These sweet little lanterns hang from the lilac tree in our backyard.  I bought them at the Goodwill Clearance Center (otherwise known as “The Bins” because everything is piled up in bins and you have to dig around to find your treasures).  The lanterns were attached to lights that didn’t work so I removed the lanterns from the bad string of lights and attached them to another string of lights I had that did work.

The lights stay in our tree year round because it’s easier to leave them hanging there all winter than take them down and store them.  We plug them in during the spring and summer months and our backyard looks magical even when it’s raining outside.

The lights are plugged into a timer.  They turn on automatically and turn off automatically.  This keeps me from forgetting to turn them off.  I never forget to turn them on when we’re outside but I usually forget to turn them off!

With the tree coming back to life and the lights getting plugged into the timer soon, it reminds me that dry, sunny weather and summer are headed my way.

Related Links:
The Loot from our trip to “The Bins”
Decorating in the backyard with Goodwill finds
How to make jeans from “The Bins” smaller
Backyard dinner group party

Sara Tetreault

Sara Tetreault writes and speaks about living well on less with thoughtful spending, smart use of resources, and efficient use of time. Sara loves good food, travel, and cashmere. With home swapping, cooking at home, and buying items second-hand, she hopes to inspire you with her stylishly frugal ways. Sara keeps a home, one husband, two children, and three chickens in her backyard.

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