Freecycle and Thrift Stores: A Stager's Haven

Freecycle

How many of you know about Freecycle?  www.freecycle.org is an online organization that is all about finding new homes for things you don't use any more, or for finding things you need/want and don't mind if it's slightly used.  I'll explain how it works.

You sign up and create a Freecycle account for yourself and designate what cities' groups you want to be a part of. Nearly every city has a Freecycle group!  For example, I belong to four. 1) Flower Mound, where I live; 2) Lewisville, the next town over; 3) Midwest City, because that's where my daughter lives and 4) Del City, the next town over from Midwest City.

There are two types of posts: WANTED and OFFER. WANTEDS are people who are looking for something specific. I always go through the Wanteds to see if I can help someone in need. It's a great feeling when I can. OFFERS are from people who have something that still has some value or that they think someone might get a little (or a lot) more use out of. I always look through the offers for my DIY or staging projects. I have found everything from area rugs, to house plants, decorative pots, a trellis, even outdoor furniture! I used all of these things **THAT I GOT FOR FREE** when we made over Kelley's rental house as she was on a very tight budget. But we practically furnished her whole house, and did the landscaping for nearly nothing!  

Here's another success story:  I saw an Offer of "ladies shorts, size 2-4" which at the time was my daughter's size. I went to the address and there was a HUGE trash bag full of denim shorts, and they were all current style and most of them designer brands!

 

Alex, my youngest, loves to DIY. She added lace trim to the cuffs of the shorts...

 and some of them did a Galaxy design with paint, and SOLD THEM FOR $20 EACH TO ALL OF HER FRIENDS!

But back to staging. There is also treasure to be found at Thrift Stores. Many people don't like to go into thrift stores because they are full of junk. On the contrary!  I'll let you in on a little secret. You know those cards you get in the mail from Paralyzed Vets, ASPCA, Leukemia Lymphoma Society asking for clothing and household donations?  The next time you get a card, call and ask them where they take the donations to be sold. I live in a fairly nice neighborhood, so I found out just where mine and my well-off neighbor's cast-offs were going. So that store is now on my list as a favorite! You can find things like planters, candle sticks, silk plants, rugs, all for a fraction of what they would cost new at a Hobby Lobby or Home Decor store! I found a set of three square glass planters that I had just seen at Hobby Lobby for $35; at the thrift store they were marked $1.99! For the whole set! And candle sticks are about the easiest thing to spray paint if you need staging material for a house. Use them again and again! 

I found this huge silk ivy/hosta/spider plant arrangement, in a basket that was dusty and looked like it had been passed over for a while. I saw the VERY SAME THING at Hobby Lobby for $65 not one week before! Took it home and cleaned it, and WOW new silk planting arrangement!  

Whether you are staging a house to sell, or simply want to add to the decor of your own home, Freecycle and Thrift Stores are so the way to go. I can't remember the last time I paid retail for anything!  Now go to www.freecycle.org and sign up! Tell 'em Stacy sent ya! 

Next post: Cleaning

It All Started With a Little Cleaning...

Midwest City: 1809 Sandra Drive

My oldest daughter grew up in Midwest City, Oklahoma, not far from Tinker Air Force Base. The neighborhoods there are former military housing: small, usually one bath but with vintage tiling, hardwood floors, good sized yards but hardly ever updated and very few have any curb appeal at all. It is a house-flipper's DREAM. 

I am dedicating my first blog post to Midwest City, and to the rent house we did so much work on in 2013, inside and out. 

The top photo is how we found the house after an irresponsible renter left it. It was full of trash, full of junk, and full of **POTENTIAL!**  The second photo is after we cleaned and re-staged it. Hard to believe it's even the same room.

Then we tackled the outside. The backyard was a wonderful size, but had been neglected for years. Embedded in the weeds we found all kinds of debris: silverware, bits of plastic, broken glass, old wiring, rusted tools, the list goes on. After disposing of the huge rolls of fence wire, I took a weed eater to the concrete patio to remove years of built up dirt and weeds. After treating the whole thing with round up and trimming the shrub beside it, I staged it with two outdoor chairs and an outdoor table, both of which were free (I am addicted to Freecycle.org. I will do another blog post on Freecycle... if you are not familiar with it, you should be!)  Total cost of this makeover: $0.00!

My youngest daughter agreed to help me create this flower bed. It runs the length of the back of the house. There's a story behind this garden. My oldest, Kelley, was diagnosed at age 19 with ovarian cancer. She was living in this house at the time. For her birthday, I asked all my friends and family to donate one plant to put in Kelley's new garden. Everyone pitched in, and we named it "The Giving Garden."  It was a lot of labor, but labor of love! Alex and I removed the old grass, trash and weeds, laid landscaping fabric, cut timbers for the edges, planted all the donated plants and mulched.  Donated plants included: monkey grass, bougainvillea, rose moss, some succulents, a crepe myrtle, black eye susans, a rosemary bush, another flowering bush, ivy, salvia and three agave plants. Cost for this project: timbers, fabric and mulch, about $50.

Kelley said the hardest part about leaving this house on Sandra Drive was leaving the garden behind. Personally, I loved that house. It had its problems, but with a handful of repairs it could be an awesome investment for a flip. 

Next Blog: Freecycle!