Friday, November 6, 2015

Best Places to Get Free or Cheap Craft Supplies

Are you a crafter like me?  Do you cringe at the prices for supplies?  I do, especially since I have hardly any money for it.  Here's some places you might not have thought of to get cheap or free supplies.
  • Your own house, garage, shed, yard.  Think tin cans, jars, paper of all kinds, left over paint, nail polish, foam trays, plastic containers, bottle caps, tp tubes, old clothes, sheets, interesting seed heads, leaves, etc.  Before you throw something away, think about what it could be used for in your crafting. 
  • Where you work.  Check what gets thrown away, ask permission to salvage it.  Things like soda or water bottles, old file boxes and used folders, the list is probably endless.
  • Local Facebook pages for buy & sell groups or Freecycle or Craigslist.  Anything and everything gets listed.  Look for free things but also ask for free things, never hurts to ask.
  • Thrift stores like Goodwill or local charity shops.  Look at things with a new eye, as supplies for crafting.  Like a 50 cent necklace to salvage the beads from that would cost $5 at the craft store.  I see gift wrap and office supplies all the time, picture frames, parts & pieces of all kinds of things.
  • Yard sales.  These are great because you can make a cheaper offer and it will usually be taken.  They want to get rid of stuff.  Yarn, paper, old jewelry, old games & toys, fake flowers, unused craft and sewing items.  Think about taking things apart and reusing it differently.
  • Trash day.  Some people go ICK but I've pulled great things out of people's trash cans including a huge area rug that only needed cleaning, thick plastic to cover the floor of my car where I load in bags of manure, a vintage megaphone, games, books (one I sold for $75), you would not believe what some people will throw away.  I'm not advocating opening trash bags of kitchen garbage though.  Just look at what is on top or sitting beside a dumpster.  Apartment complexes are great places for this, especially furniture.
  • Dollar stores.  Check your local dollar stores before you end up at the big box store or the craft store if no other options got you what you needed.
I hope I've given you something to think about with this list.  Free & cheap craft supplies are everywhere if you look for them.

Got a question on what you could use something weird for?  Just ask, I'll be glad to share my ideas!

2 comments:

Linda said...

I have done all of these!

Anonymous said...

You are so right about checking the trash, especially apartments. The small desk I have in the spare room came from that, and I have an adorable little drop top table that I picked up next to the same dumpster. University campuses when school is letting out are another great place. I've seen TVs, small refrigerators, microwaves, whatever students whose parents are footing the bill don't want to deal with.

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