I’m remodeling the house I will be moving into and as is usually the case, the budget is tight. Aside from doing it all myself or having family members and friends provide labor for free, I am currently increasing my list on how to save money while making my soon-to-be home pretty. Here are a few of my favorite tips and maybe you will have a few of your own faves to share.
Check Clearance Racks
I was looking for paint at my local Wal-Mart and happened to spy a shelf stacked with clearance cans of paint. I shimmied up and lo and behold, there are gallon cans of paint in several of the colors I needed for a fraction of the cost! The regular price per gallon of the same paint was about $26 but the cans I bought ranged from $5 to $8 per gallon. You can bet I snatched them up and will enjoy slapping that bargain paint on my walls.
The clearance rack also yielded a couple more goodies that will add to my decor. My daughters will be decorating their bedroom and spied some repositionable decals on the clearance rack. One set (Hannah Montana–but my girls only wanted the guitars and butterflies) was marked down from $11 to $9–not a great bargain but still cheaper than full price.
They did however find another set of plain dots marked down to $5 from $10. The decals will look great on their newly-painted bedroom walls!
Yard Sales and Thrift stores
I have found a number of items for decorating and fixing up my new place at local thrift stores and yard sales. Sometimes it requires thinking outside the box… like being willing to pay almost nothing for a great chair that happens to be in a color I really don’t like. A blanket will be the ticket to covering the color and the chair itself was a fantastic buy at $25.
Scour thrift stores and yard sales for home improvement materials and building materials. If you’re willing to accept what’s available and work with it, you might be surprised at what bargains you will find. Colors can usually be changed with a little paint or fabric and some creativity and other items can be repurposed.
Since I will be spending the summer remodeling before moving, I will make the local thrift stores regular stops during my weekly errand trips and will set aside some funds for said trips. This is definitely a cheaper alternative to buying everything brand new.
Re-purpose Your Own Stuff
Sometimes you might have things stored away that are just exactly what you are needing. Take a stroll through the attic, garage, basement or storage shed and see what you’ve got that you have forgotten about. You might be surprised at that rug, wallhanging or other item that you stored away. Best of all–this method costs absolutely nothing.
What are some of your favorite low-cost/no-cost ideas for remodeling your home?