Craigslist

Boooo us for not blogging in 2 weeks. Sorry to our loyal readers.

And as much as a 2 week hiatus should be filled with a post about all the funny stuff that has happened during the time away, I feel compelled to talk about Craigslist.

Craig Newmark - Founder of Craigslist

First, I am really tempted not to write on this topic fearing that it is about as cliche as airplane food jokes but the site is just awesome and we have been using it a lot lately as we try and get rid of all the knick-knack furniture we have been moving around for the last 6 years. We have also been buying on Craigslist in an effort to upgrade to furniture and rooms of furniture that actually go together and don't leave everyone feeling like they just left a dorm.

One might laugh at this notion given that Craigslist usually contains older or used furniture that is just a crappy as what we are selling, but Leah and I have found that patience and watching for singular items at a time produces great results. We have also determined that one of the greatest aspects of Craigslist is the lack of financial or emotional attachment to the stuff we buy.

Of course, what we really want is to buy the whole bedroom out of the Pottery Barn catalog, but would that really be a smart way to spend $5,000? Further, it seems like the quality of that stuff is just not worth the price. Also, what if in 5 years that trendy platform bed seems about as cool as a 90s rugby shirt seems now? We would have spent tons of money that we will never be able to recoup on furniture we don't like any more. What a waste.

With Craigslist, we can buy stuff that is still relatively new, sold to us at a huge discount and that we could put right back on Craigslist when we want to change it out. Further, there is no emotional attachment to stuff because it is just stuff, which is a concept I would like to embrace more fully in my life anyway.

Lastly, the finding, buying, selling and price haggling is such a awesome game. Maybe it points to how little thrills we experience in life these days, but staring down an individual who wants to buy the $400 rug I bought on E-bay 4 years ago and am now trying to sell to him for only $50 dollars less than I paid for it is exhilarating!

So, if you have not used Craigslist substantially in your life, start now. You will save money, have a better attitude about the material stuff you own and will have the option of changing out your stuff whenever you like. It is a win win win.