UsedEverywhere.com

Free Finds on Used: The Victoria Woman Who is Renovating Her Home FOR FREE!

Karen Bragg is renovating her home and how is she doing it? With free finds from UsedVictoria. Believe me when I say this is amazing!

So Karen, let me get this straight, you renovated your house using materials you found on UsedVictoria for free?

We have renovated about half of our house using free materials obtained on UsedVictoria. We are also saving up materials for an addition to the house that we hope to begin in the spring. And it was not just building materials, but things we could use for the house too. It started out as a sort-of sociological experiment on my part to see what I could do with things I could obtain for free. I like to think it was, and is, a successful experiment!

And was it just the UsedVictoria site or did you venture out of the city and pick up stuff from other Used sites on the island and further afield?

We have never used another site besides UsedVictoria.  There didn’t seem to be a need.

How long were you renovating your house? Did it take longer than anticipated because you were waiting to find the right freebies?

The renovations on the house have been happening over two years, but we started saving materials a year before that.  I had some renos in mind (such as the deck extension and the sliding glass door in the master bedroom to access it) and there were a few that came about because of the materials we came across.

What do you think your best find was? Was there anything you were really surprised to find?

As for what the best free find was, that is hard to say. We got 12 trusses, perfect for our addition; about 30 sheets of 3/4″plywood that will be used for the addition; approx. 2,500 ft of solid oak trim pulled out of a heritage house; approximately 2,500 ft of maple hardwood flooring pulled from a 100 yr old school gymnasium; a wonderful nearly-new airtight wood-stove insert; a brand new soaker tub that the owner intended for his own renovation but never used (he showed us the receipt for over $500); approx 15-20ft long 2″x12″s. It’s hard to choose!

What would you say the easiest materials to find were?

We were lucky enough to come across a LOT of tile, as well as over 2,000 sq ft of nearly new carpeting from an office that had been newly renovated but the new owners wanted a different color carpet! Both tile and carpet are very easy to find. But I think one of the easiest things to find is cabinets of any sort: kitchen, bathroom, shed, armoires, etc.

Did you model your house around what you were finding or search for certain items you wanted to work with?

This is an interesting question. The fact is that I would ask my boyfriend (a carpenter who adores me) what we would need to do a certain project, and I would look for those items. If I saw anything that I suspected might be useful for some other purpose, I would ask him if it would be useful.

Where did all this great stuff come from? Was it from other homeowners?

Most of the materials came from other homeowners who were renovating or who had planned to renovate but changed their minds and couldn’t sell the materials, so they just wanted the stuff gone. Their wish was my command!

So, explain to me exactly what renovations you were able to complete on your home using free finds from the Used sites.

OK, list of renos and improvements with materials from UsedVictoria.com:

New furniture (not a reno, but made the living room look better!)

Bigscreen tvs

Mattresses & beds

Cool lamps!

2 slightly used refrigerators

All 3 fish tanks w/all accessories plus most of the fish (2-50 gal tanks and 1-130 gal tank, we just paid for delivery of the big one)

Almost all the flowers and plants in the yard

All the vertical blinds in the house

3 nearly new toilets

2000 sq ft of nearly new carpets

160 sq ft hardwood flooring for master bedroom (paid a few dollars for it, but nearly nothing)

1,000 sq ft hardwood flooring for downstairs living room, dining room and hallway.

Tiling for upstairs largest bathroom floor and bathtub surround

Tiling for master bedroom ensuite floor

Tiling for downstairs bathroom

Tiling for downstairs kitchen

Extended deck in back yard

Sliding glass door in master bedroom to access deck

Replacement thermal window for downstairs

Materials we used to make a gorgeous greenhouse (wood, glass, doors, windows, paint, etc)

Materials we used to make a large shed (wood, small wood-stove, cabinets, etc)

We also replaced our dishwasher, washer & dryer, and the double sinks with vanity in the largest bathroom

Anything you still need to find?

Oh, yes, we will still need a lot in order to complete the addition this spring; windows, doors, plumbing, etc. Not everything will be free, but Victoria is a generous place that prefers not to send its used materials to the dump, so I expect that we will find much of what we need!

What’s your number one tip for using used?

My #1 best tip is this: think ahead of time about the things that you would like to find, and just keep looking with those things in mind. It might take a few weeks or even a month of looking, but it will usually show up.

Create Your Own Unique Lighting On a Tight Budget

One of the most important ways to up the WOW factor of your space is with proper lighting. Too many people use overheads, which don’t address lighting needs around the room, and fail to highlight areas that can really pop with just a little extra effort.

In my house, we have a great bay window, that provides tonnes of natural light to our living room, but is a challenging space to work with. The shape is such that you can’t really put anything against it, and since our living room (and whole house) is relatively small, it means you have less space to work with. So we turned this room into a reading nook. All it took was building a simple bench, and a novel approach to lighting it.

By day, there is loads of light, but at night, not so much. The overhead doesn’t reach it, there is no place to put a floor lamp, and because it’s all windows there is nowhere to stick a wall sconce.

We got around this by coming up with a lighting option unique to the space. What you are looking at here is a collaboration between my wife and I that cost us all of $15. It consists of a string of incandescent Christmas lights, origami boxes my wife made, and a really big stick I found in the woods. It doesn’t generate much light, but it’s enough to read by, and makes the space super cozy at night. What’s great about this is that it helps carve a very small room into different spaces, and makes our whole house feel bigger.

Is it safe, you ask? Well, barring any shorts in the wire, the lights are designed not to ignite dry Christmas trees, so we are prepared to take the risk that they will not get hot enough to ignite the paper origami boxes. That said, we would never leave these lights on when we go out, or go to bed, just to be on the safe side.

Reupholstering and Painting: Reinventing a Tired, Chipped Chair

Recently I was out on a thrifting day (I have about three of those a week) when I came across a cute little Duncan Phyfe style chair at the Salvation Army that wanted to come home with me. Naturally, as the kind of person who just can’t say no to a chair, I loaded it up in the station wagon and began dreaming.

New paint and fabric, please?

 

Ripped front seat, dead batting

 

I’ve refinished many chairs in my lifetime, and for the most part, they’re pretty easy. Any chair that made of wood can be painted. Any chair with a removable seat can be reupholstered fairly simply. This particular chair needed both, with the added bonus of requiring new foam.

As you can see in the picture, the padding was the older style cotton batting type that you find pretty frequently in later mid century (yes this is a period, at least in my mind) furniture redo’s. This was not the first time someone had made this chair pretty again. The fabric was probably from the late 60′s judging by the aged colour and pattern and well it just smelled like the 60′s.

The seat is made of wood strips glued together, but one had broken. I used bar clamps (care of my father-in-law) and wood glue to stick it back together. It was easier than I thought it would be!

A broken seat is an easy fix with the right tools!

 

I went to Rockland Textiles as per usual and bought a half yard of ½ inch foam. I also bought the fabric I wanted there. It was one I’d seen on a previous visit and was hoping to be able to use one day. Yeay! Convincing the lady who was helping me that I really only needed 1/2” foam took some work, but it is really important to keep the original silhouette, in my opinion, and the seats in these chairs are always pretty flush with the sides.

Look at all those poor mutilated staples!

 

Pulling out the staples from the 60′s, quite frankly, sucked. I think that the person who came before me used a regular stapler with regular staples. They did not want to come out, but were also smashed so hard into the wood that they were deformed and there was also a million of them. So, take note future chair reupholsterers, use or borrow a staple gun, it will be so much easier for you and for whomever might inherit your project!!

Once that was done I cut out the foam using the seat as a guide. I left a bit of foam overhang so that the fabric would pull over nicely and there would be cushion for the back of your legs on the front of the seat. I used a spray adhesive to keep the foam steady while I placed the fabric on. This part was a little tricky as well, because the pattern needed to line up perfectly. Once that was done, I just stapled around the edges of the bottom of the seat, pulling on the fabric to keep the line nice and straight across the front. This was also tricky and took some practise to get used to. I pulled out a lot of staples in frustration on this chair!

Pretty chippy

 

After being sanded

 

In the meantime I used a melamine paint in “Espresso Bean” to paint the frame. I sanded down the chipped areas but it was the original finish on them and it was pretty much stuck on the wood like glue so I just painted over the whole thing. It took two coats plus a few touchups to get it nice and even.

Next all I had to do was screw the seat back on and voila! A cute, modern chair with some art nouveau influences! Doesn’t the harp look good with the chain type pattern on the seat? I really think so! And so does my friend Lianne who now has a cute office chair for her birthday.

All done! gleaming and new. Look at the nice lines on this chair!

 

Updating Lamps: From Eyesore to Feature Piece

You know when you’re moving into a new place…your first place (or a bigger place), and you’re hitting up all your friends and family for their old, unwanted furniture so you can furnish your place while you get over the financial hit of moving?

And then years pass and you just can’t quite get rid of it, even though you can’t stand it?

That’s how I feel about my living room lamps.

They came to me along with a truckload of other furniture. My grandma’s friend said I could have the whole lot for $300—saved her from selling off the pieces one by one and saved me the trouble of collecting this and that from all over the area.

It was an amazing deal, really.

But the lamps…

They are so interesting! And…such an eyesore.

Three years passed since I took possession of the lamps and finally I had enough. I had talked about it for ages but finally I was ready to tackle the lamp problem.

The grooves, shiny bits, and inconsistent textures made me nervous to simply spray paint the lamps (although I desperately wanted to).

After asking around for a while I set out to grab some decorative stone from the home improvement store—I even took the time to shop around for new and/or used lamps and still came out thinking it was cheaper to re-cover the lamps, even if it took three layers of $50 faux stone to accomplish it.

But then! I stumbled upon spray paint, which gave a textured finish. And it was made for ceramics etc. For only $11 I had to give it a shot—what’s the worst that could happen? I’d have ugly lamps?

So, I taped up the parts I didn’t want to spray and started in.

The paint was thick and it didn’t run at all. I had a good feeling.

One lamp took three coats of paint, which is an entire can of spray paint. So in total my lamp experiment cost me $22 (plus tax) and I can’t say I’m disappointed.

I let the paint dry almost completely between coats (I’ve had some bad experiences with spray paint) so it took a few days to really finish the lamps, but it was well worth the extra effort!

Not only did I avoid the faux stone, which would have been much messier, but they look actually quite good. And the best part is I don’t hate my living room lamps anymore.

On a side note I did purchase some new lamp shades, which I thought would help even more but they looked awful. I’m not quite sure what sort of shade will look better than the ones I have…perhaps I’m not done with these lamps quite yet.

Although, they are growing on me.

Reviving Retro: One Chair at a Time

Have you ever been garage sale shopping or scouring the “Free” section of UsedEverywhere and spotted a piece of retro furniture as old as your parents that you’d love to buy but you just can’t get past that first impression? The fabric is ripped or the once shiny chrome legs are now covered in rust and dirt. You feel guilty for leaving it behind but have no idea how to bring it back to life.  Well, thank goodness for people like Amanda who can see past that chair or lamp’s unkempt appearance and takes these treasures home to restore them to their original funky glory!

I had the pleasure of meeting Amanda while searching for retro furniture on UsedVictoria in order to furnish the Rifflandia music festival tent UsedVic sponsored this past weekend.  I was tasked with furnishing their rather large cinema tent and decided to style it up with retro/MOD items using vibrant colors like neon yellow, lime green, colbalt blue and fiery red. As my colours were specific, I knew it would be difficult to find items that were retro AND the right colors.

Fortunately, Amanda was selling a few items on UsedVictoria that were perfect for this project so I contacted her and went to her place to pick up the items. She told me that she’s been buying and refurbishing retro furniture as a hobby for a while now and showed me some of the other projects she was working on.

I was absolutely floored at what she’d found and how she’d tranformed these retro items to their original glory.  She even offered to keep her eyes open for me once I explained what I was doing and continued to find amazing pieces for my project. I just love how she is saving these beautiful pieces from the landfill and giving them new life again so I thought I’d introduce you to her:

How did you get started seeking out retro furniture?  What is it about retro-style furniture that appeals to you?

I’ve been collecting retro glass since I was a teenager which evolved into retro furniture and accessories when I moved out on my own.  I love the vibrant colours like oranges, reds and  yellows. I think that’s why I started collecting.  I love the furniture because of the fluid lines and it’s simply built to last.  I started selling instead of just collecting when I was out of work for awhile and it just keeps growing, so hopefully soon it will be my only job.

Where do you normally find these funky items?

Most of my retro items are found at garage sales, but I also sometimes find them at second-hand stores, on the side of the road or even UsedVictoria occasionally.  I mostly recover chairs and stools but I also sell accessories, as well— like lamps and coffee tables.  I often find items in different places and match them together. For instance, I find a lamp one place and a perfect lampshade in a different spot or chairs at different places and recover them to make sets. I love saving items from the dumpster and giving them new life.

How did you learn how to spruce up your fabulous finds?

I am self-taught in re-upholstering but I have a BA in Fashion design and I also sewed at an upholstery shop for a short time.

What is your best or favorite find and why?

It’s hard to single out one thing as my favorite find. I have several but my favourites are what I keep.  I think they would have to be my turquoise studded diner chairs.  They’re just so darn beautiful!

And finally, if anyone was looking to purchase one of your fabulous revival retro items, where could they find you?

I sell my retro items on UsedVictoria under the seller retrostyle and at the retail store EasyLivin in Mid-century Style in Victoria.  I also occasionally sell at the Victoria Flea market.  You can always email me to check what dates I will be doing the market as I only do it a few times a year.

Thanks Amanda! We look forward to seeing what your next great retro find is!!

Green wedding: something old, something borrowed, something used

On August 18, our very own “green bride” Lisa Higgs married Rolf Campbell in their beautiful Kanata backyard.

This gorgeous wedding gave a whole new meaning to the “something old…something borrowed” tradition – thanks in large part to Lisa’s efforts to make their special day as environmentally-friendly as possible.

And we have the photos to prove it. Check it out!

The happy couple. Congrats, guys! And thanks for letting us be part of your special day

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The dinner table

 
We first heard about Lisa when she reached out to folks in the Free category of UsedOttawa.com, asking for donations of dinner plates. Lisa and Rolf combined a bunch of mismatched dishes together for a lovely vintage-eclectic look!

They also tried a whole new spin on centrepieces. They made a pile of old books, stacked mason jars (with  candles) on top, added an oil lamp, and surrounded it all with fun origami shapes made out of 100% recyclable paper —yes, that is a bunny! And why buy or rent boring cloth napkins when you can make your own out of old bedsheets with fun prints? Add some paper fortune cookies (also made from 100% recyclable paper) as wedding favours and have one memorable table setting.

Information for guests

 

Flowers

There were no fresh flowers at this wedding! Unless by fresh, you mean fresh pages taken from used encyclopedias. And while you might think paper flowers would look strange as wedding decor, the end result was quite beautiful. For the bridesmaids’ bouquets, Lisa added a bit of blue paper (also recyclable). Hey, is this the “something blue”? Meanwhile, the groom and groomsmen looked rather dapper wearing their unique boutonnieres.

And just for fun…

To the stars, young lovers!

 

You never know what you can find online! Lisa scored this free moon – yes, moon! – originally made and used for a school play. This photo backdrop was huge at a whopping 10-by-10 feet.

Thanks to Lisa and Rolf for allowing us to be part of their special day. All the best in your new life together!

Meanwhile, stay tuned for a DIY article over the next couple of weeks, when I’ll show you how to create your own wedding flowers and wedding favours.

Ottawa Couple Shares Green Wedding Plans Online and Gets Rewarded with Generous and Environmentally Friendly Donations from UsedOttawa.com Users

Ottawa, ON – August 2, 2012

With the cost of Canadian weddings averaging over $22,000 (source: weddingBells.ca 2012 survey ) and having just bought a house in 2011, Ottawa’s Lisa Higgs and Rolf Campbell knew they had to find a less expensive way to celebrate their big day with friends and family.

But while budget was their top consideration, Lisa and Rolf also wanted their wedding to be environmentally sensible―such as avoiding all the single-use items that weddings tend to generate.

With only a vague idea of wedding décor preferences, food and overall theme, Higgs went online to find items that wouldn’t break the bank or create waste.

For almost a year, Higgs―a long-time UsedOttawa.com user―perused the “Free” section of UsedOttawa.com for things to use for her wedding. She also recently posted an ad with the headline WANTED: Free dishes, glassware and cutlery wanted for budget/green wedding.

Higgs’ ad and ongoing visits to UsedOttawa.com has allowed her to go from just a few items to a full wedding, which she is calling her “Home Sweet Wedding”.

To date, the couple has collected many free items offered through UsedOttawa.com, including dinner and dessert plates, wine and drinking glasses, coffee mugs, cutlery, and even patio stones for the BBQ and bar area.

“In fact, the only thing we spent money on was a bookshelf for displaying glasses behind the bar, and that only cost us $5,” says Higgs. “My fiancé and I are very grateful for the outpouring of support from complete strangers who have contributed items to make our wedding unique and very special,” says Higgs.

In addition, Higgs is adding creative touches to other free items collected through UsedOttawa.com and transforming them into one-of-a-kind wedding features:

Photo backdrop: a 10×10-foot moon, originally made and used for a school play
Table centre pieces: mason jars (for candles), which will be stacked on top of encyclopedias
Reception décor: used chairs and couches, lamps, televisions, coffee tables, kitchen tables (for holding appetizers, gifts, the guestbook etc.) and white Christmas lights
Napkins: to be cut out from old bed sheets
Flowers: pages from discarded books, to create paper flower petals with floral wire stems

“This is a fantastic example of how the community gets behind a great cause,” says Erin Richards, Used Everywhere.com Marketing Director. “Our company is based on the values of recycling and reusing, particularly as local, community-driven initiatives through our network of online classifieds sites. We love how Lisa and Rolf share these values and are collecting used items for their wedding day, which they will then donate to other brides- and grooms-to-be.”

Lisa and Rolf still have their ad up on UsedOttawa.com as they try to put the finishing touches on the reception. The staff at UsedEverywhere.com is helping them find the last few items needed including, warming/chafing dishes, a big tub to keep drinks cool, building material for the dance floor (sheets of plywood), cake or cupcake stands and a few more dishes.

As for next steps, Lisa and Rolf hope to find a used car once they’re married. “I’ve already been keeping my eye on UsedOttawa for one,” Lisa says.

For others planning weddings, there are many second hand wedding items on UsedOttawa including used wedding dresses. This gives people the opportunity to save some money and reduce, reuse and recycle as part of their wedding.

About UsedOttawa.com
UsedOttawa.com is completely Canadian owned and operated. With over 20 million pageviews per month, UsedOttawa has become the most efficient platform for Ottawa residents to connect with private sellers to buy and sell used goods. 90% of UsedOttawa.com’s inventory is privately listed, meaning for sale by a resident, not a corporation. UsedOttawa is part of the UsedEverywhere.com network of Canadian online classified sites. To find local city sites check out: http://www.usedeverywhere.com/sites/.

Media Contacts:
Erin Richards/UsedEverywhere.com
250.381.3633 ext. 3291
Media@UsedEverywhere.com

Scott Ledingham/PRMediaNow
613.806.7135
Scott@PRMediaNow.com

Note to Editors: For additional information visit UsedEverywhere.com , email media@usedeverywhere.com  or, call 1 (888) 480-3250.

DIY Projects for the Non-Doers

In two weeks, I’m going to be hanging out with the UsedVictoria crew at the Vancouver Island Mini Maker Faire, so I thought I’d get myself psyched up by attempting to tackle some do-it-yourself projects. Unfortunately, I don’t believe I possess single DIY bone in my body…if I do it’s maybe hiding in my small pinky toe! I’ve always been super jealous of those Martha Stewart types (you know who you are!) who can take some random or ugly item and turn it into something beautiful and contemporary.

For example, when Ashley of Creating Love & Joy looks at an old lamp like this from the 70s, she sees it’s potential. When I look at the lamp, I just see an ugly lamp from 1973 that no one should ever own…even in 1973!

 

I’m also jealous because by recycling old goods and making them new again, these talented DIYers save themselves a lot of money, something you all know is one of my favorite things to do.

My Mom has always had this ability (guess the DIY gene fairy missed me!) and through the years, she’s taught me a couple of DIY tricks that I actually believe I can accomplish (thank God for my pinky toe).  This particular DIY project is my favorite. It can actually be done by ANYONE and always turns out looking great. That, and it won’t lighten your wallet. Promise!

How many times have you walked into a thrift store or garage sale and seen dozens of ugly brass picture frames stacked on top of eachother for a couple bucks each?  The frames are the right size and shape except for that ugly brass color.  Well, turns out you can actually repaint the brass and totally reinvent the frames. My mom has been doing this for years and now that I’m older and have a home of my own, I decided I would also attempt this handy trick.

All you need is an old brass picture frame found anywhere (you can almost always find some on your local Used Site), a small paint brush like the ones your kids use to paint with and some acrylic paint (you can find small bottles of it in a variety of colors at the dollar store as well as the brushes). Then you simply take the glass out of your frame if it has some (I recommend giving it a good scrub with some vinegar,) place the frame on some newspaper and paint.

Within five minutes, you have a gorgeous new frame that looks brand new! Well, okay not actually five minutes. Turns out it does take quite a while to dry which is why I don’t have a picture of the finished product hung on a wall. You’ll probably have to apply a couple of coats on to really hide the brass. You can also do this to old wooden frames, but be aware that sometimes the paint can’t completely cover the frames if they’ve been stained (unless you sand and/or prime them, and that’s more work!)  In this case, it’s probably best to spray paint them instead.

My husband actually came up with this next DIY idea which nearly caused me to pass out from shock! He’s not exactly the first person I think of when I think of DIYers… His solution is usually to buy something new or hire someone to fix it, a quality I actually do admire when something goes wrong with the house. I’m always thankful I didn’t marry a Tim “The Toolman” Taylor! I was telling him that I needed to go out and buy a watering can for my potted flowers on our back porch as it would be so much easier than having to drag the hose all the way across the lawn to water them every time. ( I know, how lazy am I??)  He replied, “Why don’t you just use one of the kitty litter containers?”  Huh?  was my obvious reply.  But after explaining his idea I realized that it was actually totally brilliant and so simple.

my original plan…
 

All you need is a large container with a handle like this kitty litter container or even something smaller like a milk container.  Then you just take a large nail and hammer holes into the top of the lid… Okay actually scratch that.  I tried this but either the plastic lid was too thick or I was too weak because after fifty wacks with a hammer I only managed to get one hole!  So I changed my course of action and just used a small drill to drill the holes into the lid… Well, actually I had my hubbie do it for me as I have a fear of power tools… Don’t judge me, do you know how many people hurt themselves with power tools each year?

So after making this small adjustment to my plan…Voila!  All done…I told you it was super easy.  Fill with water and take it out to your plant to give them a shower with.  A great way to recycle and reuse while saving money on buying a new watering can.

All this DIY stuff is getting me super pumped for the VI Mini MakersFaire and maybe I’ll feel like less of a fraud when I’m actually there! Lol.  My next goal is to attempt to repaint a solid wooden oak table I bought on UsedVic and turn it into a contemporary kitchen table that will match my new leather chairs.  So stay tuned to hear how that DIY project goes…I’m guessing it’s going to be a bit more complicated than the watering can!  If you have any super easy DIY projects, I’d love to hear them…I’ve gotta keep that bone in my pinky toe alive before it disappears completely!

 

Could you get away from it all in an RV?

Spring is quickly disappearing into summer, and I am again caught off guard by the approaching end of the school year.

All around me, I hear conversations of summer plans.  People are booking time off, renting cottages, flying to visit family or planning restful days by the pool or patio.  I’ll be honest, we’ve spent much of our vacation time over the years either moving, preparing for a move, or just relaxing around home.  We stay busy enough that there is great relief in time to relax, time to stop rushing and time to just enjoy the life and home we have built around us.

But then, as time goes on, we realize that time off spent in the home we occupy every day can get lost in real life very easily, especially now that we have children.  Before kids, we might have had lazy mornings to stay in bed catching up on sleep.  We might have had coffee while reading the newspaper on the deck, and drifted through afternoons of sun, rest and the occasional umbrella drink.  If you have kids, you know how far our reality is from that little daydream, yes?

So what to do? Last year we rented a chalet in Canmore, and spent our holidays exploring Banff, Canmore, and surrounding areas.  It was lovely, and I’ll admit we were tempted by discreet information showing chalets for sale on the property but as we come to realize how many places we would like to visit, we start to wonder – could we ever choose just one?  And in fact, as we drove and explored, we came to realize someday it might be easier to keep travelling rather than staying in one central location.

And then the discussion rises once again.  Would we ever consider an RV or camper?  Could we be that family?  I know plenty of families who own campers and who head out every summer to enjoy their holidays in a favourite campground, or to tour around areas they want to explore.  They all enjoy it, come back with great stories, and there are campers aplenty available new, or used if you want the best deal.

Hmm…could I, would I?  Best way is just to go looking myself, so here are a few currently for sale on Used.

It would be easy to start with something like this:

And then perhaps move up to something more like this one:

Okay, I probably would start with that second one, if we’re being honest.  I have bear issues. Yes, I know people sleep in tents, in the woods and live to tell about it.  I, however, want a metal wall and door between me and any part of nature that comes with teeth and claws.  I adore bears…just not, you know, hugging me through canvas.

And then, what about the truly glorious hotel room on wheels, the epitome of “glamping” aka glamourous camping:

I’ll admit I can see the appeal.  I hate packing for air travel, and love the idea of travelling without relying on hotels.  With two young kids, a holiday with plenty of outdoor play and fresh air sounds just about perfect.

But I’ll admit, though we discuss it, and I do browse the used sections, I still am not quite there in my head.  I look at ads, floor plans and photos and try to figure out where to put my kids.  Then I think of the families I know with three children and think, where is everybody going to sleep?  One actual bed means my three year old sleeping out on a makeshift bed in the middle – what’s to keep her from wandering around, getting into things, opening a door?  And honestly, I have two kids under the age of eight – where do I put them when they are making me crazy?  How do I separate them if they need a little space?

Admittedly, these are the wanderings of a mind that hasn’t camped in twenty-five years.  Oh, I camped as a kid, but by age twelve we had purchased a cabin and now all the memories I can dredge up have two bedrooms, locking doors, and a bathroom.  There was always a little room to breathe, a little privacy.  There was a fridge, and a deck for eating and lounging.

And yet, adventures beckon.  The roads beckon.  And the freedom to just while away the hours and days in an RV will always make it into our conversations…

I obviously need guidance from those in the know.  Who camps?  Do you camp in an RV?  A fifth wheel?  Or do you prefer cottages, cabins, chalets and the like?  Strictly an airplane and five star hotel enthusiast?

Tell me how you’ll be travelling this summer, and why?

And if it’s in close quarters, how do you manage your kids?

Seven Tips for Getting Sold Fast: Make Your Used Item Stand Out in the Crowd

It’s spring, and I have clutter.

You know what that means: time to sort, organize, and list! UsedPEI, I have the motherlode coming your way.

The great thing about sell & swap sites and services – whatever your local and preferred flavour may be – is that they enable you to minimize the clutter in your living space while also making money. One person’s trash is another’s treasure, so the saying goes.

But the truth is, if you’re really trying to sell trash – or if you treat your potential treasures like trash in your listings – you may be selling yourself short.

Listing items on a used site is easy. It really is. However, you can drastically improve your chances of selling by taking just a few minutes to actually show your treasures off properly.

Below, friends, my hard-won wisdom from months trolling the boards. Here’s how to maximize what you sell in the minimum of time: seven tips for making the selling used process as efficient and successful as it possibly can be.

1. Sell quality
Decide what you actually want money for, and what you simply want to get out of your house.

The fact that something may no longer be of use to you doesn’t make it garbage: UsedPEI and the UsedEverywhere family of sites pride ourselves on helping keep things out of the landfill. But, that said, the profit margin on many things is rather tiny, and the lower the value of the item, the more intense the haggling. If you simply want to get rid of something quickly, but aren’t sure whether it actually has monetary value, consider listing it under our Free headings: stuff tends to disappear faster there.

Or if something’s in decent shape and you’re able to afford to simply give it away, consider donating small items to places where they’ll be appreciated.

2. Know your market
Once you’ve sorted out what you want to sell, take a few minutes to consider what it might be worth, and to whom.

Is this a niche item? The older something is, or the more unusual, the more likely you are to have a real treasure on your hands, in the eyes of somebody. If that’s the case, make sure you target your ad with relevant key words.

If you’re selling Aunt Edna’s ancient lamp, take two minutes to do a google search for what era the lamp belonged to. Then title your ad appropriately. Many buyers search the site by keyword, not by simply scrolling through everything available.

3. Know your value 
While you’re checking out what era Aunt Edna’s lamp came from, take an extra minute to see what they currently cost and whether or not there are any already on the site. Consider the shape yours is in, and price accordingly.

Pick a price: don’t take the easy way out of “best offer” or $12345. If you want to sell, looking like you know the value of what you’re offering is a surprisingly big part of making people want to pay it.

That said, be reasonable rather than aspirational if you want to sell fast. If you hold out for absolute top dollar, you may be holding out for a long time. And if you’re firm on your price and not at all open to dickering back and forth, say so in the ad.

4. Be descriptive
While nobody’s going to win a Pulitzer for their used ad, being moderately interesting does help to engage potential buyers. Use clear descriptive terms to market your item, and market it: make it evident what it’s for and why someone would want it.

“It’s spring: need a good, gently-used, rust-free kids’ bike? Orange 20 inch, $50″ targets readers’ attention both to your item and to why your item might be useful to them in a way that “Bike for sale” does not. It often doesn’t take a whole lot of description to distinguish yourself from the competition: a mere modicum of effort can make all the difference.

5. Take DECENT photos
Again, you don’t need to be a professional to stand out from the crowd in this department. But it’s probably the one that makes the biggest difference to overall sales.

The Internet is a visual medium. People scan sites by keyword, but they click on what they can see. Include photos. Even if what you’re selling is as ugly as the day is long, let the world see the ugliness with its own eyes. Don’t surprise buyers at your door.

Top tips: Include a few photos from a few angles. Take the thirty seconds necessary to wipe the dust off the piano, for instance, and remove the thirty-three family pictures cluttering all the attractive woodworking details on the damn thing. Better, especially if you have outdoor items to sell, pick a sunny late afternoon and photograph them all. I squandered all of last week’s sunshine and am now stuck trying to get decent pictures of children’s play items in the pouring rain. Boo.

This is my pizza oven. It’s a great, flat toaster oven, about three years old. Unfortunately, since we moved, we no longer have space on top of our fridge for it. We also stopped eating a lot of pizza, hence…time to sell.

I dusted it. Nobody wants to buy a dirty-looking kitchen appliance.

I put it in a place in my kitchen where it would be well lit. I wiped the surface it was sitting on. And I opened the door for one of the shots: it’s important to show potential buyers what a piece can do.

I also removed most of the extraneous kitchen junk from the frame. I am not selling my kitchen: I am selling the pizza oven. You will notice that all sales-oriented photography is minimalist: it focuses attention on the item.

This all took approximately 45 seconds. Hey, I’m asking $30 for the thing. $30 for 45 seconds extra work? Good deal, IMO.

Last photo tip: PLEASE, people. PLEASE. Rotate your photos before uploading them. Don’t make me hurt my neck craning to see if yours is the piano – or the pizza oven – for me.

6. Spellcheck
I saw an ad for a clock the other day. Unfortunately, it wasn’t spelled that way. Some buyer is going to be VERY disappointed.

7. Be honest
Chances are what you’re selling will be useful and desirable to somebody. But don’t oversell, and never NEVER make overt claims that aren’t true. Mutton dressed as lamb doesn’t smell so good when the buyer is holding it in his or her hands, and – especially in small communities – your reputation as an honest seller will go far further in the long run than the extra $10 you might think you’ll get right now by pretending Aunt Edna’s lamp actually works. If you’re selling something for parts, say so.

In the end, selling used can be a great way to both keep your living space under control and make some extra cash. But like any thing that pays, the rewards tend to equal the effort expended. If you put the absolute minimum into your listings, you’ll likely get the absolute minimum out. If you have decent things to sell, take ten whole minutes and list them right: you may see up to hundreds of dollars in speedy return. That’s profit worth working for, I think.