One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1242 of 2143 - I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

I Found My Lost Gardening Book at Powell’s Bookstore in Portland, Oregon

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 16, 2014 · 15 Comments

A gazillion years ago when the HH and I were first married, my sister in law gave me a gardening book. The Book of Outdoor Gardening by Smith and Hawken. It was the first garden book I ever owned. Practically everyday for over a year, I would pour over the book, learning everything from how to grow vegetables to daydreaming about visiting all the fancy gardens in the front of the book {Monticello was one of them!}. And then one day, several years ago, I lost the book. And since the book was out of print, I was out of luck.

So when I had heard that no trip to Portland would be complete without a stop at Powell’s Bookstore, The Girl and I decided to put the destination at the top of our list {to find my book}. While Powell’s is a chain of bookstores, the headquarters {or Mecca, rather} is in downtown Portland. It. Is. Massive. And according to The Girl, it’s her new favorite store {mine is still Amazon}. 😉 I’ll admit, the used and rare books selections were pretty cool, though.

For those of you who don’t know, Powell’s was started in 1971 by Walter Powell. Walter’s son, Michael, had opened up a bookstore in Chicago {selling used, rare, and academic books}. Walter worked for him one summer and enjoyed it so much, he decided to open up his own bookstore. In 1979, Michael lost his lease in Chicago and joined his father out in Portland. They quickly amassed a HUGE selection of used books, by buying pretty much every title that came through the door.

Powell’s decided eventually to bring in new books as well. They mix the books, used and new, co-mingling on the same shelf, so as to attract any kind of customer. I don’t know about you, but if I am looking for a title and used is available, I am ALL over it.

With several floors of books, it’s pretty easy to grab a tea/coffee, slump down into a big over-sized chair and stay awhile. But I was on a mission and had no time for tea and over-sized chairs. No siree Bob.

After 20 minutes of searching, I finally found my book. I totally squealed when I spotted it and couldn’t handover the $6.50 for it fast enough. How cool is that?

Pretty darn cool if you ask me. 🙂

Have you ever lost a good book? If so, try Powell’s used book section online. Who knows, you might just get lucky.

~Mavis

Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside St.
Portland, OR 97209

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10 Simple Ways to Increase the Value of Your Home

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 16, 2014 · 6 Comments

I don’t know how it is where you live, but here I am starting to see houses for sale like crazy. I wonder if that means that people are starting to see relief from some of the economic craziness of the past few years? Whatever the reason, if you are thinking about putting your house up for sale too, here are a few tips on increasing the value of your home, and hopefully putting more money in your pocket:

Paint. A fresh coat of NEUTRAL colored paint can make the house appear cleaner. Staying neutral gives you a better chance to appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers. Plus, paint is relatively cheap–so you get a lot of bang for your buck.
Remove personal items and put them in storage. Yes, the pictures of your kids are endearing, but when people see personal items, they focus on them, rather than picturing themselves in the home. And, as much as you love your life-size paper mache zebra in the living room, it might not be someone else’s cup of tea {they may prefer giraffes}–it’s best to keep it a blank slate so people can imagine their own stuff in the house.
Clean. Seriously, clean like your mother-in-law is coming to visit. The place should pass the white glove test. Don’t forget the insides of drawers, etc. Potential buyers will open and search through everything.
Deodorize. Everyone has a unique smell, unfortunately, that is not always a good thing. If you have pets, you may not even notice the smell of your house, but potential buyers definitely will. Light a candle or bake a cake before your house shows. If you go with the candle, go with classic food smells {apple pie, etc.} over perfume-type smells.
Create an inviting entrance. If you don’t have curb appeal, it’s pretty hard to convince the average buyer that the house is worth their time. Put a potted plant at the entrance {flowers in the summer/spring/fall and maybe a topiary in the winter}. Set out a welcome mat. Make sure the yard is tidy.
If you have to replace floors before you can sell, opt for eco choices {like bamboo}. They are a selling feature for the home.
Up the wattage in your light bulbs for the showings. The brighter the space, the more inviting it is to potential buyers.
Kitchen cabinets. If the kitchen cabinets have taken a beating over the years, painting them can give new life to the kitchen for minimal cost. I don’t know about you, but nothing is more depressing than walking into an outdated and drab kitchen.
Staging. If the weather is nice, make sure to stage outdoor selling features too. Make sure to set up the table on the patio. Put the umbrella up. Turn on the outdoor fountain if there is one. You want to draw their eye to features they may miss otherwise. Make ’em believe that entertaining outdoors is just a quick escrow away.
Window coverings. Fresh curtains/blinds can add a lot to a room for pretty inexpensive. Old faded drapes can make a space feel dated and dark. Head over to Target and grab a couple of new panels–you’ll be shocked at what they do for the room.

Did you recently sell your house? Did you do any of these? Did they work for you?

~Mavis

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12 Goals for the New Year – Week 16 of 52

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 16, 2014 · 5 Comments

I came up with 12 goals I’d like to accomplish this year with the hopes of being able to cross one off my list per month to make them more manageable. I thought a great way to hold myself accountable to the things I want to accomplish this year would be to do a weekly update.

After all, we all need a little help staying motivated sometimes. Here’s how I am doing so far:

1. ~~Clean, de-clutter and organize my entire home in 30 days or less~~. – So far this year I have cleaned my closet, organized my kitchen, decluttered my bathroom, organized my office, gutted the garage, and tackled the laundry room. Last week I cleaned the blinds. This week The Girl and I are going to clean all the light fixtures. Isn’t spring break RAD? 😉

2. Fit into the same jeans I wore 8 years ago when we moved into our house. – What can I say, it’s a work in progress. I’m back on the pedometer wagon again and Lucy the puggle dog and I are still taking our long walks every day.

3. ~~Travel~~. So far this year The Girl and I have been to Boston, London, Paris and now Portland, Oregon. Canada is still on our list as well as a few other places. Stay tuned.

4. Send my daughter to college without having a nervous breakdown thus spending a week in bed sobbing. No comment.

5. Get 3 new teeth. – Nope, not yet.

6. ~~Pay off my car~~. Done! – If you know me in real life then you know I despise driving. I do like my car, but I can barely make it to Target and back without breaking out in hives, so on our latest adventure to Portland, The Girl did all the driving {over 500 miles}. Weeee!

7. Finish the primitive folk art rug I started 4 years ago. – Last week I made the decision to turn my the giant rug I’ve been working on into a more manageable 4’x2′ front door rug instead. I made some pretty good progress last week too and I’m hoping to have it finished by June.

8. Family Day. Do one thing together as a family every Sunday. – We ate dinner together, does that count? 🙂 The Girl and I got back late from our road trip so we didn’t hang out with the boys to much. But from what I hear they had a pretty wicked weekend doing yard work together and bonding over video games.

9. Secret Plan #1 – Working on it.

10. Secret Plan #2 – Still plotting away.

11. Secret Plan #3

12. Convince the HH we should buy a Salt Box Style House in Colonial Williamsburg. – Not going so well. But, it’s not stopping me from pinning stuff on to Pinterest.

13. Spend at least 1 hour a day working in my garden. – Lucy the Puggle dog and I spent the day yesterday deadheading all of the daffodils in the front yard. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand looking at brown daffodils. Today we’ll finish sniping the brownish flowers in the backyard.

So there you have it, my goals for the new year.

How about YOU? How are your 2014 goals coming along?

~Mavis

P.S. YES, I know I wrote down 13 goals. I’m fairly certain I won’t be able to attain one of them. {gee, I wonder which one?} But I wanted to add it in there anyway because I believe in miracles.

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What Is Compost and Why Is Compost So Important?

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 16, 2014 · 4 Comments

I get questions about compost all of the time, and since I am itching to start really get going in the garden, I thought now would be the perfect time to give you the 411 on all things compost.

First, compost is the product of the natural decomposition of organic materials. In an nutshell, it’s the dirt-like substance that comes from waste that is allowed to follow its natural process of breaking down to re-feed the earth. It will happen whether you composts yourself or not–but having your own compost pile really only helps you in the long run.

Compost is nature’s way of making sure the earth doesn’t pile up with waste. {As humans, we have, of course, managed to figure out how to make things that simply to not break down, but that’s a whole other topic.} The decomposition, by design, feeds the plants that grow from the earth, which feed the animals. It’s all part of the great cycle of nature.

Creating a compost pile or buying a composter helps to reduce the amount of stuff that ends up shoved into plastic bags and sent to the landfills. It also results in what most gardeners refer to as “black gold” for your garden. Compost is a nutrient rich amendment for your soil that is literally free to make.

Making your own compost is basically a no-brainer. It’s easiest to start with kitchen scraps. {Click HERE to see a full list of kitchen scraps that can be composted.} Just get a bucket or composting collector of some sort, and toss in your kitchen scraps. When it is full, take it outside to the compost pile and dump it. Layer your kitchen scraps with grass clippings, leaves, and other yard waste {sticks need to be put through a wood chipper, otherwise they take FOREVER to break down}. As a general rule of thumb, if it came from nature, you can usually send it back to nature.

Compost will need to “cook” before it breaks down into a dirt like substance. In order for your compost to break down, you will need microbe activity. This happens pretty naturally, and while there are ways to help it along {by adding nitrogen}, I don’t think you need to. The microbe activity is what causes the heat {maybe you have seen a compost pile steaming in the middle of winter?} which is needed to cook the compost. It’s important to keep constant moisture {but don’t over do it} and turn your compost pile frequently in order to get the fastest results.

If your compost is complete in the spring, make sure to allow it to sit for up to 3 months before applying it directly to your beds. See how I made a compost bin out of wood pallets HERE. Compost can be “hot”, which means it is high in nitrogen, and it can burn your plants. Allowing it to sit can prevent that. If you compost is done in the fall {which I think is ideal}, you can spread it over the top of your garden when you put it to bed and allow it to sit over the winter. Come spring, you will be ready to turn it into the soil and plant. {Store bought compost can be used any time}.

That’s about it. Do you have anything to add about compost?

~Mavis

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