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Decorating your home is a form of self expression. We all want our homes to reflect our tastes and to be welcoming to visitors. Unfortunatley decorating can be extremly expensive. Luckily it can also be done on a budget.

The first step is to decide your furnishing budget:

1) Determine the pieces of furniture, and decorations, that you need.

2) Measure the spots where you envision placing the furniture and draw a small outline of each room. Note placement of windows and doors.

3) Take your notes, along with a tape measure, with you as you go hunting for bargain furniture.

4) Have an amount you are willing to spend on each item and stick to it!

The second step is to locate great furniture bargains:

1) Let family, and friends, know that you are redecorating. Offer to take used items off of their hands.

2) Scout out local yard sales. Signs start showing up on telephone posts, and street corners, on Thursdays for the coming weekend. Jot down the addresses and get an early start on Saturday morning so you can find the best bargains. Coordinate your shopping destinations so you can hit a few sales in the same area before driving to a different part of town. Actively negotiate prices. Check the local paper or classified sites for notices of upcoming yard sales. Pay special attention to sales in the more affluent sections. These often offer more high end items.

3) Thrift stores area a great spot for bargain hunters. Check back on a regular basis as merchandise can change frequently. Introduce yourself to the employees and find out when they are usually scheduled to restock. Once the staff gets to know you they are often willing to call you if a special shipment arrives or a specific item you are looking for appears in the donations.

4) Used furniture stores offer great discounts on furniture. Check them often as inventory changes frequently.

5) Check out the "damaged" sections of retail furniture stores.

6) On-line classified sites, such as craigslist.org or freecycle.org, list used furniture. People are looking to move furniture out of their homes and the items are usually inexpensive or free!

7) Trash day can offer a wide variety of treasures. If your community has street side trash pickup, get in your car and take a quick ride around the more affluent parts of your community the night before trash day. You'll be amazed at what people will throw away.

8) Instead of curbside pickup, many communities have a common trash dropoff point. The town refuse center/dump can be a easy place

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