Wedding Decor from the Dollar Store

It’s no secret that I’m getting married within the next year or so. It’s also no secret that weddings can be very costly. Jordann from My Alternate Life wrote a great post about the cost of her wedding and how she was able to save money.

In my own journey of planning a wedding (and paying for the majority of it out of our own pockets), I’ve been trying to follow in Jordann’s footsteps and save money where possible. I had a thought recently to check out the dollar store for some wedding decor.

One Saturday earlier this month, a friend and I took an adventure to Ikea to pick up a few things. I had to pick my friend up at the bus station on my way there. I didn’t know where she’d be waiting as I wasn’t familiar with the station, so I parked and went inside the adjacent dollar store for a browse while I waited.

I was surprised to say that I found quite a few little things for the wedding at the dollar store, which I was planning on picking up at either Ikea or Target. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on feeding my guests Dollarama food, but I did score some good decor.

Cake Cutters & Servers, Other Utensils

I’ll really never understand why people would ever spend more than the bare minimum on a cake cutter. You’re cutting a cake with it! It doesn’t need to be fancy. Nobody will notice whether it has hearts engraved on the handle. Nobody really even notices the cake, they are too exhausted from the festivities.

I found a cake cutter and server (and no, it’s not plastic) for $1 each at the dollar store and I picked up the set. Weddings are already expensive without adding pointless costs to them.

Stationary

We are making our own invitations, and I was surprised to see how expensive stationary is. Especially when purchased at a store like Michaels, you can spend almost the same amount on stationary as you would on some cheap invitations.

The dollar store does have some good options, even if you just go with white card stock, or buy envelopes from the dollar store instead of the stationary store.

A package might be more than $1, even at the dollar store, but it’s usually cheaper than a crafting store.

Ribbon, String, and Twine

There’s no doubt that twine is a very popular fibre right now. I’m not sure why, but it’s blown up (as has burlap, kraft colored paper, and mason jars).

I was buying twine for a wreath this fall and it was $6 a roll at Michaels! I went to the dollar store next door and got twine for $3/roll.

The twine from the dollar store was a bit thinner but who needs thick twine? Same goes for ribbon. There were rolls of lace ribbon at the dollar store for much cheaper than the prices at Michaels.

Vases

Many weddings have vases all around. Some are used for the candy bar, some for flowers or other center piece items.

Vases can be cheap at the dollar store, and they don’t have to be great quality if you are using them just for your wedding.

You can get some wedding decor from the dollar store, you just need to know what to look for. Don’t expect to get your lighting from the dollar store, though.

Cheap Ideas for Repurposing Furniture

The personal finance world is well-known for finding creative solutions to everyday problems. And most importantly, creative solutions that are on a budget!

This is true for a number of things, but in particular for furniture. Furniture can be expensive and hard to find, and even harder to find the right piece for your home or your special project. But here are five ideas for repurposing furniture that will go easy on your budget:

Litter Box Concealers

Even a cat-lover won’t deny that the litterbox is a real problem. Where to put it, how to conceal the smell, and how to make your apartment not seem like it revolves around your cat!

There are a lot of creative ideas out there for concealing your litter-box with used furniture. I myself turned an old-fashioned steamer trunk into a litter box solution, and many others have made litter box solutions from filing cabinets, bookshelves, and cabinets. It just takes a little creativity (and maybe a table saw).

Children’s Chairs as Plant Holders

Via Pinterest

Have your kids grown up and out of house? Use their old toys and furniture to make new, decorative items for your home. In particular, using a child’s chair as a plant holder has very cute results. This can be done by cutting into the chair, or simply placing the plant on the chair as a small plant-holder.

Ladders as a Bookshelf

Perhaps you’ve seen this before, but using a ladder as a bookshelf is another fun way to repurpose or store furniture. You can do this in two ways: set up the ladder on its stand and place boards on it for shelves, or mount your ladder to the wall and use as a small set of shelves. In this example, an antique ladder was hung open mouthed in a corner to be used as a bookshelf. Gorgeous!

Baskets as Light Fixtures

Most creative of all is using alternative materials as light fixtures. Young House Love did so by turning a basket into a pendant light, and also making an attractive overhead chandelier with hundreds of clothespins. You’ll definitely need to contract out for the electrician work, but the ideas and starting off points are endless.

Of course, you’ll want to make sure that whatever item you are repurposing is clean and attractive — hanging any old metal ladder on your wall might make you seem more crazy than frugal or creative. But there’s genius here somewhere in repurposing your old furniture for new uses.

Have you ever re-used furniture for a new purpose? Leave your ideas in the comments!

The Secondhand Stigma

I have a confession to make. I used to look down on secondhand stuff. A huge part of this had to do with my upbringing. My parents considered anything secondhand as second rate or not-so-great quality.

In my house, unless the items were from a close friend or relative, using secondhand items was forbidden if you didn’t know who the original owner was. It was considered to be meant only for less fortunate people. Growing up I thought secondhand was only meant for people who couldn’t afford to buy new. To give something that was used as a gift (not necessarily a regift), was considered an insult to the recipient.

While my mom has finally changed her ways and now buys a lot of her clothes from the thrift store, my dad still hasn’t changed his mind so much about previously owned items. I think he still likes the idea of something new. He has quite a few various articles of clothing that he has never worn or has barely worn to preserve them so that they still look new.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/usaghumphreys

The Way the Internet Has Changed Buying Used

Before sites like eBay, Craig’s List and Kijiji existed to enable us to search, buy and sell new and used, there was only Goodwill, the Salvation Army and garage sales as our sources for finding secondhand things.

Buying secondhand has now become more mainstream and more widely accepted. Almost everyone has used at least one of the sites mentioned in the previous paragraph.

I have purchased a few things from Kijiji such as furniture and a gym bag and have received compliments on all of them. When you ask someone where they bought something new and they tell you the store where they got it from, that is that. You can go to that store and get it for the regular price/sale price or if you have the patience and discipline, you can find the same one on eBay or Kijiji for way less. When someone has asked me about my Kijiji furniture, I enjoy telling the story of how I acquired the pieces. I also tell them about the nice people I met who were selling the pieces.

Each item has a story or better yet, each item has some history to it. While that may not warrant enough reason for some of you to buy items used, perhaps the satisfaction of knowing how much money I saved, versus buying new would.

Secondhand Is More Commonplace Than You May Think

When you really stop and think about it, we’re constantly using previously owned items. My parents may have bought their house brand new, but I didn’t (but obviously, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting your living space to be brand new. You just have to be willing to shell out the cash).My partner and I are the third set of owners for our house. And while it may have not been a brand new house, the house was very clean and well taken care of when we took ownership.

Some of us drive used or as some dealerships like to call them, pre-owned cars. I bought my current car new, but I think next time around, with the help of my car savvy partner, I will look into getting a used one (It also helps that he’s my personal mechanic).

I’ve purchased a few items of clothing before from secondhand stores, including a jean jacket for $12. Even if you are still wary of purchasing used clothing because of certain stains, smells, and rips, remember there are such things as stain removers, washing machines and a needle and thread. When you go try on something in the change room, unless you saw them take it right out of the box and put it on the rack and were the first one to grab it, most likely several people have already tried that item on. So in a sense, it’s not completely “brand new”. It has been used by several different people for a brief period of time already.

When you go out to eat at a restaurant, do you request brand new, never been used cutlery, glasses and plates? No. At least I hope you don’t. You put your good faith in the establishment and assumed it has been washed properly beforehand. How environmentally and financially wasteful would that be if they had to set out a brand new, never been used place setting for every single customer?

Let’s not forget that antiques are secondhand( sometimes very expensive) items as well.

Advertising puts a lot of emphasis on everything being new, never been used before. New electronics, new phones, new cars and new fashions are constantly coming out. Companies have to make money and somebody’s got to be the one to buy the new product and own it, before it can be sold for a lower price.

Just make sure you’re not always one of those individuals.

Do you buy second hand items? Or do you prefer to buy new?

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