Fall Decorating Ideas on a Budget

Who’s ready for fall? Spring and fall are my favorite seasons because the weather is usually nice and there’s a lot to look forward to. I can’t wait for Thanksgiving, pumpkin flavored treats, football games and a visit to the apple orchard and pumpkin farm.

Overall it’s just a relaxing time and more like the calm before the storm when Christmas rolls around.

Decorating your home is a great way to get into the season and cozy up your space. Purchasing décor for your home can seem like an unnecessary luxury when you have more important needs to worry about.

To compromise the costs of décor and still liven up your home this season, steer clear of department and big-name craft stores and try to DIY some of your own décor and score discounts at other places. These DIY fall décor ideas and overall savings tips are great for anyone looking for fall decorating ideas on a budget

Light a Candle

Candles effortlessly add the percent scent and charm to a home. To create a simple centerpiece, you can grab a pack of your favorite candles and a few mason jars or clear vases from the dollar store.

Fill the vase up with popcorn kernels and place a medium to large-sized candle at the top. Tie a string or ribbon around the vase for flair and voila, you’ll have a fall centerpiece in 5 minutes or less.

Use Leaves

Leaves are a true symbol of fall and can help make up some of the best fall decorating ideas on a budget. Fallen leaves should be plentiful during the next few weeks so be sure to gather some for quick and easy DIY projects. Tracing leaves each year is a tradition in my household since I did it when I was younger and now my son picks up leaves from outside and traces the pattern onto construction paper so we can make paper leaves.

I let him stick the paper leaves in assorted colors on all the windows and doors in the house. You can also make a leaf wall hanging or a garland with real or fake leaves, some string, and a long branch.

Use Pinecones

Pinecones can be found all over this time of year and you can start by looking in your backyard. Once you round up some free pinecones, you should clean them before starting a craft. To clean the pine cones and rid them of any critters that may be living inside, soak them in vinegar for 20 minutes then put them in a heated oven for about 30 minutes.

You can paint the pine cones, group them together in a cluster to create a unique door hanger as opposed to a typical wreath, dip them in glitter and string them across your fireplace, or even create scented pine cones to display in a bowl around the house.

To make scented pine cones, all you need is pine cones, a cookie sheet or aluminum foil, essential oils and a spray bottle with water. Read the whole tutorial for creating scented pine cones here.

Don’t Forget about Pumpkins

You have to buy at least one or two pumpkins this year. I usually buy one to make pumpkin puree and a few to use for decorating. If you aren’t going to be carving pumpkins, there are plenty of ways you can decorate with them.

You can paint a few pumpkins or create a vase for flowers with one by cleaning out the inside, spraying a little bleach inside to preserve the pumpkin and sticking an emptied and cleaned soup can or container inside the middle to hold the flowers. You can even do this with an artificial pumpkin to create some something more long-lasting.

If you have a power drill you can carve patterns and shapes into the pumpkin and stick a small battery-powered light bulb inside to light up your porch at night.

Pick Up Trinkets at a Discount

Before you run out to grab expensive fall decorations, check out your local dollar store for discounted items and trinkets. I swear, every year, stores like Dollar Tree and Dollar General get better and better with their items.

You can find a ton of affordable and quality fall decor items at these stores. In fact, I’ve used the dollar store many of my decor along with discount stores like Ross and online deals that I find.

Use sites like Rakuten (formerly Ebates) to earn cash back for your regular shopping. They pay out your cash back earnings every quarter so it’s super convenient to use for extra expenses, holidays, and just fun money.

Related: Earn Cash Back For Everyday Shopping

I picked up these colored pumpkin and string lights from the dollar store and I found my gold leaf placemats for my table at Ross

The placemats were only $7 for a set of 4 so it was definitely a steal. Another thing you can do to score affordable fall decor is to simply wait until mid-season or the end-of-season sales. Decorate what you can for now, then try to save a little money for after Thanksgiving when things will go on sale.

You can use these fall decorating ideas on a budget and simply keep adding to your collection year after year.

Do you decorate your home during the fall? What types of décor do you use or make?