life in a tiny apartment.

April 10, 2013
curtain1035

Tip #59: Maybe splurge just a little, sometimes.

I like to think of myself as being fairly resourceful. Once a girl scout, always a girl scout. Or something similar. When we first moved into this apartment we had something of a curtain conundrum. Where in past houses I’d had luck with an old bit of table cloth and some twine (there’s a little peek here), this window was tall and our neighbors’ buildings taller, so we needed a more privacy.

We had an old linen shower curtain from my sister that was the right length, and folded, the right width.  Perfect. A few weeks after moving in, I tripped down to the neighborhood iron works and asked them to cut me a length of a thin iron rod. The gentleman working there obliged and even offered to drill a hole in both ends so that I could secure the rod to two hooks. Five dollars later, I walked home with a curtain rod. We used these hooks and bit of wire to secure the rod safely. We rigged a rod pocket by folding the curtain and fastening it with oversized safety pins. It wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it was a good fake. I promise, you couldn’t tell it was shower curtain.

The only trouble has been that for the past year and half getting the thing closed each night took more than a bit of patience and fancy footwork. It didn’t exactly slide smoothly. If my neighbors have seen more of me in my skivvies than they’d like, I blame it all on the pesky curtain.

This past weekend, James and I decided to take the plunge and buy a real curtain. I can be stubborn. I like to do things myself or not at all. But the splurge we made this weekend has made all the difference.  We even decided to replace the other shower curtain hanging on our closet with a real curtain. Fancy.

Personal finacnes are…personal. What’s a splurge for me might not be a splurge for you, or vice versa. But sometimes spending just a little bit more than $0, ends up being worth it.

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14 Comments

  • Reply Anonymous April 10, 2013 at 2:29 pm

    Any chance of a photo (full length) of the new curtains?

    • Reply Erin April 10, 2013 at 2:30 pm

      one day soon, i hope!

  • Reply kate April 10, 2013 at 2:40 pm

    I've admired those very curtains from West Elm for quite some time! Like you, however, I consider them a splurge. Perhaps one day. So glad that you found something lovely to replace your resourceful bit of cleverness.

    • Reply Erin April 10, 2013 at 2:42 pm

      Thanks, Kate. Happily, we were able to get away with just one curtain. Two would have been too heavy-looking in our small space, so we saved money by default!

  • Reply Katie April 10, 2013 at 3:19 pm

    Great taste! I recently purchased those curtains for my living room.

  • Reply blsmith6 April 10, 2013 at 3:31 pm

    so glad to see your splurge is still within reason! i feel like that is a splurge my baby budget could handle. i always get nervous when i go to click on 'splurge' links for fear that whatever they purchased costs more than my month's rent !

    • Reply Erin April 10, 2013 at 3:32 pm

      Seriously. So different for different people, but I'm often dismayed by "budget-friendly" options.

    • Reply Beth April 11, 2013 at 8:46 pm

      Yes! I recently saw an ad displaying t-shirts for a super low, sale price of $100. I understand formal wear and all that, but $100 for t-shirt?! And that's the sale price. I don't even know.

  • Reply Charlotte | Charlotte's Web April 10, 2013 at 4:06 pm

    They are very pretty.. sometimes it just feels so good to splurge 🙂 xx

  • Reply tinajo April 10, 2013 at 6:26 pm

    Absolutely, sometimes it´s REALLY worth spending the cash! 🙂

  • Reply fibreandspice April 10, 2013 at 7:49 pm

    I figure the money I spend on little things I splurge on to help me keep my sanity is less than I would have to pay for therapy in the future… Love your new acquisition!

  • Reply Soledad April 11, 2013 at 4:08 pm

    Just wanted to mention, the curtain looks so much better in your picture, than on the link! Very pretty 🙂

  • Reply Ashli @ The Sweat Revolution April 12, 2013 at 6:37 pm

    I love reading your "Tiny Apartment Survival Tips". Takes me back to my days when I lived in a 150 sq ft studio apartment in the 15th arrondisement in Paris. It was tiny, but it was mine, and I will always cherish that time. It truly made me realize that you don't need "stuff" to be happy.

  • Reply Lisa-Marie April 14, 2013 at 9:15 pm

    They are BEAUTIFUL.

    People are a bit weird about money, eh? I think that is a splurge – but a worthwhile, long lasting, beautiful splurge. It's also very good quality for that price.

    We bought ourselves a TV this month (we were supposed to have a holiday, but had a death in the family, so we'd saved spending money and didn't want to waste it). It's 22" inches and beautiful and we got netflix (also a treat). We spent what for us is a sizeable chunk of money on it, and someone referred to it as being a kids' TV. Annoying. However, WE LOVE IT. and that's the main thing.

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