It can be very overwhelming to begin shopping for your first apartment or house. As someone who dove straight into an unfurnished apartment my sophomore year, I spent most of my summer searching left and right for the best deals and finds. Now that summer is over and my apartment is fully furnished, here are my favorite places where I found the best goodies at the best prices. Please note that all of the shopping I did for this was in St. Louis and other areas may be different.
Savers:
Savers is a great used clothing and items store that was especially helpful when buying stuff to fill my kitchen. From toasters to silverware, they had everything you could need for a kitchen at an affordable price. I did, however, notice that the Savers that I went to (the Ballwin location) had a very small selection when it came to bigger household items. Overall, I highly recommend visiting your local Savers as an affordable way to furnish your home, especially for kitchen items.
Goodwill:
As much as I love shopping for clothes at Goodwill, I have found that its items are hit or miss. When shopping this summer, the only things I really found at Goodwill for my apartment were dishes and cute decorative items. I still highly recommend looking around at your local Goodwill to find stuff for your apartment, but mostly for decorative purposes.
Facebook Marketplace:
This was by far the best place for finding high-quality larger furniture items at lower prices. On Facebook Marketplace, I was able to find a nice desk for $40 and a large dresser for $75. These were great deals compared to anything I could find at other used furniture stores and were especially great deals compared to new furniture. One thing I highly recommend when using Marketplace is to stay on top of it and check it often. I noticed that the best deals on Marketplace went very quickly, and it was imperative to be one of the first ones to message the seller. Overall, I highly recommend keeping an eye on Marketplace when searching for big items on your list, as it has many options that are way more affordable than buying new.
St. Vincent de Paul:
Before I started my journey of shopping at used item stores for my apartment, I had never heard of this store. When I went inside, though, I immediately found my couch for my apartment for just a little over $100. This may not be the lowest price for a used couch, but it is very comfortable, and in my opinion very cute! The store also had a great selection of other large items and I highly recommend giving it a visit if you need to fully furnish your apartment or house.
Garage sales:
If you’re on a very strict budget, the best plan – though tedious – is to spend your Saturday mornings scavenging garage or estate sales. At garage sales, you can often find the lowest prices as people are most willing to get rid of their stuff. This is also a great way to find really good deals because you never know how nice the stuff is that they are getting rid of. Another fun part about garage sales is the ability to bargain. With bargaining, you are not only able to lower prices, but you also get to feel good about yourself and your haggling abilities. As a kid who grew up on garage sales, I will always stand by the fact that they are full of good finds and bargains, though they are, of course, harder to track down than a store.
Overall, it is important to remember your worth when furnishing your first house or apartment. The more time you give yourself to shop, the less pressure you have to put on yourself and therefore the more time you have to find good deals and good quality items. I hope this list can help you in your journey to filling your apartment or house affordably and sustainably.