Cleaning House: Craigslist

(Our formal living room has become the Lego room.)

The Ethical Writers Coalition is hosting a Second Hand Challenge during the month of September, and my goal is to find creative ways to clear my house of the things I no longer need. Craigslist is always a great option to buy and sell vintage items, and I’ve had great luck doing both.

I love vintage furniture and many of the pieces in my house once belonged to my grandmother. I wrote about my vintage living room set a few years ago, and in the past few months, I’ve thought a lot about finding new homes for the furniture to make more room for the boys to play. So, the last week of August, I took some pictures and placed an ad on Craigslist, offering the pieces as a set or individually. I was lucky enough to find a buyer for the whole set, someone who also happens to love vintage furniture, too. And when she arrived, I realized that we had even gone to high school together!  It was just meant to be, I guess; and while I felt a bit sad watching that floral couch drive off in someone else’s truck, I know that it was the right decision.

As much as I loved that furniture, we weren’t using it and it was just taking up space that my boys really needed to play. Plus, the buyer was able to furnish her apartment with everything, and she’ll get lots of use from it every day. That thought thrilled me, and I love knowing that my beloved furniture went to someone else who will also love it.

I think it’s important for our home to function well for the way we live now, so we bought a second LACK coffee table from IKEA (we already had one), and the boys now have plenty of space to build and store their Lego creations. I still have plenty of my grandmother’s belongings, plus lots of memories, which are priceless.