Reuse It! 12 Places to Find Great Used Things
I think a lot of the fun in living sustainably is getting to reuse all sorts of things. Reuse is so much more interesting than walking into a big box store and buying new (though I admit, I do my share of big box shopping too). It’s also more challenging, though.
Where do you find great used things?
I’ve been taking a look around my house and thinking about how everything came to us.
1) Find a local auction house like where I got this Windsor Chair in Charlottesville. Auction houses have different types of sales, I go to the “back gallery” (i.e. cheap) ones, not the big fancy estate auctions. I don’t have all day to sit at auctions, but I learned that I can place an absentee bid, and they will bid for me (like on ebay) up to my maximum price.
| 2) Keep an eye on Craigslist. The best items go quickly so search frequently or subscribe to a search so you will be notified when new things turn up. (I’ll post soon about how to set up notifications of this kind from Craigslist!) I bought this pull-out couch for $100.
3) Check out estate sales. You can often tell if a sale is worth going to by its description and the neighborhood its in. |
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| 4) Find a used furniture store. This white shelf is solid wood and just needed a new coat of paint. I think I paid $30 for it.
5) Find a thrift store. Check out a few—try to think about what areas in your town would have the best donations, and go to ones in those areas. Many thrift stores have “bag sale” days where you can put anything you want into a paper grocery bag, usually for $6-$10. |
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| 6) Go to an antique store located off the beaten path. I bought this hand-hooked 8’x11’ wool rug for $40 at a place like this. The rug was filthy (and even now has a residual light stain on one edge that I strategically located under the crib.) I got a quote for professionally cleaning this rug —about $150! Yikes. I have a rug cleaning machine that saved the day, even though it probably wasn’t intended to be used on this type of rug. (I bought the rug cleaner for $100 three years ago and it has paid for itself |
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| many times over in both my house and for my family and friends!)
At the same store I bought this solid wood kitchen table (with an additional leaf) and four chairs for $100. My husband is still resentful that it replaced the table from Kmart he had as a bachelor, though. |
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| 7) Check out your local Habitat for Humanity store for used building materials. The white cabinet on the right side of the picture was $30 at the Habitat Store.
8) See if anyone you know who is remodeling and wants to give you their old stuff (the counter and bookshelf in this picture are from a family member when he dismantled his old office) |
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| 9) Refinish an old piece of furniture yourself. This is the coffee table my husband’s family had when he was growing up. A sander and some polyurethane has made this table ready to get pounded by the next generation.
10) Check out consignment sales—these are great for kids clothes especially. |
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| 11) Do you have a friend with a special talent that you could enlist to make something? This coffee table has been on our porch and was one of the first things my father-in-law made with wood as a kid!
12) See if family members have extra furniture… we have pieces from four different family sources! (The rolltop desk and caned chair below are from each of our grandmothers.) |
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And remember: have fun!!!
I am really enjoying your blogs.
Some great ideas for furnishing your home.
Very smart
Thanks for stopping by, Joan!