Budget Friendly Fall Essentials

“And all at once, Summer collapsed into Fall.” -Oscar Wilde
Fall has arrived. And so has my list of budget friendly fall essentials.

With the advent of YouTube and social media, fall decorating has been taken to a whole new level. It appears as though everyone is going all out. If you can achieve that without going into debt and putting it on the credit card, then great! I love Autumn just as much as the next #basic girl but I’m not about to spend gobs of money on the best but shortest season. Simple does it.

Budget Friendly + Apartment Friendly

Between paying off debt and saving for an emergency fund, we are keeping our fall decor minimal and budget friendly. And because we live in an apartment, we don’t (a) have a front porch to decorate and (b) have the space to store a bunch of plastic pumpkins or hay bales for the other 10 months. We are taking it down to the essentials.

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That being said, I’m not going to let that keep me from creating festivity during my favorite season! It just means that I’ve had to be selective about how I bring cheer into our apartment. So if you’re looking for a more frugal fall this year, here are budget friendly fall essentials that won’t break the bank or take up a lot of space.

My two favorite fall essentials that instantly set the cozy mood are candles and a fireplace. But between living in an apartment and having a Tarzan-like toddler who can climb almost anywhere, fire is out of the question. Our apartment doesn’t come with a fireplace… yet… (#foreshadowing) and the candle policy is “burn at your own risk”. Candles sometimes soot and blacken the walls. If there is any trace of candle burning activities left behind when you leave, you have to pay to repaint the entire apartment. #nothanks.

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Through all my selective decor shopping, I found 2 alternatives that are budget friendly and worth it to spend money on: fragrance oils and LED fire bulbs.

Fragrance Oils

I’m not an “oily” by any means but fall scented oils are an apartment friendly way to bring fall cheer inside without using candles. And no potential fire hazards with a toddler running around! I love a good pumpkin spice candle but like I said, they are usually frowned upon in apartments.

I found these fall fragrance oils on Amazon and they might just be the best purchase I’ve made in a long time. Before I got them, I was a little worried because I’ve smelled enough candles to know that each interpretation of pumpkin spice is just a tad different. I’m also pretty sensitive to smells and anything too strong will give me a headache.

But I was not disappointed. They smell AMAZING! I put 3-5 drops in this diffuser with water. It comes with multiple color changes so I put it on orange, to mimic a fall candle.

They even come in Christmas scents, too so you could be set for the whole winter! I think it’s totally WORTH IT. These will last me through the fall and winter because I’m saving the Gingerbread and Cinnamon for winter. If I don’t get the whole Christmas pack (which I very well might) I may get individual ones. I currently have my eye on Christmas Wreath, Candy Cane, and Vanilla.

Pack VS Individual

When buying the individual bottles (+shipping), you are getting a discount if you buy the six pack but if you just want to try out a few, individual is an option, too. My individual favorites from this set are: Apple Cider, Harvest Spice, and Pumpkin Pie.

If you are looking for a free option to make you place smell festive, make your own homemade apple cider! However, I did a cost benefit analysis and found that unless you have all the ingredients on hand, it is cheaper to buy apple cider from the store and simmer it on the stove. In my opinion making it yourself is still worth it in other ways, it’s just not cost effective. But, buying the oils are much easier and less time consuming.

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I just use these in the diffuser but it says you can use them in soap and candles (but not on your skin). If you try it in any of those, let me know! With the scent part of the candle recreation taken care of, it’s time to turn the focus onto the fire aspect. When you can’t have fire in your apartment, what’s the next best thing? Fire.. in a light bulb.

LED Fire Bulbs

What’s next in the list of budget friendly fall essentials? A roaring fire is the definition of the cold weather cozies but it won’t work in an apartment because again: fire. But, my darling hubby is building me an apartment and kid friendly FAUX FIREPLACE for the living room!!

We’ve thought long and hard about how we’re going to light it up. These flameless candles and battery operated lights were on the shortlist until I came across these: flame bulbs. I had no idea something like this even existed!

We were waiting to get them until the fireplace was built but on one of my husband’s trips to Menards, he found a similar one on sale for $5! He got a few to try out and we fell in love with them.

I couldn’t find the exact ones on their website but here are similar fire bulbs on Amazon. It’s totally worth it. These even have a gravity sensor that makes the flame switch to whichever side is down – very hand if you are hanging these upside down in sconces. If the constant flickering is too much, there are 4 different modes.

Assembly

They have been the perfect addition to our fireplace. My husband carved holes in a log, strung light sockets through the holes, and screwed the light bulbs in. All this goes into a cast iron grate to complete the realistic effect.

We put that log towards the back and stacked the others in front of it. The flickering bounces off the brick and it is SO cozy to sit next to. (Full fireplace reveal coming soon.)

We made sure to go with LED to save money and electricity. And now we don’t feel bad for running them all evening! The best part is that you don’t need to build a fireplace to use these. We put one in a lamp and the flickering made the room SO cozy.

There you have it: the two items I deem “essential” for fall that are apartment friendly, kid friendly, AND budget friendly. Being frugal doesn’t mean “no spending whatsoever” but rather being mindful and selective about what you choose to spend your money on. What are your favorite budget friendly fall essentials?

Know someone who lives in an apartment and is looking for cozy and frugal fall ideas? Share this post with them and pin it to Pinterest!

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