Craigslist Part 1: Buying

I am on Craigslist more often than I like to admit. I have a love for old furniture and repurposing items, and as you know Craigslist is the mecca for getting a bargain on a vintage piece of furniture. I thought it would be fun to share what I have learned over the years when buying on Craigslist and how to score the best deals.

1. Check often
Things have been selling so fast on Craigslist, so you have to be willing to put in the time to check often. I like checking first thing in the morning and late at night. A lot of times people post after work and you can usually check out the fresh inventory at this time.

2. Creative keywords
You may know that you are on the hunt for the perfect Campaign dresser, but the owner of your perfect dresser may have no idea of what it is called. Instead of only searching for "campaign dresser", trying searching for "old dresser gold hardware" or "Drexel heritage dresser". You may be surprised by how many other viable options popup and usually at great prices since the owner probably doesn't know what he/she has on their hands.

3. Travel
Sometimes it is worth it to travel to a neighboring town to get the perfect piece. If you live in a big city, the price on a piece of furniture is usually marked up higher than if you were shopping in a smaller town. I have saved hundreds by travelling an hour outside of the city.

4. Generic searches
While time consuming, doing a broad search can sometimes lead to great results. I searched "old bed" one time and after sorting through the hundreds of results, I found an amazing solid wood antique bed with curved headboard. Your treasure can be another man's junk. Put in the time and reap the rewards.

5. Haggle - to an extent
Craigslist is all about getting a deal, so it is important to to negotiate for the best price, but don't be insulting. If an item is listed at $600, chances are they will not sell the piece for $100. When making an offer via email, I like to use this wording: "would you be willing to take $xxx?" or "would you be willing to consider $xxx?". To me, if you just throw out an email reading "I'll give you $xxx" it can come across as rude and the seller may not want to deal with you. You never know, you may be in competition, and being nice goes along way.

6. Pick up quickly
Another way to close the deal on the piece you really want it to let the seller know you can pick up ASAP. Usually the person is moving or needs it gone, so the sooner you can declutter their home, the better.

7. Don't go "look" at an item
This is a personal preference, but I HATE it when someone wants to come take a look at an item for sale. If it is under $200, you should be able to decide to buy from the photo or not. Craigslist is not a store, and you should not go into someone's house to decide awkwardly in front of them if their item for sale is good enough. If you commit to meeting, you should just commit to buying.

8. Look at nearby results
At the bottom of the search results on CL, it will show similar items that are in nearby towns. Make sure to check these out! Usually they are not too far away and are often overlooked by other people.

9. Sort by newest
I love how Craigslist is starting to incorporate more filters and options, and the "newest" sort button is awesome. It will bring the freshest inventory to the top.

Any good Craigslist finds recently? Did I miss anything? I will post Part 2: Selling later on this week! In the meantime, I have to share these amazing dining chairs from CL with you that I so so so want. Someone please tell me I need them in my life.

Down to the Studs... Literally | Myrtle House

We got some photos from our contractor today. Not going to lie, I had a mini heart attack when I saw them. Even though I knew perfectly well this was going to happen, it is still a bit/a lot jarring to actually see it in photos. Where did my house go?! I may or may not be drinking a glass of wine as I type this...

The good news is, there is literally nothing left to surprise us. No more questions of "what is behind the walls?". Now we know. :) I am glad we removed everything because our contractor said there were squirrels' nests, beehives and "more rats' nests than you could count". Lovely.

There was also a TON of termite damage. Stupid termites. They ate through so much of my pretty, original wood. We are going to have to replace a lot of joists, but it will be awesome to not feel like you are walking through a fun house when inside.

Next steps are making new footings (rather putting in footings since there never were any) and then building back (literally) from the ground up! Hopefully this is as scary as it gets. Hopefully. Ok, now back to my glass of wine!

Blackberry Picking | North Carolina

I have been begging/nagging Brian to go strawberry picking for weeks now. Of course, we missed peak picking season for strawberries, but we did manage to squeak in a trip to Page Farms to take advantage of their abundance of ripe blackberries.

It was a lot of fun. My favorite part was talking to the farmer about his 100 year old farmhouse (of course). He said his 90 year old father was the original owner and that when they moved out there, there was nothing else. Now they are less than a mile away from a major shopping center. Oh how the times have changed.

Hope you all had a fun weekend, too!

July Goals

Really excited that July is here! Our contractor starts tomorrow (insert tears of joy) and from now on, we will see nothing but change and progress on our trips back to the house! We were actually able to accomplish quite a bit in June. Here is how we did:

• Finalize financing options* - DONE
• Create an electrical plan - DONE
• Create a to-scale floor plan - DONE
• Donate old clothes and household items - DONE
• One more trip to the dump - DONE
• Measure broken glass - still need to do this...
• Look into home owner's insurance - DONE
• Drop off item at Brian's mom's house - still need to do this...

Brian did a lot of work this month on securing our financing, as well as getting the house insured. It is tricky to get insurance coverage on a house that is uninhabited (especially one that is in such poor condition as ours) but luckily we found a company willing and we can sleep a little bit better at night. :) The last time we visited there had been a bad storm and the neighbor's house across the street has in tree in the front yard that caught on fire from the touching electrical wires. Old house + fire = catastrophe.

I bought software to try and create floorplans, but embarrassingly, I couldn't figure out how to work the darn thing and ended up hand-drawing everything. There were no instructions with the software and any tutorials I could find were in another language. I plan on figuring it out one day, but since we are in a time-crunch here, hand-drawing was my best bet.

I am really nervous that since we can't be at the house often while the work is being done that there are going to be a lot of misunderstandings. Do you guys have any suggestions on how to make sure you and your contractor are on the same page when you live so far away from the project?

Ok, for July, here is what we (or rather our contractor...) are hoping to get done!

• Have foundation work complete and floors leveled
• Beadboard demo-ed
• Floors demo-ed
• Measure broken glass and FIX windows (need to do this!)
• Find old doors for master closet

Here are my favorite Instagrams from June! Happy July, friends!

Exploring Salvage stores in Durham, NC

My new David Austin rose bushes starting to bloom

Celebrating 3 years of marriage with Brian at our old stomping grounds

The cutest little milk glass light fixture

How to Save During a Renovation | Budget

While we are taking a bit of a break from working on the Myrtle House, I wanted to take a second to discuss what we have learned so far during this renovation process. Hopefully I can save you all some headaches if you ever take on a similar project down the road. ;)

When we first started the renovation, I was in the mindset of us doing 100% of the work ourselves minus the major systems (electrical, HVAC, plumbing). However, now that we are halfway through, I have reconsidered. Here are some things to think about (that we did not) to help save you some pennies.

1. What is this project REALLY going to cost for you to DIY?
   Sure, you could save some money by tackling this project yourself, but have you thought about the hidden costs associated with it? Do you have to buy a lot of tools you may never use again to get it done? Do you have to rent a truck to get the supplies to the house? Sometimes it may end up being more cost effective to have a pro with the right equipment do it for you.
2. Consider the distance from you to the project location.
   This was a big money-suck for us. We live three hours away from the Myrtle House. Every time we go down to work, we end up spending about $60 on gas and $30 on food/caffeine. So just the travel cost of going to the house was almost $100. That travel expense adds up over time and could pay for a lot of labor instead of you doing the work.
3. Know where to shop.
   Please, whatever you do, never buy something from a big box store without looking at Craigslist or a salvage/re-store first. You can usually buy things for about 50-90% off retail prices by buying used. What I have usually found (especially with vintage architectural salvage) is that the quality is sooo much better than you find in a Lowes or Home Depot. You can find things like cabinets, doors, tile, furniture, windows - pretty much anything. Trust me, you will save a ton by starting at these places first.
4. Overestimate on everything.
   Things will usually cost twice as much as you think they will and take three times as long to complete. Always cushion your budget by a good 10% for unexpected things behind the walls.
5. Have a good contractor.
   Make sure to find someone who has excellent reviews/recommendations. Also make sure he or she is someone you trust.
6. Try to repurpose everything.
   Old cabinets? Re-face them. Collapsing sheds covered in barnwood? Use it as decking. Damaged pine subfloors? Make a custom dining table! We are doing all of the above in the Myrtle House. That is the beauty of an old home; the materials are so substantial, they can be re-purposed into new and durable things.
7. Take people up on their offer to help.
   This was hard for me as I am a pretty proud and stubborn person. But when someone offers to help you demo, paint, or offer services they are experienced in, take them up on it! Throw in some adult beverages to show your appreciation. It will be neat to look back and think to when your dad/brother/best friend helped work on that project with you.

Mason Jars | Myrtle House

Brian's grandmother was a canner. When it came to preserving food, she was not messing around. In the Myrtle House were boxes and boxes of old cans. While a tad excessive, I couldn't get rid of them. I feel like they belonged in the house.

So now what to do with them? Some will be repuroposed as fun drinking glasses and others as flower vases. I would also love to use some of them (with lids) for holding flour, sugar, and other kitchen essentials. Any other ideas?