My son is on Easter Break this week and we’ve been working on registration for his post-secondary classes next year. It seems like not that long ago we were buying kindergarten school supplies, but that’s the way it goes. When I think back to my first year of college, I remember it being an exciting time. I shared a two bedroom apartment with a friend, and I was thrilled to “set up house” for the first time. It’s a memory that’s still so clear to me.

Back then finances were tight, and my decorating budget was basically nothing. If it wasn’t for garage sale fix-ups and a few items purchased by my parents, our living room would’ve been empty. My grandparents even helped out by going through their cupboards and closets, and giving me the stuff they never used (at least that’s what they said). I still have a set of sheets from back then and the odd pot and pan kicking around (some things just aren’t made the way they used to be).

The following years at university continued to test my skills as a decorator, as frugal living became the norm. I bought sheets on a major discount and sewed them into curtains, I painted my own artwork, and recovered a chair or two.

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I also began to “rescue” furniture from the side of the road and the odd dumpster. I guess I was repurposing and upcycling before I even knew what that meant.

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