- Cheryl Rodewig had to move into a new apartment during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Previously, she had sold everything to travel the world, so she needed to furnish cheaply.
- She couldn’t go into thrift stores to browse, so she turned to free listings on Facebook Marketplace.
- She ended up spending $588 in total to furnish her apartment – and looks forward to someday passing on that furniture.
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Moving is always stressful, but moving during a global pandemic takes it to a level that didn’t exist prior to 2020. Make it an international move on short notice with next to no belongings – like mine was – and you’ve got what an optimist might call a challenge.
After flying back from Paris in March, thanks to a trip with spectacularly poor timing, I had a few items at the top of my to-do list: find a city to live in, rent an apartment, and outfit said apartment with the essentials so I could shelter in place for the foreseeable future.
Apartment hunting during quarantine is a gamble
I picked a city easily enough, but finding a place to live was harder. Offices had reduced hours. In-person tours were almost non-existent. And the stay at our Airbnb was running out.
In the end, my husband and I opted for a complex that touts itself as “luxury apartments.” I still hear the cash register sound in my head whenever I say it, but they had sterling online reviews. It was the kind of reassurance I needed before signing a year’s lease in Tampa, sight unseen.
It was more than I wanted to spend, however. I still had some leftover travel charges I was trying to get refunded from our canceled trip, and my investments weren't looking that pretty, either, though I knew better than to touch them. Everything considered, I wanted to be thrifty when furnishing our apartment.
The price that fit our budget best was "free"
Buying used furniture presented some problems. I couldn't browse local thrift shops, which were closing as non-essential businesses. I wasn't keen on buying used online, either, without seeing it in person. And frankly, I didn't feel like shopping. Sunk cost fallacy or not, I'd just sold all my furniture a mere four months prior for a fraction of its value, and I wasn't about to buy it all back again.
Then one day, walking near our Airbnb, I spotted a table and two tall kitchen chairs at the end of a driveway. Sure, I know people put discarded belongings, especially ones too large for the trash, near the curb for anyone to take, but I'd never availed myself of that kind of opportunity before. I did need a kitchen table, though.
It was sturdy, had a few cosmetic nicks. I was sold. Set up in our empty apartment, the dark wood matched the floors nicely. I had a place to eat and even work during the day, if needed, and it saved something from the landfill.
I was inspired
Of course, I had to buy a few items new: the bed and frame, for example, and the kitchen trash can, which I needed right away. I also got an office chair from a used furniture store the day before the safer-at-home order went into effect. It set me back $33, but I figured it would be a bit more ergonomic for daily work than the kitchen chair.
With the bare bones in place, I could afford to be patient for the rest. I kept an eye out during our walks. I started browsing free listings on Facebook Marketplace. In a few weeks, I had what I needed to make the place livable. Here are a few of my favorites:
- An entertainment center
- Matching end tables
- A small desk
- Two floor lamps
- A bookcase
All told, I've spent $588 to furnish the apartment
That's the bed, trash can, office chair and a $3 jewelry hanger off Facebook. Everything else was free.
Along with furniture, I got a few smaller household items to make life easier: extra dishes, a desk lamp, a wastepaper basket, a desk tray. The pickups were contactless and safe. I also made frequent stops at the Little Free Library to borrow books and return them when finished.
If you want it free, manage your expectations
While the price might be great, the quality isn't always stellar. Decide what's important to you. For me, cleanliness was paramount. I wouldn't take anything I couldn't sanitize with what I had on hand.
You can reupholster furniture, but fabric during a pandemic is a hot commodity. I used a hack I'd read to cover our chair cushions with a tablecloth (free on Facebook). It works great and looks even better - the cream contrasting against the wood.
Size is another factor. Not much fits in a subcompact car, so most of what I picked up was fairly small. Even with a truck, if you're quarantined alone, you might have trouble lifting furniture without help.
You won't get everything you want, so be creative. I knew a free standing desk wasn't happening, but I found two smaller tables that stack to create a platform at just the right height. I switch from there to my desk periodically throughout the day.
And what if something's broken? It depends. The back couldn't be reattached to our bookcase, so I took it off completely. I actually like it that way - a bit more minimal and open.
I plan to pay it forward
Everyone was surprisingly kind, as though getting free stuff from strangers during a pandemic is the most natural thing in the world. A couple sellers even asked me if I needed anything else as they were spring cleaning. I was grateful.
I find myself looking forward to passing each of these treasures along for others to enjoy someday. I imagine the kitchen chairs reupholstered by a new family, the dishes washed and holding someone else's dinner.
I'll take good care of them meanwhile. These things - even though they are just things - have a lot of life in them still.