Want to save money on new furniture? Try using the three “f”s to furnish your rooms for little cost or even for free!
The first “f” in saving on furniture is “freecycle.” In case you aren’t familiar with it, freecycle is a community group in which members give away all sorts of tangible goods from toasters to computers. Furniture is often offered on freecycle.
Furniture is usually large and heavy, so people are especially happy when someone comes to take it out of their home. Furniture is just one of those things that seems to always be available. Here in my family, we have given away two couches, a lamp, a dresser and a chair, among other goods. We have also gotten a nice dresser that we are using temporarily until we move.
If you don’t see anything offered, you can always ask the group. Sometimes a request will prompt someone to give up that old dresser in the garage that was just collecting dust, or the lamps that no one ever uses.
To use freecycle, go to the main website and search for your area. You will be directed to your local freecycle group. Join, read all of the rules and start posting. Click here to go to the main freecycle site. Make sure you always go to freecycle.ORG not .COM. The .COM site isn’t the real site.
The second “f” for furniture savings is “free.” This is a good one, no? Yes, freecycle is free, but there are other ways to obtain free furniture. The biggest one is “curb shopping.” Get up early (or go out late) on bulk trash pick up days or just those regular trash pick up days. You will be surprised at what you find. People are always getting tired of furniture and tossing it out. A friend of mine found an antique marble-topped table that was tossed because of a stain in the marble. She got the stain out and has a beautiful table that an appraiser said is worth at least $500.
If you don’t want to go curb shopping, find out who is moving in your neighborhood. Ask them if they would consider selling or giving away extra furniture if you come and take it out yourself. As someone in the middle of a move, I could think of a number of things I might consider letting go, just so I don’t have to move them.
Finally, the third “f” is for February. This is the month to do your furniture shopping, if you want to buy new items. The sales are going strong on furniture in the retail stores. You can read more about it in the blog, Best Buys for February.
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