(n.) Cabindo: A condo on a lake, among tall old trees. Half cabin, half condo. My first home. This is a running journal of the renovations, projects, and general shoestring budget craziness.


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Saturday, July 6, 2013

Letting Go of Good Stuff

I have too many ideas and too much stuff to fit in my home.

In my dreaming and object hunting, I acquire really neat stuff for which I have grand plans. Somewhat regularly, I will realize that I'm never going to get around to executing my plan for an item, or it clearly just isn't working in the space. In an attempt to give as good as I get, not be a hoarder, and not create more trash, I take several avenues to move items along the furniture/home goods continuum.

wine rack and console table both interesting, both re-homed

1. I'll generally offer things to friends that seem applicable to their lives, ex. a guy on my team at work was moving to a new place and needed a dining room table: boom! He now has a newly refinished dining set for the low low price of 'Please take it! I'll help you move the thing'.
2. If I don't know of any specific person to attempt to force an item upon, and don't think I could reasonably sell it, I'll post it on Facebook to see if any friends could use it. This is a new strategy that seems to be working, but I'm going to try and keep it to a minimum to not carpet bomb people.
3. When I think the money I could get would outweigh the hassle of selling an item (anything less than $25 I'll just give away), I will post it on Craigslist for sale. This recently got me a cool $100 for an antique teacher's desk that cost $20.

Before, from PublicSurplus. Covered in tape with broken drawers.
After, with some love, fixes, and refinishing

4. When I have something that someone could want, but is odd, piddly or I want gone asap, I'll Curb Alert it on Craigslist.
Today on my way out the door I unloaded a tub overflowing with huuuge (1x3's) wooden blocks, took a picture, and posted em. I had an art project in mind when I bought these for $5.....but when I picked them they were twice as big and twice as many as I was prepared for. I kept a couple pieces to use for scrap wood, but the rest had to go.

I really should have built a tower out of them on the sidewalk.  Damn.

I don't want to just take take take. I feel like finding new homes for things I can't use helps me maintain some level of good-deal karma. There has been quite a purge of items around here lately, so hopefully I'm paying it forward for future deals.
:)



-Lindsay

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