by Rubber Slippers in Italy

Katharine Albritton is a writer and editor who loves living large on little in New York City. Visit her $ense & $ensibility blog and follow her on Twitter for more tips.

Hello lovely Tranquilistas!
I hope you all had a fabulous holiday weekend. If we haven’t yet met, I’m here the first Monday of the month (excepting today thanks to the holiday) to share ideas about how to live like a queen while on a budget. Last month we talked a bit about Decadent DIY Spa treats, and this month I wanted to explore ways to celebrate the last few days of summer in chic but cheap fashion.

Retail therapy
Those end of summer sales are a perfect way to pick up staples for your summer wardrobe. Have some camis that are a bit threadbare or sundresses that have seen better days? Browse the sale racks to pick up signature pieces for a fraction of the price. When you get home, immediately store them away. I know it may stay warm where you are long into the fall, but keep wearing the summer pieces you have. Next summer, you’ll find you already have a wardrobe ready to go when the first heatwave rolls in and you won’t have to spend any money on it at all!

Soak it up
Grab a few friends and have a potluck picnic to soak up the last few warm days and rays. Your body stores the Vitamin D it produces during the summer to use throughout the winter, so get your fill of it while you can. A potluck picnic will split the cost of the meal, and a Frisbee provides endless entertainment on the cheap. Alternatively, tell each of your girlfriends to bring her favorite transitional color of nail polish and give each other manicures in the sunshine.

Spring autumn sprucing
We all know about Spring cleaning, but why not give your home a bit of a revamp for the fall? You’ll probably be spending more time in it during the autumn and winter, so make it as lovely as possible for yourself. In addition to giving everything a good scrub (vinegar and baking soda are my favorite affordable and green cleaning products), change out any seasonal decorations or linens. Changing out linens seasonally will help them last for years to come. And make sure you have plenty of linen spray ready to give yourself a whiff of summer during those chilly autumn nights! I mix up my own lavender spray with a concoction of half vodka, half water, and about 30 drops of lavender essential oil. Just the thing to spray on warm, comfy blankets to get me into the mood for fall.

And oodles more!
What traditions do you have for saying goodbye to summer and welcoming autumn? I’d love to hear all about them!

Keep living big on that budget,