Second-hand. Hand-me-down. Left-over. Whatever you call it, it still means used. And who wants that? Well, we here at Re-Nest hold a special place in our hearts for the pre-owned and refurbished, because we know that reuse means less waste of natural resources and money. And while some things are clearly better new, salvaged building materials and furniture can be luxurious in a way that off-the-shelf products rarely are — that is, hand crafted, laboriously detailed, and well made.

So the next time you decide to treat yourself to something new, indulge in treating yourself to something used, instead. Go ahead; you're worth it.

Places to start window shopping:

The ReUse Center — Ann Arbor

The Loading Dock — Baltimore

Boston Building Materials Co-op — Boston

Resource — Boulder

ReBuilding Exchange — Chicago

Build It Green! — New York City

Construction Junction — Pittsburgh

The ReBuilding Center — Portland

Building REsources — San Francisco

Second Use — Seattle

Community Forklift — Washington DC

Don't see your city on the list? Try Habitat for Humanity's ReStore, with locations in hundreds of cities, including San Diego, Cleveland, Madison, Tallahassee, and New Orleans.

(Images: Construction Junction)

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