TRASH MONDAY: SMALL DRESSER TRASH TO TREASURE

Welcome back Spring and welcome back Trash Mondays!!

Monday is the day our neighbourhood puts out their garbage for waste collection and its the day I take a drive around for an hour/two and see what goodies I can pull out of peoples trash piles to save from the landfill.

It's incredibly addictive and thrilling.

It's shopping without the price tag!

Even if you save one item every other week, you could potentially be saving 10-25 items a year from the landfill, depending on how many months you do Trash Monday.. I usually start around March and go through October/November (December-February in Nova Scotia are too cold for me!).

In all honesty I have never NOT found something!

I usually find loads of things and have to tell myself "no".

This past Monday, the first #TM of the year, I found... DRUM ROLL PLZ......

AN AMAZING LITTLE CATCH ALL DRESSER!

I'm calling it a 'catch all' because its very petite an can be used in any room for so many different uses!

Now, I had been out trash diving for a while when I came across this and if I'm being honest.. I had a little help. 



Here's the thing about Trash Mondays: Many hands make light work.

Whenever you're out looking for good trash - tell people you're doing it!

Seriously, some of my most amazing finds come from people texting me saying 

"Hey, I saw a great.... on XYZ street..."

My mom, my sister, my cousin, we're all trash pickers and it was actually my sister who spotted this dresser and let me know about it. 

On this particular night I had already found a mint condition kids basketball net, some hockey sticks for road hockey, a baby gate for my moms dog, spotted loads and loads of items that I just had no need for, like toys, tv stands etc. 

But as soon as she texted me I swung back around and picked this gem up!

So, wanna see what I did to it?!?!?

First off I sanded it, just lightly, nothing crazy. 

Then I washed it with water and a smidge of TSP. 

You can buy TSP on Amazon here: affiliate link

 

TSP is a wash to prep for painting, it degreases and works so amazingly to prepare your item.

I have been using the TSP equivalent from Fusion Mineral Paint: 

Fusion Mineral TSP CLICK HERE

It's an organic water based alternative and I really like it. I've use plenty of both kinds of TSP linked in this post.

Once the sanding and washing was done, I got down to painting and I used the Fusion Mineral paint in shade: 

LAMP WHITE CLICK HERE FOR LINK

It did turn out a little cooler toned than I had expected so I can see me changing the colour in the future but for now I LOVE this makeover. 

I picked up some knobs from Winners for the drawer pulls and I decided to put the dresser in our upstairs hallway for now.

The whole 6 pack of knobs only cost me $14.99!!!

I had the paint and brushes and TSP on hand.. 

So, in total this makeover only cost $14.99 plus tax 



Eventually I will use it as an entry way catch all console but for the time being we really needed something in the hallway to house all my cards, and shipping materials for my Scentsy and Etsy business.

Ahh, I love it so much!

What do you think?? 

Come along with me next Trash Monday and maybe try it out yourself on your local trash day?!

Beauty, Baby & the Brand

I’ve had 34 years of life on this planet. 

Approximately 10 years of loving everything beauty. I was late to the makeup game! Well into my 20’s before I found that love. I truly believe ‘an old dog can learn new tricks’ find things that light your soul on fire no matter your age/season of life. 

6.5 years into blogging and 6.8 years in motherhood.. and then motherhood again and again. 

I’m still over here just trying to figure it all out, and still asking who am I?! 

Turning our lives into a business via blogging/social media/product and content creation was never the plan. 

An ever changing landscape of its own accord with my ever changing family, writing, directing & starring in the Housewife Life show. 

Did not see that coming!

Figuring out which direction we want that business to go has sometimes felt like a whirlwind. The last 12-18 months maybe more than ever! 

I’ve felt that internal torment.. with every contract I close I’m proud of my business and myself for managing this entrepreneur lifestyle but contracts are steep, it takes me away from the family and I miss my kids so dang much. 

Thankful for having access to flexibility in schedule - to scale back from work when I need to/the family needs me to is a privilege I don’t take for granted! 

But too much time away can break your spirit in other ways. 

I started the blog to feel connected to people, to fill a creative streak, to share things and learn from others - I wanted to build a community you could reach even if you weren’t physically nearby. This was mainly due to the RCMP life and living away from our home province but how fitting for this last year eh?? 

Some days I’ve felt like throwing in the towel, other days I want to sink deeper in, put the kids in daycare, take it to the big leagues. 

I know this story is not unique to me, a part of me wonders has anyone struck the perfect balance? 

How many working parents are clocking out & racing home to see those sweet baby faces for just a few minutes before bed - babies that are growing up too quick. 

And how many SAH parents are desperate for just one adult conversation to break up the rotation of diaper changes and snack hand outs  - babies that sometimes feel like they’ve been babies forever. 

I’ve dipped my toe in both waters for all these years and I still have no clue which direction the current will take me. 

What I do know is that I would like to get back to basics. 

- I’d like to write more. 

It’s funny how ‘blogging’ has changed face over the years. 

So many of us still consider ourselves bloggers but do we ever put pen to paper? Or have we gone social. 

Micro blogging if you will, shorter captions on social sites seems to trump the website essay these days. 

Businesses built from blogging but expanded in so many directions, no two paths the same. 

I am a video girl. I love video and I would do more and more, I would film tutorials daily if only someone would do all my editing. Haha 

But there is something raw and vulnerable about writing. 

I write a lot of posts that never get published or they stay cuddled in the safety of my private journals. I would love to write a book someday. 

I would love to do so many things, I’ve got more ideas than follow through that’s for sure! 

Today, March 2nd 2021 I’m a full time SAH mom with a couple of part time hustles and I’m working on streamlining that. 

The goal is to simplify my business but as I stated above I’m still figuring myself out! So if you see me pivot, pivot again.. and again and again.. well that’s how she be! 

Today I really just wanted to touch base in written form and see how you all are doing on this crazy ride?? 

And I really wanted to show off these gorgeous photos from 

https://amyhollowayphotography.com/

If you’re a brand, business owner, blogger, or anything in between I can’t sing enough wonderful praises on Amy! 

Hanging out (I say hanging out because it really is a pleasure and does not feel like work!) with someone who “gets” all of this and can see exactly who you are with all the complicated bits and chaos but turns those crazy BTS into beautiful works of art and a time frozen memory.. well it could bring me to tears. 

So thankful for each and every one of you who have followed along with our life, for each and every person brought into our world through ‘the blog’. 

Muah! Xo