Tightening the Belt

One of the perks (did you know that’s actually short for “perquisite”?) of working in a home goods type store is that it’s Christmas every truck day. I run the truck at our store, meaning that every Wednesday I drag myself out of bed at 3:45am to go spend 8 1/2 hours hefting very heavy things. Not only is an excellent workout, but it means I get to see all the new goodies before everyone else does.

All our new furniture and gift items and dinnerware and decor passes through my little fingers before the rest of the world gets to see it. Recently, I was unpacking some new napkin rings when my sleep deprived brain had a brilliant idea. Why not use some of the napkin rings as belt buckles? 

You may be thinking “not so much, Eliza...sounds weird” but think about it: belts are expensive. Vintage is back in style and interesting belt buckles can make a real statement, so you end up with a zillion black or brown belts that you bought just for the cool buckle! And that means a lot of wasted $$$$$$. But what if you used a regular belt like this one:

And just made interchangeable clips for it, like these? 

No one would ever suspect it was the same belt. Napkin rings are pretty cheap, especially if you can find them on sale (or if you have an employee discount *eyebrow waggle*). A pair of wire cutters, some wire and an inexpensive clip from the craft store and ta da! A clip-on piece of flare to cover the original, boring belt buckle.

I put my theory to the test and wore my new flower belt buckle to a wedding. And guess what? No one asked me why I was wearing a napkin ring. In fact, I received three compliments on it.

So would you rather pay $15 for a new belt or $3 for a napkin ring? And the best part is, it’s so much easier to store one belt and 5 interchangeable clips than it is to store 5 belts. Your closet and your wallet will both thank you.

Every nester needs their signature. Martha has her poncho, but I have my bling belt clips.