Great Finds

I just talked to my sister and she was unboxing Christmas stuff.  I'm still unboxing junk!  

The challenge is fitting all our stuff in a much smaller home.  Not only was our home bigger but I was also spoiled with built ins.  So before I could get organized I needed to find some functional pieces.  There are some great thrift stores here and it has been fun!  

The lockers are actually from Ikea but they actually lock.  Perfect for messy art supplies, microscope, toddler puzzles, flash cards and whatever else is too dangerous or messy for little hands.  This was the first piece to our homeschool room - it set a very institutionalized stage so I took it a few steps further.

The desk is one of 9 I got from Southfield Public Schools, they were only $6 and now line what is suppose to be the dinning room.  I like how they open up to hide the schoolwork clutter but I also got some open face ones that will hold a computer and printer. You can find all sorts of cool school/office stuff for auction at publicsurplus.com - a homeschoolers dream.  The pencil sharpener was $3 at Treasure Mart and looks just like the ones I use to use.

The dresser was picked up at the Ann Arbor PTO thrift shop and 2 lamps, 2 beds and mattresses where found on Craig's list.  The whole room for under $250, you can't do that at Ikea.

The file cabinet is from the Ann Arbor recycle center.   This reuse center was one of my favorite stops and I'll be sure to revisit it regularly in addition to the University of Michigan property disposition center. 

The van has been great for hauling and Paul laughs every time I pull up with yet another furniture piece to unload. He also noted how practical I have become in my choice of style. I argue that style doesn't really matter in a short term rental but still these pieces have just enough eclectic flair - I'd say it's all practically stylish.