Moving in: Feathering your Nest Locally

Once you’ve unloaded your possessions out of your parents’ station wagon, you’ll probably find one or two gaps that you’ll need to fill. Like furniture, kitchen utensils, tchochkes, etc. Ya know, a place to sleep and stuff to eat.

Davis is in a constant cycle of people (students on a budget) coming and going, so this town has some great resources for buying used home items on the cheap. There are two adjoining rival businesses at 421-425 L Street that have a large variety of furniture available – some cheap, some less so. So does the SPCA Thrift Store at 920 3rd Street. You may also be able to find dishes, and other items available here. Garage sales are another good source of affordable used home items. The Davis Enterprise makes scouring the local weekend garage sale scene easy with their zoned guide. All Things Right & Relevant (or R&R), a local consignment shop that supports non-profits in the area, also has clothes in addition to some homewares.

Freecycle is a great way to find all kinds of gently used items for free. You can scan the site or set alerts for a particular item. Contact the donor, pick it up, and it’s yours.

If you’re looking for your home office, the UC Davis Bargain Barn is a great place to check out. This is where the university recycles its stuff and you can get affordable items that range from office furniture to computers to microscopes, depending on which department has cleaned their closets lately.

A brand spanking new bicycle can set you back mucho dinero, but you can find a great deal on a used number at the biannual UCD bike sale. Every October and May the Transportation and Parking Services division auctions off the scads of bikes that have been abandoned on campus (who are these crazy people?) and sells them at rock-bottom prices to loving new homes.

If you have a little money to spend and want something new, you can hop over the Yolo Causeway to the Ikea in West Sacramento. It’s also right next door to a Walmart.

Back at home, the UC Davis Store Downtown has a wide variety of Ag schwag you can use to decorate your abode. (Just remember to putty in those pin holes in your wall before you move out.)