Frugal Friday and a Winner~

Hello my dear readers! I'm really excited about today's Frugal Friday because I'm going to start addressing some of those pesky problems you all shared with me with the other day. I'm actually thinking I might tackle some of these problems for you during the week as well, since many of you had deadlines in mind, and I'd like to offer solutions more quickly.

But for today's post I wanted to discuss refurbishing sofas.

Image from Pottery Barn

One of my readers, Jen, had this to say about her sofa...

I have a few problems with my sofa that I hope you can help with. It is beige microfiber and even though they said that it would clean up easily, it really doesn't. I have 2 boys, one is 2 yrs old, the other is 4 so as you can imagine things get quite messy. My problem is that we can't afford a new sofa and the sofa is longer than a regular sofa (104" to be exact) so a slip cover doesn't work. The second problem with my sofa is that it has pillows at the back (3 of them) and they are not attached, but they are now shaped weird, it doesn't help that my kids like to climb on them constantly. I would like to somehow 'fix' my sofa for now until we can afford a new one so I can don't have anxiety everytime someone comes to my house.


Microfiber sofas are billed as the perfect fabric for busy households, but the truth is, they can be difficult to clean.

Here are some suggestions:

• Use a drop or two of mild detergent that doesn't contain any bleach (dish soap or laundry detergent work well) with water. Scrub gently. You may have to repeat this process a couple of times.


• If the stain is more stubborn you can try a drycleaning product although you should test this in an inconspicous spot on the sofa fabric first.


• For smelly stains (like pet urine): blot the stain with a mixture of white vinegar and distilled water. Then sprinkle baking soda over the stain and after it is dry, vacuum it up.


• If all else fails, hire a professional cleaning company to come and steam clean the sofa. DO NOT try to steam clean it yourself (this will likely cause more damage to the fabric.)

Image from Pottery Barn

For damaged couch cushions or pillows, the answer is fairly simple. Restuff them.

This may seam daunting, but is actually quite easy.

• If the cushions have a zipper, simply remove the cushion, and inspect the foam. If the foam is in fairly good condition, you can reuse it - if not you will probably want to invest in some new foam which you can purchase at your local fabric store.
• You will want to re-wrap the foam in Dacron (batting). This is easy to do as well. Buy some spray adhesive and dacron at your local fabric/craft store.
• Remove the old Dacron from the cushion/pillow. Then spray one side with adhesive and spread the Dacron smoothly over the surface. Repeat on the other side. Wrap the ends like you would wrap a gift. Then replace the cushion into it's cover. You may wish to use some plastic to make this process easier.
• If the cushion or pillow is sewn, I would suggest enlisting some one who is a fairly good with a sewing machine - if you are not - to help you unpick a seam. You can then follow the same steps as above to restuff the pillow (or you may wish to add fresh polyfil if that is how the pillow was originally stuffed). Then sew it shut again. I've had to do this with one of my chairs, and it was actually quite easy and has held up very well with use in my boys' bedroom.

I hope these ideas help you Jen! And any of my other readers who may be in a similar boat! Sofas are an expensive investment, so making them last is a priority!

Resources: Home Decorating Reviews Clean Your Mircrofiber How to Restuff Sofa Cushions

It's that time again....Next Friday is the Frugal Friday Linky Party here at the Shabby Nest. Get your Frugal OCD* projects and ideas ready and link up HERE next Friday!! *Obsessively Consumed with Decorating

And finally, the winner of the North Pole Secretary drawing is MMW from Never Without ! Congratulations MMW! Drop me an email so we can get you set up with your letters!!

Have a great weekend~