THRIFT YOUR WAY
Free finds
Plenty of good things are given away: on the curb on bulk pickup day, in Freecycle groups, and in Craigslist’s free section.
Before you go
- Good for
- Furniture to refinish, frames, planters, project pieces
- When to go
- Bulk pickup days, the end of the month, college move-out
- Paying
- Nothing. Be quick and kind
How to do well
- Join your local Freecycle group and check Craigslist’s free section daily. The best things go within the hour.
- Learn your town’s bulk pickup days and drive by the evening before.
- Take only what’s clearly put out for anyone, and check your town’s rules.
- Look over anything upholstered for pests and damp before it comes inside.
- Pass things on when you’re done. It keeps the giving going.
What to bring
Where to find them
Craigslist free stuff
Open “free stuff” for your area.
Go to Craigslist free stuff (opens in a new tab)Freecycle
Local groups giving things away, and asking for what they need. Free to join.
Go to Freecycle (opens in a new tab)
How Thriftcraft helps
Scan
Snap what you pick up, so you remember what it is and where it came from.
- Open Scan and take a photo of the find.
- Open the find to keep its price and notes together. Keep extra photos of marks and damage with it.
- If a snap is waiting offline, leave Thriftcraft open when you reconnect and check that it uploads before signing out.
More ways Thriftcraft can help
Places
Give it a place, or an idea of one, before it lands in the garage for good.
- Use Places to keep the room, wall or shelf and the finds that belong there together.
- Open New place or Edit place to save its width, height and, where relevant, depth. Add the find to that place and use its Outside size control when measurements are missing.
- Places organizes where things belong; it does not automatically prove that furniture fits through a doorway.
The sites here belong to other companies. None of them pays to be listed.