How To Build A Haunted House On A Budget Part 4

In our previous How to Build A Haunted House On A Budget (Part 3) we talked about local waste management facilities and recycle centers. The old saying one mans trash is another mans treasure turns out to be true. In this last part we go into some other various resources for finding materials on the cheap. I have a box of old metal cups, plates, vases and other various house items that I picked up for any where from .25 cents to 1 dollar and then used various silver, gold, copper and bronze spray paint to make look like new sparkling treasures and scenery in our Captains Cabin of the Pirate Haunt we did.

So we will start off by referring you to 2 great sources for cheap props and costume items. The Goodwill and Salvation Army. I picked up all my cups, platters, vases, silverware and other treasure and decorations from the Goodwill for under $10.00 last year. While there we searched through their clothing and I will tell you what it is amazing what you can find and for those that are not doing a period specific haunt I bet you will be able to find some awesome pieces of clothing you could use for way cheap. Then the Salvation Army is another location to check out and they are basically the same thing.

Another resource I would recommend is local thrift stores, you can pickup clothes, props, possibly costume materials and who knows what else from these wonderful locations. Now don’t get disappointed if you go to a couple and don’t find anything because none of it fits into your theme or meets your exact idea of what you need. Remember that things can always be altered and if you do get disappointed wouldn’t it be a shame if you stopped and you found out later that the one you did not check had a bunch of items you could of got and used for cheap but you went out and dropped the money on new stuff instead. This is kind of what happened to me on the plywood supply with the waste disposal site’s recycle center.

Ok the last resource I want to bring up is something you will need to take advantage of over spring and summer. Yard sales and garage sales are a gold mine of items, I have picked up old period paintings, desks, tables, chairs, clothing, props, ships wheels all kinds of stuff. People decide to clean out storage units, attics, basements whatever and there is no telling what may come out of it and I sure do know you can find all kinds of great stuff if you just check them out when you see one. Going with this resource I just thought about something that fits here that I have not checked out and now plan to this spring and that is our local flea market, its like a yard sale on steroids, not just one persons stuff but hundreds of people all at one spot, talk about a time saver.

Wrapping up this series I hope it has helped shine some light on ways you can do a haunted house on a budget and if nothing else given you some great resources for items and materials. If you don’t go out and check places then you have no idea what you are missing out on and my thousands of dollars in plywood mistake is a golden example, I still kick myself to this day for that. So make sure you check places out because there is no telling what you may find. So on a final note, is there anything you know of a place, location or event that could be added to this little series that could help fellow haunters out in getting things up and off the ground for Halloween?

If you missed any of the previous sections of this series here are the links
How to Build a Haunted House on a Budget Part 1
How to Build a Haunted House on a Budget Part 2
How to Build a Haunted House on a Budget Part 3