Erin Spain of DIYontheCheap.com is a resourceful blogger who likes to shop smart while embracing fun DIY projects to make her home look fab. We asked about her tips, tricks and inspiration. Check out what Erin has to say!
My blog began as a way to share with my family back home in Indiana all of the projects we were doing around the house. I was inspired by Pinterest also, and it all somehow snowballed from there.
I buy DIY items pretty much weekly, and I am always working on some phase of a DIY project. Every week, always. I save money by using coupons, comparing prices, thrifting and using what I already have on hand whenever possible.
I typically save extra DIY supplies for use on future projects. If I have materials leftover, I am always looking for project ideas or ways to put them to good use.
It's hard to put a definitive figure on how much I save through doing DIY projects, but I would say I definitely save a significant amount. Thousands of dollars, even. For example, I just built a table for our back porch based off a designer table that costs $2000 in the store. I spent a couple hundred dollars on materials. So just on one project alone, I saved over a thousand dollars.
The time that projects take varies depending on many factors. A small craft project might take 5 or 10 minutes, whereas a furniture build or refinishing project could take a week or two. It also depends on how much time I have to devote to a specific project on a given day. I'm also a busy mom, and that always comes first. I try to squeeze in "DIY time" where I can.
I would say that most of the time, I consider DIY projects to be "time enjoyed" rather than time spent, however, I have had a few projects where I absolutely hated the process but loved the outcome and knew that the hard work would be worth it in the end. And it was! But some projects are just physically difficult. Most of the time though, I love what I do and I completely enjoy putting my time and energy into projects. The end result of making our house feel like a home, and saving a lot of money in the process, makes it all worthwhile.
Image thanks to Erin Spain. Check out her blog, DIYontheCheap.com.