How to Create a Baby Nursery for Less Than $600

If you want to know how to create a baby nursery on a budget of less than $600, I have some great tips to share with you.

When my husband and I found out we were going to be adding a new little life to our family, we were thrilled and beyond excited! Immediately I began thinking of nursery plans, themes, gender reveals, baby shower ideas, and getting our home ready for baby’s arrival. Now with only 8 weeks left, here is how we managed to build an entire nursery by spending less then $600.

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How to Create a Baby Nursery on a Budget

Create a Budget! Start by making a list of all the “big item necessities” for baby’s nursery. Then determine how much you are willing to spend on each item.

Here is my list for an example:

Crib $200
Swing $60
Bouncer $20
Car seat $200
Stroller $100
Pack n Play $100
Changing Table $50
High Chair $40
Saucer $40
Rocking Chair $40
Decorations $100
Mattress $80
Baby Bat Tub $20

This gives us a limit of $1050 over the course of seven months. ($150 a month)

Once you have set a budget ask baby’s grandparents, or anyone who may want to buy some of the ” big items” for baby. They can tell you what items they would like to purchase. They may not be able to either and that it perfectly fine. That is why I recommend NOT WAITING until the baby shower.

The sooner you start preparing your home, the less stress you will encounter. Save the small items like clothes, toys, and feeding items for the baby shower. People are more likely to gift those kinds of items. Fortunately for us our parents bought us our high chair, baby tub, and rocking chair.

Most items you can find second hand. These deals are the best! A lot of the time you can find like new items at a fraction of the cost. Be sure to check your local thrift stores for items like swings, bouncers, high chairs, and so on. Other places you can look include craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Offer Up, Let Go, And Close 5.

Item Store Value Budget Actually spent:

Graco Simple Sway Swing $80.02 $60 $35
Cosco Calming Motion Bouncer $53.99 $20 $5
Evenflo Exersaucer $40.49 $40 $15

We found some major deals through Facebook Market Place! We came in $65 under our budget!

*Be careful when meeting with people through these sites. I prefer to meet at a busy location, during the day and having someone I trust go with me.

Look for in store/online sales! Not all items need can or have to be purchased second hand. You might even feel that certain items should NOT be second hand, like mattresses, tubs, diaper changing mats, car seats and so on. We found our crib($160), Pack n Play($99), Infant Car seat($130), and stroller(combo with the car seat) on sale at Target. Our mattress we bought at Wal-Mart for $45. Over $250 in savings and under budget.

DIY! Some items we were able to renovate and repurpose, like our diaper table. We took an old dresser that wasn’t being used, sanded it down, repainted it, changed the handles and added a diaper changing mat. Costing a total of $30 to cover paint, handles, and the mat. Plus its customized and unique. As our baby gets older the diaper mat can be taken off and it can be used as a regular dresser.

We also spent an additional $60 on decorations.

In the end we spent about $580 to put together our nursery. That put us a total of $470 under our original budget! Not to shabby.