Home Ec: How to Save Your Plants (and your Money!)

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned over the past few years is to invest in things that last. Whether that’s well-made furniture or textiles that won’t shred after the first wash, waiting and saving to get something that will last for years has been worth it. When I was younger I was an impulse buyer, scooping up little things here and there in what was probably a misguided attempt to build an insta-home that felt filled and finished immediately. But I’ve learned that that most homes are never “finished” and most of the spaces we look at and love right away took decades to evolve and get there. So these days I’m all about finding ways to preserve the things I already have and fix, rather than replace, pieces around the house to not only save some money, but teach myself some new household skills. So for the next few weeks, I’ll be focusing on how to fix things around the house.

A few weeks ago I did a post on how to know which plants will do best in which parts of your home, and I got a ton of follow up emails from readers asking, “Yes, but how do we keep them alive after that?” It made me think about my own struggles to turn my black thumb into a green(er) one and the lessons I’ve learned from making sure my plant investments stay alive. So today I’m going to walk through some of the common problems with houseplants and how to fix them. Into every plant’s life a little over-watering, aphid and bug and mold drama might fall, but you don’t have to toss your plants – you can save them (and your money!) by bringing them back to life and health. xo, grace