Before You Go To The Book Store Check Out The Library

I love to buy books. I know that at the library you can check out books for free, but sometimes you just want to keep a book for your own read it over and over again, crinkle the pages and bend the covers.

But the library isn't just for rentals anymore. At many libraries you can buy books too. Libraries are constantly buying new books so they have to make room for them by selling their older books.

Many libraries give books away, some have sales a few times a year and some have permanent bookstores. The Hoover Public Library has a permanent bookstore. Books, CD's, Books on Tape, Encyclopedias, and Movies are all sold and range in price anywhere from .25 cents to $1.

Not all the items for sale are books that are ancient and uninteresting. There was a whole section of awesome hands on science and craft books, CliffsNotes and even those travel books for foreign countries that people like to buy before a big trip. There were so many books in there to chose from I can't list them all here.

So next time you are looking for a book to buy, check out the library first. You'll be getting a great deal and you'll be giving back to library too.

Make Inexpensive Play Clothes

I can't believe I'm sharing this old photo with the world (by the way I'm 6 months pregnant here). I've been making this costume for Halloween for several years now because it is cheap, it is easy to make and it lets me be creative. With 4 paper grocery bags I am able to create last minute cowboy costumes for me and the Mr. Get creative with scissors and markers and you can do anything.

Play clothes don't have to cost a lot if anything at all. It can also be fun for your kids to make them themselves. I cut the bags to what I want them to be, it's as simple as that. The bags are sturdy and have a leather appearance after you crinkle them and smooth them. I've also made Indian costumes with these too. You can punch holes in the chaps and string yarn trough. The belt buckles were made from cardboard and tin foil. I have also made guns in the past from cardboard, toilet paper rolls and tin foil. You can color these costumes to look like cow hide and even include a shiny sheriff badge.

Martha Stewart has other creative how-to's on seven different homemade and inexpensive costumes. Of course she is Martha and her costumes blow this one out of the water. Try making paper bag costumes or try one of Martha's. I promise, you and your kids will have a blast!

Listen to Free Music

Okay, so everyone that I've talked to about what I'm about to post has laughed at me because I am the only 26 year old on the planet that is so technology impaired but I'm going to post about this anyway because maybe there is someone out there like me.

I recently discovered Playlist.com. It's the most amazing site! You can add as many songs as you want to a play list. You can put the play list on your Myspace, Facebook, Blog etc. or you can just listen to them straight from Playlist's site on your computer and much more. The best part is it's completely FREE!!

I have created 3 play lists so far, my favorite songs at the moment, one for kids songs for my daughter and one for Sunday songs. I love it! I will put my play list on and listen to it for hours while I craft, clean or just have a dance party with my daughter. A word of caution though if you are creating a play list for a child, make sure you sample the song before you put it on the play list. I discovered some of the Sesame Street Songs that came up on my search were not actually Sesame Street songs but rather vulgar parody songs of original Sesame Street songs, so just be careful.

I have posted my play list of favorites at the bottom of the page if you want to check it out!

Never Buy Another Shower Curtain

Is your shower curtain or shower curtain liner disgusting? Don't beat yourself up about it, it happens to the best of us. Just don't throw it out and buy another one!

Instead of throwing it away and buying a new one you can just throw it in the washing machine with a little bit of detergent and bleach. When it is done washing just hang it right back up to dry and it will be as good as new.

I have a fabric shower curtain (that I bought on clearance for $4) that I will wash with my other linens but the liner I have has been washed this way several times. It is still as sturdy as ever.