What To Shop For During Black Friday & Other Sales

Shopping “sales” can actually cause you to spend more in the long run if you aren’t intentional. The best way to shop annual sales is to prepare in advance (like a year in advance), make a list, and stick to it.

Here are the home decorating items that might be worth waiting for, then buying during Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday sales.

 1. Artwork For The Walls

Many artists tend to be small business owners. This is the time of year when many of them put out the best discounts. I should know, my father is an artist and has his own online art studio…which is where I got all these pieces for my cottage dining room wall.

If you can, buy directly from the artist’s website. While you certainly can shop sites like Minted, artists only get the tiniest commission.

I wait all year until my favorite artist pieces go on sale, or they offer discounts. Then I buy the prints I’ve been eyeing. Oh, and for the record, I buy ONLY the print, not the frame. That helps me save a lot more cash so I can buy several pieces of artwork at once, then I go thrift hunting for the perfect frames.

(Shop this artwork: top left, bottom left, top right, bottom right )

2. Area Rugs

Let’s face it, if you have a house full of hardwood floors (or ugly carpet) buying extra large area rugs to fit a room properly is a costly endeavor. Not to mention that not all area rugs are created equally…you’ll want the right size AND great quality.

It’s a lot harder to track down sales on rugs across the board. Usually it’s one particular design or size on sale, which makes this a great weekend to look for sales or coupon codes that will apply to any size or design on that shopping site.

3. Small Appliances

Every year I think this is weekend to buy my big appliances, and every year I end up being wrong. Turns out large appliance deals that are just as good run cyclically throughout the year…on the other hand, the small appliances you need don’t always have the deep discount sales on a running cycle. This is the perfect Black Friday hunt…many stores will deeply discount small appliances as a door buster, so keep an eye on local circulars and online previews.

4. Christmas Décor

I don’t usually decorate much for the holidays, but this year I’m designing a home for a special holiday tour of homes. The home owner and I got a good head start on Christmas decorations only to discover that all the items we bought 2 weeks ago is on sale this weekend. Now I am seeing Christmas trees we bought at full price on sale as much as 30%-60% off *head smack* .Obviously AFTER Christmas is even better for deals, but presuming you aren’t shopping a year in advance, this black Friday – Cyber Monday weekend of sales is the next best option.

( Read this post for source links )

5. Big Furniture Pieces

Last year I held off on buying a few big ticket furniture items until I could get a sale or discount code that equaled 20% or more. This is a good weekend to take advantage of discount codes for those bigger items.

6. Renovation & Building Supplies

I know most people don’t think about this weekend as a time to buy for reno or building supplies, but even hardware stores start rolling out their heartier 15%-20% coupons during this time of year.

I have a bathroom that needs a renovation, and I have been planning it for weeks with one eye on my mail for those much sought after coupons. Then I buy all my needed supplies in one huge trip with my coupon and save hundreds of dollars on my renovation.

I hope this helps as you do your big sales weekend shopping! Remember, don’t just buy because it is on sale…really ask yourself if you could possibly get it at the same discounted price any other time of year, and if the discount is worth it.

Good luck, and happy shopping!