How to Design & Decorate on the Cheap. Finding the deals & steals.

This is not a sponsored post.

I recently had a friend ask if I could put together a how to on budget shopping (shoutout, Melissa! & Thanks!).

I thought I would write a post on how I save on design and decorating for anyone else who might be interested as well.

Number One- Design 

There is no faster way to accumulate clutter and waste money than not having a plan first. Ask me how I know! I do not use a design software and I can't draw. That's because I don't have to. Instead I copy. There is so much inspiration on Pinterest, home magazines, Instagram, blogs and home & DIY websites. I find a room I love and copy it. It doesn't turn out exactly like my inspiration photos most of the time. I don't want it to. And it's free. I add my own style and items based on things I find for cheap or already have that will work. I save a ton of $$$ this way.

Garage Sales & Resale Shops

Obviously you can get amazing prices at garage sales and resale shops a lot more often than you can online or in stores. Not all resale or garage sale prices are great deals. You can get a great price on a shelf, but if it's a particle board POS then you'll be shelling out time, energy and money to get rid of it and replace it later.

Then there is the impulse buying factor. You know that if you choose to wait, it won't be available later. Which means you either regret buying or not buying later. It also means you accumulate clutter. Quick. It's easy to buy stuff because it's cheap and not because you need it. The following are my personal resale and garage sale buying guidelines that help keep me from impulse buying:

1) If I can't think of a place for it to go, I don't buy it. Even if I love it and it's cheap. UNLESS, I am willing to replace something with it. If I find an adorable lamp, but I already have a lamp... then I ask myself if it's worth spending the money on the new lamp to replace the old one.

2) I keep a list of things I need to look for. This keeps me focused and also helps me remember what I went in for in the first place. You know... mom brain. That's my excuse and I'm using it until the kids are gone. When I can't use it anymore then I will blame it on old age.

3) I only buy good quality. If I get tired of looking for it, I will look into building or DIYing it.

4) I avoid estate sales like the plague. There's just too much emotional attachment to things. Hence the high prices. Church sales, resale shops, charity sales on donated items hold a lot less emotional attachment and you get a MUCH better price.

5) Check curbside. My living room sofa and wing-back chair were curbside finds.

My living room

Well, the wing-back was given to me by a neighbor who was getting ready to throw it to the curb. Where I would have taken it.

Via Pinterest

You can tell yourself that you'll be recycling and keeping things from the dump that only need a little cleaning up. (This is how I make myself feel okay with trash digging ;). But be careful... this quickly turns into hoarding and clutter as well if you're not careful. I have seen it over and over.

Decide on the pieces you love the most and don't pick up any more until they are made-over and in their places.


Goodwill

Oh Goodwill. Sigh. Sometimes I can find good deals on home decor items. I feel that you can no longer find good deals on furniture here, unfortunately. I have three Goodwill's that I will pop into and it seems like the pricing is different based on who is pricing that day. Still... the prices on their furniture is outrageous to me. I guess it depends on what it is. If I bought furniture from Goodwill it would only be some big expensive name brand where their price is at least 80-90% the original cost. I prefer to find other resale shops for my furniture and home items. IF you must shop Goodwill, it's best to shop often... usually a Monday or Tuesday since they get garage sale leftovers on weekends. You'll have the best selection then. OR find a Goodwill outlet store. Now those are pretty awesome. I like those. Find your local Goodwill Outlet Store here. My first Goodwill Outlet experience happened in Austin, TX. I live in Houston, TX. It's totally worth the drive to me.

As far decor items, I guess I would apply the same principle.

Finding Retail Deals

I find a lot of deals in store. Especially grocery stores or stores you wouldn't normally shop for home decor. The thing is just that. Nobody really shops for home decor in a grocery store so most of the time it doesn't sell and ends up on clearance shelves @ a deep discount. At least where I live. When I shop in store I usually will not buy anything that's not at least a 75% mark down. You also want to shop places that will let you stack coupons with clearance sales. Kroger will let you use their home coupons on clearance items.

I LOVE Kohl's coupon policy. They will let you stack multiple coupons WITH clearance items.

I do more shopping online than in store, usually... but we will get to that in a minute. First I want to mention that you won't know if you're getting a good deal if you don't have a good idea of what an item costs. So shop around. Impulse buying is the fastest way to overspending. Be patient. Even if you miss a deal on something. You'll find another deal on the item later or you'll find a great deal on something else you love that will work equally as well.

Online Shopping

I find amazing deals through coupon blogs like Hip2save, Passionate Penny Pincher, Penny Penchin' Mom & My Frugal Adventures. They will keep you posted! I follow them on Facebook so I'm always seeing the deals in my feed.

Before I buy anything for a "great online deal" I make sure it really is a great deal. One way to do quick research is to Google and item then click on the shopping tab. From there you can refine your search to list products from low to high in price.


Using What You Have

This is my favorite way to decorate. Also most frustrating. This is because sometimes I can get creative or find I already have something that works, and sometimes I spend way too much time and energy on trying to make something work that just isn't going to work.

Via Etsy

 I love decorating but I don't like spending money on it.

I have learned to donate what doesn't work and find something that does.

I absolutely love displaying old or sentimental items. Have old letters? Put them on display! It's much more meaningful artwork or rolled up filler. Old camera's? Old books? Pinterest is a wealth of creativity and ideas for how to display things and get them out of your closet. Anything you can't find a place for... get rid of it. Sell it for cash or donate it. But remember...

a clean house is a pretty house.

It's my belief that stuff weighs people down. Gives you something to worry about. I love quality because it lasts longer but only when I can buy it used for deep discounts. I don't want to pay a lot of money for anything because then I'll worry over it. That's just me. I don't want a lot of stuff because it overwhelms me. That's just me. I like things simple.

DIY

Do it yourself. Buy supplies. Make stuff. Save tons of money every time.

The truth is DIY is NOT always cheaper.


Compare the cost and time required for building or DIY'ing verses the time and cost of finding what you need at a garage sales or resale shops. A reoccurring theme in this blog post is patience. Slow down. Don't get in a hurry. That's how you'll find a better DIY plan, or sweet deal on someting that will work without all the work ;)

The Best for Last
The best way to create a beautiful space is through your attitude. And that costs zilch. Nada. Nothing. In the end... how people feel when they are in your home comes from more than the decor.




Thanks for reading! I hope someone out there finds this helpful. Please let me know if you feel like I left anything out or if you have any questions!