Let’s say you have a house, apartment, or a condo. You’re able to pay the rent or mortgage each month, but you don’t have a lot left over after also covering food, bills, childcare, and other essentials. Still, you want to improve your home, and you’re not sure how to do it.
Let’s talk about some of the ways you can improve your home on a budget. None of these methods should break the bank, but each of them will make you and any visitors see your residence in a new light.
Shop at Walmart or Target
One thing you can do is shop for new things you need at Walmart or Target. You can certainly find one in most major cities, if not both. There are very few places in America where you won’t be able to locate one of these near-ubiquitous superstores.
They’re so popular because you can buy nearly anything there. In any Target or Walmart, you might find a new shower curtain, bedsheets, and kitchen products. Maybe you need some window blinds or gardening supplies.
You can always find all of this and more at Walmart, Target, or any equivalent big-box store. It’s not as refined as shopping at some higher-end establishments, but you can stretch your dollars way further if you go this route.
What you might want to do, though, is take your smartphone with you when you go shopping and Google each product before you buy it. Sometimes, you might encounter a Walmart product recall or some poor product reviews, and that quick Google search can prevent you from purchasing an item you will regret later.
Shop at Goodwill
You might also decide to head to Goodwill if you need some items that will improve your home. Whether you are hunting for interior or exterior household items, Goodwill can often yield a treasure trove for the thrifty shopper.
You might look for some wreaths for your door. You can often get various seasonal ones, dirt cheap, at Goodwill. You might find a couch or sectional there or a dining room table.
You can also find out whether the Goodwill locations near you have discount days. The items there are pretty cheap to begin with, but you can sometimes go to Goodwill on a particular weekday and get dollar items if they have the right colored sticker on them. You can walk out with a king’s ransom in household items that way.
Get Reduced-Price Plants
Maybe you want to improve your home’s outside appearance more than the inside. Getting some flower pots with flowers or planting a garden in front of your home or behind it can do that.
The only problem is that flowers, soil, and other planting supplies can be costly. You can get around that by seeing if any of the Home Depot or Lowe’s stores near you carry discounted plants.
Lowe’s, in particular, frequently does that. They will often have a discounted section where you can get plants for 50% off, or even less in some cases.
You can check out the different flowers and other paraphernalia they have, and you can walk out with much more than if you tried to purchase them at full price. This is a sensible way to improve your home’s curb appeal, though it will only work for homeowners or house renters rather than apartment dwellers.
Look Around Your Neighborhood for Furniture
You might drive or walk around your neighborhood and the ones close to you on trash day. Some people feel like they’re lowering themselves if they grab a couch from off the curb. However, it may surprise you what people throw away sometimes.
Humans tend to be pretty wasteful, and you can often find furniture in decent condition or better if you make a habit of prowling around when trash night comes. The people who are throwing away their furniture should not mind you picking it up, though you may need to enlist help if you’re trying to haul a couch or futon away.
You will likely have better luck if you go to wealthier neighborhoods. If people have more money, it follows that they will throw away higher-quality furniture and other items.
If you get a bit creative with it, there’s no reason you cannot gradually improve your home’s appearance in these ways. You don’t generally need to spend thousands of dollars if you’re willing to embrace used items and inexpensive brands.
