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This post is LONG overdue! I started writing it almost a year and a half ago, and things have definitely changed since then in terms of our nursery set-up, but as we work to transition our child’s room to a more toddler-friendly space I am using all of the same tips and tricks I share in this post. Stay tuned for an updated toddler room post in the near future!

Art by Annotated Audrey, Photo credit Hannah Meluch Photography.

When I found out we were expecting our child Wren, one of the first things I started researching was how to create an eco-friendly nursery that was affordable and matched the aesthetic I was looking for. I’m all about bright and fun colors, so I wanted to find a way to incorporate them into every aspect of the room.

I wanted to be conscious of only including non-toxic furnishings in the nursery, but most of the brands I found were on the pricey end. I shop secondhand for almost everything else in my home, so I figured why not try and find baby furniture this way too? I gathered a list and taped it to my computer and whenever I had spare time, I would punch in every brand on the list into Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, OfferUp, and LetGo (as of October 2020, OfferUp and LetGo have merged into one site). In the pre-COVID era, I would also stop by local thrift stores like Goodwill, Salvation Army, and kid-specific consignment shops to see what they had. Some days I’d walk out with nothing, other times I’d find great scores!

I want to share some of my favorite secondhand finds to give you an idea of what you may expect to find in your local secondhand marketplace. I always recommend reaching out to a seller if you are interested in an item but can’t afford it to see if they are open to negotiation, especially if it’s been listed for a while. Kindness goes a long way!

Once you have been searching for a bit, you’ll start to learn what market value on items is based on how quickly items sell. It’s tough to search for sold items on most of these platforms unfortunately, but you can use the prices below as a guide for what you can expect to pay. If something is listed lower than these prices it will likely go fast!

Matching crib and dresser (doubles as a changing table) by Babyletto for $80 total (nearly $1,000 retail value)
Organic crib mattress for $40 ($350 retail value)
Halo Bassinest with extra features for $80 ($250 value)
Organic cotton Baby Bjorn Bouncer with the toy bar that was still in the original box for $100 ($260 retail value)
2 Nuna Sena travel cribs, one for our house and one for my parent’s house, for $125 each (retail $350 each)
Uppababy Vista stroller with bassinet attachment for $250 (retail $900)
Keekaroo peanut changer for $40 (retail $130)
Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair for $50 (retail $199)
Stokke Tripp Trapp tray for $13 (retail $49)
Solid wood changing table plus pad for $30 (this style usually retails for around $75, we need two changing stations in our house, one upstairs and one downstairs)
Wooden glider $34 (this style usually retails for around $250+, we kept this in our room so it isn’t pictured)
Bla bla kids crochet mobile for $14 (retail $160)
Wooden heart cut-out shelf for $10
Pink wooden cube shelf for $20

Rainbow organic cotton changing pad. Photo credit Hannah Meluch Photography.

Tips for buying secondhand:

Cribs & Crib Mattresses

Used cribs almost always seem to come with teething marks. Ours had some that were pretty noticeable, so I looked into how to deal with this. One option is to sand down the affected area which will remove the paint from the surrounding area and then repaint (make sure to choose a low VOC paint!). We didn’t want to have to find a matching paint and deal with sanding and painting it, so we opted for a teething guard. Teething guards come in various styles and materials, including ones that have a gummy feel (go for natural rubber over plastic if you choose this route) and ones made of fabric. My mother-in-law is a sewing wizard, so I sent her a photo one I found on Etsy and she made one to match Wren’s room. They are basically just two pieces of fabric sewn together with a little padding, but they don’t necessarily need padding to be effective. Make sure the edges are carefully secured at many points to ensure your baby can’t remove it.

Crib mattresses are also widely available secondhand! Mattresses are typically made with added flame retardants and contain VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which release toxins into the air through off-gassing. While the initial off-gassing is the strongest (right when it’s out of the box), it can still release toxins over it’s lifetime. It’s important to search for non-toxic and organic cotton mattresses when shopping for baby, as they will spend a LOT of time on that mattress for their first few years! Because these can be expensive, secondhand versions are more affordable. Some certifications to look out for are GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), GOLS (Global Organic Latex Standard), Greenguard Gold, Oeko-Tex, and EcoInstitut. I wrote more about each of these certifications here. A few brands that offer safe options for mattresses include Avocado Green Mattress (they make three different options for crib mattresses, as well as a toddler pillow that’s perfect once you transition to a toddler bed), Nook Sleep (they also make colorful mattress covers!), Babyletto, Naturpedic, and Savvy Rest. Avocado Green Mattress also sells a toddler pillow that is the perfect size once you transition baby to a toddler bed. We love ours!

For baby’s early days, you might also be interested in a bassinet or a pack and play (a foldable travel crib). Bassinets have a shorter lifespan as babies grow quickly, but they can be very handy! The most eco-friendly and relatively affordable bassinet I found in my search was the Halo Bassinest, and I liked that the side pulled down for easy access post-c-section. They make an organic mattress insert as well as organic sheets. Other options include the Snoo Smart Sleeper (I definitely recommend looking for this secondhand, or splitting it with a few friends who have due dates spread apart from you! Edit: they now have rental options which may be more affordable than buying secondhand depending on length of use), or the bassinet attachment for the Uppababy stroller.

For pack-and-plays, we went with the Nuna Sena Aire, which we still use to this day on occasion as it has an adjustable-height mattress and the full size is quite spacious (the mini is great for those with less space but it doesn’t have as long of a life span). Some other great options include the Guava Lotus travel crib and Baby Bjorn travel crib.

Play Gym

There aren’t a lot of non-toxic play mats out there for tummy time (which starts basically right after you bring baby home!). Of course, you don’t NEED a play mat for tummy time, but having eye-catching features that draw your infant’s attention help them practice those important early skills like lifting their head and rolling over. This one, made of organic cotton and sustainably harvested wood, is by Lovevery. We searched high and low for a secondhand version of the Lovevery Play Gym, but at the time we were searching it was so new that we weren’t able to find one. We ended up buying one new and it was worth every penny. Nowadays, I see them all over different secondhand sites since they’ve been around for a while! They do seem to add new features to the gym every so often, but you can purchase some of these individually on their website if the secondhand one you buy doesn’t include them. We used this until Wren was about 13 months old, so it had a long lifespan! We started using their Play Kits around 17 months and have really been enjoying them.

Rugs

Another new item we can’t live without to this day in the nursery is the Lorena Canals x Oh Joy rug we were gifted. It is so fluffy, happy and soft, and it’s MACHINE WASHABLE! We have washed it multiple times, and every time it comes out looking brand new. Lorena Canals rugs are ethically made with non-toxic dyes and a focus on using natural materials. “We are not just concerned with designing exceptional quality rugs, as we are also highly concerned for Mother Earth, our home and our future. This is why we help to reduce CO2 emissions by promoting the use of natural resources and traditional means of production, in the same way that we are responsible for waste treatment.”

This particular rug can be found here, and there are several similar styles still available on the Lorena Canals website (and they are all washable!), including Terrazzo Marble, Tricolor Polka Dots, Botanic Plants, Tricolor Stars, & Clouds (also available here).

Seating

Having a comfortable place to nurse or bottle-feed your baby is so important, especially in those early days when it seems the feedings are never-ending. We were lucky enough to have a hand-me-down armchair with matching ottoman that’s been in my husband’s family for decades (we have a photo of my husband’s dad holding him as a newborn in this chair!) that still serves as a comfortable spot for nursing and cuddling before bed, but some people prefer a rocking chair or glider.

We found a wooden glider secondhand and it was in great shape. The cushioned ones can be easily re-upholstered if you don’t like the color, or you could just drape a blanket over it like we did for our armchair! Keep in mind any chairs with upholstery, especially if purchased new, may contain chemical flame retardants or materials that offgas VOCs, so it’s important to check on the certifications (see mattress section for examples of certifications to look for). Typically, solid wood options are non-toxic, but if they are painted make sure the paint used is low-VOC. Two brands that make non-toxic gliders are Monte Design and Dutailier. Both offer different fabric options to match your nursery.

Bouncers are a safe place to put baby when you need a minute to get something done without worrying about them (they are not designed for sleep, though of course they may doze off in there, so make sure to move them somewhere safe if that happens!). There are a few brands that make non-toxic bouncers including Baby Bjorn and Nuna, and they sell accompanying toy bars to go with them which I recommend for keeping baby’s interest longer!

Decor

Since most of the furnishings we found were neutral, we wanted to add color to the walls without dealing with painting. I was so excited to discover a local artist from Arizona, Annotated Audrey, and loved how her designs perfectly captured the desert landscape with an injection of color. She was actually the only person to know our child’s name before birth, as we had her make the custom print to hang before Wren was born. She was so easy to work with and is always coming up with new designs, so I recommend checking her out! Working with local artists, wherever you live, is one way to support your local community and if you’re able to buy something in person, you eliminate the need to ship it.

Another idea for finding unique art is to look on Etsy or eBay for vintage prints! We were gifted the Rainbow Valley print (to the left of the arm chair) at our baby shower and it has so much detail that I know we will love looking at it for years to come. There’s a lot of vintage art out there just waiting to be found!

The Bottom Line

Babies really don’t need much “stuff” when they are first born, and if you choose to room share when they’re newborns (we ended up doing this until just after 1 year, which we hadn’t originally planned!), the nursery will mainly serve as a place to play, practice tummy time, nurse/bottle feed and possibly nap for the first few months. Comfort and safety are key in this space. Shopping for your baby’s nursery can seem overwhelming and expensive, but with time and patience you can score some incredible deals on secondhand items! With the money you save from buying preloved items, you can splurge on high quality, long-lasting pieces.