AIBU to ask for ideas how to decorate on zero budget?

[coily]

Maybe this is impossible, just wondering if anybody has any ideas I haven't thought of yet

I have MH problems that are currently making some things easier to do than others,

The ideal solution to this is to get a well paid job and pay decorators but right now that is not going to happen

I'm doing Konmari right now and I think that's helpful to my MH.... But

It's making my council flat even more obviously a wreck (always was, but the clutter isn't hiding it anymore) although having OCD I do spot the details others might not fret over

So with a budget that almost doesn't exist, and very little confidence in my ability not to fuck the place up even more, (I don't know how to DIY and hyperventilate at the idea of trying to change a light fitting) Is there a way to fix my place up?

I get so down and panicky noticing all the things that need fixing or painting and feel ashamed to invite people in right at a time in my life I know I really actually need people around me for support

I don't even feel like I can really ask family or friends, they've seen me struggle with my home for a few years and helped me get it to look more like a home than a building site people were beyond shocked at the state the council handed it over in it is liveable in now, but the sheer amount of things that I think need doing I'm finding overwhelming and it's contributing to me feeling pretty shit about my life and trapped

I think Iv just written out that I'm being U to think a solution other than cope with it exists...?

It's not so much the materials I'm struggling with as the actual confidence to do it. If I was buying it then it would be a restoration project buy.

But the council is only responsible for making safe and functional indoors - they don't decorate or do anything neatly. If they replace something they don't replace it to match what's there - they just replace - hence no door or fitting is the same as any other

I moved into my home in October and felt totally overwhelmed by the amount that needed done. I am just doing it slowly. I still get really down about it but am making progress. I am painting one wall at a time. My life is so busy and stressful just now I just need to do it whenever I feel I can manage it. Painting makes a huge difference!! The rooms that have been painted feel nice and clean and look good. And while painting I have filled holes and sanded areas to make them look better. I also managed to fit a couple of cheap blinds. I have bought the cheap floor tiles for my bathroom but am not sure I will be able to do a good job of fitting them. Maybe one day I will try but have put them away in a cupboard for now.

I would start slowly and see how you get on.

I second wilkos for homeware, really good.

White walls always look clean. Filling & sanding is not hard. You might make a mistake along the way BUT so have the rest of us.

Clean everything with sugar soap from wilkos and try a bit of painting.

Do you use Facebook? I follow a group called DIY On A Budget. Would recommend it for lots of decorating ideas.

Matt finish paint is best for not making flaws so obvious.

I wouldn't use the stick down floor tiles. They can lift at the corners much too easily no matter how carefully they are laid, what about vinyl cushion flooring. Also appropriately placed plants are great for concealing bad bits of wall etc.
I had a kitchen where the walls were uneven/lumpy so I just painted the lot and called it character. A picture hung on a wall can hide a lot. A flower garland off eBay or charity shop can be draped, maybe from a picture, a window frame, down the back of your damaged door, again to conceal what's less than perfect. Tiny tacks and bluetack are a great help.

You can paint the frame of an old/cheap mirror.
Charity shops are great for getting curtains, throws. Paint chairs, bedside cabinets. Take the crap tiling off the back of the sink and have a go yourself. Get cheap ones in B & Q, and look at a u tube on tiling. You will feel wonderful when you look at your little piece of tiling.

Sounds like sitting room and bathroom could be a choice for a start, could a friend help with the plumbing, don't be afraid to ask.

Baby steps.

Pick one room to start with and view it is as "the room I am going to learn how to decorate on"

So accept that it's not going to have the perfect finish but know that it will look a damn sight better than it does now.

I am a perfectionist and I have had to accept that only I see my mistakes/imperfections etc. It has helped that the decorator that did some work wasn't perfect - it has helped me realise that perfection is not easily achieved.

Everyone else sees the end result and that it looks good and fresh and a great improvement!

Clean the windows, fresh flowers, declutter. Big bathmat over the worst of the bathroom floor. As long as it's clean and neat(ish), and you are there, nobody will mind.

We just bought all the paint for DD's new bedroom using nectar points in Homebase. Might be worth seeing if you have any points you could use? Their own brand emulsion is 2 for £18 and we think it's brilliant.

I've recently been having a very similar issue, my flat feels like it's a mess and needs a serious over hall. I've literally just been made redundant so have very little money and I was getting myself overwhelmed by everything that needs doing and how much it all is going to cost me.
What I've done is make a list, but rather than doing a list of the whole flat at once (this still overwhelmed me), instead I'm just focusing on one room at a time. First I did the bathroom as it's the smallest room and needed the least doing to it. I then decided how I wanted it to look, and what exactly I'll need to make that happen. From there I shopped around to find the best prices on the items needed (paint, stick on tiles instead of real ones, cabinets etc.).
I wrote the list 3 weeks ago, and this weekend I've completed the bathroom, so tonight I've spent the time to compile the list for DS's bedroom, the next smallest room and again the one with the least that needs doing.
Doing it this way seems to be really working for me, and whilst it's not getting anything done overnight, the place is certainly going to start looking like a home quicker than when I was fretting and not knowing where or how to start.
Also I joined a Facebook page 'DIY on a budget', the people on there have some brilliant tips and are always the first to give a heads up on which stores have bargains like 50p rolls of wallpaper because of clearance, also they're happy to help with any DIY queries you may have and to offer encouragement or constructive criticism when you post pictures of what you have done.

Can you link to the fb page please?. I couldn't find it.

Thank you.

www.facebook.com/groups/1423184117937567/

Thank you.

I'd agree with free cycle, look at your local one regularly to look for paint etc or post a wanted post for paint. Also, I'd recommend not using silk paint on the wall if it's a bit lumpy as it will just make the imperfections more obvious. Ime just painting the walls a different colour makes everything look different and feel fresher.

Thanks, I really don't think it's affording the paint that's my downfall. My modest budget can easily stretch to a can of paint if I'm honest. It's just being terrified of fucking it up more and not really having the motivation to attempt something out of my comfort zone when daily life itself is a struggle right now.

I was watching YouTube videos on painting ceilings last night - I don't think I will attempt till I have done all the KM'ing but already I'm freaking out that I can't reach parts of the ceiling as the baths in the way and a ladder won't go over it. It's a rediculously small ceiling so it should be ok once I get over the hurdles and into actually figuring out how to try

You can buy extension poles for paint rollers. We've all made mistakes, there inevitable when trying something new.

None of us are born knowing how to wipe our own bottoms let alone decorate.

There is a big readers digest book on DIY & decorating - it's amazing

It's very 80's but really clear - the library may have a copy or look around in charity shops - it has a hard plastic red cover with black & white writing on

But why not start with something smaller - paint a chair or a table or a cupboard & see what works for you then start o the room if you get a good finish?

Painting the ceiling over the bath:- put a bath mat or towel in the bath, cover with the protective sheet, then you should be able to put your steps in the bath without marking it. I'd get an extending roller if your worried about being high up on the steps. It sounds like you are getting on with your tasks.

I can step in the bath but still wouldn't be able to reach ceiling to do the cutting in?

Do you have a paint recycling scheme in your neighbourhood ?
We do and I buy paint for a fraction of the normal cost.

Where I cannot reach to cut in neatly, I paint the wall and ceiling the same colour - White - so the joins don't look un even. I do this by taping a brush to a garden cane or something similar!😊
You could then use a different colour as a feature where you can reach to make the cutting in neat.
As has been said by others, you always see your own imperfections ! Others will think you've done a great job.

My best buy ever for painting is really boring but so works: really really really wide masking tape. Not the weedy skinny stuff. Tape up EVERYTHING! that might get paint on accidentally, like ceiling edges, skirtings and door handles and door frames. Use an old waterproof shower curtain or cut up thick bin-liners to cover big things you can't move, like baths, and floors, and tape it on with the masking tape. Takes a while but then you can paint merrily away, quick and messy and it can't possibly go where you don't need it! It's much quicker as you can slap it on without even looking (nearly!). (Learned from bitter experience, when I thought I was such a good painter I didn't need tape my wee boy's dark blue wall in his bedroom migrated onto two light coloured side walls we no longer have the paint to match...eeek!)...Also forget decorators wipes for cleaning up as baby wipes are heaps bigger & better...Good luck!

I wrote a massive post but got pulled away by dh to check the blind he has put up in the bedroom inside the frame brill except its so close to the corner you wouldn't be able to open the blinds he's gone back to change it whilst muttering on hating diy and by doing it we are taking food from a local handy mans children 😱 I will report back the whole flat has got a make over this week by myself

It's not even that I am worried I can't reach to cut in neatly in that area - reaching full stop seems unlikely. There's tiles already on the wall behind the bath so any paint will look a mess

Why will the paint look a mess? Do you intend to paint the tiles?

If you're on a very low budget have you anything you could sell rather than just charity shopping? I know a bit about the KonMari thing and I know most decluttering gurus say get it out of the house asap but if you're on a low budget even making thirty or forty quid would buy some paint or pay for someone local to paint if you did the prepwork.

Are there any churches or charities in your area who help with stuff like this? Freecycle is a really good idea too - don't be afraid to ask for stuff. A lot of people have old magnolia paint lying about which could brighten the place up for you.