Best of TBC
- Make a Welcoming Guest Room: Entertaining on a Budget
- Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Cooking.com: Daily Deal
- Natural Cutting Board Cleaner: DIY
- Get 55-70% Off Student Lounge and Dorm Accessories at Kohl’s
- The Look for Less: Clocks for under $30
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Welcome to The Budget Casa, where we help you create a fabulous home on a budget. Check out our home decorating tips, easy do-it-yourself projects, advice for entertaining on a budget and share your tips in our decorating forum.
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Make a Welcoming Guest Room: Entertaining on a Budget
August 28, 2008 12:00 PM
Sight
Obviously, your guest room or suite should be tidy and clean. Clear away all clutter and make some room in the closet or nightstand for your guests’ belongings. If they are readers, make sure to provide good lighting. For an extra special touch, place a book you think they'll enjoy on the nightstand (short story or essay collections are nice, short reads). Don’t forget to put out an alarm clock so your guests can wake when they want to.
Touch
Make sure linens in your guest room are freshly laundered, soft and comfortable. Bed linens, towels, rugs and other fabrics should be recently washed and set out for your guests to use. (Use a natural laundry detergent for allergic guests.) A few throw pillows on the bed add an extra sense of texture.
Taste
Place a bowl of apples or other fresh, in-season fruit on the nightstand – or even a couple of chocolate chip cookies for guests with a sweet tooth. Consider your guests' dietary needs and preferences, and plan accordingly.
Sound
A white noise machine can help to bring the outdoors inside if you live in a less than scenic place. It’s also a great cover-up for street noise or other sounds that may keep your guests awake.
Smell
A bouquet of fresh flowers on a table or nightstand add a touch of style to any guest room. Also try placing some scented candles around the room – if your guests don’t have allergies.
Read more about Hosting on a Budget.
image by by Kathryn McCallum
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Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Cooking.com: Daily Deal
August 28, 2008 09:00 AM
The Deal: Free Standard Shipping on orders over $99 at Cooking.com! (coupon code: C98859, through Sept. 4)
The Lowdown: Cooking.com is a great resource for updating or adding to your kitchen style, with high quality cookware and more. Even though summer's almost over, it's not too late, for example, to pick up a fabulous Cuisinart Brushed Stainless and Black Bar Blender, for $99.95, and have one last frozen drink hurrah (then gear it up for all those holiday get-togethers you'll be having . . .)
Shop: Cooking.com, and use this code: C98859
The Lowdown: Cooking.com is a great resource for updating or adding to your kitchen style, with high quality cookware and more. Even though summer's almost over, it's not too late, for example, to pick up a fabulous Cuisinart Brushed Stainless and Black Bar Blender, for $99.95, and have one last frozen drink hurrah (then gear it up for all those holiday get-togethers you'll be having . . .)
Shop: Cooking.com, and use this code: C98859
Natural Cutting Board Cleaner: DIY
August 27, 2008 04:00 PM
Wooden cutting boards can get dingy, scratched and stained quickly, which is sooo not a look. If you want that new-cutting board look, or just want to make sure yours is as clean as it can be, try this natural method for cleaning and sanitizing your wooden cutting board.
You’ll need:
About 2 tablespoons coarse salt
Half a lemon
Sunshine (optional)
Mineral oil
Take about 2 tablespoons of salt (more or less, depending on the size of your board) and sprinkle on the board. Then slice a lemon in half and use the cut half of the lemon to scrub the salt into the board, making sure to get the edges and corners of the board. Rinse well with hot water, then dry with a clean kitchen towel. If you can, set board out in the sunshine for extra sanitizing and bleaching – the sunlight will also ensure that the board gets completely dry. Then, when the board is dry, apply mineral oil with a clean rag to seal the wood.
Repeat every two weeks or so.
For more natural cleaning ideas, see Cleaning Products: DIY.
image by drummcpherson
You’ll need:
About 2 tablespoons coarse salt
Half a lemon
Sunshine (optional)
Mineral oil
Take about 2 tablespoons of salt (more or less, depending on the size of your board) and sprinkle on the board. Then slice a lemon in half and use the cut half of the lemon to scrub the salt into the board, making sure to get the edges and corners of the board. Rinse well with hot water, then dry with a clean kitchen towel. If you can, set board out in the sunshine for extra sanitizing and bleaching – the sunlight will also ensure that the board gets completely dry. Then, when the board is dry, apply mineral oil with a clean rag to seal the wood.
Repeat every two weeks or so.
For more natural cleaning ideas, see Cleaning Products: DIY.
image by drummcpherson
Get 55-70% Off Student Lounge and Dorm Accessories at Kohl’s
August 27, 2008 09:00 AM
The Deal: Get up to 70% off of student lounge and dorm accessories right now at Kohl's
The Lowdown: Dorms are home too, and as students head off to college they deserve some nice personal touches to make it feel like home. Pick up some fun accessories for less, like this Student Lounge Drum-Shade Comic Lamp, on sale for $14.99.
Shop: Kohls.com
The Lowdown: Dorms are home too, and as students head off to college they deserve some nice personal touches to make it feel like home. Pick up some fun accessories for less, like this Student Lounge Drum-Shade Comic Lamp, on sale for $14.99.
Shop: Kohls.com
The Look for Less: Clocks for under $30
August 26, 2008 12:00 PM
If it wasn’t for your alarm clock going off this morning, where would you be? Snug-as-a-bug in your bed (clinging to your homemade sweater pillow, no doubt). But you’d also be late for meetings, your trainer, a date, lunch, dinner, your family (you get the picture). These days it’s virtually impossible to get away from telling time but finding a clock (alarm or otherwise) that’s chic and cheap remains an elusive task. That’s why we’ve searched...
Dining and Entertaining Sets on Clearance at Macy’s: Daily Deal
August 26, 2008 09:00 AM
The Deal: Check out Macy's clearance for great deals on dining and enteraining sets
The Lowdown: It's season end clearance times, meaning great savings on all kinds of entertaining sets and tableware -- everything from vases to serving trays to coffee sets and more. A fun choice? These Fiesta Cappucino Mugs, now $7.97.
Shop: Macys.com
The Lowdown: It's season end clearance times, meaning great savings on all kinds of entertaining sets and tableware -- everything from vases to serving trays to coffee sets and more. A fun choice? These Fiesta Cappucino Mugs, now $7.97.
Shop: Macys.com
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