DIY Draft-blocker

We are having some crazy cold weather in East Tennessee which means the power bill is going to be even more crazy this month. I made a draft-blocker to help keep the heat in. It took me about 15 minutes to make and isn't too much of an eye-sore. Made from reused pipe insulators (from a homemade water slide) and an old throw blanket, this was cheap project that will hopefully save us some cash! 

This could actually be a no sew project since the pipe insulators have slots down the middle to stuff the fabric into. I went ahead and sewed ours though since we let Hank in and out about 50 times a day and needed something more sturdy. 

He is worth it :) 

Changing Mindset

The New Year Resolution law-of-order states that when you make a resolution, the universe does all it can to test your resolve.

For a while now (way before New Year's), I've been working on changing my mindset toward consumer consumption. As you know if you read this blog, I've always focused on recycling, upcycling, and being frugal in general, but there is always room for improvement. This year, one of my personal New Year's goals is to participate in Looking Fly on Dime's challenge of NO new clothes for a year.

Along with this challenge, I wanted to change my mindset when it comes to purchasing in general. Here is where the test of my resolve begins. On the last day of 2013, I went downstairs to do a load of laundry, and ended up almost flooding the basement. After my husband determined that the problem could not be fixed, without a thought, we got in our truck and went to Lowes to buy a new machine. Luckily, the prices gave me sticker shock -- average $800--- so I decided to take pictures of the ones I liked and go home to read reviews on them. Due to this pause, I had to think about alternatives to dishing out $800 for a washing machine. I decided that I would give ole' Craigslist a chance first, and yet again, he did not disappoint. I found a 2010 model of the one I was looking at in Lowes. The price? $220. I realize this this purchase was somewhat of a risk, but after speaking to the seller, I found out the the wife had gotten a new front-loading machine for Christmas so had no need for this one. After seeing the machine in person and getting good "vibes" off of the seller, we bought it. So far, it works beautifully. Even if the sell didn't work out, I'm at least glad that I took a pause to consider the alternatives to American consumer consumption.

I will be posting more on my "No New Clothes for a Year" challenge. I'm excited about it!