Buy antique or secondhand furniture and home goods
Why This is Green
Buying previously owned furniture and accessories has many potential benefits beyond making your home look pretty. Environmentally, you’re saving the energy and resources needed to manufacture something new.
The health benefits of buying secondhand are murkier. An upholstered piece containing foam or other petrochemicals will offgas less volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but if the foam is crumbling it could release flame retardants into your home. And painted items could contain lead. Then again, a very old upholstered item may be stuffed with flame-retardant-free hair or hay, not foam. You can always have any item restored and reupholstered with green materials. Always check furniture carefully for wear and tear, and use a swab to test for lead paint. Things that are particularly good to buy second hand include wool carpets and hardwood furniture.
An additional benefit--with the exception of rare antiques—is that buying secondhand can save money.
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How To
There are many ways to fill your home with secondhand furniture. In person, you can sift through thrift stores, consignment shops, flea markets, as well as antique stores and auctions. Don’t neglect local garage and tag sales—you just never know what gem you might happen upon.
The Internet is overflowing with secondhand furniture. Check out Ebay and Craigslist. The latter is organized geographically so cross-country shipping can be avoided.
For high end items, surf over to 1stDibs.com. Their stock is aggregated from small antique stores all over the country.
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