How buying a rug saved me thousands of dollars!

Yes, you read the title right...thousands of dollars! You see, the lack of rug in our living room was a huge contributor to the extreme lack of comfort in this space. I was so frustrated with being uncomfortable in our living room that I was ready to pour out thousands of dollars on a new sofa. I thought that'd be the fix, but luckily, before that purchase was made I FINALLY found a rug (I've been on the hunt for over a year!).

Suddenly, the amount of available seating seemed to quadruple! The first evening we shoved the coffee table out of the way and 3 out of 4 of us were laying on the ground. I had forgotten how much we "use" floor space as seating in our family. Without a comfy rug, there was only one spot to lay down so we all fought over who got the 'good' spot.

The rug has a thick pile so I was going to save some pennies and skip out on buying a rug pad. Well, it only took a few days before I realized that was a bad, bad idea! I couldn't keep it in place and if you have a 10 y.o. boy living in your house then you know they don't gingerly sit down on the couch. It's more like a running leap that pushes everything back about 2 feet in the process.

As I looked into rug pad options, I realized that it would not only save my hardwoods but also add a little extra comfort at the same time. Score! I ended up using the Eco-Cushion Organic Rug Pad from RugPadUsa.com.

I was anticipating being able to feel an added amount of comfort underfoot since the the 'cushion' score on this particular pad was a 4 out of 5, but honestly my rug is so thick already that the extra 'cushion' is hardly noticeable. That's okay though because remember that 10 y.o. I mentioned earlier?...he's still able to be his rambunctious self and my rug doesn't budge!

If you're in the market for a rug pad that's eco-friendly and worth your pennies, hop on over and check out RugPadUsa.com. They were gracious enough to offer this pad for me to review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Check out what I used as a rug pad...

This cute little rug came to live with us last week but its slippin' and a slidin' wasn't greeted with much enthusiasm from the feet that were passing through. I knew a rug pad was a must.

As I was standing in Homegoods with a rug pad in hand, it hit me that I still had a large roll of shelf liner left over. I began to wonder if it'd work since essentially I just needed something with a little grip. This rug is soft on it's own so padding wasn't a priority in this situation, only the non-slid part. I went home and tried it out...

I'm happy to report that it works like a charm! No more slippin' and slidin', just a rug that knows its place.

Now, rug pads aren't typically expensive but in my book if I can save a few pennies and reuse something I already own, then it's definitely the route to take. What about you? Have you found a non-traditional use for something lately? Do enlighten us please so we can all benefit from your thriftiness!

**Thanks for all the prayers in response to yesterday's post. I love your kind hearts! I'm happy to report that Alyssa's surgery went "beautifully," but the tumor was indeed malignant as suspected. She's currently in ICU but doing great according to her family. They have a long road ahead of them so please continue to keep them in your heart.