Mommy Goes Green

With my 2 year old quickly approaching her 3rd birthday, I’ve been scouring the Internet for her first “big girl bed”.   While my primary choice was an adorable wood bed painted antique white, the greener side of me thought I should I make an earnest effort to find a used alternative.   Not only because buying used is a great way to save money and reduce consumption of new goods, but the bed also has likely off-gassed somewhere else ( assuming anything I bought had adhesives or paint finishes containing VOCs ). Well, my search finally paid off over the holiday weekend when I found an antique white iron bed for 1/4 of the original cost.  I can’t wait to put together her new room!

While I wouldn’t call myself ‘thrifty’, I have become much more cost conscious in the down economy.  My “shift to thrift” has come from both a desire to simplify our finances and to lessen my impact on the environment.  Whether you are a true blue thrifty person or just finding the thrifty side of yourself, search these sites for your next need.  From well know options like eBay to lesser known like BookSwim, these sites provide the opportunity to reduce, reuse and recycle!

GENERAL GOODS

Craigslist is divided up into states and cities so you can find what you are looking for locally.  This site is usually my first go-to site for used goods, particularly furniture, appliances, automobiles, large toys, and sporting goods.  It also lists local garage sales.

Freecycle and Throwplace is just that – free stuff!  Users post their unwanted items and members respond to arrange for pickup. 

eBay is the mass online auctioneer with goods from all over the country and more.  It’s a great place to look for unique or rare items.  You can narrow your search down to local auctions to save money ( and carbon footprint ) when shipping.

ShopGoodwill is a bit like eBay in that all goods are auctioned but the bonus is that purchases benefit the charity and it’s employment programs for disabled people. I found an array of items from designer handbags to automobiles to televisions to knick knacks.

BOOKS and MEDIA

Your local library may seem like a no brainer but somehow between college and motherhood I totally forgot they existed.  I’m a weekly visitor now.  In addition to books, you might find your local library to carry DVDs, CDs, or computer games and all borrowed for FREE.

Bookswim is the Netflix of the book world and if you’re an avid reader, it’s a great option for you.  For a monthly fee ( starting as low as $9.95 ), you can hold onto several books at a time and when done, swap them for the next item on your list.  I love not being 75th in line for a new release.  They also have college textbooks – now where were they when I was in college?

Paperback Swap allows members to swap books with other people around the world using a point system.  When you send a book to a member requesting one, you’ll receive credit.  Use your credits to request books from other members – there are currently 3.5 million books available!

Swap A CD and Swap A DVD work the same as Paperback Swap.  Send requested CDs or DVDs to other members and in return, find the ones you want.

CHILDREN’S GOODS

Zwaggle is a children’s items swapping site.  Once you pass along gently used items, you earn points to choose ‘new to you’ items from other site members.  You can also create a Wish List to be notified when something you are looking for is available.

Hand Me Downs is an online classifieds site where you can buy, sell, give away or donate your new and “gently used” baby gear, toys, clothes, childcare services and more.  They pull together and organize the best baby/child/mom listings from around the web AND combine them with handmedowns.com listings posted on their site to create a one-stop destination for busy parents.

DiaperSwappers is an online community buying, selling and trading cloth diapers.

Have a favorite thrifty site that we didn’t mention? Let us know!