Who’s ready for fall? Spring and fall are my favorite seasons because the weather is usually nice and there’s a lot to look forward to. I can’t wait for Thanksgiving, pumpkin flavored treats, football games and a visit to the apple orchard and pumpkin farm.
Overall it’s just a relaxing time and more like the calm before the storm when Christmas rolls around.
Decorating your home is a great way to get into the season and cozy up your space. Purchasing décor for your home can seem like an unnecessary luxury when you have more important needs to worry about.
To compromise the costs of décor and still liven up your home this season, steer clear of department and big-name craft stores and try to DIY some of your own décor and score discounts at other places. These DIY fall décor ideas and overall savings tips are great for anyone looking for fall decorating ideas on a budget
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Light a Candle
Candles effortlessly add the percent scent and charm to a home. To create a simple centerpiece, you can grab a pack of your favorite candles and a few mason jars or clear vases from the dollar store.
Fill the vase up with popcorn kernels and place a medium to large-sized candle at the top. Tie a string or ribbon around the vase for flair and voila, you’ll have a fall centerpiece in 5 minutes or less.
Use Leaves
Leaves are a true symbol of fall and can help make up some of the best fall decorating ideas on a budget. Fallen leaves should be plentiful during the next few weeks so be sure to gather some for quick and easy DIY projects. Tracing leaves each year is a tradition in my household since I did it when I was younger and now my son picks up leaves from outside and traces the pattern onto construction paper so we can make paper leaves.
I let him stick the paper leaves in assorted colors on all the windows and doors in the house. You can also make a leaf wall hanging or a garland with real or fake leaves, some string, and a long branch.
Use Pinecones
Pinecones can be found all over this time of year and you can start by looking in your backyard. Once you round up some free pinecones, you should clean them before starting a craft. To clean the pine cones and rid them of any critters that may be living inside, soak them in vinegar for 20 minutes then put them in a heated oven for about 30 minutes.
You can paint the pine cones, group them together in a cluster to create a unique door hanger as opposed to a typical wreath, dip them in glitter and string them across your fireplace, or even create scented pine cones to display in a bowl around the house.
To make scented pine cones, all you need is pine cones, a cookie sheet or aluminum foil, essential oils and a spray bottle with water. Read the whole tutorial for creating scented pine cones here.
Don’t Forget about Pumpkins
You have to buy at least one or two pumpkins this year. I usually buy one to make pumpkin puree and a few to use for decorating. If you aren’t going to be carving pumpkins, there are plenty of ways you can decorate with them.
You can paint a few pumpkins or create a vase for flowers with one by cleaning out the inside, spraying a little bleach inside to preserve the pumpkin and sticking an emptied and cleaned soup can or container inside the middle to hold the flowers. You can even do this with an artificial pumpkin to create some something more long-lasting.
If you have a power drill you can carve patterns and shapes into the pumpkin and stick a small battery-powered light bulb inside to light up your porch at night.
Pick Up Trinkets at a Discount
Before you run out to grab expensive fall decorations, check out your local dollar store for discounted items and trinkets. I swear, every year, stores like Dollar Tree and Dollar General get better and better with their items.
You can find a ton of affordable and quality fall decor items at these stores. In fact, I’ve used the dollar store many of my decor along with discount stores like Ross and online deals that I find.
Use sites like Rakuten (formerly Ebates) to earn cash back for your regular shopping. They pay out your cash back earnings every quarter so it’s super convenient to use for extra expenses, holidays, and just fun money.
Related: Earn Cash Back For Everyday Shopping
I picked up these colored pumpkin and string lights from the dollar store and I found my gold leaf placemats for my table at Ross
The placemats were only $7 for a set of 4 so it was definitely a steal. Another thing you can do to score affordable fall decor is to simply wait until mid-season or the end-of-season sales. Decorate what you can for now, then try to save a little money for after Thanksgiving when things will go on sale.
You can use these fall decorating ideas on a budget and simply keep adding to your collection year after year.
Do you decorate your home during the fall? What types of décor do you use or make?
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lovetteorleavette says
I don’t usually decorate my home until Christmas, not because I don’t want to but because I don’t want to bad enough to purchase the decorations. I really like the decorations with fall leaves and pine cones. My daughter is a big DIYer and I’m sure she would love to create similar projects! Thanks for sharing.
Choncé says
I generally roll out the same decorations for Christmas each year, with a few minor changes or additions. I’m looking forward to getting creative this fall though so I don’t have a lot to start with.
Tonya (Budget & the Beach) says
No leaves in this part of town. 🙁 sad. I have lot of Halloween decorations that I just keep reusing. I LOVE fall and fall colors so I can’t wait till the weather cools down here and I can start putting that stuff out.
Choncé says
That’s unfortunate! You can always go the artificial route though. I love looking at everyone’s fall decorations outside their homes. During the Halloween season some people go pretty overboard but it’s cool to look at.
Christina @ Embracing Simple says
These are such cute ideas Chonce! Making your home festive for fall definitely doesn’t have to be an expensive ordeal. Loved this post! 🙂
Choncé says
Thanks Christina!
Alexandra @ My Urban Family says
I love the idea of using a power drill on the pumpkins! That is so fun. Looks like I’ll have to buy an extra one this year for that. I usually end up with at least twice as many as I need haha but I love them as decoration!
Also, I just wanted to let you know that I nominated you for the Blogger Recognition Award 🙂 You can see my post about it on my page. Thanks for having such a great blog!
Choncé says
I tend to buy not enough 🙂 Thank you so much for the nomination, I will have to check it out! 🙂
DC @ Young Adult Money says
Wow I would never have thought to use a drill on a pumpkin, that’s a great idea! I’ve tried a couple carving patterns but usually end up failing. Looks like I need to try a “beginner” pattern this year…
Choncé says
You should! It’s a pretty cool idea
Kristen says
Hi Choncé, Thanks so much for linking to my tutorial for the cinnamon-scented pine cones. There are so many great ideas here for getting into the fall spirit! I really like the branch wall hanging with the leaves– I might have to try that one 🙂
Lisa S. says
I love the candle idea. I hadn’t thought of candles as a “fall decoration” and I was looking for an alternative because although I love decorating for different times of year, fall is probably my least favorite for colors and themes (i.e. mostly dead plants). The popcorn would be creative and inexpensive, too. Thanks!
Choncé says
Thanks for stopping by Lisa! The candle idea is super cute. I actually went to the dollar store over the weekend and picked up some cute vases and recreated the decorations for my home. I used fake battery powered candles though because I was afraid that lighting real candles might cause the popcorn seeds to get too hot and pop. But it looks just as nice 🙂