Find It Used

I have a problem... I admit it, I can't stop looking at Craigslist!  People give away good stuff all the time and all you have to do is go pick it up.  

To be clear, we are not advocates for having lots of stuff.  Quite the opposite in fact.  We purge our apartment often.  We don't want lots of clutter, and we don't want to spend money on items we will not use all of the time.  That said, when we do need something, we are starting to realize the true value of buying used items.  

Stephanie and I are coming to see the benefits of this as we realize more and more that buying new stuff doesn't really benefit our quality of life.  What we really want is the service of some item to gain time, accuracy, or efficiency, but the item itself doesn't necessarily have intrinsic value to us.  It takes lots of resources to create something new, so we are trying to become consumers not of the latest and greatest, but of the older and useful.

The nose of a kayak my parents bought used for me (yard sale!).  The swans in the distance were neither friendly nor happy to see us.

We started our journey (before the pandemic) at Goodwill.  We were moving to our then-new apartment and purging our old ones of all the items that we had picked up over time.  This was eye opening for me because I realized all of the things I had spent money on and how few of them we actually worth keeping.  Someday I'll do a post about buying only what you need and only when you really need it... or maybe it will be part of this post, because that's a really good idea... yeah, okay, here goes.

Only buy what you need when you really need it:

This is such an important part of the whole picture.  Creating fewer items in a more global sense means that fewer resources are dedicated to the making of things.  If I can curb the need to make a cheap plastic snow shovel every winter, or fewer candles because I'm using the whole thing, or a new kitchen scale because I bought one that someone else was done with, it means that the resources to create the item are not used.  

Anyway, back to the original post... Since we were already traveling to Goodwill, we decided to take a look around.  I bought a couple of work and workout shirts, and Stephanie got a couple of pairs of pants.  We spent a total of $10.00 and did not have to buy new.  Craigslist is a whole other adventure, though.  It's like used online shopping.  There are definitely questionable items on there like a woman from Cambridge with a post for three bags of apples.  "I have four bags," she said, "but I'm keeping one of them, so you can have three."  It really is a world of amusement.  Stephanie and I draw the line at food (in case anyone we know is reading this).

Our new philosophy for buying things is as follows:

1.  I need a thing

2.  Do I really need this thing?  Let's wait a couple of days and see if there is a solution to the problem that I already own.  (This is also great for keeping to a budget.)

3.  Do I need to own this item, or can I borrow it?  The library has a host of things you can borrow including a laser measure (which I find useful), telescopes, a guitar, a knitting kit etc.  You can also borrow from a friend.

If all of the above doesn't work:

4.  Can I buy it used?  Goodwill, Savers, Habitat for Humanity Restore, Craigslist and Ebay are all places to buy used items.  (Ebay sometimes sells new stuff, so be careful.)

Sometimes this means we have to wait a little while.  The thing I need may not be available right away or not as fast as it would be from a certain giant e-retailer that shall not be named.  I know this is a difficult thing, but not having exactly what we want exactly when we want it might be a good thing sometimes.  The above process certainly cuts down on buyer's remorse.

Stephanie's wedding dress was used (bought from Rent the Runway), and my suit was used (rented from Men's Warehouse).  Photo credit Val Messer Photography.

In the end, we have bought (or obtained for free, or borrowed, or rented) clothes, a kitchen scale, books, an office chair, bobbins, tongs, a water carafe, a tent, wine glasses, silverware, Stephanie's wedding dress and shoes, my suit, a kitchen table (most of our furniture), teapot, a tennis racket, kayaks, and candle holders.  It is also interesting to note that both of our most expensive possessions (our cars) are used.  Many people buy their most expensive item--their home--used.  I think that sometimes there is a stigma about getting used items, but its not necessary.  

Of course, we do buy new things.  I just bought a new laser measure because I found that I needed one more often than Stephanie could reasonably get it from the library, and accuracy is really important.  So, we are getting better, but as always, not perfect.  

2/7/2021 Quick Update:

Stephanie and I really enjoy a blog called Frugalwoods, and "Mrs. Frugalwood" did a very nice post about the same topic.  Frugalwoods blog

She also wrote a book, which we would also recommend:  Meet the Frugalwoods