How To: Go "Shopping" In Your Own Home

Before you go out to buy something new for your home, try "shopping" in your kitchen cabinets, pantry, laundry room, home office, or bedroom closet. You might be surprised by what you find: tea towels that make great placemats, ramekins that double as tea light votives, spaghetti jars that can store your dry goods, and sweaters that give an old chair new life. Click below for where to shop within your own home, and what to look for...

Kitchen Cabinets:
• 8 Uses for Tea Towels
• 10 Uses for Ramekins
• 9 Uses for Loaf Pans
• How To: Organize with Everyday Kitchen Objects

Food Pantry:
• 10 Simple Uses for Spaghetti Jars
• 101 Uses for Baking Soda
• 27 Household Uses for Citrus Fruit
• Creative Reuse: New Lives for Plastic Bottles

Bedroom Closet:
• New Uses for Old Clothes
• How To: Make a Sweater Seat
• Reusing Belts, Window Covering Ideas, and Ultimate Closet Organization
• 5 Uses for Vintage Suitcases

Workspace:
• 20 Household Uses for Newspaper (Once You've Finished the Crossword)
• 12 Uses for Waste Baskets
• 5 Alternative Uses for a Desk
• 21 Household Uses For Rubber Bands

Laundry Room:
• 10 Uses for Clothespins
• 20 Household Uses for Used (Yes, Used) Dryer Sheets
• How To: Reuse Plastic Drycleaning Bags
• 8 Uses for Square Baskets

Comments (7)

Good post. I find if I let an urge to buy something breathe awhile, often I'll discover I can do with what I have, or the urge just dissipates on its own.

posted by holland on January 20th 2009 at 10:58pm
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Trouble is, now I want to buy some tea towels, loaf pans, clothespins, baskets, ramekins ...

posted by wondermart on January 21st 2009 at 12:06am
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This is a great post. Thanks for all the tips!

Delikatissen

posted by delikatissen on January 21st 2009 at 4:21am
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wondermart - maybe you have an old tablecloth or piece of clothing that you could cut up to make tea towels? heh heh heh.

posted by whytephoenix on January 21st 2009 at 10:31am
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I don't have any excess stuff lying around waiting to be repurposed. I need my tea towels to be tea towels.

posted by jooly on January 21st 2009 at 2:46pm
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I'm in the same boat as wondermart and jooly. :/

Great post though! I love stuff like this from AT. So much more helpful than posting a picture of a $2k sofa (esp. since my sofa budget is $500).

posted by Mrs.Mack on January 21st 2009 at 6:15pm
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I tidied up our study today and redecorated by 'shopping' in my own home.

I decided to display some cute momentos of our trip to Bolivia (handmade oven mit and finger puppets) that have been sitting in a box. I also resorted our collection of gift wrap and cards into some unused magazine holders.

It's not finished yet but it looks sooooo much better.

Thanks for the great idea.

posted by owlandpussycat on January 26th 2009 at 6:06am
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