Inexpensive organizing with furniture from Craigslist.

Storage solutions can get expensive, but you might be surprised what you can find on Craigslist! People practically give away furniture that would look really cool and be very functional for your home or school classroom.

I'm not currently teaching school, but two years ago I needed something to tame my craft and art supplies.  I went hunting on craigslist.org to see what was available.  They have some really neat stuff!  For those unfamiliar with Craigslist, it is an online classified place to post for free.  People post about jobs, housing, personals, and things for sale.  My favorite thing is finding furniture and items that would cost too much for a seller to ship somewhere else.  When people are moving they are motivated to sell items for low prices.

Here is what I found on Craigslist to organize all my arts and craft stuff!  I got this dresser for $100.

It came with the neat porcelain knobs and I loved that it was small and the drawers were not too deep.  I recommend looking for something with a lot of shallow drawers.  Deep drawers would work if you have bulky items, but I feel that most items get lost in the depths of drawers. : )

 I also like the fact that it was only about 15" deep.  It works perfectly in my space.

I have my adhesives drawer (for glues, staples, brads, paperclips, magnet backing, Velcro, etc.) and my cutting drawer (fancy scissors, punches, paper cutter, etc.).

I also have my construction/craft paper drawer which fit the glue guns on the side.  Then the painting/stamp supplies fit into a big drawer.

The smaller drawers on the top house my stickers in one drawer, while another one holds rulers and stencils, and the last one holds writing paper.
Then there is even a junk drawer at the bottom!  It is for the unfinished projects, the 'quick, let's hurry up and clean before Dad gets home' spot, and a catch-all place that gets cleaned out monthly (or whenever the drawer won't close).

When you are perusing Craigslist, I recommend you think about the space you have available and what purpose you will be using it for.  Know the maximum dimensions you can have and look accordingly.  On Craigslist searches you should put your maximum spending limit and stick to it.  These are typical words that are great storage furniture items for the classroom.

• Dresser
• Drawers
• Buffet
• Credenza
• Sideboard
• Cabinets
• Side table

One main thing you also want to consider is how you are going to move it around your room/classroom.  If it is for your home, you probably don't need to worry about moving it too much, but if it is for your classroom I would suggest attaching lockable casters to the bottom.  It will make it much more manageable to move when you need to.

Happy searching for your next furniture find to house all of your teaching supplies!