These online outlets allow homeowners and contractors to list leftover building materials for free. They usually give away boxes of yarns, fabric, scrapbook paper , etc. You can find a variety of free items perfect for DIY projects, including building materials, furniture, lumber, and appliances.

Just keep in mind that most of these list are on a first-come-first-serve basis, so you have to be quick to get those free items. The key to finding great deals on online marketplaces is timing. You have to be the first to comment or pickup to snag the free items.

To ensure you know when someone lists something new, set alerts on your favorite website. Keep an eye out for buildings or homes that are about to be demolished or scan the newspaper for ads from property owners planning to demo their house.

Those property owners will often allow you to search the house for free supplies , as long as you do your own demo work. Taking advantage of a demolition will allow you to search the home for a variety of useful supplies, like flooring, trim, windows, stair railings, banisters, and crown molding.

Make sure to bring your own tools to remove the items you want and a truck to haul your building supplies home. Keep an eye out for homes or buildings under construction, then check the nearby dumpsters for leftover building materials.

This simple method can provide you with tons of opportunities to find great free stuff to use on your next DIY project, including lumber and hardware. If the dumpster is at a private home, ask the homeowner if you could look to see if you can repurpose anything.

They might be happy to reduce waste and let you take what you need. My mom scored a great outdoor rug because the end was fraying. At my old home, the recycling used to be in small open bins that you put to the curb.

So I would just walk through the neighborhood on trash days and get newspaper, glass bottles and other free craft supplies. If your town offers free debris pick-up once or twice a year, mark your calendars!

Then, hit the streets to search through the items your neighbors set out. We used to have a guy that would drive in our town on trash day every week. Wood pallets can be used for anything, from crafts to using the wood to build furniture like the wood pallet tables, below.

Which makes them a great item to find for free! Pallets are used to stack boxes on for delivery. Or on landscaping projects where lawn sod was delivered on a pallet.

Often, companies or construction sites just want to get rid of the pallets. Otherwise they have to pay for removal. HOWEVER, some companies will reuse pallets.

So never take them from private property without asking. Another great site to check for free stuff is your local recycling center. Even though it was destined for a landfill pile. So you do need to proceed with caution and ask a staff member about their policy.

From old kitchen cabinets to broken furniture, you can find a variety of free building materials and household items that would be perfect for your next DIY project. If you are searching for a big-ticket item for free, finding it may be a little more difficult.

One simple way to get something great without exchanging money is to barter or trade for it. If you see something you want or need for your next project, contact the owner and ask if there is anything you can give them in exchange.

Your friends and family are a great resource when it comes to scoring free stuff! You can leave the request open-ended to see what everyone has to offer or let them know exactly what you need to get the job done.

Chances are, your loved ones will jump at the chance to help you out! But if someone is giving you something for free, make sure to make it as easy as possible for them. Bring your own truck to pick up the items and do all the heavy lifting yourself.

Have our free weekly newsletters with the best tips, new home improvement projects and easy crafts sent to you! I reuse everything, hinges, wood, and backing boards. You would be surprised how much wood you can get out of a broken chest of drawers. Handles, hinges, and knobs are other expensive items that can be stripped from old furniture.

Plywood and MDF backing boards removed from the back of furniture can be reused once you cut away the edges with the nail holes in. These are all costs that add up when you are making a DIY project.

My son works on a building site, and he collects all the leftover wood for the site after the job is complete. Most builders just throw away the leftovers because the customer has already paid for the materials, and they do not have storage facilities for all the bits of wood not used.

Make sure you ask first. Some pieces of wood did have nails in them but removing a nail is cheaper than buying the wood. There were also some pieces that were warped, I cut them into smaller pieces for other projects.

A lot of this wood was used to make a stud frame when I covered up the brick wall in my lounge. So my cost for the new wall was minimal. Plywood is another item that you can find on building sites or from homes doing renovations. I collect all the offcuts and on many occasions, I have managed to get large pieces up to 2 meters that just need to be cleaned up.

These are great as backing boards for mirrors and picture frames. I also have a scrap heap of offcuts which are old fence posts, and other scraps of wood I removed from the striped furniture.

I use these in areas of my project that will not be seen. Old wooden doors are also a great source of wood, so keep a lookout.

I had a local guy contact me saying he was stripping out his old kitchen and would I like the old doors. I jumped at the offer and created this headboard from the old doors. Recycle all the legs from old broken furniture, you will be surprised how often you will need them if restoring furniture is your hobby.

Or if you build from scratch it is a very cheap alternative to buying them. The below were just perfect for my latest restoration of an antique dresser. I even go as far as reusing all the nuts and bolts and screws that I remove from stripped-down furniture.

I use all the old ones in areas that you can not see. And my new stock for all visible areas. If you are able to remove the old screws without damaging the top, you can even reuse them.

Through word of mouth, I was offered the wood from a tree that had fallen down on a farm in the area. I just had to go and cut what I wanted. So keep a lookout for fallen trees.

Again ask first. These are great for garden decor or for cutting wood slices for displays. If you are handy with a chainsaw or axe you can cut out the middle to make planters for your succulents.

PVC pipe is another item that has become very popular with all sorts of crafts being made with them. Thanks to Pinterest Here are my latest PVC pipe photo planters. These have also been saved from building sites and offcuts from plumbing supplies.

For a lot of my projects, I have needed foam to pad cushions, chairs, and pet beds. I put an advert out for free or very cheap foam mattresses.

Which I just cut to size, wash and reuse. I also keep old pillows and cushions which I wash and use as stuffing. Old couch cushions middle picture are also great to keep because they are usually made from high-quality foam which is very expensive. A steam cleaner can be used to clean them all up.

The items above were used to make this handmade chaise lounge made from scratch. If you are lucky enough to live near a wood mill as I do, they generally have a reject bin for wood not up to the quality they require and you can help yourself.

If you can not repair the furniture that you are given, repurpose it. With a little bit of imagination and some browsing through Pinterest, you can get some great ideas for repurposing furniture.

If you cannot restore the wood which is what I prefer to do you can always use Chalk paint, which I find hides all the blemishes and defects. This bench below was made from an old headboard and foot from two different beds. Where I live we have a recycling centre that has a shop for furniture that people have dumped that they feel is too good to throw away.

And these can be picked up for next to nothing. To keep the cost of the items I do buy down, this is how I do it. I buy all my fabrics and materials in bulk from China, usually in meter lengths.

Supplies will give you a discount if you buy multiple items from them. Always go for king size, more fabric for your money, and they are much cheaper than lining or calico.

I buy all my accessories from China too. Plan ahead for projects, so all items needed can be ordered on time. I order my sanding discs in bulk and I can get discs from China for the same price as I pay for 10 in my local hardware store. You used to have to wait months for a delivery from China, but nowadays I seem to get my orders within 2 weeks.

I have a bin next to my table saw and mitresaw in which I keep all my very small scraps of wood. Not even these go to waste.

I use a scrap piece of wood and glue all the small offcuts onto the surface. I turn these into wall art for my home and to sell.

If you are going to build from recycled materials the best tip I can give you is the buy a thicknesser Planer machine. I used to sand all my wood by hand to clean it up, but this machine will do it in minutes. There are plus DIY projects on my website that have all been made from mainly recycled materials, feel free to scroll through for inspiration.

Here are also some great tips and ideas if you are just starting out on your woodworking journey. Woodworking If you are looking for any of the items used in this project, please consider using our links.

By clicking on the links we will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Which helps us come up with new and exciting ideas to share with you.

Anita, these are all such terrific ideas. Thank you for sharing them. I love how you are keeping all this useful material out of the landfill. I buy most of my project findings from AliExpress now but I have found that they are lacking in the fabric department. I also wonder what it will smell like when it gets here.

I have bought made-in-China tights from a retail chain that smelled like a petroleum product of some sort that took a lot of laundering before being suitable for wearing.

Then there are the made-in-China flip flops that stunk up the mud room so badly I wondered if some critter had come in and died. Do you have any other sources or tips to share for acquiring fabric for large projects without having to spring for yards?

In the meantime, I continue my search on Alibaba in the hope of the perfect find. People throw away too much stuff. Hi Paulette, I buy most of the things I need for my projects from Wish, Aliexpress.

Most of my projects are fairly small so I have never needed large amounts. So aliexpress are great for me. They have the same fabrics as Alibaba just they sell them in small quantities and they also do a lot of free shipping. Hi, I saw ur idea on Hometalk n was really amazed at what a beautyful job u did on that dresser n mirror.

I love working with wood also but I dabble in more of refinishing antiques mostly furniture n there r times I have to repair some of the pieces. I have saved knobs, handle pulls, hingdes, screws u name it it does come in handy. I have plenty of tools to use for example my nail gun, a chop saw, skill saw my battery power drill n all kinds of sanders what I would love to get is a table saw.

Saving up for that one. I just had to tell u once again how much I admire u n continue to do ur thing. U go girl. Girl Power to u. My best regards, Shelly Dehart. Thank you Shelly, it is such a great way to run my hobby. My costs are next to nothing because I have all the tools and all the wood is free.

If I try a project that I have in mind and it does not work out how I wanted, I just repurpose it into something else. There are lots of cool projects to be made with those…I wish I could find one!

And you can find some decent free art supplies. Dumpsters behind art schools and art supply stores are good. So, there are a few ways to score free art supply samples. One is attending any type of creative-related event, like Maker Fair, arts and craft fairs, or state fairs.

At your state fair, look for exhibitors giving out free stuff. You could also take this opportunity to score free paint samples, fabric, or texture samples from exhibiting designers.

This was suggested to me years back and thought it was brilliant. You can always order free shipping supplies from the United States Postal Service.

This means free cardboard boxes, envelopes, and stickers for holiday gifts AND leftovers for new projects. Let us know in the comments below! You have some great tips for getting building materials. A reuse store is a good idea, since the stuff there is probably full of materials that will last.

The quality is much higher and for a lot less money than the cheap stuff. Also Check local construction sites as they have to be very particular of say 8ft 2x4s or any wood….

if it has a bow or twist they cannot use…. Hey Emily! I have read your blog for awhile since we are doing a similar thing.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. One thing I would add is for people to not be afraid to make offers or ask for discounts. Even in the big box stores I have made offers on clearance items and they just want them gone so they almost always say yes.

Same with craigslist- especially if the ad has been up for awhile, people just want it gone so they are willing to accept much lower prices. Yes, those are super helpful tips. Thanks for sharing!! Very true. We love crafting and DIY home decor. I asked at the company where I bought my granite if I could have their scrap plywood and they said yes!

If I had a truck I could have gotten almost full sheets. They throw away a lot. I like your idea to look for free things on Facebook and Craigslist first. My mom is a pro at using these two sites to find really neat things, and I think that this could be used by contractors as well.

Just like you explained, you can even set up alerts on both of the websites. I use louvered closet doors for display shelving and a great resource are the Home Depot stores. If they receive closet door sets WITHOUT HARDWARE they will almost give them away, if not free then certainly huge discounts.

Thank you for all the tips on how to find building materials for cheap. I would have never thought to look for an online auction near our city. I think that would be great!

We will have to look around. Look in new homes magizines and look for signs that tell you where they are building new homes.

You can take some of the shorter pieces to make the perlines to go in between the 2x4s on the walls. I went to subdivisions there they had just started building homes.

I walked into the office and talked to the supervisor. He gave me a note to show the builders that i could have the scraps of any thing I wanted. In 5 or 6 months I jad enough wood to build me a 10×12 storage shed.

With plenty of wood to spare. So please do this. And good luck on the new buildings! I really wish we had thought to do this. Could have saved SO much money. Thanks for sharing with us!

Just wondering. where do you find the demolition listings? thanks for the article and the great tips! Thanks for great tips! When we Completely renovated our kitchen, we got basically free brand new cabinets cabinets.

The company was doing a huge school job with a tractor trailer load of cabinets. We also free hard wood flooring for free from an old school and a church.

I Enjoy reading your blog! I got my dishwasher and fridge out of an apartment complex dumpster they were remodeling. That was 2 years ago and both are still going strong. Also they had sinks and cabinets in that big construction dumpster that we didnt need. I got my countertops off the side of the road and they look great.

Got my doors from a friend that does remodeling work. He salvaged them for us. This is a great site I stumbled upon. I am in the process of purchasing 5 acres of land. I need help finding a construction or office building. I will convert to a off grid home. Any suggestions where I should look?

Or are you looking for some kind of kit home or something similar? Let me know so I can help! I purchased a family home next to mine and spent what money I could on gutting it and have purchased a lot of materials to remodel it with but am out of money.

I am trying to remodel this house for my daughter who is handicapped and am looking for anyways I can get more material to finish it for her. And by the way I am doing this all on my own I am not a carpenter so its a learn as I go process.

I appreciate any suggestions or ideas you may have and have found this website suggestions very helpful. Thank you. God bless you for helping your daughter like that. You never know. Our excavator friend became our friend based on a recommendation from a family member because he did their basement foundation, and his help and recommendations alone have likely saved us tens of thousands of dollars.

I think all of the suggestions in this particular post will be super helpful to you, as well as the recommendations in the follow-up post with another 7 ways my readers suggested to me, but making relationships with people and being able to tap into a network of skilled individuals will go a LONG way.

People want to help.

You may need to check with your local school district or admin for permission before making these kinds of requests. Learn more: How To Land a Corporate Donation for Your School.

Chat up the owners of small businesses to see if they have any supplies they can donate. As long as you take precautions, online swap-and-shop groups can be a terrific place to pick up free school supplies. Just remember to protect your personal information, and meet in a safe place to pick up items.

Learn more: 7 Ways To Stay Safe When Using Facebook Marketplace. For instance, one teacher might have a giant bin of used crayons and will be happy to trade half of it for a collection of scrap paper or yarn remnants.

You can also designate a spot in the staff room for folks to leave free-for-all items, or set up a bartering day for a local teacher group. Be specific in requesting what you need, and make it easy by referring them to an online wish list if you can. Not every family will be able to donate, but finding a few you can count on makes everything a lot easier.

They might have a big tub of crayons their kids have outgrown or lots of half-used notebooks lying around. In some classrooms, anything helps. There are a lot of organizations that provide money to teachers for all sorts of things, including school supplies.

Learn more: The Big List of K Education Grants for Teachers. Then at the end of the year when they clean out lockers, they try to throw it all away, unused and sometimes unopened.

Put out the word to your own family and friends to keep an eye out for any possible supplies. Encourage them to be creative too. Someone who travels a lot might be willing to snag free pens and pads of scratch paper from hotel rooms.

An office doing a big clean-out might have a bunch of 3-ring binders they could empty and pass along. Folks with kids who dine out frequently could collect and bring home the barely used crayons their little ones used to scribble on place mats.

The opportunities are endless once you really start looking for them! Custodians or administrative assistants can often point you in the right direction to start your hunt. Looking for school funding? Bookmark this list. Continue Reading.

Black History Month for Kids: Google Slides, Resources, and More! Which I just cut to size, wash and reuse. I also keep old pillows and cushions which I wash and use as stuffing. Old couch cushions middle picture are also great to keep because they are usually made from high-quality foam which is very expensive.

A steam cleaner can be used to clean them all up. The items above were used to make this handmade chaise lounge made from scratch. If you are lucky enough to live near a wood mill as I do, they generally have a reject bin for wood not up to the quality they require and you can help yourself.

If you can not repair the furniture that you are given, repurpose it. With a little bit of imagination and some browsing through Pinterest, you can get some great ideas for repurposing furniture. If you cannot restore the wood which is what I prefer to do you can always use Chalk paint, which I find hides all the blemishes and defects.

This bench below was made from an old headboard and foot from two different beds. Where I live we have a recycling centre that has a shop for furniture that people have dumped that they feel is too good to throw away. And these can be picked up for next to nothing. To keep the cost of the items I do buy down, this is how I do it.

I buy all my fabrics and materials in bulk from China, usually in meter lengths. Supplies will give you a discount if you buy multiple items from them. Always go for king size, more fabric for your money, and they are much cheaper than lining or calico.

I buy all my accessories from China too. Plan ahead for projects, so all items needed can be ordered on time. I order my sanding discs in bulk and I can get discs from China for the same price as I pay for 10 in my local hardware store. You used to have to wait months for a delivery from China, but nowadays I seem to get my orders within 2 weeks.

I have a bin next to my table saw and mitresaw in which I keep all my very small scraps of wood. Not even these go to waste. I use a scrap piece of wood and glue all the small offcuts onto the surface.

I turn these into wall art for my home and to sell. If you are going to build from recycled materials the best tip I can give you is the buy a thicknesser Planer machine. I used to sand all my wood by hand to clean it up, but this machine will do it in minutes. There are plus DIY projects on my website that have all been made from mainly recycled materials, feel free to scroll through for inspiration.

Here are also some great tips and ideas if you are just starting out on your woodworking journey. Woodworking If you are looking for any of the items used in this project, please consider using our links. By clicking on the links we will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Which helps us come up with new and exciting ideas to share with you.

Anita, these are all such terrific ideas. Thank you for sharing them. I love how you are keeping all this useful material out of the landfill. I buy most of my project findings from AliExpress now but I have found that they are lacking in the fabric department.

I also wonder what it will smell like when it gets here. I have bought made-in-China tights from a retail chain that smelled like a petroleum product of some sort that took a lot of laundering before being suitable for wearing.

Then there are the made-in-China flip flops that stunk up the mud room so badly I wondered if some critter had come in and died. Do you have any other sources or tips to share for acquiring fabric for large projects without having to spring for yards?

In the meantime, I continue my search on Alibaba in the hope of the perfect find. People throw away too much stuff.

Hi Paulette, I buy most of the things I need for my projects from Wish, Aliexpress. Most of my projects are fairly small so I have never needed large amounts. So aliexpress are great for me. They have the same fabrics as Alibaba just they sell them in small quantities and they also do a lot of free shipping.

Hi, I saw ur idea on Hometalk n was really amazed at what a beautyful job u did on that dresser n mirror. I love working with wood also but I dabble in more of refinishing antiques mostly furniture n there r times I have to repair some of the pieces.

I have saved knobs, handle pulls, hingdes, screws u name it it does come in handy. I have plenty of tools to use for example my nail gun, a chop saw, skill saw my battery power drill n all kinds of sanders what I would love to get is a table saw. Saving up for that one. I just had to tell u once again how much I admire u n continue to do ur thing.

U go girl. Girl Power to u. My best regards, Shelly Dehart. Thank you Shelly, it is such a great way to run my hobby.

My costs are next to nothing because I have all the tools and all the wood is free. If I try a project that I have in mind and it does not work out how I wanted, I just repurpose it into something else. There are lots of cool projects to be made with those…I wish I could find one! Also, kudos to you for keeping those metal parts, I do that too, as I never know when one of those is going to come in handy!

I inherited antique furniture from my grandmother and those pull knobs and handles from back then are better that what I see today. Thank you so much Jennifer, I try and do all my projects from recycled materials. It makes my projects more fun to make. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam.

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How to get your DIY materials for free. How to find FREE DIY Materials 1. Facebook Marketplace I started by placing an advert on my local Buy, swap, and sell marketplace site on Facebook. Strip down old broken furniture for materials Take any broken furniture on offer even if it is beyond repair and strip it down for spares.

Approach building sites for their scraps My son works on a building site, and he collects all the leftover wood for the site after the job is complete. Make sure you ask first Some pieces of wood did have nails in them but removing a nail is cheaper than buying the wood. Recycled furniture Old wooden doors are also a great source of wood, so keep a lookout.

The below were just perfect for my latest restoration of an antique dresser I even go as far as reusing all the nuts and bolts and screws that I remove from stripped-down furniture. Fallen trees Through word of mouth, I was offered the wood from a tree that had fallen down on a farm in the area.

Offcuts of PVC pipe PVC pipe is another item that has become very popular with all sorts of crafts being made with them. Free foam and padding For a lot of my projects, I have needed foam to pad cushions, chairs, and pet beds. The items above were used to make this handmade chaise lounge made from scratch 9.

Wood mills If you are lucky enough to live near a wood mill as I do, they generally have a reject bin for wood not up to the quality they require and you can help yourself.

Repurpose If you can not repair the furniture that you are given, repurpose it. More helpful tips to keep your hobby cheap 1. Buy in Bulk To keep the cost of the items I do buy down, this is how I do it. Reuse all your scraps I have a bin next to my table saw and mitresaw in which I keep all my very small scraps of wood.

Must have Equipment If you are going to build from recycled materials the best tip I can give you is the buy a thicknesser Planer machine.

Woodworking If you are looking for any of the items used in this project, please consider using our links. January 28, By Anita Holland. You Might Also Like Wooden Gecko Wall Art May 27, Outdoor Spa Towel Rack April 17, Pallet Wood Heart January 23, Previous Post Next Post.

Reply Tiffany March 4, at pm Great ideas, thank you! Reply Anita Holland March 5, at am Thank you, they work great for me. Keeps my hobby cheap. Reply Paulette September 2, at pm Anita, these are all such terrific ideas.

Reply Anita Holland September 3, at am Hi Paulette, I buy most of the things I need for my projects from Wish, Aliexpress. I hope this is some help.