I wanted to pass along this link to one of my favorite magazines for natural design and decorating.

If you want to live a little closer to nature, you’ll like it. It’s called NaturalHomeMagazine, and it’s filled with ideas for”living wisely and living well,” whether you want to bring a little of the outdoors in for spring…or design an entire new wing!

I just enjoy thumbing through it for inspiration, or even if I want to take a mental break to dream (wouldn’t it be great to live in that window-filled house on the side of a cliff, surrounded by nature preserves?!) . Pick up a copy and you’ll see what I mean.

My husband is a total bargain hound, and it’s a good thing because we’ve gotten incredible deals on stuff for our house that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.

Our biggest tip is to shop for clearance items and floor models at the home improvement stores. Sometimes they really just want to get rid of items to make room for more, and will let you buy them for even less than the sale price. Ask to speak with the manager, and don’t be afraid to negotiate!

Also go in and ask if they have anything “out back” that they want to get rid of. Oftentimes they do. It may not be exactly what you were looking for, but keep an open mind.

We got our bathroom vanity for next to nothing–it was a return and some of the cabinets needed to be repaired, which was an easy fix. It’s oak, and I originally wanted white, but now that it’s installed I really like it.

Our bathroom tiles were closeouts. Now, they weren’t exactly the color and style we wanted, but the price made it worth it and they turned out looking great.

We have a brand-new jacuzzi tub that was a floor model, normally going for $1,000, and we got it for a couple hundred! We also have a one-piece “designer” toilet that was practically free.

Our dishwasher was only $100 because it had a couple scratches on it, which aren’t even noticeable.

All it takes is a willingness to spend the extra time visting the stores often, shopping around and hunting for deals, and a lot of flexibility on design.

My husband finally finished tiling the bathroom floor and tub surround yesterday (a project which has taken several days), so the exciting moment arrived where he and my father-in-law could install the sink, cabinet and vanity.

They carried it in, put it up against the wall, and woops, turns out it’s too high–the backsplash on the sink covers the two junction boxes for electrical outlets–so actually it’s the junction boxes that are too low. But moving them would require moving and recutting holes in the wall, which has already been sheetrocked, plastered and painted.

This sent my husband into yet another state of stress, and he spent the rest of the day shopping at Home Depot and Lowes for ideas to fix the situation. He found nothing that would work, which means he’ll have to chop down the bottom of a cabinet so it’s lower than normal to fit into the space.

If I had my way, we’d put in a pedestal sink and the problem would be solved–plus it’d look so much nicer. But the bathroom is so small (and so is the house) that we need the storage provided by cabinets and drawers.

This is just one of the many unanticipated situations you run into when doing it yourself. I wish we were featured on “Flip That House” because it would make for several entertaining episodes and examples of what not to do (or what to think about in advance). But unfortunately every house is different and presents these little surprises and challenges, no matter how much planning and thought you put into it!

Here’s another organizing tip that makes good use of clear plastic shoe boxes with lids (available at stores like Target). It’s such an obvious solution but never occurred to me.

Put one pair of shoes in each clear shoebox, and stack them up on the shelves in your closet. You can easily see and get to the shoes you need, and they stay dust-free and protected.

No more digging through a mixed-up jumble on your closet floor, or getting frustrated with shoe racks–I know my shoes always slip off or fall through the rungs and I end up just tossing them in a pile anyway.

This year, one of my New Year’s resolutions for 2009 is to get completely organized.

So far I’ve only managed to tackle the bathroom, but that was a huge undertaking. It took me HOURS to sort through all the products I’d stuffed into the cabinet under the sink. But now everything is neatly categorized and stacked in clear plastic shoeboxes, which is a great tip I saw in magazine while getting my hair cut.

Here’s what to do: Go buy a bunch of the clear plastic bins with lids at Target or elsewhere. They’re less than a dollar apiece. Then sort all your bathroom stuff by category: makeup, dental care, eye care, medicines, nail care, etc. You’ll soon see you have duplicates you didn’t realize you had. Be ruthless and throw out or give away anything that you don’t use, has expired or you have more of than you’ll ever need.

Next place each category of items into its own plastic storage box. I have one for nail polish/remover/files/clippers; one for contact lenses, solutions, wipes; one for makeup.

It’s worked out pretty well–I stacked them under the sink, and now there’s no more digging through a jumble of stuff and getting frustrated when I can’t find what I need. Just that simple clearing of clutter really helps clear your mind when you’re getting ready in the morning.