The Queen Of Clearance - Part 2

Last month (aka two days ago) I began posting about all the great clearance deals I've gotten over the years, and there were so many I didn't want to put them in one overwhelming post. I began thinking that maybe I have a problem. The more I thought about it the more items came to mind. Is there a CA (Clearance Anonymous) out there?! I may have to join!

The biggest clearance item in my living room is, of course, my sectional sofa that I got at Costco and paid $650 for after my rebate check. But I do have a few odds and ends in my living room that were once residents of the clearance racks.

This sweet jar is actually a candleholder with a flameless candle inside. The cutout is a flower. It's very rustic and sweet, and was only $7.99. I don't recall what the original price was; I bought it at Kohl's many years ago. It's still a favorite, and has found itself somewhere on my bookshelf ever since it entered my home.

This little cutie is a recent find from Hobby Lobby. The original price was $13.99 but I found it in the clearance section for a mere $3.49. I have several white animal figurines, but this one is the most unique.

I never pay a lot for pillows. I've seen throw pillows upwards of $80; that's not for me. Even pillows that are $25 and $30 are too much for my wallet. I think the most I have ever paid for a single throw pillow is $10. That's why, whenever I find throw pillows on clearance, I do a happy dance! I have several clearance pillows, but this one is a favorite. It's 24"x24", and y'all, I found it at Target for $8.00! I found another pillow at Target, this size and the same price, in pink. But the reason this one is my favorite is...

It's reversible! It's like getting two pillows for $8.00 instead of one! I love that the colors go with spring as well as fall. I can even leave it for late winter, since spring in South Florida typically begins in February or early March. We don't get much of a winter here.

This lumbar pillow would have cost me $24.99, but I found it at Target for $8.50. This is why I won't pay full price for pillows. If you look for them, you can find them. Patience is key; they don't always have them but whenever they do, it's a good deal. Flexibility is also necessary; you might not always find exactly what you want, but I don't feel like I've settled for less on either. In both cases I got brand new pillows for what a pillow cover might have cost.

I can't forget my olive tree that I found at Hobby Lobby shortly after the stores began opening up this year. Whenever I first saw it, it was on clearance for $29.99, but I was already at the checkout and I didn't want to hold up the line while I went to look at it. I decided to pass it up, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I went back the following week to buy an arch for above my front door, and I figured if they had any trees left I'd make a decision whether I wanted it or not. They were at the entrance whenever I got to Hobby Lobby; there were only two left, and they'd been marked down to $24.99 from the original price of $99.99. There was no thinking about it - this baby was coming home with me! It's been in my kitchen, and now it's in my living room. The white basket it's in came from the Target dollar spot.

Trays are another thing I like to get on clearance because they can get pricey. I like having things corralled in a tray; it makes it easy to move things whenever I'm cleaning. This one in my living room is from Target; I got it for half price, $12.00. 

This tray is in my kitchen. It's the same size as the Target tray but this one is mostly metal with wood sides where the handles are. I picked this up at Kirkland's for $7.78, reduced from $19.99.

I found some Pioneer Woman goodies in the clearance section of Walmart a few years ago and I was so happy because they are so beautiful and classy. They can go with all different types of decor. The salt and pepper shakers were $2.00 each, and the soup tureen was $19.99 (down from $30).

Another great clearance deal I got from Walmart is my Keurig. I actually had this on my Christmas list whenever I saw it in the clearance aisle for $50.00 - it was $99.99 regular price everywhere else! I've had it for four years and it still works like a charm. It's a One Cup Wonder, but even the newer "cheaper" one cup Keurig machines go for over $70 so this was definitely a great deal. It was brand new in the box too. I think this particular color was not available in store, only online, so they had to sell it for less. It had been reduced previously to $75 but it hadn't sold. I guess it was meant for me!

Whenever I'm at Target I check the Hearth and Hand section for clearance items too. I've found several really good deals, but none beats this one. These ceramic jars can hold pretty much anything. The original price was $9.99, but I got them for $2.50 each. I ended up paying less for all three of them than what one would have cost at the regular price!

And how about this gorgeousness?! Hobby Lobby put this on sale after spring. It was originally $49.99, but it was 75% off! I was able to get it for $12.50, and it is perfect in my bathroom.

I recently found this adorable little birdhouse at TJ Maxx for just $6.00, less my 10% senior discount for shopping on Monday. I believe the original price was $20 but I'm not certain. Anyway, the color is so cute and it's a nice addition to my patio.

I don't remember what the original price was for this ceramic lantern, but whenever I found it at Target I picked up two of them for $4.50 each and asked my daughter if she wanted them for her new house. She declined, so I kept one for outside and gave one away as a gift. It was greatly appreciated - no one would think it was so affordable!

I love a bargain y'all, not gonna lie. It's thrilling to me whenever I go in a store and I find really great deals like this. I've had to train myself, though. It was getting out of control. I was buying stuff not because I needed the items, but because the deal was too good to pass up. Problem is, it's not a good deal if you don't use it. Thankfully I've used much of my clearance purchases as gifts if I don't use them myself, but I'm learning to be more intentional with what I bring inside my house. If I don't have a place to put it, or someone specific to give it to, I walk away. And that there is another way to save!

Decorating For Fall

 All over the stores, all over YouTube, all over the internet, everyone is saying the same thing: they're excited for fall. Pumpkin spice everything. Leaves changing color. Temperatures start to go down. Sweater weather they call it. Time to break out all the fall decor, the oranges and reds, the blues and grays, the purples and pinks (yes, I've seen purple pumpkins. Very glam). 

Here in South Florida, September doesn't look like it does up north. Not only are the temperatures still in the upper 90's, it's the peak of hurricane season. At this writing there are six - count 'em, six - storms or developing storms just in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The humidity is off the charts so there won't be any sweater wearing for at least another couple of months. And while we have some trees that drop their leaves, most won't till January, and palm trees never change color.

Still, we can enjoy pumpkin spice. And we can pretend it's fall by decorating. That's what I did this week.

I don't usually decorate so early. I like to wait until the first official day of fall. But it was past Labor Day and with this whole pandemic and being stuck indoors all spring and summer, I desperately wanted a change. In my last week in review post  I showed some new items I picked up to decorate, and my Itch To Switch post was all about furniture rearranging. Now it was time to get it all put together.

On Tuesday, the day after Labor Day, I started with the items I had close at hand. These were either in my closet or had just been purchased. I started in my master bedroom.

I flipped the bedspread over to the solid side. I always buy bedspreads or comforters that are reversible so that I get two looks for the price of one. I brought the throw pillows that had been on the sectional and added them to the pillows I normally have here. After adding the throw blanket from the living room, I was done for the time being.

I went into the linen closet and pulled out my kitchen towels.

This cute pumpkin towel is, I believe, from Target. I'm not exactly sure. I've had it for a couple of years now. I thought it looked cheery hanging out of my mixer.

These towels are from Kohl's, also a few years back. They are simple and functional, which is what I want in my kitchen.

I pulled this flower arrangement out that I've also had for several years. The base was a gift basket I'd gotten from a girl at work for my birthday, and after eating all the goodies I filled it with fall colored flowers. It has a Christmas tree on the other side so I can use this all through the holidays.

My little coffee station is little for a reason. I don't have tons of counter space. I know tiered trays are all the rage but it would get too crowded here for me, so instead I have this cake plate from the Target Dollar Spot. I replaced the ceramic doll I had on it with one of the tiny pumpkins I picked up at Hobby Lobby and put another one next to the Keurig. Then I switched out the coffee mug for my favorite Peanuts mug and that was done.

I started out very simply in my office. I use my desk regularly so I don't want a bunch of unnecessary stuff on top of it. This storage box was one I found a few weeks ago at TJ Maxx, and I decided to get it to keep my planners in.

I picked it because it was the right size and the colors were pretty. It wasn't until I looked at it at home that I realized it was perfect for fall.

There's pumpkins on it y'all! How did I miss that?! Anyway, it's on my desk, and I put this little vase on top of it, and I love how it looks - clean and simple.

In the dining room, I used what I had on hand. The only new things were the flowers I'd bought at the Dollar Tree.

The runner is from Big Lots, probably four or five years ago. Under the pitcher is a charger from Walmart that I've also had for a long time, though I think they still carry something similar. I use this instead of a tray; it cost $1.00 and gives it some dimension.

I then pulled out my new pillows and started working on the sectional. I was so excited!

I put the two pillows I'd got at TJ Maxx on either end of the sectional. In the middle I put my new pillow from Costco together with a large pillow I'd gotten on clearance from Target a few years ago and a throw blanket that I've also had for years from Walmart. As a side note - Walmart has really nice throw blankets and they are usually under $10. I stepped back and looked at the sectional. I didn't know if the spring flowers on the coffee table were throwing me off, but it seemed like it wasn't right. It was too skimpy - which is odd because I normally don't like a whole lot of pillows on my sofa. Still, the fun of decorating is moving things around and trying new looks, so I added a couple more pillows.

Y'all, I went back and forth with this several times, but I decided I liked the layered look of the pillows best. I moved the Costco pumpkin pillow over to show the big pillow behind it. I liked it but it still wasn't enough. So I tried one more thing.

I liked this a lot better, but I still wasn't 100% sure. I decided to live with it for a while and see. Then I thought, maybe something in my storage bins will have what I'm looking for...

So that's what I started to do on Wednesday. But that's gonna be a separate post, since this one has gotten long enough! Come back to see what got added, what got changed, and what it all looks like now. God bless y'all!