God I love a good bargain! I know you do too so I have a treat for you. One of my favorite bloggers, Kyle, from Rather-Be-Shopping is going to be doing a bi-monthly guest post about saving money with coupons. He is probably the only guy I know of who is as obsessed with finding a coupon or a bargain as I am. I think he will be able to pass on some really juicy tips. Drum roll please …

I want to thank JuiceFairy for giving me the opportunity to try an ‘online coupons’ feature on her terrific blog. Very exciting opportunity. A little about me, my name is Kyle James, I live in northern California with my wife and 3 young kids. I own and operate a website called Rather-Be-Shopping.com which specializes in online coupons for over 500 stores, organized in 23 shopping categories. I also have a blog where I write about frugal living, tips on saving money, and other musings about life in general.

You are probably thinking, “Why is this dude writing a post on JuiceFairy?” Fair question, as I am not a fashion, decorating, or beauty expert. But I do know about living on a budget and finding great deals. So today I’d like to talk about bare walls and empty rooms. That pretty much summed up our house when we moved in 5 years ago. It was the first house that my wife and I had ever lived in together. We were always in small apartments with very few walls to decorate. Now we had big walls, much bigger rooms, and still very little money to decorate.

Over the past few years we have decorated the house ourselves and found ways to do it without spending a ton of money. Here is how we did it, along with some online resources we used:

• Artwork and Prints. I am a huge fan of All Posters.com and Art.com for bargains on stuff for the wall. We have bought several framed prints from both. They each stock over 500,000 posters and prints and have this really cool ‘Custom Frame’ tool that lets you pick your matte and frame and shows you online what it will look like. I have found their prices to be very reasonable and they always have coupons for 20% off or free shipping on your $9.99 or more order. Also, keep an eye out at Costco or Sam’s Club, our Costco has an annual artwork sale where we have scored a couple great deals as well.

• Do-It-Yourself. I have become a pretty darn good painter and it has saved me hundreds of dollars. As a matter of fact, I know all the employees in our local Home Depot’s paint department by name! They offer free classes on the weekends on doing things like faux painting, picking colors, and basic painting techniques. Take advantage of them, they helped me a bunch.

• Yard Sales. Most of the furniture in our family room came from yard sales. We recently bought a really cool wooden toy chest from a garage sale for $20 and I was able to refinish it myself. It would have probably cost over $200 brand new. Hit yard sales late in the day as people are more likely to give you a great deal since they want to get rid of the stuff and not have to store it.

Here are some online coupons for a few of the stores I mentioned, plus a few other related coupons that might help you save some money decorating your home.

All Posters.com

Save 20% Off your Online Order

Coupon Code: 82P20

Expiration: 6/20/08

See All: All Posters Coupons

Home Depot.com

Save $5 Off your $50+ Online Order

Coupon Code: SPRING21

Expiration: 5/11/08

See All: Home Depot Coupons

JCPenney.com

Save 20% Off your $75+ Online Order of Window Coverings, Bedding, Bath, Decorative, Rugs and Apparel

Coupon Code: WKIT842

Expiration: 5/25/08

See All: JCPenney Coupons

Art.com

Save 15% Off your Online Order

Coupon Code: MAYO

Expiration: 5/09/08

See All: Art.com Coupons

Bare Walls.com

Save 10% Off All Framed Art and Prints

Coupon Code: RTHRBFR

Expiration: 5/31/08

See All: Bare Walls Coupons

Lamps Plus.com

Save $5 Off your $50+ Online Order

Coupon Code: 24AFFDC6

Expiration: 5/31/08

See All: Lamps Plus Coupons

BlindsGalore.com

Save 25% Off your $450+ Online Order + Free Shipping

Coupon Code: LUVMOM

Expiration: 5/12/08

See All: BlindsGalore Coupons

Some of these great ways to be “green”recycling tips were in April issue of Best Life. Most I had never heard of before so I figured they would be great to pass along. Try to pass along one of these helpful tips to someone else today.

• Cellphones apparently have circuit boards containing toxins such as cadmium, lead, mercury and arsenic. Instead of dumping these in the trash so these dangerous chemicals end up in a landfill, you can contact the Battery Recycling Corporation.  This  nonprofit organization collects discarded phones nationwide and either recycles them or refurbishes them. For more info go to call2recycle.org

• Shoes that we have worn out can be recycled in Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe Program. The recycled shoes are made into Nike Grind, a major ingredient in synthetic surfaces such as basketball courts, tennis courts, running tracks and playgrounds. Niketown and Nike outlet stores will accept any brand of athletic shoe as long as they are not wet, cleats or contain metal.

• Carpeting that you have recently replaced can be recycled by contacting the Carpet America Recovery Effort. They will let you know where your carpet can be recycled locally. Old carpeting can be used to make new carpet, automotive parts, fiber padding and more. For more info look into carpetrecovery.org

• Computers are basically useless after five years but don’t throw you old one in the garbage yet. Best Life shares that computers that are discarded are shipped to China where worker are poisoned by flame retardants when they tear apart machines for scraps. Some of the lead is even made into costume jewelry that is resold in China. Dell and Sony will take back all of their old products. Toshiba recycles their laptops and Apple will dispose of any brand of computer you discard when you buy one of their products. If you return your old iPod you can get a 10% discount on a new one. Check out computertakeback.com

• Construction materials that are salvageable like old doors, decking, or a broken dishwasher can be donated to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStores. Here people can buy these products at a large discount. ReStores are in 45 states and have raised enough money in cash to build an extra 10 homes a year. Check out habitat.org

• CDs and DVDs discarded that end up in dumps are often incinerated, releasing harmful toxin fumes into the environment. GreenDisk, will pick up old CDs and DVDs at your house and recycle them into car parts and office supplies. Greendisk.com

• Composting is a great way to reduce your contributions to a landfill and make yourself fertilizer at the same time. You can try one of the $170 bins that use earthworms to recycle your natural waste and turn it into garden feed. My own note here is that if you are afraid of thousands of earthworms, as I am, you can always get an old fashioned composting bin, minus the worms. It just doesn’t work as fast. For those with a strong stomach check out plantenatural.com for the earthworm bins.

• Latex paint leftover from projects is actually being recycled in some places. Check epa.gov to see if there is a local facility near you that recycles leftover paint.

• Some fleece apparently has a synthetic that doesn’t actually decompose. Check out the Common Threads Garment Recycling Program started by Patagonia, Teijin, and Polartec. You can drop off old fleece at Patagonia stores and select retailers, or mail it to Patagonia’s distribution center. One fifth of Polartec’s offerings come from recycled fibers and 100% of their fabrics are recyclable.

I am always hunting for a good deal, and I found a one-stop website that does some of the hunting for me. Check out StyleNotes a website that posts daily bargains for womens clothing, footwear, accessories, and more fun stuff.

Right on the home page they have hot deals which are updated daily. Today there is a link to shoe deals on Amazon for as little as $18. One of the posted pairs is this cute pair of Nine West Mary Janes for only $26.69.

Then they actually have a link today for bomber jackets at Tilly’s for $8! They are actually pretty cute jackets too (available in white and black). Too bad I live in Florida and I wear a jacket maybe once a year.

Important: The following is the best part of the StyleNotes website. I have been looking for a site that can do this for a while. If you go to her alerts page you can add your email and receive alerts every time a deal or coupon is posted for the stores you love. Just choose from one of the hundreds of stores on the list. I am always seeing something I like and just waiting for a coupon to arrive. Now if a site could just watch and item for me and tell me when it is on sale I would be in heaven!

I have decided that down the line my office needs a revamping.  Sure everything is neat and organized but it just isn’t an inviting place to do work. In fact, I am in my living room right now. Pretty soon I will be launching new little business and I will be needing to spend much more time in there. But I am not ready to let you in on that little secret yet.   I think that I could achieve my desirable, zen office with a few little tweaks.  The key is to have a clean look.  I would love to have a matching office, mostly white with just a few splashes of bright color.

I saw these really beautiful home office ideas in HometoHome.  I think these are so successful because the colors are mostly neutral. 

Everything in the room is color coordinated.  Simple, with all the clutter packed away.

You can check out other great home office ideas under HomeToHome’s Room Inspiration tab. I have already started picking out some monochromatic desk accessories for my new home office.

A couple of choices for lighting …

Stern Table Lamp, $39.99, Target

Flagger Table Lamp, $19.99, Target

Some accessories …

Color Coordinated Pencils… I will probably go with the white or chocolate… $7, SeeJaneWork

Punctuate Desktop Accessories, $6.99 - $9.99, ContainerStore

Bauble magnets, $11.95, wrapables

See and Store Magnetic Containers, $1.99, ContainerStore

For my notes … Posy Desktop Photo & Memo Holder by Umbra, $10.99, ContainerStore

White Boxes (that I know I can get cheaper at Ikea but this is what they will look like), $10.50, SeeJaneWork

Now I just have to figure out everything else…

It’s about 75 degrees in Florida and raining. I am like a cat and hate to get wet so it is already putting a damper on my day. I am getting ready for work trying to pick out the final touches to my outfit for the day. What shoes to wear?It’s hot so I want my feet to breathe. How about a cute pair of flip-flops?
No way. In rainy weather my feet will get soaked and I will be sliding and squeaking my way to work.

OK, ballet flats without socks? That way my feet can breathe without the open toes.
Nope. All my ballet flats are fabric and will get ruined. Flats are still messy when you get rain water in them, plus they are low so the backs of my pants will be damp and muddy.

Sneakers? They suck with the outfit I have on but my feet will stay dry.
Nope. One large puddle and I now have a wet sneaker, sock and foot. Plus I hate ruining a great pair of sneakers by getting them dirty one time, because as we all know that is all it takes.

OK. Heeled leather boots. This is the only answer. This will work but is 75 degree muggy weather who really wants to wear a pair of heeled boots with socks underneath?

Yes, I know I am biggest complainer ever but I think I found a reasonable solution. Plastic ballet crocs. I can throw them on and roll my pants leg up once and walk to and from my car. Who cares if they get dirty… they are plastic and I can rinse them off later. I will throw a cute pair of dressy flats in my bag for the rest of the day so they don’t ruin my outfit. At lot of people don’t like the look of crocs but these can slide by with a purpose. Who would have guessed. Gosh, all this thought into my shoe selection is making me tired.