Finding free or deeply discounted household accessories or items for home improvement is possible with research on your local market. Hardware, lighting, plumbing fixtures are all items that can be found for little to no money with some pre-planning. It can save impulse trips to the Big Box stores and save cash in the process of upgrading your home.

Freecycle.org

This is a community where it's free to join and giveaway or receive items absolutely free. Freecycle is a grassroots movement made up of volunteers who "keep good stuff out of landfills." Visit the site and enter your town and state in the box that says "Find a group near you."

Freecycle claims to have over 4,700 groups with more than 7,000,000 members worldwide.

Habitat for Humanity ReStores

We had a handyman working on projects around our house who made occasional trips to a Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Pasadena. He saved us a fair amount of money on needed items in the process. ReStores are outlets that accept donated goods for resale. The money helps fund Habitat's community improvement work. Log on to Habitat for Humanity's site and check for a ReStore in your area.

Build.com is another site for contractors and consumers who want to get discounts on items for home improvement projects such as kitchen or outdoor needs.

The site contains everything from plumbing, hardware and decorative lighting supplies. Contractors can sign up and open an account for free while consumers are directed to other sites.

While researching sites online, a site called banggood.com was listed number 10 in Google for wholesale tools and home improvement. The site's slogan was China Wholesale, One World, One Price. However, I was disappointed by what I found. There were 9 items under tools and most of those were sunglasses selling at retail prices.

The home and garden section of banggood.com included a dog training bark control shock collar. Hmm, I'll pass and so will my dog!

For tools, check www.tooliday.com. It's a fun site selling brand name factory reconditioned tools like a Dewalt Reciprocating Saw for $ 99.99. There's free shipping on all orders over $ 149.

Another site I came across is in Tennessee called Big John's. They're able to re-sell discontinued items, closeouts and more.

Finally, even though this is an offline idea, check with your contractor to see if he knows about the PRO account at Home Depot where contractors can bid to get items below retail prices. It's called the bid room and it's not open to the general public. Not all Home Depots may participate.

One last note: before running out and spending at the last minute for home improvement projects, it's worth taking time to plan and do online research to find the best discounts possible.