Secondhand Furniture Finds

We all love a certain aesthetic in our home. I am definitely guilty of buying cheap, purchasing matching sets and have that look define my home. But that way of living and expectation for home furnishing is not at all sustainable.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency from an article by Curbed, the amount of furniture and furnishings taken to a landfill rose from 7.6 million tons in 2005 to 9.69 million tons in 2015, and is still increasing to this day. From an article called "Trash in America" by the Frontier Group, American Garbage usually consists of goods used only briefly but of that, nearly 20.4% make up "what homes and businesses throw out is made up of durable goods, like furniture and appliances, many of which could be repaired or repurposed, or have their materials recycled for other uses." Some of these furnishings could easily be given to your closest Goodwill or thrift store. In the United States, Salvation Army or Task Rabbit can even come and pick up your old goods with a scheduled pickup, making donating even easier on you.

Figure above provided by Frontier Group

So what can you do to help reduce furniture waste? For your home, start shopping for secondhand furniture either online or locally. When I was on the hunt for a patio chair, I started scouring Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and Nextdoor in my area. I was lucky to find something that I immediately fell in love with, thanks to FB Marketplace. Thrift stores are also the perfect place to find furnishings. Although thrifting can be hit or miss, it's better to give an item a second or third chance at life to reduce the amount of waste that stems from throwing away home furniture.

Office furniture waste is one of the biggest proprietors of goods waste. The EPA estimates that up to 8.5 million tons, or 17 billion pounds, of office assets end up in US landfills annually, a statistic taken from a Clean Technica article. If you work in your office, you have a say in suggestions. If your office is looking for their next move, try suggesting renting furniture or using sustainable or thrifted brands. From Clean Technica, "Green Standards, a sustainability firm, has been doing research on how we can change the way corporations dispose of their excess office furniture, equipment, and supplies. Green Standards developed a program that offers office waste diversion solutions for companies and corporations looking to responsibly decommission their offices and large corporate campuses. They work with a network of 10,000 nonprofit partners to repurpose the office furniture and give it new life in a new office, keeping it out of landfills and reducing the need for new products to be created." If you're interested in reading more on Green Standards to make helpful suggestions to your office in the US or Canada, check out their latest article on sustainable office decommissioning.

Going back to home furniture, I personally think thrifted and vintage furniture have the perfect and unique aesthetic to add to a home or apartment. Some of my favorite bloggers and influencers have all bought beautiful pieces from thrifted materials. You never know if someone's trash might become your next furniture treasure!

Photo by Chase @jiggiemon Wilson on Unsplash