Shopping

Skill 4: How to Shop Effectively

There are a lot of different parts to this.

I also really believe that you need to read about skill three to be able to shop effectively for you home.

Recommended: Skill 3: Learn How to Find Your Style and Inspiration

In this post I am going to cover the following:

  1. Shopping for New Items
    • Where to Start Shopping Online
    • How to Shop Online
    • How to Save Money on Almost Everything
  2. Shopping Antique and Vintage
    • Estate Sales
    • Facebook Marketplace
    • Online

Shopping for New Items

Pull out that list that you created from the last post and get to work.

For me, I like to online shop because the possibilities are endless and you can narrow in on your specific style.

Plus you save a lot of time.

Where to Start Shopping Online

As I have mentioned before, when I am looking for something in particular I like to shop at these five places first.

I have done a lot of looking around, and I know that these places usually have what I want on my budget.

Recommended: 5 Websites for Affordable Furniture without Sacrificing Style

If you don’t know what websites to begin with, start with a Google search.

Google Shopping is a great tool that pulls from thousands of different websites and allows you to filter to find what you are looking for.

How to Shop Online

Let’s say after I spent some time finding my inspiration, I noticed that I love white tufted couches.

You can search that in Google, and filter what you want.

There are filters for price, design, material, color, size, and much more.

How to Save Money on Almost Everything

Once you find something you like, there are several ways to save money on what you want almost everytime.

I wrote a post about that here that I recommend so that you can read all the details.

Recommended: How to Save Money on Everything Online

Shopping Antique or Vintage

Shopping for antiques is a little more complicated. It may be individuals selling personal items or shops trying to make a profit.

Let’s break down some of the basic places to find antique items.

Estate Sales

I love estate sales, but they can be intimidating at first. If you’ve never been, or if you still just want to learn my best tips for shopping them I suggest checking out the post linked below.

Recommended: Estate Sales: Everything You Need to Know

Estate sales are my favorite place for smaller home décor items, but can be great for furniture as well, you just need to be prepared to take it home.

If you’re not sure what to look for at estate sales, I wrote a post about that as well.

Recommended: Best Things to Buy at Estate Sales

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace (FBMP) is probably my favorite place to find furniture.

Usually, FBMP is where individuals go to sell personal items that they want gone out of their home. So you are also more likely to find a deal (no middle man).

But sometimes it appears to be a chaotic black hole.

My tips for narrowing your search as well as the overall buying experience can be found below.

Recommended: Finding Treasures on Facebook Marketplace

This is another time when knowing your inspiration and keywords is crucial.

If you are a grandmillennial or new traditionalist girl like me, you can see what I use to search on Facebook below.

Recommended: Keywords for Finding Grandmillennial Pieces on Facebook

Online

Online is trickier (and often more expensive) but it can be done.

My favorite places to shop for antiques online are eBay, Etsy, and Poshmark. I wrote all my best tips for these three places in this post.

Recommended: 3 Places for Affordable Antiques Online

This was a long post, but I wanted to be thorough

As you can see, I have written about this topic many times in many forms but never had the chance to compile all my best tips for shopping in one place.

Of course, you can always browse my shopping category on my website, that will get updated every time I make a new post with tips on how to shop effectively.

I hope this was helpful, and now we are ready to design!

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