50 UHeart Organizing: Thrifted Storage!

I know this blog screams organizing, but you frequent readers also know that we love a good DIY.  More importantly, we love to pair the two around here.  You can save so much on storage by finding a beautiful piece of furniture and giving it some love.  That is where contributor, Anneke from This, That & Life, comes in!  Here is the sweet darlin' now!

As soon as I learned that Jen was making March the month of tackling the "Linens and the Loo", I literally went against everything in me and went, "Perfect! I will conquer our Master Bathroom Linen Cabinet {aka catch-all} and share my completely un-mad organizational skills! Yes!" Can you guess how this turned out??? Oiy....am I the only one loves the end result of organizing, but not always the "process" so much??? Sorry Jen! I definitely have a case of selective organizing.  Half the battle is definitely getting started. I am proud to say that I actually have started organizing our linen closet, but lucky for you, I am sharing nothing to do with that today, because I actually do hope to inspire you!

Today, I just want you to dream a little with me. Think outside the box. You just may be where I was a few years ago......

When I began blogging almost two years ago, it was because our family had recently built a larger home and had zilch extra money to fill up the space. That didn't keep me from dreaming though. I had heard of this thing called Craigslist.com and checked it out. Little did I know that 3 years later, Craigslist, thrifting and DIY in general would be a HUGE part of my life! And that may be an understatement. I sold what we had, bought used items for our home and over time learned how to build basic furniture pieces, negotiate for used pieces locally online, and refinish furniture. It was the starting point of a changed perspective and eventually blogging about all of it resulted. Yay!

Now, I have to admit that this post is way more text heavy than I had anticipated, but I'm hoping that by sharing some thrifty tips I've learned along the way, you will be able to find some beautiful storage pieces for your home too. I can't wait to share some personal examples from our own home. So - here we go! 

Some of the top questions I get from people are:

1. "Craigslist freaks me out! Aren't you afraid you're going to get killed or something?!" {this is literally my #1!}
2. "How do you find these pieces of furniture? What do you look for when you're searching?"
3. "How do you do what you do?"

A $75 hutch I recently refinished.

When I think about how I'm going to decorate and organize a particular space, I love knowing that I can get a custom look at a thrift store price on a larger piece of storage furniture. In the end, I can spend my "extra" money on the organizational components that may go inside of it: baskets, dividers, small containers for itty-bittys, labels, etc. Thrifting and DIY is totally worth it, and with a little know how, you can confidently fill your home with quality pieces that reflect you and your style. Today, I'm talking specifically about Craigslist, but they all apply in general I think.

So a few tips:

1. Play it safe.  This is number one for a reason! And there are many things I could say, but I'll keep it simple for today.  A few things you can do to stay safe are: have someone go with you, make sure someone knows the address, meet a person if you are able to, have a phone conversation with the seller and trust your gut, never go into a home alone, etc. Unless my husband is with me, I always ask the seller to make sure that whatever I am coming to look at is by the door or garage. I am not walking into your home, up to the third floor, got it? I always have my phone in hand or literally have someone on the other line, saying, "Yeah, I'm here. It looks great.", etc. I also try to come across as nice but assertive.  In reality, I have met the most amazing people through Craigslist. Real, hard-working, nice people who are selling some stuff, just like me {or you}. They have kids playing, doing homework {or loading my vehicle with dressers}, they're moving to a new home, etc. Play it safe first, but remember 99.9% of the people you go to buy from are not out to hurt you...at least in the category of furniture. 
2. Learn your area.  Ok, so confession time. Sometimes my friends seriously consider scheduling an intervention. I really, truly do know how often certain types of furniture come across Craigslist, what a similar item would cost new, what kinds of items I'll find in different local regions, etc. Go north and you've got the less expensive, country, rustic stuff. Go east and you get high end custom items a few years old being sold for the latest and greatest, and go south for modern city or farmhouse chic - a strange coincidence, but true. I've learned over time where I'm most likely to find certain pieces of furniture. Over time you can learn the demographics and habits of your region too. 
3. Take clues from the ad. Does it say the price is "firm", "obo" {meaning "or best offer"}, or just a price alone? If the price is firm, don't negotiate. If it is anything else, NEGOTIATE!!!! EVERY.SINGLE.TIME!!!! My go to reply is, "Is this still available? I'd love to take a look. Are you willing to negotiate on the price a little??? Thanks so much!" I have saved HUNDREDS of dollars on Craigslist scores just by asking. And $20, $50, $100 here and there really add up! 
4. Look for quality.  Know your style and what kind of quality should come with it. Well sliding drawers or working hinges. Solid wood. Great drawer construction such as dovetail joints. I am SO picky about drawers! No rust on metals. Or rust on metal if that's your style.

OK, so let's move onto some pictures already! Oh, I am SO excited to share this one with you!!! Check this out. My husband just went to our local eastside area to pick up a couch...mind you, we paid $75 for this originally $3000 couch. Yes, you can see a peek here on Instagram. Oh it's so pretty! But anyhow, the guy told my husband, "Hey, do you want this other chair and dresser for free? I'm just going to take them to the dump if not." My great and wonderful man of course nodded his head and jetted with the loot! Score!

Here's what he brought home.

{personal photo taken with my iphone}

Oh my goodness, I pretty much freaked out. It was PERFECT!!!

In one day, I sanded, stained, painted, switched the drawers around and changed out the knobs. It was transformed into this.

The free dresser from the $75 couch is my new love. It's a little ridiculous just how much I love this piece! I haven't decided if this will stay in our "Reading Room", as we call it, or become my nightstand, but it is here.to.stay. The truth is, I love it because I've ultimately learned the style I love....Coastal btw.  This dresser....this FREE, awesome drawer sliding dresser, really could have become ANYTHING you wanted it to be. Pink with crystal knobs. A bright fun green with antique brass drop pulls, black, a pattern, whatever. It could have been adapted and made over for entryway storage, bedroom storage, converted into a bathroom vanity or media console, etc. It's SO fun to imagine and create! We all have it in us to a degree - yes, YOU!

Now, if furniture refinishing isn't your thing, you may rest at ease knowing that I don't makeover all the pieces I buy on Craigslist or at the thrift store, and you don't have to either. There a tons a great pieces out there that don't need any work at all. Here are a few pieces I found locally for about $50 each and left as is. 

Our son's dresser.

A wine/storage cabinet.

A less than perfect dresser for my Home Office. I love it!

Just on the other side of the room is a desk I refinished {from black} and a bookcase I built {tutorial coming soon}. These three pieces combined cost me roughly $150 TOTAL. My whole point is you can save really big on storage furniture when you think outside the box. You can learn to paint pieces, bargain for better prices, and get the look you love for less.

I'd love to hear how you go about thrifting furniture for your home and what kind of questions you have.  Do you DIY, have some negotiating tips, or clearance item strategies? Please do share! In the meantime, you can find me in the Master Bathroom tackling that linen closet.

All photos taken by Kayla of Kayla J Photography unless otherwise noted. Thank you for the beautiful photos!

"Hi everyone! I'm Anneke and you can often find me working with some tools, browsing for great furniture finds, or getting all girly for a date night! Like many of you, I'm often looking for ways to make life run more smoothly amidst kids, messes, responsibilities, and limited time. I recently celebrated the awesome 3-0, ten crazy years of marriage with my hubby Michael, and have the privilege of being a stay-at-home mom to 3 amazing kiddos, not to mention our sweet miniature schnauzer. We live in the beautiful Northwest, near Seattle.

Although I have a degree in Music, my brain spins with ideas about DIY projects, interior design, health, and family, all of which I blog about over at This, That and Life.  I am beyond thrilled to be a part of the wonderful contributing team at IHeart Organizing and can't wait to get to know some of you better as well!"