Rachel and I were talking the other day about her moving into her apartment and not having much furniture or decorations. She said she had to do it with basically no money. Well, I've been there (for the last 7 years) and I have a thing or two (or ten) that I thought I would share. All of these things have been free or upcycled (making something new from something you already had). But first, some pointers!
Pointers on getting furniture for free:
- Humility: don't be afraid to post on facebook, or ask relatives. We got free couches that way.
- Constantly check these sites for freebies or cheap furniture. Don't be afraid to bargain. I always ask for about 1/3 less than I want to pay. Usually people will barter. I have even gotten a few things for the price I asked for. And freecyle? I love it!! I have gotten many good quality things from there (including 2 solid wood dressers). Just be careful with these sites. Be smart. Cash only, meet at a location other than your home, etc. Most people aren't weirdo's but you can't be too careful.
- http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites
- https://groups.freecycle.org/group/ProvoUTFreecycle/posts/all (I just googled utah freecycle. You can type St. George, Rachel.)
- http://www.ksl.com (under classifieds)
- Watch for things on the side of the road. Sounds really gross, but that is how I have gotten a few pieces of furniture. Make sure it is good quality. Depending on how broken it is, you may be able to fix it. I have seen cribs, desks, clocks, baskets/organizing tubs on the side of the road. They all need cleaned REALLY well, but just keep an eye out. Go to a place one way, go home a different way. Take side roads through neighborhoods. Pointer: Students are notorious (at least here) for leaving furniture on the side of the road (or by the dumpster) if they weren't able to sell it on craigslist or give it away. They have to leave their apartment, and they don't know what else to do with it. Or have a car to donate it. Check the roads!! It is a little embarrassing, but it's worth it!
- Dumpster dive!! Ok, don't climb in the dumpster, but lots of times people will set things by the dumpster that they don't need anymore, it's not really garbage but they don't know what to do with it (mostly because they are moving and don't want to take with). Prime areas for dumpster diving are complexes with young married families. Especially college families. This generally happens around the end of the semesters and in the summer when people are moving on to new and better things. They are hopeful for the future and don't want to take their hand-me-downs to their new life.
- Make it yourself with reclaimed wood. Those broken down pieces of furniture on the road? They might have potential to be something other than what originally was. Also, pallets. Look on pinterest to find ideas.
- Be a garage sale person. Go often. You can find great deals. People are trying to get rid of stuff. If they don't get rid of it, it will go away for free, so don't be afraid to barter here too.
- Oh, and duh! Goodwill/DI/Salvation Army/Privately owned thrift or antique stores
I know some of these things can be embarrassing, and that's why I put humility down first!
 |
| Found this near a dumpster. It is a little old, but in REALLY good condition. |
 |
| Found this on the side of the road. Fixed it up, painted it, and I love it! The chair is from a garage sale. Super cheap. I also painted it. |
Ok. Now the fun part! (Although I do actually like finding stuff for free and fixing it up.)
Decorations:
Two words: FREE PRINTABLES. Don't be always and forever on pinterest, but if you are looking for specific decorations, or a specific room, pinterest can give lots of ideas and links for these. Just type "kitchen free printables" or "lds free printables" or whatever you are looking for. Seek and Ye Shall Find! They take up wall space, look nice, and are free! (Except for the frames...which aren't that expensive if you look at a thrift store, or buy the cheapo frames at walmart, or even the dollar store.)
 |
| Free kitchen printables. I get lots of nice comments about these! |
 |
| Free Christmas printable...although I did mess with it a bit on photoshop. The original looked great too! |
Toilet Paper Roll Art. Yep. You read that right. These are made from toilet paper rolls and spray paint. Check pinterest. I have the square one in our bathroom, and two flower ones in the kitchen. You could make a TON of different designs. Just save up some used t.p. rolls and get to work!
Spruce up a bookshelf by wrapping cardboard in fabric (measuring the cardboard to fit the back of the shelves). Also, painting can be like magic! This bookshelf was a really ugly 80's dark brown and the white transformed it! Tip on buying paint: If you are working on a small project, buy the sample sizes. It's usually enough. That way, you don't have a bunch of extra paint lying around. Depending on what you paint, finish it off with sealer.
See that vase with ornaments in it? I know you have a million vases. Who doesn't? Use one to hold ornaments, beads, candy, acorns, or whatever seasonal item you would like. Cute. Free. (Unless you go the ornaments route. Dollar store.)
Paper is awesome - especially for seasonal things. You can make snowflakes, hearts, 4 leaf clovers, spiders, etc. There are a TON of tutorials on the internet. Check them out!
Do you eat jam? Save the jars and use them to hold things like candy canes. They look cool on a bookshelf, but can also be used to store other stuff. I have also seen tutorials where you paint the lid and it looks like you bought an expensive storage jar. I have also seen a bunch of mason jar tutorials/ideas. Google/Pinterest it.
Quote wall. Remember in college when you and your roommates made a quote wall? Well, you better believe your kids will say funny things too. So innocent. So precious. We right down funny/interesting quotes down here. When the board gets full, I write them down in a journal (I have one for each of them), and start again. I wasn't sure if I would keep it there or how it would work out, but everyone loves looking at it! Simple, cute, free!
For the kids room, I wanted to do something cute and special. We thought Winnie the Pooh would be a great gender neutral theme. Daniel
loves the original stories, so I went with it. I got a Winnie the Pooh coloring book and went to town. (Heather helped on a few...as you can see on Christopher Robin.) I cut them out and "laminated" them with contact paper. I put them on the wall with tape. We have moved with these, and they are still intact! Another great benefit is that I don't get heart broken if one of them gets taken off the wall (which happens regularly now that they have a bunk bed) and bent. It's pennies. And easy to fix. Really.
Another thing you can see is their names are made of sticks. Yep. Sticks and hot glue. It's cute and goes really well with the Winnie the Pooh theme. Also, you if these get broken, it's totally not a big deal. The shelf I made with a square dowel and a short thin board...also in the dowel section at Lowes (I think), wood glue together, spray paint.
 |
| Here's a concept of the whole room. This is in Iowa, but you get the idea. Man! I miss that house! Sooo much more room! |
If hanging curtains with nails will get you in trouble with your landlord, use the large command hooks. Also, I made the rod using a thicker dowel and some tips with screws coming out of them (also in the dowel section). You will need a drill to help put them in the dowel, or it will crack. (Yep, learned that one from experience.) It's also not expensive. Obviously, I made the curtains. And yes, I velcroed them to the wall...My kids (have been trained to) like the dark. In fact, they have a light for an alarm clock. That's good and bad, as you can imagine.
 |
| You can paint your "rod" if you want, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. |
Now, here's a fine example of asking around, or at least making it known that you are in need of/want something. It's also an example of making it yourself for cheap. This is a toddler bed bunk bed. We got it from a friend who was moving, and whose girls were getting too big for it anyway. I mentioned to her how much I loved it, and she offered it to us when she moved. It saves SO much room. Before, you could barely walk between their two beds (that picture up there, is not this house). Is it pretty? Not really. Is it functional and sturdy? TOTALLY!
 |
| This is all made from the same size of wood. I am pretty sure they kind of made it up as they went. There are plenty of free plans for bunk beds online. (Check Ana-white.com) |
If you have girls, these are great space savers. And free. Paint an old frame (the glass broke on both of these), hot glue ribbon, twine, wire, whatever look you want on them, and use to keep the little hair accessories on them. It is really nice, because it fills hard to decorate bathroom walls, and also keeps the cute clips from being forgotten about in a drawer. It's also really nice to say "which accessory do you want today?" And when the kiddos get old enough, they can get them on their own.
You can also do it for jewelry for yourself. On this one, I screwed little hooks on the bottom to hold necklaces and headbands.
Toys, toys, toys! They are SO hard to keep organized. Actually, anything that belongs to kids is hard to keep organized. I have found that diaper boxes work really well. We have lots of those. But they are so UGLY! Not anymore, sister! You know how they sell that colorful duck tape? Get a few rolls and cover the outside of the boxes. You can do a lot of different designs. It not only makes the diaper boxes more sturdy, but it also makes them pretty. It does cost a little bit for the duck tape, but it's worth it. We use ours for everything. Toys, shoes, puzzles, hats and gloves, more toys. I have found that it has helped keeps things relatively organized. Cars in one box, little people in another, trains in another, play food, etc. I keep the boxes in our laundry/food storage room, and they can "check out" one box (per person) at a time. If they want another box, they have to clean up the contents of the box that's already out and give it back. Of course, I am lenient (read: lazy) sometimes and don't make them, but either way, things are staying cleaner, and pick up is WAY faster. Just put it in the box. Another great thing about diaper boxes is that they have handles! Here are some examples:
 |
|
 |
| I know this one needs cleaning up a bit, but I like the diagonals. |
I hate all the clutter that kids make with their art projects. It lays around until I can't stand it anymore and throw it away. (Does that make me a bad mom?) I saw lots of those little boards with "What I did today" or "Masterpieces" or whatever written on them. But I had no money for that. So. Yarn and these little hooks and aren't really hooks, they are circles. I have no idea what they are called, but they work great. I just tied the yarn to the hooks (see below) and hang kids art on it with clothes pins. Pointer: You want the yarn to be taut when you first hang it up. It will make the pretty curves when you hang stuff on it. When I originally put this up, I intended to replace the hooks with knobs (like for a kitchen drawer), and use twine for the string, but I ended up liking the minimalist look.
 |
| I don't know what this hook is called, but it can't be more than a couple cents per hook. |
Want your kids to remember their grandparents or cousins that live far away? Use clothes pins, string and a frame. Made exactly the same as the accessory frames.
 |
| Girls, now you can see why I need updated photos! Your families have grown by 1 since these were taken. |
I love this mirror. It was a Goodwill find. It apparently used to go on top of a dresser/vanity, and because of that, was being sold super cheap. It is SOLID. This is one of my most favorite items. It bounces light around, and makes the room appear larger. (Please ignore the decorations...I'm not done yet...and I took it this morning right after taking the Christmas stuff down. I should have taken it before, because it looked really nice...oh well.) I hang garlands up, put those dollar store window clings on it, hang a wreath from it, and lots of stuff. It was well worth the approx $5 I spent on it.
Another thing I want to say, but don't have a photo for, is to use nature. For Christmas, we didn't have a big tree. We had a small tree (we found at DI for 50¢ when we live in UT), I put it up, but the display looked really lopsided. We have some huge fir trees in our "yard" I went out and cut off some branches and put them in a large ceramic pitcher. I hung little bulbs from the branches. It was cute. I used pine cones and acorns for fall decorations (go on a hunt for them with your kids. They love picking up stuff like that), and I use sticks a lot too.
I hope some of this gives you inspiration in what to do in your own space on a
very small budget. Rachel, I'm so excited for this new step in your lives! Good luck!
