My son is at the age where being outside is the only place he wants to be.  His requests for outside start as soon as he wakes up and sadly, he often cries in the evenings when we have to bring him inside.  My husband and I have been looking at play structures, the new fancy term for swing sets and forts combined.  Every time we go to Costco, my son oohhs and aahhs at a humongous play structure that is only $999!  There is no way we are ever spending that much on a swing set and he is still too small for a full-sized play structure.

The dilemma we faced was finding something for him to climb and play on that was fairly safe, age appropriate, and in our budget.  Luckily, we were invited over to our friends’ home for dinner a couple of weeks ago and they had a Little Tikes play structure with a slide.  My son loved it and my friend shared with me that they found it on Craigslist!

I had completely forgotten about Craigslist, one of the best places to find local deals and sell stuff you don’t want without having to have a yard sale.
Well, last Saturday I searched my local Craigslist and found this for my son.  The Little Tikes play structure was listed for $40 firm, which was fine with me, the same item new retails for around $180!  I sent my husband in our truck to go pick it up and the nice people selling it dropped the price to $30 because there was a tiny and I mean tiny crack in the structure.  Other than a minuscule crack and fading from the sun, this is in perfect condition for my little man to play, climb, and slide!

If you are in need of something check out Craigslist.  My personal tips are to search items with images, never send money online, email/call the seller to verify the item is for sale, pay in cash, and don’t go by yourself when you purchase items.  I have sold and bought numerous items on Craigslist and have never had any issues with the buyers or sellers.