Mad Men For The Holidays

 'Tis the season for lots of holiday parties and dinners.  Better get ready and amp up your wardrobe with some classy dresses because you don't want to be seen wearing the same one.  


This season, I'm going MAD!!  Mad Men style that is.  For the holidays, I always like the classy 1950's retro look.  It's difficult to pull off that look unless you know where to go for that tailor fitted look without paying an arm and a leg.  Unlike my best friend Jen, I never have any luck in thrift stores when trying to find the 50's shift dresses or clothes of that era for that matter, so instead I end up resorting to a simple black dress that I didn't want to spend money on in the first place.



Thank goodness there are online stores that can help you achieve that look without searching through second hand stores or breaking your budget to get that one (or several) perfect black dress(es).


My perfect black dress cost only $117 with shipping and taxes from a store called unique-vintage.com.

I've been on a search for this exact look for a year now and accidentally stumbled upon it while searching for a retro look.  The material is made of a medium weight stretched lycra and suppose to hug your every curve. There are many selection of well made dresses at Unique-vintage at very decent prices.  

Another one of my new favorite store with many retro dresses is Stop Staring Clothing.  Many form fitting dresses can be found here and I doubt you'll find anything over $200.  

After you pick out your dresses, watch this video to recreate that 1950's PinUp hair style.

Find a faux fur shawl, some red lipsticks, and dark red nail polish, you are ready to be fabulous and glamorous!  

 

Make Out In The Closet!

A clean and organized closet space is one of the most neglected aspect in a household.  For modern frugalists, organization is an important rule to live by.  Disorganized closet space not only drains you of your time, but it also drains you of your money.

By investing a few hours of cleaning out and organizing your closet, you will:

• Save time by making it easier and quicker to get dressed
• Reduce repeat buys
• Keep your clothes looking new
• Leave the house with confidence
  

Here are some tips to getting your closet organized and clean, but make sure you have the following essential items to help you get started.

Suit/Jacket Hangers x 15
Shirt/top/Dress hangers x 40
Suit/skirt hanger x 5
Skirt hangers x 10
Trouser hangers x 10
Drawer liners x 1 pack
Shoulder covers x 5
Boot inserts x 4 pairs
Shoe Drawers x 10
Drawer Dividers x 1 set
Bikini bags x 5

1. Clean out the drawers, the bars, and shelves with mild detergent or disinfecting wipes
   
• Line your drawer (use scented liners to keep clothes smelling fresh)
  
• Use undergarment divider such as the one on the right from the containerstore.com to keep your undergarments, belts, and socks tidy
  
2. Separate your clothes, shoes and accessories and divide them into ones for resale/giveaway/storage/keep
• Unless you have a sentimental attachment, don't hang on to old or tired items.  Store sentimental items separately from non-sentimental items.
  
• Try it on if you are not sure
• Storage items:  Vacuum pack the items for space saving solutions 
3. Rehang garments on matching hangers
   
• Divide your garments into sections, i.e (pants together, skirts together, shirts together, etc.)
• Color coordinate each section
  
4. Organize your shoes
• If you do not have a system for organizing your shoes and want to keep your organizational budget down, consider a modular system like this from the containerstore.com for a clean and sophisticated look for your closet.
  

If you don't have enough storage space, and want a complete overhaul of your wardrobe, Ikea is my pick for the most cost effective and stylish storage solution.  

The wardrobe below is similar to what I have in by bedroom, except in black and frosted glass sliding doors.  As you can see, the system provide storage for all your clothes, accessories, and shoes. The interior is customizable to fit your needs.  

If you decide to go the Ikea route, I recommend hiring them for installation.  If you want to save money on installation, make sure you have some strong men to help you...most of the parts are pretty heavy and is very difficult to put together alone.

Happy organizing!

Eco Friendly, Money Saving, and Time Effecient: Using Genuine Leather Chamois Around The House

Most of the furniture in my house is not made to co-exist with kids. For example, I have two white leather couches that my toddler likes to use as trampolines and a glass dining table that act as a canvas for food and juice painting. After snack time, they make sure not to neglect all the glass doors on my book shelves and media cabinet by leaving smudges with their tiny fingers.


I decided to try out several types of ultra absorbent shammies after going through one roll of paper towels every other day. To my disappointment, they did not do the job I had hoped for.  Although all of the shammies were great at absorbing water, the fact that I had to use Windex and paper towels to wipe the streaks off after using the shammy was not only annoying, but I still went through one roll of paper towels every other day.


While shopping at Target one day, I decided I would wash my own car, so I took a gander in the automotive isle to check out what they had, which I rarely ever do.  To my surprise I saw a genuine leather chamois for $10.00.  It was cheaper than most of the shammies I bought in the past. When I took it home, I thought I would try it on my glass table after the kids spilled their juice. Amazed by the result of a streak-free table, I thought I would try cleaning my white leather couches with it...and by golly, it worked great.  It was a snowball effect after that.  My white leather couches maintain their shininess and are as clean as when I first bought them.  

Instead of using different cleaning agents to clean my furniture, counter tops and walls these days, I just fill my kitchen sink halfway with water, add one or two cap(s) full of Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Lavender All Purpose Cleaner, and wring out the genuine leather chamois after dipping it the solution.  This method is not only friendly to the environment but it also saves me a boat load of time. To top it off, it's also friendly to my pocket book.  I only have to replace the roll of paper towels once every three days now instead of once every other day. In my opinion, the leather chamois has a longer life span than the most cloth shammies out there, which means you have to replace it less often.

TIP:  If you decide to buy genuine leather chamois, be sure to hand wash it with very mild detergent before the first use.
 

Have other uses for genuine leather chamois? Share it with us.

Happy cleaning!