I Love You, Craig, and Your Wonderful List!

    Since moving to Loveland, I have become a craigslist fanatic!  It's right up there on my list with garage sales and thrift stores and clearance aisles.  I check it almost daily to see if there's anything posted that I can't live without.  I'm sure my husband wishes I wouldn't, but I wish he wouldn't watch the bank account like a hawk, so we're even.  I decided to list all of my craigslist purchases over the last 8 months.  I took a picture of everything except the treadmill.  I didn't feel like walking down one flight of stairs into the basement.  Lazy.  I know.  But who really wants to see a picture of a treadmill anyways.  So, let's begin!  First was the guest bedroom furniture...

 We really wanted log furniture for our guest room, but thought it would be way too expensive.  Then I found this!  A queen bed, two night stands, and a small desk (not pictured).  They were asking $400 and I grabbed it!  I like it so much that it might end up in my room, eventually.  Next was the fish tank....

Ian won a fish at the fair this year.  He actually won a gold fish, but some random guy came up and gave us four more winners tickets, which was enough to upgrade to exactly what he wanted.  A beta!  Instead of spending $30 on a brand new setup.  This lady gave me the tank with an air pump, a brand new bottle of food, chlorine drops, a net, and the decorative rocks for $5!  Woo Hoo!  After that came the TV cabinet....

I was perusing through the garage sale section one Friday night.  One post had pictures, and I spotted this.  It's the exact same style of furniture we have in our living room.  I wanted it for the TV in the living room, but it was a few inches too small.  I bought it anyway, not knowing what I would do with it, but for $20 I couldn't let it go.  My neighbor, Marja, and I went that night after 10pm and squeezed it into the back of Brian's ride.  There was about 1 centimeter to spare on all four sides.  I took that as a sign that it was meant to be!  It now resides in the boys room, because I forgot until I got home that it matches their furniture, too.  Now, the ice cream maker....

Brian and I decided one night, after spending $7 a pop at DQ, that we should make our own ice cream.  The $50 machines weren't so appealing though.  Then I found this beauty!  It's an older model, but it works like a charm.  Truth is, it'll probably run forever since the older stuff is usually made better.  It makes enough ice cream to last us almost two weeks, and I paid $5 for it.  Oh yeah!  Moving on to the next piece of furniture....

I had a bare spot between the kitchen and dining room, and I really wanted a piece of furniture there for extra storage.  I didn't want anything too big to have to walk around, though.  One Sunday morning I spotted this.  It's the perfect size!  The lady had recently bought it from Pier 1 and then decided she wanted the black one.  It retailed for $239.99.  I bought it for $75!  I was so happy!  Last, but certainly not least, we found the newest member of our family on craigslist.  Meet Smidget....

Isn't him so chute!  Wook at his tiny wittle wegs!  I've been wanting a male Munchkin kitten for a while, but they come with a hefty price tag.  I almost decided to just get a free kitten when Brian reminded me to be patient and wait until I could find what I wanted.  The very next day I found Smidget (named so because he's a siamese midget)!  Someone had recently bought him from a breeder, and then almost immediately realized a kitten was too much to handle with two very small kids.  Her loss was our gain!  She slapped a clearance price on him and posted the ad.  Luckily I was the first person to inquire, and a few hours later he was mine.  She even threw in the barely used box of litter, a huge bag of kitten food, and a few cat toys.  We love da Smidge!
     So if you've never used craigslist before, you should really take a look at it.  There are so many more things I would have loved to purchase, but Scrooge has a hard time letting go of his moolah!  Well, he has a harder time than I do.  Probably for the best though.  I love you, Scrooge! 

Rachel
Honorary Member of the Craigslist Fan Club Since March of 2011