If you've never been on Freecycle, you should totally check it out. It's a smorgasbord of free stuff! Some of it is very useful and practical, while some of it makes you wonder if the original owner might be a bit senile. These would be things like, oh, a shoebox full of sawdust, or mismatched socks with holes in the toes. I skip the weirdo stuff, but I am now constantly on the prowl for good stuff free.
This week, I redecorated my bathroom with rugs and a shower curtain that came from an older couple in town. Then, I picked up an enormous medicine cabinet from another dude in a neighboring town and installed it over my toilet. Almost perfect condition! Then, I got a huge deep maroon sofa from a lady I ended up befriending over email. Two recliners on either end, and the center folds down into a table with cup holders. FREE!!!
This is perfect for a struggling writer and her college student husband, trying to make ends meet. No down payments, no payment plans... hell, I don't even have to go to the store! I just sit online in my pajamas, eating a popsicle, and a whole new world is at my fingertips.
There was a time in my life when I thought thrift shopping was for losers, and freebies were for hobos. That time is long over, my friends. I grew up in a school where everything you owned had to be name-brand. I'm still down with the name brands, but I don't mind if I find them in a consignment shop. What do I care? The idea of spending $100 on a pair of jeans now seems akin to knocking a ham sandwich out of an Ethiopian child's trembling hands. lose a job or two and we'll see what you learn to appreciate.
What's even more thrilling is that I did lot of the legwork on my own. I removed the towel rack from above the toilet and re-installed it on the door myself. That may not sound like much to you, but I am in no way, shape, or form mechanically inclined. I can hang a picture frame but that's where it ends. More importantly, I've been chasing the cat around the apartment with nail clippers all week, making sure there are no razor-sharp talons digging into the side of my new/used sofa. (Kitty is the reason we got rid of the last one.) It takes a lot of motivation to chase a cat with nail clippers - especially since ours has taken to hiding under the flaps on the BACK of the new/used couch. But I persist... me, with my nail clippers and bottle of ice-cold water to scare the bejeebers out of her, should she refuse to come out from under said couch flaps.
One man's trash is another man's treasure. At least usually, on Freecycle. And man must protect his new-found trash/treasure.
I told my mother about all of this tonight on the phone and she was fascinated. I was fascinated that she was fascinated, since my mother has always been very big on keeping up with the Joneses. I was shocked when she wanted details about Freecycle and Craigslist and asked me to show her how to sign up for both (she'll never figure it out), and she thought it was amazing that I had revamped the joint without paying so much as a dime.
This, of course, led to my mother asking her usual question - "Are you eating?" This implies that I am living with nothing but candlelight, a backyard fire, and scavenging for dinner in local dumpsters. I'm a starving writer, but I'm not THAT starving. I assured her that I was fine, and that, in fact, writing work kept rolling in. I told her I had submitted my first column for Fine Living Lancaster Magazine and my mother asked what I had written about. I explained that I introduced myself, saying how I had been born and raised in Lancaster.
My mother's ultra-supportive comment was:
Well, I hope you didn't put Lancaster down and alienate all your readers. Whatever.
Put them down? Why would I put down the very people giving me free stuff? Besides, it's not the Amish posting free furniture online.
If I keep playing my cards right, maybe someday I'll be able to afford to BUY furniture. Probably not brand new, because I don't want to insult the Haitians or the Ethiopians. But someday I might just get up, put some pants on, and visit an actual store, and give them actual sheets of green paper. As long as I don't insult the entire county, anyway.
In the meantime, I'll be here, blogging on my trash/treasure couch, working hard on my used computer, sucking on a popsicle I got at Sharp Shopper discount store, dreaming up new ways to horrify my mother. Pin It
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