Launching a Furniture Recycling Side Hustle

1. LaunchingaFurnitureRecycling SideHustle As the 2020 COVID shut down was in full swing, I, like many others, found I had a lot more time on my handsandIwasfastrunning out ofnewNetflixshowsto binge.Istarted looking at thingstofillthistimeup thatwouldbeboth productiveandrelaxingformeasI wasluckytobeable towork fromhome. After a few weeks of looking into different options and ruling them out for various reasons, I finallysettledonrefinishingfurniture.I decidedonthisbecause Imay or may notbe

2. addictedtobothFacebookmarketplaceandgettingagooddeal.Ihadstumbledupona free dresserthatjust neededalittleTLCas theysayand Icould notpassup this opportunity to try something new.Aftersettling onaday/timeto pickit up,Ibecamea fiend foranyand allinfoIcould geton howto refurbishfurniture.IjoinedaFacebookgroup on it,watched many many YouTube videos,and most importantly Ihad to doalittletrialanderroron the pieceitself. • Todayandin future postsIwillattemptto walkyou through some ofthe beginner’s knowledge Ihavepicked up in thepastyearor soredoingpiecesof furniture.Iwillattempt to breakit down intodigestiblesectionsand beforewarned thatIwillbelinkinganumber ofarticles,videos,andotherresourcestohelpasmuchas possible while yougetstarted. • In an effort to inspire you, below is a side by side of one of my early pieces. I picked up the dresserforfree through Facebookmarketplace.Aftersomemuchneededchangesthe dresser wasreadyfor anewhome • WhatYou’llNeed • We willgo aheadand jump right intosome ofthe firstthingsyou willwantto do when planning to refinish furniture.Iwould highlyrecommend takingalookatsomeofthebasic thingsyou willneed tostart.Whilerefurbishing furnitureisnot superexpensive withsome ofthe savingtricks I use,Ihavespentalotonit overthe pastalmost2 years.It canreally add up with thenumberofitemsyou needtogetforasinglepieceespecially if itisalarger piece that will take more materials! I have included a short list below of the things I have foundabsolutely necessary forthistype ofproject.Ihaveput rough priceestimatesfor doing a medium-sized piece so you can get a good picture of the costs you would be seeing. • Thingsyouwilldefinitely needwillbe: • Sandpaper(sandingspongeswork too)=$12 • Rags from old T-shirts (I have found these are best for cleaning the furniture) = FREEEEEEE • Paintbrushes(investin niceronesthat willnotshed asmuch if you can)=$10 • Foampaintrollers=$12 • Plasticpaintholder=$3 • Foambrushes=$5 • Paintsheet orshowercurtainto keep paint off the ground asmuchaspossible = • $2 • BasicScrew Driversforremoving hardware =$15

3. ShellacPrimer=$20 • Paint (I have found some great colors from the “Oops” section in stores like Lowes)= between$8and $30+ • Stainif you preferto gothat route withyourpiece=$15 • Water-basedPolyurethane=$12 • As you can see, those items add up to about $115. Depending on the brands and sizes you decide to go with that could be even more. This is why I recommend making sure you have enoughmoneyto coverthebasicsat least.Youdo notwanttobemidwaythroughaproject • to find out you can’t finish it!Also, please understand that not everything will be used up during thisfirst projectso you willlikely havesomeleftovermaterials to put toward your • nextproject. • Nowthatwe have that bit outof theway,thereare afew thingsIrecommend getting that arenotnecessary tocomplete the piece,but itreally does makeiteasieron youandwill saveagoodamountoftime. • The first was an electric sander as sanding everything by hand without a little help was quite daunting. I find it was worth the investment to get through sanding faster and with a little less elbow grease. Sanding is my least favorite part of the whole process which also may contributetothisopinion. • Plasticglovesare alsoawesome tohavearoundforpainting andstaining.These simply protectyourhandssothatyoudon’thavetospend15to 30minutesscrubbingoffyour handsafterfinishing workon thepiecefortheday.Stain isespeciallybadand Iwillnever stain anything without wearingthese because itwasso hardtryingto getit off of myhands atthe endoftheday. • Andthat’sit!That’sthebudgetand recommendedshopping listyou needto getstarted. Keep an eyeout formy nextpostaroundselecting andpreparing yourfirst piece.Feelfree to ask anyquestionsbelowor share learningsthathaveworkedforyou! • AbouttheAuthor • Emma currently works in software sales for a company located in Dallas, TX. She has always lovedtappingintohercreative sideand enjoysspending free timethrift shoppinghoping find hernextproject.Outside of herfulltime job and creativehobbies,Emmaalso loves spendingtime outdoorswithherhusband,Roman • AboutCouchCycled

4. CouchCycledoffersfree in-homecouchandfurniture removalinaneffort to reduce furniturewastein Dallas/Fort Worth while givingbackto thecommunity. All removed couchesare renewedand resold at anaffordable price.A percentageofallsalesare donated.