These days the cost of living has risen very dramatically. This means that many people are looking for ways to stay on budget when doing things like decorating a bedroom or even furnishing the house. Saving money on these things is essential these days otherwise you can put yourself in serious financial difficulty.
Luckily, there are a lot of ways to get furniture and other necessary household items for a very economical price. With the right strategy, you can get everything you need for a fraction of what it would cost to do so otherwise. In this article, we will go over what it takes to furnish your house on a budget.
1 – Make your own pallet furniture
It may seem extreme to make your own furniture, yet, there are lots of things you can do yourself even if you aren’t very handy. Using pallets for free wood has become a very popular way to create things on a budget. As a result, there are a lot of tutorials online that can help you create just about anything that you need, even if you are not particularly handy.
The best thing is to start out simple. Look up some plans and tutorials for something like a nightstand for your bedroom. These should be easy to make with some patience and can come out looking like a store-bought table when you use airless paint sprayers to paint it.
Once you have a few simple items under your belt you can use what you learned to make more complex furniture such as a bed frame or kitchen table.
2 – Look for giveaways
There are many people who are getting rid of old furnishings and sometimes they will part with them for free. They might have tried to sell them but got no takers, or they are simply in a rush to get rid of them for some reason. This is to your advantage as you may find some real gems online that you can use for your own house.
Look online for forums where people are often advertising that they are selling goods or giving them away. There are a few sites dedicated to upcycling and have active communities where people are bartering for items or simply giving them away for nothing in return.
If you live in an area where there are a lot of college students then you can generally drive around at the end of the summer and pick up a lot of great furniture that is getting thrown away when they move.
3 – Look for estate sales
Estate sales may not come up very often but when they do they can be a goldmine of furnishings for a house. Generally, these items are much cheaper than what you would expect to pay at an antique store as the relatives of the deceased are looking for a quick sale. Make sure to look for ones coming up in your area by looking online and in your local newspaper classified section.