A savvy mum has revealed how she has saved over £4,000 kitting out her home entirely for free, bagging items including a Dyson fan worth £220.
Michelle Boyle, 47, has mastered the art of decorating her property without spending a single penny. She regularly trawls websites such as Freecycle, Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree hunting for furniture and decorative pieces that people are giving away.
Throughout the years, Michelle has scored an unopened £180 mattress still in its original packaging, a DFS sofa and chairs valued at £460 and £400 respectively, £150 Aldo bar stools, £175 display units, a £150 lamp, £200 dining room chairs and much more.
Money-saving habits inspire others
Her money-saving habits have inspired those around her, with friends and relatives now joining in the hunt for freebies. Michelle also utilises various apps and websites to secure reduced-price food and dining, including nabbing a carvery for merely £3.99.
The retired Scunthorpe resident, who stopped working due to health reasons, explained: "You can do up your whole house, if you look in the right place. Some of things you can get are new, but if not they are always in good condition."
"It surprises me that people get rid of stuff for free in such good condition. I remember at one point I got some decorating stuff and I was able to decorate half my house and it looked stunning afterwards. My son has just moved out and I told him about it and he's going to do it to kit his house out."
Started in 2014
Michelle first began hunting for free finds in 2014 as a way to "encourage others and herself to improve her life", and she now regularly "takes advantage of it".
Speaking to Sell Us Your Story, she recalled: "In the past, I actually enquired about a double mattress and it was brand new. It still had all the plastic on and hadn't been opened - it should have been £180."
She continued: "It's an expensive thick one. I jumped at the idea - we had a job of getting it in the car, but we got there. I've got a mattress, double bed base, dining room chairs, pictures, bar stools, three seater sofa, swivel chairs, curtains - all sorts."
Michelle detailed the value of her haul, explaining: "The sofa was £460 and the chairs were £400 each and they were in mint condition, the mattress £180, bar stools £150, the £150 lamp in the living room is ornate."
Michelle's top advice
Michelle's key recommendation for securing the finest freebies is timing - checking the platforms at the "right time" as soon as the subscription email is sent out. Freecycle is a website that allows people to trade free items and encourages reuse in local towns.
The site boasts 12 million members across 5,333 towns. You input your area and sign up for an account. The site usually sends emails rounding up the best items in your local area between 2am and 10am every morning.
Michelle explained her strategy: "Freecycle have specific groups and areas where you can search. As soon as I get the email I have a look and get what I can."
"You put your area in and sign up for an account with them so you can have a look at the stuff they've got. Facebook Marketplace is a case of hitting it at the right time. I enquired about a TV unit a few days ago - it was from Next and it was really nice."
Michelle recommends checking the platform whenever you have a spare moment. When she's on the hunt for freebies, she'll browse it every 45 minutes.
Budget-friendly food options as well
Michelle also secures discounted food items. She explained: "I use a site called TooGoodToGo and it's where you can buy discounted food. We get food from Cooplands and it's £3.30 a bag and there are times when you may only get a few bits in maybe say three or four bits, but we have got some bags on occasions that's had up to eight or nine bits in and they have lasted for days."
"You get cakes, sandwiches, sausage rolls, pasties etc and sometimes a loaf of uncut bread. They are definitely value for money."
"We also get carveries from one of our local pub; usually a carvery is about £9 to £12 and we get them for £3.99, which is great value. In my opinion this kind of thing will help families again, who are not so well off or struggling."
Michelle's estimated breakdown of item costs when new includes Furniture Village dining room chairs at £200, a bedside cabinet at £30, a chair frame at £6, an Orthocare mattress for home at £180, a fold-up chair at £10, Tesco bar stools at £150, an uplighter lamp at £150, an oak dresser at £375, a Silentnight bed for the caravan at £150, a single mattress at £100, a drop leaf table at £692, a Dyson fan at £220, a London canvas print at £75, a cord bucket chair at £429, a DFS cord sofa at £460, a cord swivel chair at £399, an Anne Stokes picture at £24, a pine display unit at £175, an IKEA TV stand at £75, and John Frieda hair products at £100.
