One Snarky Chica with Issues has this post, Frugal ways to furnish your home. It is one of the featured entries at the Dec. 4 Festival of Frugality.

I understand the concept. There was a time when my living room held a card table with chairs, a bookcase and a futon that folded into a one-person seat. This drove me so crazy that, after nine months in that apartment, I bought a new couch (unfortunately, that purchase was on credit, but more than 15 years later the piece is still holding up well) and assembled a build-it-yourself rocking chair kit. I also begged my mom for a wicker desk she and I have traded off over the years. Finally, the apartment looked like a home!

In the search for stuff, Snarky Chica praises freebies, used but cheap, and retail but cheap. Here’s how you can do that in Monroe:

Freebies

Yes, Monroe and several nearby towns do have Freecycle lists. The problem I noticed, when subscribing to the e-mails, is that anything useful gets snapped up very quickly. By the time I read a notice on my home e-mail for something I wanted, someone else had already spoken for it. I didn’t want to bog down my work e-mail with freecycle posts, so I got off the loop altogether.

On the other hand, my parents have settled out four estates in recent years. Anything useful went up for grabs within the family first. Stuff we got from these hand-me-downs include: an end table, two table lamps, microwave, coffee pot and a bedroom suite for the daughter. (In the spirit of “pay it forward,” we gave our traded-out furnishings via word of mouth to other families.)

There also is a new section in The Monroe Evening News classified section called Freebies. The list in the Tuesday Dec. 4 paper included a free pallets and a free VHS camcorder.

Used but cheap (or cheaper)

I miss that consignment store at Monroe and First Sts. that closed a few months ago! I sold two furniture pieces through that business and would walk through at least once a week to see what was there. There was always something cool to look at.

One of the newer second-hand stores in the area is Habitat for Humanity ReStore on LaPlaisance Rd. This store is worth a stop if you are in need of a household appliance or building and construction supplies.

Most of the other thrift and consignment shops in the Monroe area have small appliances, dishes or home decor rather than furniture in stock. But, you never know. I was at Goodwill one day shortly after someone donated a very nice dinette and customers were quite excited about when it would be available.

Garage sales hosted by families, churches and subdivision developers have stopped for the winter, but they’ll start again when the weather is better. I’ve seen furniture sold before these sales were advertised to start. Our coffee table was purchased three years ago during a Franklin Homes model home furniture sale on S. Custer Rd.

If you want to purchase home furnishings through auctions, stop by the Monroe Auction Gallery on LaPlaisance Rd. near I-75 and get on their mailing list.

There also are several antique dealers in the area, some of whom participate in the large-scale antique shows at Monroe County Community College and Flat Rock Speedway.

And again, I refer you to The Monroe Evening News classifieds for the Bargain Busters section. These advertised items all cost $125 or less. Today’s Bargain Busters list has items such as a church/school bench, oak chair, antique lantern, crystal lamps and a kerosene heater.
Retail but cheap (or cheaper)

If you are at all handy with a sewing machine, paintbrush or staple gun, you are in luck. Crafter and handyman supplies are easy to get in Monroe, and it’s not far to the bigger selections in Toledo or Ann Arbor. Sign up for the customer fliers at the craft stores and hardware stores so you can get sale notices and sometimes preferred-customer coupons in the mail. (Yes, I’m talking to the Jo-Ann Fabric customers.)

The Target, Meijer, Wal-Mart, Kmart and Big Lots stores in Monroe and Frenchtown Township all have household furnishings and you might get lucky with inexpensive furniture pieces you like. Our first retail-purchased dinette came from a Kmart store in Ohio and we have a mission-style end table from Meijer.

Ikea in Canton features inexpensive contemporary-style furniture. The Ikea look is too modern for our home, but I have walked through the store twice. If that Ikea store had been open when I was a young college graduate, I would have certainly found furniture pieces that were a better alternative to some of the hand-me-downs I rescued from garages and basements.

Many of the better-quality department and home furnishing stores also have really good sales from time to time. We snagged a great deal at JC Penney when it was time to buy drapes for our house. My husband met me at the store ready to make a purchase when I made a cell phone call to say “look what I found!” So if a store has styles you like, but the products are normally out of your price range, park the money you want to spend in a savings account and watch for the sales.