How to Search Craigslist

Learn my favorite tips and tricks to search Craigslist with efficiency and score the deals you’ve been craving! Find great deals on furniture, accessories, and so much more.

Craigslist shopping can be overwhelming and confusing… but when you know these easy methods, it makes it so much fun!

This post was originally published April 15, 2016 and updated with fresh content and details July 13, 2021.

While I don’t frequently find the opportunity to visit thrift stores, I do love a great find and I think adding something old to your home also adds a lot of character.

Especially when it comes to kids bedrooms, used furniture can be an excellent way to reduce, reuse and recycle! Children can be hard on furniture and there are so many excellent options out there.

Sometimes they require a quick makeover, but that’s part of the fun!

I often search Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace over thrift stores these days because I can target exactly what I want. Today I’m sharing a quick and easy furniture makeover project with you, and my best tips for finding the right pieces for your home online.

How to Search Craigslist

Are you looking for furniture, art, and rugs for your home? These are my tips to help you search Craigslist with success:

1. Start your search with something specific, you can always make it more broad later. 
2. Use gallery to quickly scan the search results. You will quickly discover if you need to adjust your search or find exactly what you’re seeking. 
3. Didn’t find what you’re looking for? Save your search.
4. Enable alerts to receive an email when something new that fits your search becomes available.  I love using this feature when seeking specific furniture {i.e.: bow front dresser or Jenny Lind twin bed} 

A Craigslist Search Find

I stumbled across this vanity (which included a stool) at a thrift store for just $30. At the time, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, but with three little girls, I knew I would eventually find the perfect spot for this little set.

Eventually, I decided to repurpose it as a desk and side table for Ani’s bedroom. Here are the details of how I made over this Craigslist furniture find…

To tailor a piece of wood furniture to the appropriate height:

1. Measure the height you want (in our case, it was 3′. I referred to children’s desks at my favorite online stores to determine height.)
2. Using blue painter’s tape, tape the legs where you measured to prevent splintering/chips. (You should be cutting through the tape later)
3. Re-measure and mark your height drawing a level line, on the tape.
4. Using a circular saw, slowly cut along the line. Remove tape.

To give a piece of furniture a long lasting finish:

1. Use liquid sander deglosser, saving an abundance of time and energy to help new paint adhere to old varnish or paint without sanding.
2. Prime.
3. Paint. {I used my favorite white paint color for furniture.}

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re shopping for your kids bedrooms right now, don’t miss my posts about this Pink and Gold Tween Bedroom, the Girls Bunk Room at the lake, and my Five Favorite Ideas for Decorating Kids Bedrooms.

Ani loves her new desk and it was not only simple, but about $600 less than similar versions.

I hope these tips to search Craigslist help you find the perfect piece you’ve been searching for. I usually have 15-20 saved searches going at any time. What are you looking for?

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