How to Get Free Furniture, Hardware, and other Crapola

Free Furniture, Hardware, and other Crapola

Dumpster Diving. Find out when the last exams are over in the summer and all the students begin to move out. Visit the dumpsters daily that week to find heaps of discarded furniture, hardware, and other junk. 

Don't forget to check out the dumpsters in nearby apartments at the same time as well. (If you're interested in more info about dumpster diving, check out John Hoffman's classic The Art and Science of Dumpster Diving (as well as his sequel, Dumpster Diving.

Freecycling. The Freecycling Network is a series of groups around the world consisting of folks who exchange shit that they no longer need for themselves. Members post requests or offers via online messaging boards (e.g., 'Free Couch – Come Get it!') and whoever's first to reply and express interest can come pick up the unwanted item for free. Many students are now setting up their own college-specific freecycle networks (or their differently-named equivalents, as 'freecycle' is apparently now considered a trademark or some such douchebaggery). To find out if there's a freecycle group at your local college, check out www.freecycle.org. If there's not, print out a few flyers (see the free printing/copying sections below), setup a message board (like a free, albeit ad-laden, Yahoo Group), and start one the fuck up (though give it a different name to avoid any legal trouble).