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organizing | diy | frugal living

Do It On A Dime

DIY Upcycled Organizers

by Filed Under: DIY Projects, Organization

I heart thrifting.   It boggles my mind that people pay full price for organization tools that they could easily upcycle from the thrift store for a quarter the cost.  It takes a small investment of time, but in less than 20 minutes, you can create stunning organizers and systems on a budget, using commonly found thrifted items!  I find organizing opportunities at the thrift store ALL THE TIME.  You can see my video on ways to organize from the Goodwill here.

One of my favorite trends of the moment are matte chalk paints.  Plaid sent me a sampling of their paints and paint tools to review and give my genuine opinion about.  They come in an array of colors and they are so easy to use!  I kind of want to paint everything now. <3  Here are two simple organizers I was able to upcycle in a matter of minutes.  Don’t forget to enter to win your own gift basket from Plaid below!

You can visit PlaidOnline.com for more tips, tricks, tutorials and ideas to create your own upcycled creations.  Mother Earth and your home will thank you 😉

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Giveaway ends March 27th 2015 at 12:00 am EST.  US and Canada only.  Winners must be 18 or older or have parental permission.  Winner will be selected randomly by Rafflecopter within a week of the giveaway ending and be notified by email. Winners have 72 hours to respond before a new winner is selected.  I will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly.  Please note that Doitonadime is not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes.  The product offered for the giveaway is free of charge, no purchase necessary.  My opinions are my own.  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube are in no way associated with this giveaway. 

*Plaid partnered with me to bring you this review and giveaway.  All opinions are genuinely my own.*

Win a $50 Family Dollar Gift Card + P&G Cleaning Products!

by Filed Under: Other

IMG_6830This month I’m partnering with Family Dollar and P&G for their spring clean-up program!  They’ll be four giveaways throughout this month: each giveaway contains a $50 Family Dollar Gift Card and a spring cleaning product gift set from P&G to help you get your home ready for spring with products like Bounty, Gain, and Febreze!

Family Dollar has really cute home decor!  I can’t wait to share with you guys what I’ve been working on at my friend Sarah’s house to surprise her with a makeover and spring cleaning!  (If you follow me on Instagram you know that her bedroom and bathroom are getting a makeover…video to come later this week!)

IMG_6802I really like working with Family Dollar because their prices are low and backed by their Ad-match promise.  Plus, stack that with cleaning product coupons from their website, and you can score some killer deals!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Giveaway ends March 23rd 2015 at 12:00 am EST.  US only.  Winners must be 18 or older or have parental permission.  Winner will be selected randomly by Rafflecopter within a week of the giveaway ending and be notified by email. Winners have 72 hours to respond before a new winner is selected.  I will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly.  Please note that Doitonadime is not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes.  The product offered for the giveaway is free of charge, no purchase necessary. My opinions are my own.  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube are in no way associated with this giveaway. 

*This post is part of a month of March partnership with Family Dollar and P&G*

Organizing Questions Answered!

by Filed Under: DIY Projects, Money Saving, Organization

I”m all about sharing with you guys what works.  And I tend to get a lot of the same questions over and over about organizing.  If you have taken the time to write me a note or email, THANK YOU!  The top questions you ask me are: how do I get started organizing, how do I beat procrastination, what do I do if I don’t live near a Dollar Store, why can’t I stay organized even when I try, and what label maker do you recommend? 

So, I answer all of those questions and give my best, practical advice in this video.  Not the “magazine tips” but the real deal.  Things that I know work.  Why?  ‘Cause I’ve tried ’em!

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DOLLAR TREE GIFT CARD and Organizers I LOVE <3

by Filed Under: Dollar Tree, Organization

Recently I partnered with AtticMaxx to review their Attic Storage System with all of you.

The winner is announced the video below!  Also, AtticMaxx would like to extend the offer that for every 8 Truss Shelves purchased from their website, they would like to give you a $15 Giftcard to the Dollar Tree!  Just enter the code DIMEDEAL at checkout.

Here are some of my favorite products for organizing at the Dollar Tree right now…great for use with that gift card 😉  Yay organizing!

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No Clean-Up Dinner| Easy Tilapia

by Filed Under: Recipes

I love sharing recipes with you guys.  I know most you come to my blog and channel for organizing videos, but this is probably one of my favorite recipes of all time.  It hits all the boxes: budget-conscious, healthy, and NO CLEAN-UP.  Okay, so let’s be real, the no-clean up part is what makes you most excited.  Yeah, me too ;).

**CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE!**

Please share with me if you try it!  Come follow me on Instagram and join the party!

P.S.  Don’t like Tilapia?  Try this recipe with salmon or scallops!

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Simple Toddler Play Ideas

by Filed Under: Teaching

It’s been FREEZING and rainy here.  Carson loves playing outside, so over the past couple of weeks, we have gotten creative inside to keep him busy.  I love creative play on a budget that doesn’t require a lot of work or prep on my end.  Clean-up is always the worst…It’s hard enough trying to keep a house in order, let alone cleaning up after a messy craft!

We always ground our play activities in a thematically appropriate book (you can hear more about that here), and these have been our two favorites over the last couple of weeks: Ernest and Celestine – The Picnic and The Snowy Day.

  

Here’s how we’ve been having independent fun.  As always, make sure that what we are doing in our house is safe and age-appropriate for your child.  Independent play is always supervised 🙂

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Space Saving Ideas: Closet and Bathroom Makeover

by Filed Under: Organization

My Dad moved into his condo fairly recently. It’s a very small, two bedroom (under 1,300 sq. ft), and since he’s moved I’ve been helping him transform his space on a budget. Today I tackled the bathroom and master closet. Both extremely small spaces. IMG_5147In the master bathroom we made some super easy updates like getting a new shower curtain, changing out the Showerhead for a more updated and better flowing fixture and replaced the shower pan with something chrome to go with the overall aesthetic. We also decorated the place with some clearance Target art and Goodwill find. I also found some Command Picture-Hanging Strips. They work so well if you don’t want to damage our walls or have heavy art that could get bumped in and out of a room. This stuff legit holds it in place. It was my first time using them and I was quite impressed. The biggest change was installing a Rotator Rod that allows you to bow your shower curtain inwards and outwards so you have more room in the shower and more room in the bathroom. It’s a win-win. And lucky you, they are GIVING one away to one of you (see below to enter!) We also tackled the master closet using Dollar Tree bins and a shoe rack. From Goodwill. Yup. Cheap and effective and literally doubles that “dead” closet space. I can’t get over how obsessed with it I am. I also love the Over-The-Door Shoe Organizer. They are perfect for closets. Screen Shot 2015-03-05 at 6.00.08 PM

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Giveaway ends March 14th 2015 at 12:00 am EST. US and Canada only. Winners must be 18 or older or have parental permission. Winner will be selected randomly by Rafflecopter within a week of the giveaway ending and be notified by email. Winners have 72 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. I will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. Please note that Doitonadime is not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. The product provided for the review was free of charge from the company. The product offered for the giveaway is free of charge, no purchase necessary. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by any form of compensation. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube are in no way associated with this giveaway. By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to me and me alone. I will use your information only for the purpose of contacting the winners and sending your name and address to the company to ship your prize.

Apartment Organization | Small Space Organizing

by Filed Under: Dollar Tree, Organization

This past weekend Charlie and I traveled to Washington D.C. to visit some good friends from college.  We ate a metric ton and relished in the freedoms of traveling without a toddler.  Don’t get me wrong, we missed the little guy, but we truly got to experience the sights leisurely.  I’m a total geek for history….I’m that annoying girl that’s always asking the tour guides questions and soaking it all in.  #nerdalert #everymuseum

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While we were there, we went to the famous Ben’s Chili Bowl (a DC local hot-spot) and I met the first guy in the door when the place opened in the 50s.  He had the first chili dog Ben’s ever sold!  And I was weird enough to ask for a picture…ha!  Alloftheawkward.  He was super sincere and sweet.  And to be honest, I think the picture made his day more than it did mine. 🙂  These days, he stays away from the chili and orders a salad with a hot dog on it, but he’s still a loyal customer.

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Fun fact…did you know George Washington was over 6 feet tall?  For some reason I always thought he was short!

While we were there, I helped my girlfriend tackle some spaces in her apartment.  Because I’m all about the organizing…even on vacation.  Yup, it’s relaxing to me!  It actually didn’t even take us very long.  Just over an hour to transform a couple of key areas.  Total recharge, and they loved it!

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Danger of “budget organization”

by Filed Under: Money Saving, Organization

This just a little heart-to-heart video about living on a budget. Y’all…living on a budget, living within your means, getting out of debt (learn about debt consolidation loans), saving for the future…it’s all becoming COOL again. I’ll just come out and say it…. it’s becoming trendy. I feel like people finally woke up to reality. Hello budget options and cheap or FREE organizing solutions. <3 But with a wealth of information about there and tons of Dollar Tree equivalents of items that were once just sold at pricey organizing stores, a new danger has arisen: sometimes these cheap, free, and cutesy options pose a danger to real organization. The organization that sticks and works. Wake-up call: it’s not about a cute bin!!! In this video I explain why, and here are the two ways I make sure that what I’m bringing into my home and the products I’m choosing to use (no matter how budget friendly they are), are going to work TOWARD me becoming more organized. A better home and a better me. Cheers!

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How to organize your attic + AtticMaxx Giveaway

by Filed Under: Organization

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Attic Before

*This is an awesome giveaway, so make sure to read to the very end of the post to enter!! *

I was so excited to share this video with all of you. I am a self-proclaimed organizing freak, yet my attic was always really disorganized. (Inside the bins was amazing, though, if I do say so myself). But when you think about it, standard attic storage is destined to fail. By stacking bins, inevitably you have to get to the bottom one, causing the others to topple over. So you end up stacking and re-stacking to try to get it right again. Or just shifting things around so it is a sea of disorganized bins that you struggle to step over. And entering the crawl space is always a nightmare. It would be even more of a nightmare if you find what you think could be mold developing in a moist area within the crawl space. It’s better to safe than sorry, call in a licensed mold inspector to do some mold testing in Austin Texas or somewhere more local to you.

When AtticMaxx wanted to share their system with you, I jumped on it. They sent me a system and they are giving one away to you (but other than that, I am not being paid to give a favorable review. All opinions are my own).

The system, with a quick install using the already existing trusses in our attic, transformed our space into this (please excuse our dirty plywood…this is an attic after all!). There are so many benefits from organizing your attic. Not only do you know where everything is when you need it, your house also benefits! If your belongings are all over the place then you won’t be able to see any issues that your attic may have. Damp and roof damage can go unnoticed because the affected areas are covered by clutter so you won’t know that you need the WDR Roofing Company or a plumber to fix the damage.

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Yup, we can basically have a dance party in our attic. Strike that. We actually HAD a dance party in our attic!

Here are the keys to the system, how to install, and why it works so well:

There are two versions of AtticMaxx. The first is the system installed in my attic, it comes with an 8 unit system and retails for $169.95. It might seem like a lot at first glance, but when you think about how other heavy-duty storage shelves run nearly $100 and have a less efficient use of space (especially in an attic) it’s really not that bad.

set-of-8-product-pic-for-website copy(1) diy no background img 5Also, if that’s still out of your budget (y’all it’s doitonaDIME over here!) there is a DIY option for those on a budget that retails for $49.95. You buy the plywood yourself and use the patented straps and screws they send to create the same system. The best of both worlds.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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*AtticMaxx provided a system for review to give away to one of my subscribers, but this is not a paid sponsorship. All opinions are genuinely my own.*

Open to US and Canadian Residents only. One winner will receive a set of 8 Attic Truss Storage Shelves from AtticMaxx. Giveaway ends March 5th 2015 at 12:00 am EST. Winner must be 18 or older or have parental permission. Winner will be selected randomly by Rafflecopter within a week of the giveaway ending and be notified by email. Winners have 72 hours to respond before a new winner is selected. I will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. Please note that Doitonadime is not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. The product provided for the review was free of charge from the company. The product offered for the giveaway is free of charge, no purchase necessary. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by any form of compensation. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube are in no way associated with this giveaway. By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to me and me alone. I will use your information only for the purpose of contacting the winners and sending your name and address to the company to ship your prize.

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