I'm Like The Price Line Negotiator

We finally finished our Elfa Custom Closet! (Read more about the first part here.)

A friend recently asked how much we spent on our Elfa closet system. Our design came to $1,747.65 without tax. I caught her mid air when she fainted, which I would have done too if that is what we really paid. We by no means are rich but, we are frugal and savings-crafty.

We originally designed our custom closet in February 2011 and started to pinch our pennies. Our plan was to wait until the Container Store had their Holiday Sale at the end of the year but Christmas came early for us last year. I received an email from the Container Store that said they were having their Annual Shelving Sale. All their shelving was 25% off but since it was only shelving about half our closet design items were not on sale. So we purchased everything that was on sale and waited until they had their holiday sale to get the rest.

The Old Closet

 

Elfa Closet Part Une

Elfa Closet Part Deux

But they don't call me a Frugalista for nothing! We saved an average of 27.5% by shopping when the store was having a sale, but I also cashed in my credit card points for gift cards to the Container Store thus saving us another $450. When Christmas really did roll around we collected another $300 in gift cards bringing our gift card total to $750!

So here is the breakdown:

$1,861.25 total retail cost
Shopping Trip #1: 25% off + $375 Gift Cards
Shopping Trip #2: 30% off + $375 Gift Cards
*FREE Shipping, Delivery & Install

= $688.68 out of pocket


63% TOTAL SAVINGS!

*Since they don't have a store in Orlando, Poppa Dukes was cool enough to pick up our goods in Hallandale Beach, Florida and truck them up to our house. I was also able to get him and Chad to install for free. Well, a bottle of wino for the Dads and back rubs for the Hubs.

Building a custom closet is not easy but anyone can do it with the right approach, adequate patience and enough time.