Do the Best with what you have

This tribute is in honor of my mom, who taught me to do the best with what you have. I've used this motto in many areas of my life..and today I used it in my living room. I've really been wanting to make a trip to Homegoods or Hobby Lobby or even Canton to get a few things to spruce up the house, but between time and money this month it just wasn't going to happen. So after looking at the cluttered mess in our living room I decided today was the day to do the best with what I have. Here are some before shots:

I know it's difficult to see but there are 1,000,000 Legos scattered behind these chairs

...it's a death trap I tell you!

I can't begin to tell you how bad my carpet needs to be cleaned

...but that didn't happen today!

By the looks of this you'd think we were hitting the road as a family band!

And here's the afters....no $$$ spent, just rearranged what I had 

in the room to make it more appealing and clutter free...

I divided the room by using the sofa as the room divider. 

On the other side of the room is the piano

I love this table...a gift from my mom when I was home the last time. Nice and distressed!

And...I left an area for Tucker's Legos....with his political promise 

that I will never step on another Lego again....until next time!

I'm thrilled with the way things turned out...I don't feel nearly as desperate to run to the store to buy something. Mom was right....you can make something beautiful by just using what you have. 

Her little motto can be applied to many areas of life....wardrobe, housing, decorating, dieting, recipes, relationships... So, how do you make the most of what you have? Any tips?

I'm linking to Miss Mustard Seed's FFF Linky party.