The Quirky & Frugal Art of Using What You Have

Shop your home instead of a store, you already have the stuff you need to be happy.

Guests were coming for dinner last night and I wanted our dining room table to look amazing. Here’s a shocker. Instead of going to a crappy dollar store I shopped my house instead.

Because I knew that somewhere in our home— I had what I needed to make the dinner table look welcoming and it wouldn’t cost me a cent.

And no, I’m not a Martha Stewart hoarder. What I do have is a cozy home filled with books, and a few vintage, quirky things and a mismatched set of white plates that always make food look inviting.

I can also be lazy. I shop my house first — instead of having to drive to a store, spend money and waste a half-hour or more shopping.

What did I scrounge up?

A thrift store tablecloth; some maple leaves and a small branch from outside. I placed them on a simple silver tray, with a small pile of old books, an antler from my garden and a nice candle in the middle. (The candle was in glass as I didn’t want to burn my dinner table down.)

My guests loved it and I enjoyed the process of creating.

Total cost: $0. How much time did I spend gathering it together? About 15 minutes. Screw you, dollar store.

Listen — you can shop your house for pretty much everything. Did I just see you raise your eyebrows?

You underestimate my MacGyver powers. (In case you have no idea what I’m talking about — MacGyver was an 80s television show about a guy who was exceptional at unconventional problem solving and he had a fine mullet.)

I love shopping for cool and interesting things too. But not when I have to because I’m under pressure or bored or need to fix something fast.

I’d much rather spend a few minutes combing through my house to see what I can come up with. It has to be simple and not involve a glue gun, glitter or toilet paper rolls. (Although my aunt did use toilet paper rolls to keep the cords from her blow dryer and curling iron neat. I haven't gone that far. Yet.)

The Shop-Your-House philosophy applies to everything. You can use it for when you want to cook, redecorate, fix something, find a new outfit for work and sometimes even to create a gift — and that’s just for starters.

It’s all about understanding the quirky art of using what you already have. In my grandparents' time they used phrases like: make do, or do without or make something from nothing.

All of which were excellent philosophies on how to live within your means and still have creative luxuries. Trust me—shopping from your house isn’t a hardship. You’re not reliving the Dirty 30s of the Great Depression or eating lard sandwiches.

You won’t spend money or bring more crap into your house that you either have to store or dispose of. You saved time. You used your creativity.

It definitely looks better than whatever Made-in-China thing you would have bought at the store. What’s not to like?

My mom loves to sew, which means she has a basement full of fabric and old patterns. She was going to donate a monster garbage bag of patterns and I snagged the works. Oh yes, I did.

I use the sewing pattern tissues to wrap gifts or ship stuff. People love how weird it is and my Texan friend Deb loves taking pictures of her birthday package when it arrives:

The vintage sewing pattern tissue is whimsical, can be reused and recycled and I could probably wallpaper a room with the amount I have in that bag. And no, I’m not sharing it with you. Get thee to a thrift store or ask anyone who sews to prove their friendship.

Maybe you’re going through a financially lean time or perhaps you’ve just decided to save more of your time and money. Take heart.

Your house is full of stuff that has more than one use. Try looking at everything with new eyes. You’ll be surprised at how quickly the simplest of items can elevate the ordinary.

I use thick, unusually shaped breadboards to serve hors d’oeuvres, or to set a hot pan of food on, or to bring a loaf of homemade bread with a knife and a dish of butter to the table. (Rustic chic made by a kid in high school shop class is available to you too from your local thrift store.)

People love food, and sometimes the most thoughtful gift you can give is something you’ve made. Maybe you’re a whiz at whipping up preserved things like pickles, relishes and canned fruit and have some stashed downstairs.

Or perhaps your homemade brownies, granola or bread makes people drool. You don’t need to go buy a fancy gift unless you want to. Your pantry probably has everything you need.

There’s a popular frugal movement to not buy groceries for a week or sometimes longer. These people shop from their house regularly. They clean out their pantries and freezers and look at the best-by dates on the cans of tomatoes and use them up instead of having to throw them out later.

They aren’t cheapskates. They are brilliant.

Because food waste in America (and the western world in general) is at an all-time high of 30–40%. But remember, you paid for that food with after-tax dollars.

What lurks in your freezer or pantry that would be delicious if it was simply taken out of hiding?

Instead of going out to buy food for the recipe you’ve found in a magazine or on Pinterest— why not go online and find a recipe for the food you’ve already bought and paid for and it's in the house?

Whoa — did I just hear you say you’re not creative enough to shop from your house? Or that you don’t have the time for this?

Well, you had the time to buy it before and put it in the house. Why not take advantage of that?

You’ve already sunk time and money into the stuff in your home. You can be one of the smart ones who actually use it.

Tonight I don’t have guests coming over and so the dog hair and vacuuming can wait. My husband is bringing sushi home as that’s a treat we have every month. I’ve got half a bottle of lovely saki hanging around that we will finish.

I may even dig in my cupboard and put the saki and delicate cups on my favourite old breadboard that’s shaped like a fish. It’s beat-up as hell but it has its own quirky and frugal charm. And it will make my husband laugh.

Shopping your home should have joy in it too.

Thanks for reading! I have loads of food essays (delicious recipes too) and thoughtful and quirky simpler living essays waiting for you. (Well over 100 of them!) And this story caught the attention of NBC News In New York!

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