"Steel" of a Deal

Purchasing a home is likely the most expensive decision we will make, so saving money is more important than ever. For me, saving money involves spending time searching through Craigslist, searching for promo codes or coupons for almost every purchase, and finding other creative ways to save.

A recent savings score came in the form of stainless steel outlet plate covers to replace the dingy plastic beige covers throughout our house.  Our prior rental had steel covers in the dining room and I really liked them...only I didn't want to pay what ranges from $7.00 to $25.00 per plate.

This brought us to an exchange shop I think is super cool in an old tobacco warehouse in downtown Durham called The Scrap Exchange.  People can drop off almost anything here and other people can come buy it for a nominal fee.  It's great for crafters, artists, teachers, and people looking for random items like outlet covers.

Sure enough, we stumbled on a stash of steel covers in a box and weeded out any we didn't think we could save.  A lot had sticky labels and were very dirty, but with a little Bon ami, elbow grease, and a flat edge to scrap off any paint remnants on the sides, they were back to their shiny selves in no time.

Look how much cooler the place looks with some steel up in here...

And the grand total spent?  We got 18 stainless steel outlet plate covers for $1.67 TOTAL!  We went back for more the following week and spent another two dollars for something like 20 of them.  I like to tell my husband that all this scrounging around for savings has saved us millions of dollars over the years, but he is pretty good with numbers and thinks my statement might be slightly inflated.