I want to brave enough to

shop on Craigslist. I see all these treasures that people buy and upcycle for their homes that are better and cheaper than buying new. But going to someone's house who knows where and picking up said item scares the shit out of me for some reason. Plus, pictures sometimes lie. And then what? "Oh, actually, on second thought, that's uglier than I thought it was going to be. My bad."

Are you a Craiglister? If so, what was your first experience like? If the item wasn't exactly what you imagined, do you haggle? Can you walk away? I'm not even a garage sale goer, so Craigslist seems like shopping a garage sale, but just online.

My new goal, especially with the new bambino, is to start thrifting: cutting coupons, planning menus and freezing food, buying used where it works and where I'm comfortable with used. Our home still needs lots of things: buffet, entry table, art, just to name a few. It would be nice if I could get these items on the cheap.