Mary, from Slow This Ride Down, emailed me today about how they have furnished their home for next to nothing:
We just moved into a house after living overseas, we just came back with a few suitcases so owned NOTHING to put inside and didn’t want to spend anything.
Using Freecycle, thrift stores, and yard sales we filled our whole house with what we needed for pennies. I’m blogging all about how you don’t have to give in to consumerism and can live in a simple house just fine.
People try so hard to have a magazine perfect house, so I wanted to show that there are those of us out there whose house would never be featured for it’s amazing decor….but that the people living in it are still having a wonderful time! – Mary
You can check out Mary’s blog here where she shares details and pictures on their home furnishings, where they got it from and how much they paid for it. While the decor wasn’t exactly my style, I loved the philosophy behind why they are choosing to live like this. I think you’ll find it inspiring, too!
BoxGiver is also good for boxes and pallets
Hi Everyone,
I have furnished my whole house, with the exception of the dining room table from Craigslist, Freecycle and free furniture from friends and family.
It can take a while, but it totally exciting to find a special piece that seems it was specifically made for you.
Just an FYI, bringing used furniture into your home is a good way to get bedbugs. Something you can hose down or sanitize, like a table or dresser, might be ok (as long as you take it apart & sanitize it) but I would not take a used mattress, couch, etc. The money you spend to get rid of bedbugs could pay for a good quality new mattress, sofa, etc! You could spend $1000 to treat a one or two bedroom apartment-and most exterminators will not provide a guarantee for bedbug removal.
I am blessed enough to have relatives who upgrade often. I get most of my furniture free from them when they get new. I do have a friend, however who has gotten most of her furniture off craigslist. She will eventually replace it, but she is paying off debt now and has small children, so why have nice furniture?
@Virginia,
Exactly, there might be a time and place for nice furniture but for us it’s NOT right now!
~SlowThisRideDown
I think you are very gifted.I visited your site and loved everything.It gave me some ideas about decorating my house.Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
@Vanessa,
Thanks!
I love taking unused items and giving them new life!
~SlowThisRideDown
Love, LOVE freecycle! I have gotten some great stuff off the site and been able to get rid of stuff without the hassel of a garage sale (cause I suck at it!) or tossing it in the trash. Sometimes takes a few go-rounds to get someone who needs it; but what a treasure Freecycle is = )
@Lynn,
Freecycle has done so much for us!
It is a beautiful concept for sure.
~SlowThisRideDown
I totally love the idea of not going into debt furnishing a home. We bought a lot of our stuff off of eBay. But…I must sat, that was one of the least attractive homes I’ve seen in awhile. While I’m all for saving $$$, I think surrounding ourselves with beauty is a good thing. Just look how God furnished His world.
@TMichelle,
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
And come on….you know you just loooove my hideous sofa! 😛
~SlowThisRideDown
@TMichelle, If you can furnish a house for next to nothing, and be happy with that, I suspect more attractive items, paint, and furniture will come in time.
I agree. I love the frugalness of it all but slipcover would be the next thing I would be on the hunt for 🙂
@Jill,
We’re letting the kids fix their rooms up first, then I might work on the living room. I want to sew a slipcover myself so first I also have to get a sewing machine. Plus that ugly little bugger is starting to grow on me. 😛
~SlowThisRideDown
@Mary,
Mary, I wanted to compliment you on your gracious response to the original poster. You will, no doubt, go far in this life, and I suspect you’ll keep that sweet humbleness (and sass!) with you.
I tried to register for FreeCycle in our area and I was DENIED. I didn’t know such a thing could happen. What did I do wrong? Oh, well 🙂
@Michelle K,
I know if you don’t live close enough they might deny you – or it could have just been a mistake, you can try contacting them to ask for an explanation. That’s pretty funny though. 🙂
After 5 yrs of marriage we only just bought our first brand new furniture for our living room – and that was after a year of saving cash for it 🙂
(and everything else in the room was second hand!)
HERE is the room.
There are gorgeous pieces to be found second hand, and a lot of generous people who just give things away when they downsize.
@Jessica @ Life as I See It,
Love your living room, what a beautiful couch!
I’m getting kinda attached to my hideous sofa but once that wears off I plan on recovering it in a more attractive fabric. Right now though I enjoy watching company coming over and doing a double take when they see it. haha
We furnished our house very inexpensively also in sort of the same way. My favorite way to get great furniture and really just about anything is at Estate auctions! From early spring through the end of fall you can find them around here every weekend. They truly sell everything, including the kitchen sink! And the great part about it is that everything must go so sometimes you can get rock bottom bargain prices! We purchased a TV for $1, a very nice Ethan Allen table and chairs for $11, our marble top coffee table for $6, along with so many other things. My father in-law bought a flashy giant gold framed mirror for $1. I slapped some brown paint over the frame and it hangs right as you walk in our front door and is gorgeous now. If you know how to be patient and reasonable, auctions can definitely work to your advantage!
@Shelby,
Thanks for the tip! I will have to find an estate sale to check out as I’ve never been. They sound scary to me for some reason…I”m so shy that I’d be afraid to speak up and bid. 🙂
~SlowThisRideDown