Building a "stairway to heaven"...

"Craigslist" is my husbands favorite website and he recently found an outdoor staircase for sale. Somebody had torn it down but left it in sections. After an interesting loading and hauling procedure we had a big heap of cedar stair parts next to the house. A good friend helped recalculating the stair structure and made a cardboard-model that now is turned into a fully functional set of stairs. Every piece of wood from the original parts have been used and including some extra bolts, cement and a few boards, the total price: $150.

Estimated cost if we would have bought the material new..a couple of housands!
Ok, I have to brag yet again, T is brilliant. He wanted to build a set of stairs, he found the ad, saw the potential and ran with the idea. And he built it all by himself.
Frugality goes hand in hand with living "green". A heap of wood, destined for the dump, revitalized and beautified. Our own "stairway to heaven"...the beautiful meadow above the house...

Hunting for treasures....

...and Goodwill is one of the greatest places to find them. My husband and I probably spend too much time roaming the isles of the second hand stores in Eugene and Junction city but to find the best stuff you have to have patience and use creativity. Building supplies, light bulbs, electronics, kitchen tools.....

Our french doors and some of our windows in our house was found at Goodwill! 

The trick is to not buy stuff just because it's there...and that it might come in handy... sometime in the future.

And also, to donate stuff that you don't want any more back to the store!!!! 

I guess we keep the circle going. Donate-buy-donate back....Good for the environment (re-use,recycle) and for the Goodwill organization and people who work there.

However, look out for high prices! Some stores seem to think their "stuff" is worth  more than when it was new.

They should remember- it was DONATED in the first place.

Give us frugal people a great price and we'll keep coming back for more treasures...