I've been trying to purge and simplify our lives, little by little. I am tackling a closet a week, and a room a month. I try to clean out, give away, sell and reorganize each pile of flotsam. It's a great feeling-but fair warning, it's often darkest before the dawn. My closet and bedroom are still in chaos after a major purge this month. I just mailed in a big THREDUP bag today, and I just can't seem to make headway. Just when I get things under control, a Holiday comes along to create a cluttered 

mess again.

And now, enter Christmas.

I decided to not put all my decorations out and started throwing away stuff that I found broken or too shabby out of the storage bins in an effort to keep the clutter down. I also decided that to replace thrown out things I would try and use found objects or repurpose what I already had to be more thrifty and green. Fortunately, Mother Nature seemed to be keen on the idea and gave me a plethora of broken twigs and Branches after a big wind storm this month. The mess inspired me to use them in outdoor holiday decor this year. Boy, was that the thrifty way to go! I created woodland topiary decor in my two urns, and a matching wreath with all the branches I salvaged. I am so pleased how it turned out, and so is my pocketbook!

Give it a try! And next time you feel the need to go to the store for some decorations, I urge you to take a look around your house first and see if it sparks any creativity. It's very rewarding, I assure you!

Here is a picture of the urns. Pretty fancy for found branches! I had the plastic holly in a bin that I hadn't used in years.

Here is a very lean supply list for the wreath with a video tutorial. Stop by the youtube channel and subscribe to stay up on all the shenanigans at the homestead!