Convienent Shopping

One of our biggest events upon moving to land is stuff (what to have? where will it go? how much will it be? etc.) I cannot deny that a creatively and nicely filled home is beautiful. I love my friend's home in Montana, where each room is arranged with pieces that have been collected and refined in order to complete a cozy, mountain look. It's like she really wanted to say to visitors, come in, grab some coffee, and just relax.

I want my own cozy Montana home - right away! Yet, it's not possible. A home is created over time. My dad used to tell me that a person can always get a house, but a home is created. And I'm finding that creating a "home" is very expensive. My husband and I purchased a single loveseat last month, and the matching couch will be $800. It's important to us to have a couch that matches our loveseat as we want to have love and fun in our home with friends and family - and they need a place to sit! As we save for that couch (and then later, the chair and ottoman) we are collecting new-to-us items.


Instead of earning a monstrous amount of points on my Discover card, I've become a Craig's List hound. Each day, at some point, I look at which furniture is for sale in my area. To my husband's and my delight, we have nearly completed the basic furnishing of our home. There have been some more expensive finds, but if you look at current new-furniture prices you will agree that we've scored some good deals.


Table/Six chairs - $50



Our canine roommate, Maddie, with cherry coffee table - $30 (see mismatched loveseat and couch in the background)




Cherry queen size bed frame w/ head and foot boards - $250




Fairly new Kenmore washer and dryer - $300 (and the seller delivered)

  It is true that is is more "green" to have a front-loading washer instead of a top-loader. Yet, when on a strict budget one may have to compromise on a few things. I hope that my other water-conserving and air-drying practices will offset the water used with this washer. New washers are usually more than $500.


Full-size Beautyrest mattress and boxspring (w/out coverings) - $100

 This bed is in our spare room and we recently purchased a full-size bed frame for this bed ($100). When we arrived at the home of the previous owner, we learned that he was making a quick move and needed to unload a lot of his stuff. He gave us a bookshelf, below, for free. It's a sturdy basic fold down shelf which will help clear out my office closet which has collected my books (which I will not give away). My books are my friends and now they will have a home.

I've learned that we can find some good things at a fair price using Craig's List and my house is feeling like a home a bit more each day. I feel good about helping to reuse things instead of buy new. Buying used does help, I think. I'm not merely being a consumer who gives in to ridiculously high prices. Honestly, when I look at what items cost, I can't imagine that their true cost is that high. I feel differently about items that are handcrafted, but production-line things, in my opinion, are terribly too expensive.

Warning: if you do buy items from Craig's List, make sure that you have a friend or partner accompany you during the pick-up. You need to be careful when entering another person's home. Not everyone uses Craig's List for the good of mankind and recycled goods.  Go with a friend, be aware of your surroundings, and if something seems fishy, don't go inside the house. I always take my husband with me because he is a master intentions-reader and has ninja-like skills. If you don't have a Craig's List partner like mine, meet in a public place or arranged a delivery (when you have someone home with you). Deliveries may cost a bit more, but your safety is worth it.