How to Decorate for Fall on a Budget contains affiliate links! We have to tell you that they are there but I’m also happy to share that we intend to spend those tiny commissions on all kinds of fun things, in this case maybe some more glitter and spray paint…
I have a confession to make…The one thing I hate doing is decorating my home for holidays and seasons. I know, I know, it can be fun and it looks nice! I don’t have anything against the idea of decorating for seasonal activities and holidays it’s just that I’d rather spend that money on other things usually. This year I’m working hard to get out of that “funk”. I knew there had to be a way that I could decorate for fall on a budget without having the end result look cheesy or cheap. With this goal in mind I set off to find some tips and tricks on how to decorate for fall on a budget! Now we can all have that gorgeous, polished, awesome looking end result without having to sacrifice a ton of money in the process.
How to Decorate for Fall on a Budget:
One of the most important things to remember here is this: do what you like, not what you think other people will like. I tend to forget this when I’m decorating my home. I’m always thinking about what passerby’s will think, what the neighbors will like, etc. It’s not their house! It’s my house, if my family and I enjoy the decorations it’s a win.
Buy Fake Decorations
This might seem silly because Fall is all about pumpkins and corn and hay bales which are all naturally occurring and real things. I know this, but buying fake items that you can reuse year after year will save you money in the long run. It’s also usually cheaper to buy fake decorations for fall and they require no weird cleanup when you forget about them. They won’t rot into a black puddle of goo on your front porch, I promise! Some of my favorites are artificial pumpkins, yard signs, flags, wreathes, and wall hangings. They are all able to hang out on the front porch without being ruined and I can get them on the cheap!
One of the ways around buying fake items that are still reusable is mums! Fall mums are hardy, they bloom in the fall and then die off during the winter. While most people toss out the dead plants you can actually keep them and plant them in the spring. They will come back, good as new, looking awesome! You can also keep them in pots and make sure they have water and fertilizer so that you don’t have to plant them in your yard!
Local Options
Usually there are at least some local options for fall decorations. I live in a highly rural area so it’s easy for me to get things like bales of straw, corn stalks, pumpkins, etc. My favorite time of year is nearly upon us and the local fall festival happens this weekend. I’ll be able to stock up on items that I want to use for decorations in the yard and on the porch.
If my decorations are not fake I try to make sure they are locally sourced, cheap, and usable in other areas of my life. Our hay bales get recycled every year, the rabbits will soon need lots of extra nesting materials! The corn stalks we usually store and try to use a second time if they are good and dry. If not they will get thrown in the truck and taken to the farm for the animals to munch on. Pumpkins are usually only sat out for a short time before we cook them up or the neighborhood hoodlums grab them and smash them in the road…thrilling, I know.
DIY and Crafting
Tread carefully here…it can get costly to DIY and craft all of your decorations. In this case I’m talking about taking things that you get for DIY and crafting projects and taking them up a level. There are tons of examples out there…I know I’m not the only one on Pinterest half the day…Try taking some craft store pumpkins, which are totally reusable from year to year, and give them a new life with some paint, sparkles, embellishments, and other decorative touches! One of the best things about DIY and crafting options for decorating for fall on a budget is that the dollar store items you think you have to avoid can look pretty awesome. With some craft paper, glue, ribbon, twine, and even regular old spray paint, you can turn these cheap items into awesome reusable decorations.
Less is More
It’s so easy to get drug into the mindset that you have to go full fledged crazy for decorating. If you are trying to decorate for fall on a budget you have to think smart. Less is more when it comes to a lot of decorating styles. You don’t have to overdo it in order to have a nice looking fall display. I typically tend to lean towards this thinking…You know…because I hate decorating to begin with 🙂