned home makes things look and feel amazing! Cleaning is free or almost free and just takes your heart to do it. Funny example, but I have known people who have extremely unattractive homes with a dire state of taste, but they did in fact have money and maids kept the house clean. After their maids would leave, even their very unattractively decorated house looked kind of nice. Cleaning has a major effect on how nice your home looks.
As I said before, even people with money and big houses can have laundry hampers over-flowing, general untidiness, a lack of food because of a lack of cooking skills or will to cook for others, etc. I have been in these homes that were otherwise nice, but because of the homemaker, or lack thereof, they were not so nice.
Find out where I bought this beautiful bed spread here & other luxury look items for less.
Making the beds, designing beauty into your home even on a tight budget, keeping it clean, making food, this is all done by the homemaker, not the money. A high income does not clean, a high income does not design, a high income does not cook, yes, a high income can hire it all out. But a low income can have all of this, which some people pay to get! But remember, a maid does not come in and make the bed every single day. Those tasks are only done by the daily tending of a person living there. Quality of life is never just dependent on outside help; it is dependent on the daily tending of a home. Therefore, low income can be high value living with a woman of good sense who tends her home well.
This article is all about how to be a real high value woman.
Be willing to do your best in your less-than-ideal circumstance. There is a warmth and a love in a home that is born of the will to do God’s will, loving our husbands and children, being thankful, and making things merry.
She seeks wool and flax,
Proverbs 31:13
and works with willing hands.
WHATEVERLOVELY.com
CHRISTIAN LIVING – FASHION – HOME
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