Baby on a Budget: Budget Breakdown

Have you seen those articles detailing just how expensive it is to have kids? This one from Babycenter declares it costs over 10k for just the 1st year! Gulp.

There is no denying that having a baby costs money, but it doesn’t have to be as expensive as the experts estimate. Just as you can create a home using budget friendly décor throughout, it is possible to create a nursery for your bundle of joy that doesn’t break the bank. I’m excited to share a few DIY projects to helped me to create our nursery on the cheap.

Sidenote: I also found a baby cost calculator on Babycenter. My costs were a lot closer to $1,000 a year then the estimated $10,000 a year but that is a topic for another day. Today we are just focusing on the baby’s room.

Last week I shared the used crib and changing table makeover. We transformed this furniture from drab, to fabulous and fun with a little teal paint.

Even if you don’t have the time or desire to makeover a crib, you can still find a good price for used ones on sites like Craigslist.

I found a slightly used crib (the previous owners were co-sleeping parents, so the baby hardly used the crib at all) and changing table for $150 total that I used for my first two daughters. Four years later I was able to resell the pair for $100. Warning: Pre-blog picture ahead, my apologies for the wonky lighting in the picture.

We were also blessed with a fabulous hand-me-down dresser from a friend.

Put the word out that you are open to hand me downs and you’ll be surprise at what you might get. The bottom line is you don’t have to spend a lot on furniture to get your nursery baby ready.

I know some might be deterred from “used furniture” based on the potential “ick” factor. A little cleaning can go a long way. This was the icky inside of the changing table drawer.

Not too pretty I know. I thought about covering it up with paint but decided I wanted to experiment with something new. Diapering can be “icky” enough, why not aim for whimsical touches that can make the task a little less dreadful.

I wanted something that would pop when I reached for my diapering essentials. I decided try my hand at mod podge. After searching for items I had on hand, I found some left over party napkins that matched the colors in the room.

Now if you have used mod podge before, then you know what I am about to describe. Napkins are too thin to mod podge. Since I didn’t bother to read any of the millions of mod podge tutorials on Pinterest, I found out the hard way when my experiment turned out bumpy and not very cute.

Fabric or thick craft paper would have been a better choice but honestly, I am too lazy to redo it. Once everything is layered inside the drawer you really don’t see any of the flaws and you still get that hint of whimsy I was going for.

Notice how I am not even going to show you the final mod podge creation (just the drawer already full of baby supplies). Yes it is that bad. But if I was going to redo the drawer, it wouldn’t be that hard to fix. And since I started out with “ick” (see picture about), I knew that just about anything would be an improvement.

All much as I love the natural look of baskets, especially to counter balance the strong colors in the room, sometimes you have to use things you already own. Not only does it save a few pennies but it forces the creative juices to flow or in my case, it allows me to reach for an old friend, spray paint!

These containers fit perfectly but the white with gray handles was reading a little too kitchen storage for me. I decided to officially embrace my other daughters’ love of pink and spray paint them hot pink.

I used a spray paint specifically designed for plastic. They have held up well so far but I think a primer might give the pink a little more staying power. The lower basket is from Ikea ages ago.

In case you are curious, here is how my supplies are organized within the containers.

I didn’t bother making a panel for the back of the crib since no one would ever see that side.

Since I wanted the skirt to easily change length when it is time to lower the mattress, I originally sewed ties from scraps of fabric.

I went back and forth trying to use my cure-all, Velcro. Still, I wasn’t sure it would allow for easy changing of the length of the crib skirt. In the end, I wound up sewing super strong magnets into the corners of the panels plus 2 extra magnets along the middle of the long panel.

The magnets attached to the metal frame and all the imperfections are hidden by the mattress.

I guess I could have painted the frame too although I haven’t notice the brown peeking out until this picture. Now that I’ve been living with this skirt for a while, I can truthfully say the magnets are a little frustrating, but still better then my original attempt at ties.

There is one magnet I used which is not as strong as the others so that side keeps falling off. If you try this at home make sure your magnets are the really strong kind that can pinch your finger or your crib skirt will be falling off whenever your older girls jump on the bed.

Whenever I dive into a DIY project, I try to weigh to time it will take to make it, with the cost of just going to the store to purchase the item. One thing about DIY, is that I find I’m usually proud of my effort, even if it’s not perfect. Sure I could have just bought a crib skirt (like this simple skirt from Esty or this chevron skirt), but for now it’s doing it’s job looking pretty and covering up storage under the crib. Right now we keep our blow up mattress under the crib and we have space in case we need extra storage in the future.

Even if I purchase the used furniture myself, it would still only be $159 for the whole room. The real winner here was receiving lots of hand-me-down and reusing items from other places in my home. And just in case you like to see visual breakdowns like me, I mocked up a pictorial representation of how cheap my nursery is.

The room is still not feeling “finished” yet but I am so glad we were able to keep the budget so low. We have lots of other house projects on the list so every penny counts!