The Empowered Gal’s Guide to Hanging Christmas Lights
(the easy way!)
It’s finally that time of year! The air is frosty, stores are filled with holiday goodies, & all your neighbors have their Christmas lights up.
Whether you live in a house, dorm, or apartment I have the E A S I E S T light hanging hack to get you festive in no time!
I’m a Target gal myself, so I picked up some lights from my local Target. Good news–they happen to be on sale right now!
I picked up Wondershop Twinkling Clear Net Lights for $9 for our bush out front & several strands of Wondershop LED Mini Lights for $9 each. I only wanted to put lights around our front door & garage door for simplicity’s sake of taking them down later (lazy or genius?!).
Next was finding something durable & simple to keep the lights up. For years I watched my dad attach lights to our roof with those little plastic clips & I decided I wanted no part of that (ladders, no thank you)! I went to the Command hook aisle hoping to find something easy to use & they actually make light clips specifically made for outdoor use. WHO KNEW?! The Command Clear Outdoor Light Clips are only $9.99 for 36 (the clips are reusable–just buy new sticky strips).
These hooks are literally the easiest thing I’ve ever used! They come with sticky tabs to put on the back of the light clips. You peel & stick it onto the clip, then stick the clip to the door frame (or wherever you’re putting it). The package says to clean the surface before sticking the clips to it, but I didn’t have the time for that–I hung them up anyway & a couple wind storms later they’re still standing strong!
It took me less than an hour from start to finish to hang up lights around the front door, garage door & the bush. Who needs to wait around for someone else to put Christmas lights up for them? Girl, get EMPOWERED and hang those lights yourself!
I have discovered some amazing tricks while shopping lately! These are total money savers & tips that retailers don’t just give out (seriously, why would they want you to know?!). Happy saving, friends!
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Bed, Bath & Beyond is one of my go-to stores for my household basics. One thing I can find there that I can’t find anywhere else (other than Amazon) is the Connoisseurs Silver Wipes I use to clean my silver pieces.
Save those print 20% off coupons, because guess what? They don’t actually expire!
You’re probably wondering why they even put expiration dates on the coupons–my guess is so that people will throw them away, saving the company money! Keep in mind that it is only the print / paper coupons that don’t expire — digital / smart device coupons do actually expire.
I found this shopping hack out when I was in line to buy my silver wipes at the customer service desk this summer. I was going on to the cashier about how bummed I was that I’d had all these 20% off coupons at home that I’d just thrown away because they expired, & she told me to dig them out of the trash because they’re still usable! The customer service gal told me that she had a customer in that week that used a 20% off coupon that EXPIRED IN 2011!
Lesson: never E V E R toss a Bed, Bath & Beyond coupon.
Hobby Lobby
Have you ever been wandering the aisles of Hobby Lobby waiting for just the perfect thing to jump out at you that completely ties your space together? Let’s just say that happens to be a buffalo plaid throw pillow (ALL the rage this fall!) & of course they only have 1 & it’s on super sale. Do not pass it up simply because there’s only 1 & you need more — ask for a raincheck!
At the returns register the cashier can write a rain check for you that secures the exact number of items you need at the sale price. They give you a call as soon as the item(s) are in & you can pick them up at any register for the same price you would’ve the day you found it. What I love about this is that you don’t have to pay more money for what you were already going to buy & you don’t have to stalk the aisles waiting for it to be re-stocked. I’d say that’s a win-win!
Lesson: if a sale item is out of stock, ask for a raincheck to get it at the sale price when its restocked.
Target
First of all, if you don’t already use Target’s Cartwheel app you are MISSING OUT! Simply download the Target app on your smartphone, then scan the items with your camera when you’re at the store & if there is a coupon or sale it will automatically pop up. You have to manually save the offer & let the cashier scan your wallet on the Target app at checkout. (Hello, savings!!!)
I stumbled upon this Target trick by accident when I was shopping for NYX Makeup Primer. It was $17 & I scanned it with my Target Cartwheel app and it said something like $5 or $6. I was confused because there was no sale sign in the aisle, so I found a gal stocking merch & asked what the deal was. She told me Target price matches their online prices. MIND = BLOWN! I had no idea! So when I went to the register I showed him the page on the app where it said the sale price at Target.com & he adjusted the price. I saved over $10 on this one item!
Intrigued, I did some more research when I got home & verified it with customer service during the next Target haul. Target will price match with Target.com, Amazon & Walmart to name a few. To price match, the item you’re matching has to be perfectly identical to what you’re trying to purchase at Target. When at the register, show the page on your phone where it shows the item & price on the competitor’s page & they’ll adjust the price. Isn’t this completely life changing?! Who doesn’t love savings!
Lesson: scan every item you’re purchasing the the Cartwheel app & ALWAYS do your price research before large purchases.
Complete List of Target Price Match Competitors
Amazon.com
BedBathandBeyond.com
Bestbuy.com
Barnesandnoble.com
Buybuybaby.com
Costco.com
CVS.com
Diapers.com
DicksSportingGoods.com
Gamesstop.com
JCPenny.com
Kmart.com
Kohls.com
Macys.com
Newegg.com
OfficeDepot.com
Petco.com
Petsmart.com
SamsClub.com
Sears.com
Staples.com
Ulta.com
Walgreens.com
Walmart.com
Wayfair.com
So the real question is now that you’ve saved all this $$$ on shopping you were gonna do anyway, where are you vacationing with all your savings?! Even more important question, what date did you book our vacay? 😉 If you come across awesome shopping tips & tricks, I’d L O V E to hear about them!
I wouldn’t consider myself to be your typical 23 year old–I enjoy collecting silver pieces, antiquing on the weekends & rearranging my china cabinet. You may think that sounds a little old-fashioned, but I’m just that–old fashioned.
This year I became very interested in collecting antique & vintage silver pieces to add a little interest around my home. I had no idea where to begin when it came to determining the quality or value of pieces I saw around antique stores & estate sales, but after reading countless articles online & enlisting the help of my mother-in-law I finally have a grasp on finding the perfect pieces for the right price, & how to bring them back to life when they’ve been neglected for years.
That being said, sometimes you find the most gorgeous silver tray, coffee serving set or vase & it seems like it could never be revived from the tarnish that has taken over. With the right cleaning tools, a whole lot of time & more elbow grease than you could dream of using, these beautiful antiques will shine!
These pieces were horribly tarnished when I found them.
After hours of scrubbing, this gorgeous coffee & tea set came back to life.
Forget the messy silver polish–the best tool ever for making your silver shine like new again (besides some good ol’ fashioned elbow grease) are the Connoisseurs Silver Wipes. You can pick them up at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $6.99.
This brilliant invention is SO easy to use! First, get your silver piece wet, then rub the tarnish off with one of these wipes. The wipe will look super dirty (so will your hands, so girl take those rings off!), but it’ll still get that stubborn tarnish off when the wipe is black. When you’re satisfied with the amount of tarnish you’ve taken off, run the silver piece under water and gently wash it off with Dawn dish shop. Dry with a microfiber cloth and make sure it’s completely dry before closing any lids–if you don’t make sure it’s dry you’ll get some nasty staining on the inside of your piece. It is highly advised to N O T let your silver air dry!
If you have some silver pieces that need brought back to life, I highly recommend trying these silver wipes out. I’d love to see how your piece turn out; drop some photos of your favorite pieces in the comments below!
Hannah Shelby Morgan 