Lindsay Ballard, Author at Makely

This post is sponsored by Apartment Guide.

You may still have snow on the ground, but summer is right around the corner for we Texas folks. And for us, summer means one thing – extremely high electric bills. Our poor air conditioning units go to work full time by May, and it’s all we can do to balance not sweating while sitting on the couch and being able to pay our bills.

So, here in Lindsay Land, we have a few little projects under way that I am hoping will save us some money and give a little help to the environment in the process. I am partnering with Apartment Guide in their “Green Up a New Space” Blogger Challenge, and making some easy changes that will help us in both the long and short-terms.

“Apartment Guide?,” you are thinking. “Isn’t that the little magazine that features all of the apartments around town? You don’t live in an apartment!” It sure is and I sure don’t. But, AG has tons of tips for decorating, healthy living and making most of your space, regardless of where you live. They have really great information for people living in any sized home.

One thing I’ve learned from them is that going green doesn’t have to cost you a lot of green. There are honestly a lot of little changes you can make around your house that will have a big impact. For instance, adding a cute recycling can in your trash area will help you remember to recycle, thus cutting down on tons of items going to the landfill.

Apartment Guide asked me to make a few changes in my home and share them with you. I’ll be honest, Tom and I had a great time coming up with a list of possibilities:

Replace our thermostats with programmable thermostats
Exchange our incandescent bulbs with Compact Florescent Bulbs (CFLs)
Install a energy efficient pet door to replace our non-efficient door
Purchase bamboo sheets and/or towels instead of the new cotton ones we were planning to purchase
Bring in some house plants
Find inexpensive heat-blocking window covering options
Buy a new LCD TV to replace the old CRT TV in our bedroom

Okay, so maybe we were pushing it with that last one. One day I will figure out how to make that dream a reality!

If you were asked to make some inexpensive changes around your home to make it more green, what would you choose? I’ll reveal what we did shortly, so you’ll want to check back here. In the meantime, go ahead and “Like” Apartment Guide on Facebook or follow them on Twitter for real-time tips and updates on making the most of your space — you’re going to want to tell me that you’ve already done that very soon (hint! hint!).

Apartment Guide is owned by Consumer Source, Inc. Apartment Guide partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its “Green Up a New Space” Blogger Challenge. As part of that program, I received compensation. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used for the “Green Up a New Space” Blogger Challenge. Apartment Guide and Consumer Source believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Consumer Source’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

Home bloggers like myself are all a twitter with Anthropologie these days. Their flea market meets whimsy style easily brings a fun yet comfortable look to our homes (and our closets). I drool over the pages of the catalog and images on the website often…and then I jump back into (my) reality because their prices are super high.

Because of my budget, I’ve never actually set foot into an Anthropologie store. Okay, I take that back. I have been into an Anthropologie, but it was years and years ago (like mid 90s?) and they only had clothing back then. I am lucky enough to have two stores here in my little oasis in Texas, but they aren’t in areas of town I frequent and I hadn’t been moved enough to go there just to drool even more in person over things I can’t afford.

My parents were in town this weekend and we found ourselves near BOTH stores. My mom encouraged me to go in them (enabler!) and take a look around. I wish there would have been a video camera to capture my expression when I saw the price tag on the $498 lamp that looks eerily similar to the $50 lamp I saw at Lowe’s a few years ago. Insanity, folks!

At any rate, I started thinking about all of the similar styles I’ve seen for prices that are much more in alignment with my budget. Of course, Anthropologie has some items that are priced very reasonably (like their flower pots), but the majority of their home decor items can be easily replicated for less.

For example, this Anthropologie ruched white Cirrus duvet cover is fabulous. I’m a huge fan of washable white bedding, and I love this look. But for $208 for just the king size duvet, it’s a no can do for me.

Imagine my surprise when I found a similar look at Target. I picked up this king size duvet set (duvet and 2 shams) for around $60. Obviously, this unstyled stock photo from Target.com leaves a lot to be desired, but imagine it’s potential with a voluminous duvet inside – and all for $150 less than just the duvet cover from Anthropologie.

Another fun piece from Anthropologie is this Well Defined Ensemble lamp. You know my love of book pages in decor, so this lamp really caught my eye.

But for the $388 price tag (GASP), I think I’ll just mod podge some dictionary pages on to a lamp shade and stick it on this $20 Ikea Jonsbo Egby lamp. It’s the same look for a fraction of the price.

Fun, right? Well, don’t stop there! Even the simplest Anthropologie accessories can be found for a smaller price tag. For example, the style of their Vintage Garden Markers (set of 3 for $28) can be found for a steal at BasilicusJones, where you can get a custom set of 4 for $25.

Anthropologie

BasilicusJones

Anthropologie has some amazing hardware, too. Much of it is really unique, but you are really going to pay for having that uniqueness in your home. A lot of it, though, can easily be found elsewhere in styles that are nearly identical. For instance, you can buy this Checker Knob for $6.

Or, you can grab this one at Hobby Lobby for only $3 when all the knobs go on a half-price sale about once a month. You can get twice the number of knobs for the same price – and I’m fairly certain that it’s the exact same knob.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I didn’t walk out of Anthropologie empty handed. In fact, my dad noted that no one walked out of there empty handed. I picked up a few goodies but left with a lot more inspiration – fun tutorials to follow. 🙂

What “Anthropologie Style for Less” items have you seen in other stores? Do tell!

Go Green Without Spending a Lot of Green

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