Selling Furniture

With my graduation in two weeks (literally!), I'm trying to organize my life, especially my material possessions. I moved into my freshman-year dorm (technically, apartment) with a car-full of things that seemed essential to have (sewing kit, screw driver, lots of things). Then later acquired some used furniture and bought some new things from Ikea when I moved off campus. Mostly, these things have to go because I'm sending the stuff back with my parents in a car, so it has to fit. Also, my apartment next year will probably be tiny, possibly a studio.

I put 14 pieces of furniture on sale on Craigslist last night, and had 57 emails in my inbox when I woke up this morning. 52 from Craigslist. The things I put up for free, were descended upon with such speed, I'm simply amazed. Four people are coming to pick things up tomorrow. Having recently read Dan Ariely's 'Predictably Irrational', I know how much power the word free holds over us. Thank you Craigslist, for allowing for these mutually beneficial exchanges to occur.

Freshman year, my roommate was in shock that I didn't feel the need to clean the bathroom every two weeks. I, of course, was appalled that her stuff cluttered our apartment and covered the surface area of our entire living room. I have long-ago realized that my threshold for clutter is pretty low-- my brother has described my room at home as sterile (despite having warm sun-colored walls), and I wasn't a fan of my family's default kitchen table status-- the place for sugar packets, medicine, and coasters to stay ALL THE TIME. I prefer a bare table over practical arrangements, I suppose. Alternately, which I am totally not dirty or live in filth, my standards of cleaning are more relaxed. I've only taken a vacuum cleaner to my carpet twice this year-- as long as there's nothing on the ground, I'm usually satisfied. Cleaning bathrooms especially, is so not my thing. I even considered hiring someone next year to do that for me, a rather extravagant luxury for a recent grad. More likely, I will just suck it up.

All this tangential over-sharing can be summed with: hates clutter, moderately concerned with dust/germs. My philosophy is also starting to carry over to clothing and furniture: isn't it better to have fewer, well-made, original pieces than to buy lots because it's cheap? Is the Forever 21 era of my life over? Maybe, but not until I find jeans that fit better than their, because damn they make some good pants.

So similarly, I'm glad to have Craigslist to sell my furniture, but should I look to the site to buy my furniture for next year? Will nicer, more expensive furniture make me happier than free things I got and use but don't love?

Lets end this post with something shiny and distracting: http://contests.apartmenttherapy.com/2010/small-cool

Really cool website with wonderfully decorated apartments. My favorite is to see what people have done with their super tiny apartments (teeny-tiny is categorized at 1-400 square feet). Seriously, people's creativity is incredible.

Lastly, shout-out to my mom (for reading all my posts) :)