5 Tips for Decorating Your Classroom On a Tight Budget

Psst! I have a secret to share...

You can decorate your classroom without spending much money and still have it look great. Trust me, I know!

As a teacher with a very tight budget (I am a mom to three preteen/teen boys, after all!), I always browsed Pinterest classrooms with drool rolling off my chin. I desperately wanted one of those classrooms that looks like the teacher had hired an interior decorator, but I certainly did not have money for it. I finally found ways to have a modified version without spending much money. So, here are my five tips for decorating your classroom on a tight budget:

1. Pick some colors or themes to lead you. This was a biggie for me. My current classroom is blessed with beautiful cabinets that are teal/turquoise. They are impossible to match exactly, so I tend to decorate with lime green, with a bit of magenta thrown in too. I use turquoise and teal things too, but I keep them on the opposite side of the room from the cabinets. Once I established my colors it was easier to find things when I visited the places listed in #2 and 3.

2. Become a yard/garage sale and second-hand store stalker. I've been amazed at all of the awesome yard sale and Goodwill finds the teachers in my school have been able to find. Most of my classroom library, games, and book shelves have come from yard sales, Goodwill, or Once Upon a Child. Another teacher I know stalks yard and garage sales all year long and manages to find an endless supply of treasure chest items for her students and she rarely pays more than a quarter! Last year I lucked up and was visiting a relative the weekend of the Annual Route 11 Yard Crawl, which is over 40 miles of yard sales and business sidewalk sales in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. I came back with a trunk FULL of classroom items -- and only spent about $14!

3. Visit your local dollar stores often. Dollar and bargain stores are great places to find cheap deals for your classroom. BUT if you see something you want, you best grab it! There's a good chance it won't be there EVER again. (I've learned this the hard way. Sniff, sniff... Like that time I decided to pass up the American Girl books and come back that weekend. Never saw them again. Sigh.)

Also, don't forget to check for dollar/bargain store online deals. I've heard many stores have some fantastic deals for teachers in August and September.

I LOVE the bulletin board border and paper lanterns that I found at my local dollar store.

4. Create your own decor. Sometimes paper, Mod Podge, fabric, paint, and other craft supplies you have on hand will be your best pal. My favorite decorations in my classroom are the posters and pillows that I made myself. My students liked them too. (You can see my pillow handy work in no. 1; Notice it's from afar so you can't judge my sewing skills.)

Pinterest is full of DIY projects and ideas. Gather your supplies and then do a search. You'll be amazed by all that is out there. 

5. Think outside the box! Thinking of uses beyond the norm or from places that most teachers are perusing can pay off. The coolest classrooms I've been in always have a piece or two that cannot be found in a teacher supply catalog: a lamp, a bath rug, an ottoman, a couch/sofa, a retired dentist's chair (Yep! I was so jealous!). If you hear of a new hospital being built or a large business moving or renovating, call someone to inquire...and always, ALWAYS mention that you are a teacher. 

Some friends of mine have had luck at lumber supply/ home improvement businesses as well. Mrs. Math went into one with the intention of purchasing shower board panels to saw into rectangles for a class set of dry erase boards. She told them why she wanted it and they sawed them for her and donated the boards to her class: FREE! 

Keep in mind that most kids will be happy with your classroom regardless -- as long as you love them, are passionate about what you are doing, and provide a safe learning environment. 

Happy teaching!