RADical thinking: Furnishing Our Apartment on a Zero Dollar Budget

One man's trash is truly another man's treasure. Americans waste So. Much. Stuff. We buy So. Much. Stuff. We have things we don't use, things we never needed, and things we have "just in case" or "just because it was a good deal". Derik and I have always been avid thrift shoppers, even before we met. Some may even consider us to be "cheapskates" (though I personally don't think we have reached that level). Really, we're passionate about sustainability: reusing items, giving something a second life, re-purposing, and recycling if none of the above can be applied. What really sparked this passion and kicked it into full gear was the move to Austin. We had to fit all of our belongings into our cars (yes- we could have rented a moving truck, but who wants to pay the fees/gas for a halfway across the country move?), which forced us to decide which items were necessities.

When we arrived in Austin, we bought all of our furniture used, spending as little as possible. Our mindset: "It's just a couch. It has no significant meaning. We will move again, so why spend a lot just to haul it around?" When you spend a lot of money on an item, you tend to develop a sense of pride and ownership regarding it, a "this is mine. I paid for it." mentality. And then, in turn, it's harder to give up. When we buy things used, we are giving it a second life. It's not "ours" because it had once belonged to someone else. And we hope to continue the cycle for someone else after we no longer need the item.

We applied this philosophy to our wedding, too. Well, I did. Let's be real- brides plan the weddings (at least this was my experience). I couldn't fathom having so much stuff left over that just sat in a box for decades, or that MAYBE another bride could use one day. So, I (and my parents. They helped a lot since I was planning from Austin for a Maryland wedding) chose things that I would use again, things that I could decorate our home with, or things that our guests could practically use. Examples:
Our favors- chocolate covered pretzels and smores- they will get eaten.
Our main decor- white pumpkins- we got married the week before Halloween so people could take them to carve/decorate.
My wedding dress and veil- used. I didn't see the point in spending thousands for a one-time-wear dress that would sit in a box, and that maybe my future daughter/niece would want to wear. So, I bought used with the intention of giving it another life (for another bride, through selling/donating) after my big day.

Our sustainable mindset and frugal attitudes led to the goal of spending as little as possible on furniture for our next move. But on top of that, we ended up accumulating several items for free over the past 2 years- A lamp, cooler, coffee table, and even a really nice couch. These were all things people were throwing out, so we took. A lightbulb went off in Derik's mind: "What if we try to furnish our next place without spending any money?" We already knew we were going to sell/donate all of our furniture when we moved (because again, who wants to pay the moving truck fees for that long of a trip), and would have to start over in our next apartment. So why not make it a goal to spend zero dollars on furniture? After all, we had found so many nice things for free over the past couple years.

The surprising thing? It was SO easy. We had all the furniture we needed in just a few weeks, and it happened by just bringing it up in conversation. We really never even had to directly ask. This is how the conversation would go:

"We made it a goal to furnish our apartment on a zero dollar budget. Repurposing things that people don't need or finding stuff people are giving away."

And the response:

"Well, I have a table that I need to get rid of. You guys can have it."
"I was going to throw this out but if you can find a use for it, it's yours."
"We have too many (fill in the blank). Why don't you take some."

So, here is the result: We did furnish the apartment on zero dollars. We spent NOTHING on furniture. We did spend some money on supplies for re-purposing items that were given to us (coffee table, a couple wall decorations), but all of the furniture itself was donated. And, people were extremely supportive about the whole idea. It seemed radical, and I expected some "I don't get it..." responses, but everyone we talked to thought it was pretty awesome. Oddly enough, the items kinda all fit together, and best of all: it feels homey to us. Thank you to everyone who generously let us take your trash! Let us know what you think about the idea of having a zero dollar furniture budget.

Furniture donations:
Couch, matching rocking chairs, and two tables: Alexis family
Entertainment center turned bar: Melissa and Joe
Plants: Apartment complex
Bar stools: Grandma & Grandpa
Plant shelf, coffee table (originally a fire pit. see photos below!), and dresser: Mom & Dad
Bed: Ana & Kevin Mooney (who were getting married and consolidating their furniture)

Below are photos of some of our DIY projects.

Coffee table in progress! Inspired by and repurposed from a fire pit that my parents were throwing out.

This is essentially what the fire pit turned coffee table looked like before, though I didn't get an actual photo. So this is one I found online:
 https://www.wayfair.com/Astella-Cast-Iron-Wood-Burning-Fire-Pit-FP301-L327-K~QWPS1062.html?refid=GX99081561082-QWPS1062&device=c&ptid=265968823144&targetid=pla-265968823144&gclid=Cj0KCQjwybvPBRDBARIsAA7T2kiANlkNmXFNC43s6BwzZSC9Xa2_R7xP7y2uYL13LHrekxlJXweOv-4aApE3EALw_wcB

The final result: fire pit turned to a coffee table!

This is an entertainment center  that my parents' friends were getting rid of. We tried sanding the top, but it didn't do much. The solution: I added a table runner and took off the doors to turn it into a bar.

The "after": entertainment table turned into a bar! The wine rack and bar mixer set were both found at yard sales for less than $3 combined. My grandparents gave us the bar stools. The coffee mug display was found at Goodwill years ago. The "Let's Fika" board was originally bright orange. It was free at a yard sale, and I painted over it.

       

                        The plant shelf was given to us by my parents, who didn't need it anymore. The plants were also free: our apartment complex was switching out the summer plants for winter plants, so the old ones were up for grabs (including the pots and soil)!

Derik made both the hanging rack and foot stool

A piece of barn slate turned into wedding vow art: cleaned the slate, wrote vows with paint pen, and coated with Mod Podge.

This was a really fun one! We obtained a coffee bag over a year ago from a coffee shop. We had some crafting ideas but didn't put it to use until now! Derik made the frame with the same wood from the coffee table and attached a board that we had used as backing for a few spray painting projects (so it looked like splattered paint against a white board). I later suggested stapling the coffee bag to the board and the result is my FAVORITE decoration in the entire house.