You want a fancy-looking place that will wow people? If you watch this video you will get there! Thrift stores, bargain shops and prayers! A beautiful letter from Maggie, a wonderful subscriber here made me fly into action and grant her request to help freshen up her home for her daughter’s visit!!! A few tips from me and I hope everybody here!!!
I hope everybody had a wonderful 4th of July weekend!
Please know how much you mean to me. I so look forward to seeing you every week reading your words of wisdom and sharing your heart. You make my life so bright.
Love you to the moon and back and I always will,
xxoo Susan & The Dez
“One should never be the oldest thing in one’s house.” —Patsy Stone
“If you wait until you have enough money to decorate and make your home your own, it will never happen. If you wait until you can afford to buy everything new, you are missing the point. It is the old, the new, the hand-me-down, the collected, the worn but loved things in your home that make it your own. That make is…magic.” —Stacy Risenmay
Maggie’s Letter Is Below
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What You See In The Video –
Assorted Beautiful Rugs – https://amzn.to/4bEmhLA
Assorted Plant Stands – https://amzn.to/3RY8Q27
Floral Lavender Sheets – https://amzn.to/45XEHpn
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I am asked about this painting so often…it is more beautiful in person.
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.GALLERY WALL
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17. Living Room White Chairs -sold out
18. Dining Room Rug – https://go.magik.ly/ml/1tgha/
19. Happy Kitchen Rug ( wool) – https://go.magik.ly/ml/1tgh6/
20. Living Room Rug – https://go.magik.ly/ml/1tggv/
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___________________
Dear Susan
My name is Maggie, I am 76 years old and live alone in southern Ohio. My daughter, who I have not seen in 8 years is flying in from Oregon to spend a week with me. I am on Social Security so I have very little extra money. I have about 250 dollars to spend to freshen up my home before my daughter gets here. Can you suggest some of the most important things I can do
to make my house a nice place for my daughter to be? I am so nervous she will think my home is a horrible dump. My porch has too much clutter and I plan on making it look pretty if I can. I have made no updates in many years. I cry with joy every day she is coming to see me.I love your channel and it gives me strength to go on every week.
Thank you for helping me, Maggie
_______________________________________
My Songs: https://www.reverbnation.com/susanbuchanan
My last record can be viewed here and listened to in it’s entirety:
“ Mr. Crazy & Other Tales”
https://susanbuchanan.bandcamp.com/
Take a listen to my songs if you have time. It’s free.
#Over60Lifestyle #Decoratingonabudget
[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] dear Susan my name is Maggie I am 76 years old and I live alone in Southern Ohio my daughter who I have not seen in 8 years is flying in from Oregon to spend a week with [Music] me I am on social security so I have very little extra [Music] money I have about $250 to spend to freshen up my home before my daughter gets here can you suggest some of the most important things I can do to make my house a nice place for my daughter to be hey everybody thank you so much for coming back and seeing me and dozy I hope you had a good week I had a wonderful Fourth of July I hung out with family and the grandchildren and I did some gardening and it was just so much fun I want to thank you for listening to Maggie’s letter she is a subscriber here she’s so special and I think we all have a little bit of work to do to help Maggie out today she asked how can she make her home luxurious and fresh for her daughter’s visit and I’ve got some ideas about that and I know you do too and she’s on a budget so I came up with about eight things that I do in my home and I sure don’t have a lot of money but I feel like every room is sort of special and fresh it a little bit luxurious so I want to share those things today and then maybe if you get a chance share some of your tips below I learned so much from you and I know Maggie’s going to watch today and I know she’s G to she’s going to read your comments and we’re all rooting for her we’re wishing her luck with her visit with her daughter and Maggie I know you’re watching today so make sure you watch to the end because I have a surprise for you so let’s get going I want to Quick share with you some things that anybody can do to make their house look special and luxurious and beautiful desie desie get get out of the prickers Jessie get out of the prickers give here do that hurt you crazy boy what are you doing it’s going to rain I have fresh flowers in every room and I put them in my very favorite vases and it not only just looks fresh and and just so romantic I think it just brightens up the whole room and the whole mood and you don’t have to break the bank to get the beautiful vases for your flowers or just the flowers I get $5 bunches at my supermarket and it doesn’t matter what season it is it seems they always have the most beautiful fresh flowers at such a reasonable price and what’s so fun is well let’s say you have a guest coming uh to visit you so you can match your vase or your flowers to the colors of the beds spread the colors of your curtains or perhaps you know your guest’s favorite color so I think one of the things to a beautiful living room is those fresh flowers on the coffee table but better yet for me it’s fresh flowers in the bathroom or or in the bedroom but it’s one of the most beautiful tricks that you can have in your toolbox to make your house a beautiful a beautiful home I get these beautiful bouquets at the supermarket for under $5 and I just think that they add so much to the home and it’s just it’s so cozy no matter what time of day in my home the lighting is just beautiful it it makes it such a comforting nurturing place to live I I couldn’t love it more [Music] when you look at a room it needs to feel alive and that’s what’s so beautiful about plants now plant stands are very reasonably priced if you go to the right places if you go to Marshalls if you go to Big Lots you can walk in and get the most beautiful wood plant stands for next to nothing I mean we’re talking about under $10 so you have this beautiful plant stand and let’s say I mean less is more in a room so let’s say you just have a sofa and a chair but you bring in a beautiful plant stand and a beautiful plant and then the right lighting and you are Off to the Races it’s absolutely beautiful so utilize that ability to go in and shop for your favorite plant stands put one in the bathroom put one in the bedroom it if you are short on furniture I think there’s something about a beautiful green alive blossoming plant on a beautiful plant stand and it just says I’m home these are so pretty I have some brand new soft lavender sheets to put on my bed one bar of this lavender soap with just a little bit of a slit on the side it permeates the whole room my bedroom is lavender and it smells like lavender these are my new lavender sheets they’re so pretty and So Soft I can’t wait to get them on the [Music] bed luy when you are having guests over to your house you want them to feel like your home is luxurious and sometimes when we don’t have big budgets we can be very intimidated by that word luxury or luxurious we feel we don’t measure up with our homes but when you really break down that word that word is synonymous with the word Comfort now once you realize that you can sort of like oh Comfort what is Comfort to me and what is Comfort to my best so for me Comfort is looking over and seeing a beautiful painting Comfort is that warm burning candle and it smells so good Comfort is Twinkle lights on perhaps that new plant standing plant that I just bought and I’ve got twinkle lights and I also I have Lighting on all four corners of my rooms and I know I keep talking about this year after year but it is so important important that your your rooms are illuminated and they can’t just be from one or two sources from the room there can’t be any Dark Shadows there has to be this sort of feeling of comfort of nurturing of welcoming and it’s exciting when you feel you’re on the right track when you feel when you walk through your house and you say to yourself this is so beautiful you’ve got it you don’t have to be rich to say that to yourself you don’t have to be rich to achieve that that’s why I love going to thrift stores so much there’s so many beautiful colors and textures that I’m exposed to that normally I never would have dreamed maybe putting two or three different things together to make that whole combination work so Comfort luxury maybe you you just love a Stained Glass Lamp and and making that purchase just makes the whole room come alive so when you’re thinking about decorating and let’s say you know you have a very small budget to hone in on something that’s going to be so dramatic in the room that people can’t take their eyes off it that’s luxury and that’s comforting you put great food in a great personality with a great lit room yeah you’ve got a beautiful house that feels like a home these these rugs are so beautiful you can pick these rugs up for about $25 I’m at Marshall’s right now and these rugs are beautiful they feel like a soft velvet and you can put them right in the washing machine and they look brand new a year after you buy them I am so nervous she will think my home is a dump I have made no updates in many years I live alone and I do the best I can thank you so much for helping me Maggie I love my little sun room it’s my favorite room it’s the room that I spend the most time in and it’s one room where I really just threw caution to the wind and I didn’t try to make it look pretty that’s my room so I made it a sanctuary for me my my favorite plants and instead of a nice table and and some beautiful patio furniture for guas I just made it for me I I gave myself a little table for basic basically one where I can read where I can edit where I can write where I can look out at the gardens that I plant just me and Desi just hanging out there one way that I decided I could spruce up my sun room though for guests that are coming up next month from Tennessee I looked at the flooring and I said okay the flooring is too dark even though I love the rug it’s too dark it just brings the whole room down then I take out the dark rug and then I went to Marshall’s and I picked up these beautiful light velvet rugs they look very Indian they’re just gorgeous but you can pop them in the washing machine but they’re just gorgeous they’re light you can move them around and they just give the whole room a different vibe a freshness so with the plants the fresh flowers the books and the the different vibe it’s just a lovely place for anybody to be my sun room sits about six you know maybe seven people that’s fine with me anything over that you know who cares you don’t have to be rich to go out and pick yourself up some beautiful rugs so if you have a problem in a room with lighting if you have a problem in a room where maybe you’ve got some funky flooring you’re going to want to cover that up so rugs is a wonderful way to freshen up a room and and and just to make your eye instead of looking at flaws you just see the beauty of the room so rugs don’t ever underestimate flooring and bringing in the right color rug and the right shape rug I think it’s absolutely everything I don’t know sometimes being practical overrides pretty we have been so humid in in Michigan people told me I couldn’t really grow this pink princess but look at her they told me that she’ll never Bloom pink for me but look at the new leaves I think she’s so pretty she’s going to get to be 8 ft tall oh boy I wish I was 8 ft tall I’d be skinny [Music] you know I think for almost everybody we’re feeling a lot of anxiety and stress right now I think the thing that grounds me the most is my family and my gardening I can’t I just can’t seem to be upset at all when I’m out here digging in the dirt we need to talk about clutter and sometimes I hate to bring this up because I think you know if my family and friends see some of my videos where I’m talking about clutter they’re going to feel like I’m walking through their house judging them and I don’t mean that at all but just you know one onone advice as far as how to make a home look luxurious there’s there’s no way you could make somebody feel comfortable if there’s a lot of clutter in your dining room or a lot of clutter on your porch before they walk into your house they will notice I know you know it’s not going to make or break your friendship and or the love they have for you but they’re going to notice and it’s not cool I don’t care how many times you say oh don’t don’t look at those boxes I have piled up in the dining room I’m going to get to them next week and you’ve been saying that for 5 years I think clutter is worse than bad lighting if I’m in a house and everywhere I look there’s boxes everywhere or if I have to try to find a path to get to the kitchen okay that’s we can do better than that now if you’re overwhelmed with trying to get rid of some of this extra stuff in your house you know maybe you’re just downsizing who knows but how about this take it from me some who has moved so many times in the last 12 years but if you have to declutter get yourself some bags and just say to yourself okay I’m only going to throw away or donate 10 things today and I’m going to put them in this bag but every single day I’m going to get rid of 10 things well at the end of the week you have gotten rid of 70 objects you can do that you can get rid of that once you declutter oh my goodness it’s like you have a brand new house but psychologically it’s like yeah I am the queen of my castle and you feel so empowered you are in control we have a very large Amish population where I live and I saw these vintage figurines and I thought they were so beautiful so I grabbed them up and I’m going to take care of them give them a home and I hope they like it here in my [Music] garden I love that quote that 90% of success is just showing up I feel that way about a beautiful home you know 90% of a beautiful home is no clutter spotlessly clean and it smells good so if you’ve got that going for you Magie your house is is just going to be beautiful and if your daughter is getting on a plane from Oregon to spend a week with her mom she loves you and you probably don’t have to do a thing and the visit is going to be everything you dreamed of and more but I want to I want to share with you a story about well almost 25 years ago my first son now most of you know that uh my first son I uh had to give up uh to an adoption agency and we had a reunion in the year 2000 and I left of course breadcrumbs for uh my son Sean to find me and he did and so in that first meeting it was August 2000 and he was coming to my house to meet his mother for the very first time well I wanted to make sure that my beautiful house was clean but it was an old house bill and I had you know we’ just been married a few years we were renovating the house it was a mess I shared my story with my neighbors and with my friends and you know what they all showed up on my porch they had buckets they had bleach they had cleaners each one took a room even the basement even the yard everybody pitched in well I was only what 45 years old but I felt so comforted and we were all just you know working on the same goal to make that house so clean so when my son Sean walked in to meet his mother for the first time that house was just like a shiny penny and of course how the reunion went was wonderful but that’s another video but I bring this up to well Maggie what you’re 75 76 years old you have friends and perhaps a neighbors family that can help you you don’t have to do this alone you can share your story with them and they can help you and by the time your daughter is there your house will be shining like a beautiful shiny penny and it will smell absolutely beautiful and you you’re worried about your front porch and the Clutter there are so many people I wish I could get on a plane and and help you Maggie but no matter what love is Love Is Love and you’re going to have a wonderful visit and and you know down below all the beautiful ladies on this channel that you love so much they’re going to give you some tips to and just one more thing you you told me how much money you have saved and that you can spend $250 on making your house look beautiful and I just want to say I got a little bonus this week uh from a very unexpected Source the IRS and I want to send you a preloaded card a Visa card for $250 so your budget just went from $250 to 500 I want you to have a wonderful time with your daughter I have so much love for you for everybody here and for all of us women that are always working together to make sure that we are supporting and that we have a wonderful life but I always figured love the people who treat you right and forget about the rest believe that everything happens for a reason if you get a chance take it if it changes your life let it nobody said life would be easy they just promised it would be worth it and they were [Music] right everybody thank you so much for hanging out with us today I loved every second of it if you get a chance down below could you share something that that maybe makes your house seem special or fresh or or just luxurious and beautiful please have yourself a wonderful brand new week and when you’re done with your week come back and see me and Desi okay he’s had a very very rough week with the 4th of July but he’s going to be just fine have yourself a great week and when you’re done with your week you come back and see me and Desi all right all right it’s the deal we’ll be here [Music] what’s wrong baby boy h [Music]
38 Comments
Hi Maggie with little funds for freshing your home a big bottlle of fabreeze extra strength, and dryer sheets. Open your windows give your place a good airing out vacuum your furniture and rugs and spray everything with the fabreeze. Then place the fabric softener sheets under the cushions. Let in light, add flowers. Then love your daughter. She's not coming to see your home, she's coming to see you.
Posters and thift store frames are cheap and do wonders. Carpet squares are inexpensive and come in an array of colors. Paint! A change of color can do wonders. There's also tons of slipcover options, just make sure to tuck and pin properly (it can look like a new sofa, with the correct cover). Thrift stores, habitat for humanity can have really nice stuff. Have you ever seen a vinyl backsplash? There's a lot of options, they're economical as well.
Allergy nurse here… Scented dryer sheets, Fabreeze and things of this nature are unhealthy, and cause respiratory issues for many! It’s creates a CHEMICAL STEW! People are becoming more and more chemically sensitive as a result of this type of exposure, especially in our homes! Your home should be a safe harbor from chemicals such as this… Allergies, asthma and chemical sensitivities are on the rise due to use of these products.
Hi. Maggie, I was passing through and subscribe. Really loved your video, your advice, and beautiful home. Excited to see more. I’m on a budget and want to learn more about how to use what I have, make good purchases and decorate a comfortable, warm and inviting home. 😊
Get a small crockpot and simmer orange peels apple peels a splash of vanilla, cinnamon cloves whatever you have will make your house smell wonderful. Maybe give the neighborhood kid a few bucks to help you clean off the porch, some clean sheets and towels and a pitcher of iced tea and you’re set. I hope you make beautiful memories.❤
I don’t usually comment but, you touched my heart Susan…. We need more people like you.
Oregone or Oregun?
To me as a daughter it didn’t matter how my mom’s house was decorated etc. I would help her clean or do whatever she wanted to do. Shopping going out to eat or cooking with her at home. As long I was with her… she’s been gone for over 38 yrs. I still miss her today and always.❤
OH MY GRAVY!!! Susan, you are so generous!!! You made me cry like a baby!!!
<3<3<3. So nice of you. :). mY heart is bursting from your kind generosity.
The most touching story I've ever heard on here. Dear Maggie, enjoy your daughter, memories cost nothing.
You're a wonderful and kind person
My beautiful roses outside make my home feel alive.
Freshly washed linens on the bed and fresh towels for your guest go a long way. 😊
A good cleaning, fresh flowers, fresh lamp shades, new pillow covers, and a small something/something decor piece that gives you pleasure.
Susan, I know you’ll be greatly blessed by your generosity, how very kind of you!!! Maggie I hope you have the most wonderful visit with your daughter!!!
Don't forget the windows!! Hire someone (neighbor?) if you need to, but sparkling windows are a must. Also, see that the lawn is newly mowed. Good luck and happy reunion.
I agree, flowers are what makes a room come alive. I liked neutrals until my friend painted a picture for me in vibrant colors. I hung it up and it started a cascade of colors through my home. Now I'm drawn to colorful decor!
Luxurious living has everything to do with treating the senses. Make your own playlist of music to listen to, beautiful flowers can delight the eyes and nose, comfortable cushions and throws or blankets can offer cozy feelings and when it comes to taste the sky is the limit.
What a beautiful from the heart message for Maggie and all of us! Maggie, I wish you all joy as your daughter visits you. If you have an old photo or 2 of her or her with you, display these, perhaps where she will be sleeping.
And breathe easy. Your love for her will lead the way. Sandee R
Bedside chocolates
Fresh sheets
Fresh pillows for bed
New pillow covers for couch
Fresh towels
A welcome basket
Susan, you are an angel to help Maggie. I love you and Desi. God bless you both
💖🌸👍🏻🌸💖
For the first time, I observe you being judgemental. Some of us have clutter. It is not as easy to eliminate it as you make it sound. Especially, if we are under the pressure of someone coming to our home and possibly judging us because our home is not in perfect order.
How is Maggie doing? Do you know how her visit with her daughter went?
If you want to make a great impression with your home, have it deep clean that's the trick especially the Kitchen appliances and the bathroom. Make sure to light a scented candle. If you have to use bedding you already have, make sure it is clean. Get some fresh flowers and you are done! Enjoy your family.
I used but Friday’s flowers at the flower store, they sold them cheaper than they use an arrangements
Have a great day ❤Love your decor very comfortable 🙂
Make her favorite cookie
I got behind and playing catch-up watching your videos. It’s a Little Poet marathon. I hope Maggie had a great visit with her daughter and didn’t stress out and work too hard trying to make things perfect. You had me in tears when you said you were sending her the prepaid card. You are such a sweet, caring and loving lady. ❤
A couple of other suggestions for Maggie or anyone else on a low (or non-existent) budget:
1. If you can't afford new lamps use battery-operated FAIRY LIGHTS – they make any room look sensational whether it be a summer's evening or a dark winter's evening and I don't care how sad, depressed or low you feel, fairy lights will make any room look magical, trust me.
2. Just make sure to buy fresh flowers when they're either closed (so they open up over time) or half-open (so they last longer). Never buy fresh fully open 'cos in a few hours they be dead!!
A beautiful smelling candle or essential oils are a nice touch to a home.
Susan, your spirit is contagious!! I have a daughter who is a minimalist so when she visits which is rarely, I pack up all my “stuff”, rent a small storage bin and I store my extra “junk” as she calls it! No rugs, no bookshelves full of books, or pillows on the sofa . Then when she leaves I put my home together as I love it. The kitchen looks sterile enough to operate on! But she is comfortable and doesn’t get all full of anxiety and sneak out back to smoke a joint to calm down!! Ha, ha! Yes there are fresh flowers, new sheets and towels for her and the house has been cleaned from top to bottom and aired out. Oh I couldn’t use air fresheners, not candles as you know these things “cause cancer”! Soft music playing on the stereo soothes her anxious side.
Yes fresh flowers on the coffee table and kitchen as well as her room with a new Dog magazine on her night stand truly helps. I also take my two small dogs to the groomer right before she arrives!
You will have a wonderful visit I am sure if you use some of Susan’s hints, after all she is coming to see her mom after all! Oh I know of something that I did once for my daughters, is to use a pretty basket,and fill it with a White towel, washcloth and some sweet smelling bath salts and a bath puff. She did think that was nice and thoughtful. I am 72 and on social security as well.
Love this video. Were the hydrangeas there when you bought your house?
This is the second time I watched this it still makes me feel good
Fresh flowers! Since you're on a budget simple posie bouqets next to her bed and in the powder room. Fresh, lightly scented bed linens. Buy a couple of pretty, plush towels and washcloths. Declutter and and hire a house cleaner for a couple hours. You're the reason your daughter is coming for the visit. Get rest and look your best, so she feels like you're healthy and happy. 17:42 Surprise her with matching aprons, cook together and laugh. Send her apron home with her, so she'll have those precious memories everytime she cooks. Have a great time!
This is late for your friend, but to make my house look fresh and feel fresh for company, I always use new/very clean towels and sheets. When I’ve sold my homes in the past, I bought new cushions and removed clutter everywhere. Fresh towels in kitchen and bathroom, scented candles and potpourri, used carefully, and clean sinks and counters too. I do these things still, for myself! And I make sure all waste baskets are emptied regularly. I live where it’s winter for half the year and flowers are not inexpensive here: I have plants and tasteful, dried flowers in beautiful vases in my bathrooms and other rooms too. To me, clean, clutter-free, and nice smelling are the most basic things that make a home welcoming.
What a precious soul you are…I so enjoy you and your sweet fur baby every time I watch. ❤