The approaching holidays often encourage us to try to update our home, just a bit, for the inevitable visitors. You might be tempted to buy some new linens, vases, or knickknacks from a big-box store. I propose you consider something a tad more challenging, and much longer lasting: Original art.

Every home makeover show includes the creation of questionable, cheap “art” to hang on the mark’s walls. Original artworks, even hastily constructed, formulaic paint splotches, make a room feel pulled together and personal.

So if you’re not rolling in money right now, you needn’t despair. But you also don’t need to get out the paint rollers and make a mess. The country - your city or town - is teeming with artists anxious to sell (or even barter) their work. Many have online presences, and I’ll list some below, but I encourage you to talk to friends and friends of friends and find some local artists to patronize too. This needn’t be through galleries; art colleges usually have holiday shows featuring student’s art under $100. The cheapest way to buy is to find the artist you like, go to their studio, and ask if you can buy directly from them. Ask to see drawings and watercolors. Find some photographers you like. Works on paper are usually cheaper than works on canvas.

When you are working directly with artists, do be sensitive about prices. Artists who are signed to gallery representation or are currently in art shows may not have the latitude to offer lower studio prices, so it is best to establish this upfront. Alternately, galleries can take significant commissions on sales (up to 50%), and artists may rely on increased profits from direct sales to offset a very small profit on works sold through a gallery.

Poke around the following links and find some lovely stuff that’s far less expensive than your weekly grocery bill.

20x200: You’ll want to sign up for the mailing list to buy from Jen Beckman’s online gallery. She releases limited editions of photographs and prints by different artists on Tuesday and Wednesdays at 2 pm. The 200 $20 prints often sell out immediately, so be quick with your trigger finger, and you can amass a collection of significant artists for Starbucks’ change.

Tiny Show Case: This online gallery curates a very of-the-moment selection of small prints that would look happy in an Domino Magazine photo shoot but it also includes some less pop-oriented and thoughtful landscapes.

Duane Keiser: Duane Keiser is known as a pioneer in the painting-a-day blog world. He paints one small painting within an hour every day, or hereabouts, and lists them for sale on ebay. His paintings are small, intimate, and lovely. Prices usually start around $100.

Two artists following in Keiser’s footsteps are Abbey Ryan and Jeff Hynes. Their daily paintings are similar to Keiser’s in size and scope, and both painters are sensitive and competent.

Many other painters have started to work this way. Hynes has a list here. The Daily Painters Guild (some of the best of this bunch), The Daily Paint Works, and Daily Painters websites collect dozens of painters (of varying quality) working in this mode and price range.

If money wasn’t an issue, most of us would choose to feed our family organically grown food. During these tough economic times, the reality is that our ideal of an all organic diet is harder to come by. Here are some tips for eating organic without breaking the bank.

• Shop at your local farmer’s market. Not only will you find many organic food stands, but you will also be supporting local farms. Farmer’s markets are a great place to find affordable organic produce, as well as a greater variety of produce than at your local supermarket. Many times stands will not be advertising that they are organic or may not be officially certified as organic but still use organic practices. Ask the people working at the stands. Towards the close of the market, many stands at Farmer’s Markets will start marking down their goods in order to get rid of inventory, a great time to find some good deals!


• When you find a great deal on fresh produce, buy in bulk and freeze. Is there a stand selling organic tomatoes at a bargain price? Buy a bunch and make some pasta sauce to jar or freeze. Strawberries can be frozen for use in smoothies later, straight from the freezer.


• Browse the frozen section in your local organic food market. Oftentimes frozen organic fruits and vegetables will be cheaper than their fresh counterparts. And the bonus is that you won’t have to worry about it spoiling as fast.


• When you are at your local supermarket, look for the store brand organics. Many stores including Whole Foods, Vons and even Target (with their Archer Farms brand) sells organic food under their own label that is more affordable.


• If you can’t buy all organic, set priorities. Certain produce has more pesticide residues than others. Eating organic for the produce that is on the top of this list can significantly lower your pesticide ingestion. You can go to the Environmental Working Group’s "Food News" website to see their data on the pesticide load of various produce. And check out this handy PDF pocket guide created by the Organic Center.


• Although organic food can be more expensive than conventional produce, eating out is also much more expensive than cooking your own food. Choose to eat out less and instead put that money towards quality organic food. You will probably still end up saving money.


• Grow your own organic food! You don’t need a huge yard to grow a little food. Even a small balcony can be plenty of space to grow some cherry tomatoes or some herbs.


• Take a family trip to a you-pick organic farm and load up on fresh produce straight from the land!

Do you have any tips to add? Share them here!

Stores selling storage and organization accessories appeal to our fantasy selves. With the right box, rack, sorter, labeler, or over-the-door-gift-wrap-organizer our lives will finally become peaceful, or beautiful, or sane.

Rather than give your hard-earned money away to the empty-promise plastic gods, look in your recycling bin for scads of “organization” tools.


Most folks are all about the box, but I’ll take a nice set of cans any day. They come in every size, from sardine and tuna fish to whole peeled tomato. With the labels peeled off, they work for the stainless steel aesthetic or the country-chic aesthetic. Nail a few in the laundry room for household essentials like scissors, tape, dust rags, etc. Decant dog biscuits into one by the back door. Use a clean tuna can for your keys. Not everything needs a box!

But boxes are wonderful, which is why we all keep buying them. Plastic boxes can be very helpful, especially in the attic, basement, and garage, but don’t overlook the utility of the everyday boxes you might automatically throw away. Even the prosaic shoe box can provide decades of storage, and after decades, its print will start to look charmingly retro. Don't you wish you'd saved your Air Jordans box now?

Glass jars are the free, non-toxic alternative to plastic food storage. Write directly on the jar with a dry erase marker to remind yourself what’s in it. In some parts of the country you can still buy your berries in wooden baskets and your oranges in crates. A dozen cans in a crate makes a wonderful catch-all for wrapping or craft supplies. Plastic containers, like the oblong arugula or mixed green boxes, or the tub from miso paste are great for holding small toys, like Legos or Playmobile. Tubs that once held baby wipes can now hold puzzles, bathroom supplies, or hardware.

Cans and boxes take on even more possibilities with some paper and glue. I use Mod Podge, a glue made especially for decoupage (a fancy words for pasting paper to things). Modpodge is the perfect consistency. But Elmer's glue, diluted with a little water, works well too. With either product, take your chosen paper (try old wrapping paper, beat-up children’s books, sheet music, or a foreign language newspaper), brush glue on the back. Paste it down. Brush glue on the front. Let dry. If you want, you can seal it again with shellac, spray lacquer, or varnish, but it isn't necessary. Fabric works well too, especially on cans.

This is a great project for children. They’ll see their handiwork become a vital part of running the household.

Do you have any other ideas for recycling the recycling? Please share them below!