5 Ways to Use Craig's List to Conserve

1. Get rid of your old stuff instead of throwing it away. Sometimes it is just too much effort to drive your old things to the thrift shop or good will. The dumpster looms temptingly and conveniently right outside your door. If you put things in the free section of craigslist though people will often come and pick them up right from your home.
   
2. Get used things for free or cheap instead of buying new. My boyfriend and I outfitted almost our whole apartment from the free section of craigslist. With a few key purchases like a couch cover and some nice art your apartment wont even look shabby. We have a lot of art from our travels but I think investing in a couple pieces of art from local art fares can make your place look really classy. Also when you think of a new gadget that you don't think you can live
   
3. Find someone to carpool with. This requires little explanation. On a related note google maps now has a feature "get there using public transportation". So cool.
   
4. Find someone to share cooking with. This is an idea I've been toying with for a long time. I have a long commute on the train to work so I often don't get home until 8:00. Its always tempting just to cook convenience foods like frozen pizza over and over again. But if you could find a reasonable person near by to share cooking duties with you could cut down your weakly cooking duties drastically. And its usually not hard to make dinner for four or six rather than two.
   
5. Find house/pet sitting gigs. As a law student I have a summer internship that is about an hour and a half away from where I live. I can't afford to rent an apartment nearby for the summer so I mostly have to commute. However, I am trying to find a house/pet sitting job for part of the summer nearby so that I will not have to commute. I am offering to work for free or very cheaply as long as I get to stay in a house that is nearer to my work. I could see this strategy being helpful in several situations.