Selling items through a free website such as Kijiji or craigslist can be a great way to make additional money with little effort. It's also a great way to purge any unused items that you are no longer using.
I'm sure all of us could find a lot of these items around the house. I recently sold two pairs of shoes, worn once, that I know I'll never wear again. In the past, I have also sold furniture and wedding items and fortunately didn't have any bad experiences.
When selling, I make sure to take pictures of the item with a neutral background, when possible, at different angles. The description of the item is important but pictures is what will get potential customers interested, it's the first thing they will see. If you price the item reasonably based on the condition, you shouldn't have any problems selling. Although, I will admit selling shoes took me about three times of posting ads before I could sell them. But once you have the photos, it only takes a few minutes to re-post a new ad.
It's also great for buying used items. I love buying solid wood furniture that just needs paint, it's quite amazing what paint can do. Not only will you have a unique piece but furniture that will last a lot longer than what they make today. It's also very gratifying to finish a project knowing that you did it.Then sometimes you find items that don't require any painting such as the nightstand shown in the image above. It was originally purchased at Pottery Barn retailing for $200, the guy was selling it for only $35.
I was thinking since I really enjoy doing little projects around the house after I get my finances organized, I may leave a small amount in the budget. I guess you could consider it a hobby. It's not that I'm materialistic but it's something that brings me joy. By creating a budget for it, it'll make me think twice of what I'm purchasing and how can I get it or do it cheaper. In the past, I would get in the mood for new decor or storage solutions for the house and go out and buy it without really thinking if I could actually afford it. So moving forward, I'd like to try harder at not buying new items for the house whenever possible.
I already have a few project ideas like re-painting and staining a dining table and chairs. But ideally I'd like to wait until spring to start painting and also have more available time. I'm pretty excited about it and can't wait to get started. Especially seeing the end result.
I'm sure all of us could find a lot of these items around the house. I recently sold two pairs of shoes, worn once, that I know I'll never wear again. In the past, I have also sold furniture and wedding items and fortunately didn't have any bad experiences.
When selling, I make sure to take pictures of the item with a neutral background, when possible, at different angles. The description of the item is important but pictures is what will get potential customers interested, it's the first thing they will see. If you price the item reasonably based on the condition, you shouldn't have any problems selling. Although, I will admit selling shoes took me about three times of posting ads before I could sell them. But once you have the photos, it only takes a few minutes to re-post a new ad.
It's also great for buying used items. I love buying solid wood furniture that just needs paint, it's quite amazing what paint can do. Not only will you have a unique piece but furniture that will last a lot longer than what they make today. It's also very gratifying to finish a project knowing that you did it.Then sometimes you find items that don't require any painting such as the nightstand shown in the image above. It was originally purchased at Pottery Barn retailing for $200, the guy was selling it for only $35.
I was thinking since I really enjoy doing little projects around the house after I get my finances organized, I may leave a small amount in the budget. I guess you could consider it a hobby. It's not that I'm materialistic but it's something that brings me joy. By creating a budget for it, it'll make me think twice of what I'm purchasing and how can I get it or do it cheaper. In the past, I would get in the mood for new decor or storage solutions for the house and go out and buy it without really thinking if I could actually afford it. So moving forward, I'd like to try harder at not buying new items for the house whenever possible.
I already have a few project ideas like re-painting and staining a dining table and chairs. But ideally I'd like to wait until spring to start painting and also have more available time. I'm pretty excited about it and can't wait to get started. Especially seeing the end result.