If you are anything like me, chances are you work hard to keep the “front” of your house clean while you own personal bedroom is a disaster.

Every time company comes over, the clutter from every other room finds its way to the top of my dresser.

Normally, this doesn’t bother me, but the long winter days had me spending an unusually large amount of time online. It’s there that I’ve been teased with pictures of magazine-perfect bedrooms. Bright colors, patterns, and textures covered every inch. However, as I gazed up from my screen, I saw a bunch of brown. Apparently I let myself get so bad that my room was not only cluttered, but also all one color.

So a much-needed change was in store. I turned to the very internet that shamed me into action for a solution. I decided to add color while being keeping cost at bay.

I headed out to local thrift stores, looking for a white blanket. My plan was to attempt to dye it to a bright color to liven up my room one piece at a time.

Here’s what I used:

1 white cotton throw blanket
3 boxes of Rit fabric dye
A wash tub sink

1. First, I bleached and washed the blanket I purchased — it was used, after all.

2. I followed the directions on the box for the dye that I used. Each dye is different, so make sure you check the packaging for the dye you choose to use.

3. To make it interesting, I decided to try to make a pattern. I slowly lowered the blanket a few inches at a time for the whole dye period, giving it an ombre effect. To spice things up, I even chose to go diagonally!

Overall, I really like the end product. Since the blanket itself only cost $5 and the dye was less than $5, I have a great-looking blanket for less than $10! With my new fabric-dyeing skills, I might move on to other objects in my room to add even more color!