I want to redecorate our master bedroom because it’s a hot mess. Not even a hot mess actually, it’s just a mess. We have mis-matched furniture from childhood, adulthood, garage sales and Ikea. I want our bedroom to be a relaxing sanctuary from the rest of the world and right now it’s a stressful clutter-filled mess. Unfortunately, we don’t have a whole bunch of money just sitting around to buy all new everything, so we have to save up for our room makeover. I frustrate my husband when I start a project like this without having an accurate estimate for how much it will end up costing but it can be hard to nail down all the specifics! Here is what I do to get as accurate as possible of a budget when I tackle projects in our house.
First step: Declutter and Clean
Why is decluttering the first step in making a budget? Shouldn’t it be opening Excel or something? I find it’s best to wipe the slate clean and get the room looking the best it can with the stuff I already have in it. This way, I can decide if there are pieces that need to be moved to other rooms, or if there are pieces I can sell to make money to pay for some of the makeover. Also, even if I only get this far in the makeover the room is still better than it was before.
You can do decluttering and cleaning all in one go, but they are very different things. You need to declutter first because decluttering is the process of getting rid of all the stuff in the way of the room feeling the way you want it to. There are a million different ways to declutter, so choose one and go with it. Tomorrow’s blog post is all about decluttering so come back tomorrow if you want my tips. Cleaning is getting out cleaning chemicals and the vacuum and really cleaning every crevice. Cleaning should be easier than normal after you declutter because there is less stuff to clean around.
Second Step: Take an inventory of what you have, and try to notice any holes you need to fill
For example: I have two nightstands from Ikea that I want to keep, and I love my new duvet cover that I got from my MIL for Christmas. I do not have matching lamps for the nightstands, so that will be on my list to purchase. I also want a headboard, but after looking at prices online I want to DIY a headboard which will be listed on the next step.
Browse Pinterest to gather a list of items you might want to purchase. Finding links to these items is helpful so you don’t forget if you found a super cute item at Target; this way you only have to do the research once. It is helpful to have actual links to retailers so you know real costs not just estimates.
Third Step: Projects
List out the projects you want to complete with the items you’ll need to buy to complete those projects to get good cost estimates. If needed, go to Home Depot to get real prices so you can really nail down as accurate of an estimate as possible. I always err on the side of caution and over-estimate costs because I’d rather have too much money saved than not enough.
Since I want to DIY a headboard, I had to look up what kind of headboard I wanted and what tutorial I’d follow or if I’d go rogue. I’m following this tutorial by Homemade by Carmona. On my projects list I need to list out all the items she lists out, and the tools. I don’t have a lot of tools yet so I need a list of tools so I can either rent them or borrow them from a relative or neighbor. If I need to purchase or rent a tool, that needs to be listed as one of the costs.
Final Fourth Step: Add it all up
Add up the costs for Projects, and the cost for décor items to get your total budget. Then, figure out how many months or paychecks it will take you to save it all up so you can get the project done! If it’ll take a few months, decide if you’ll wait until you have everything saved up, or if you’ll do the project in steps. I like to do the project in steps because I just get too excited I can’t wait. If I’m saving $100 a month, I buy $100 of supplies or décor for the project each month until it’s completed.
For full transparency, here is the “before” for my bedroom (before decluttering and cleaning too) – I can’t wait for the “after”!
