A Thrifty Storage Solution

Looking for a new storage solution for our dishwashing brushes and scourers and things, I hit upon what I think is an equally nifty and thrifty and nice-looking solution - a terracotta flower pot sitting on top of a random vintage saucer from my collection that has no matching cup!

A really useful site!

I discovered this site just the other day: I Op Therefore I Am - a collaborative blog about the joys of op-shopping in Melbourne!

Full of useful info about opening hours and locations... I'm definitely going to be referring to this one often! It will make it so much easier to make the most out of an op-shopping trip if I know there are several places to check out in a particular area!

Not (Much) Cheating (I Hope)

Our iron died an unfortunate and violent death the other day. It took a plunge from the ironing board to the hard floor just as my husband was in the middle of ironing his shirt for work that day. Normally shirts get ironed on a Sunday night when we are over at my parents' house... this particular Sunday my parents came over here for dinner so shirts did not get ironed... a star-crossed turn of events and a real shame because that iron was very functional until it ended up slightly splattered on the floor.

Luckily my husband had a couple of casual shirts that were ironed, and no urgent meetings to attend which would require him to be properly dressed and suited up for a couple of days!

So, I thought about trying to locate a second hand one, but in the end I made a trip to the city to acquire a new iron. I feel a bit guilty, but I wasn't sure where to look for a second hand one, nor was there a great deal of leisure to look for it. I can't deny that buying a new iron was just more convenient than not. (In hindsight perhaps I should have gone to Savers first? Didn't think of that at the time though.) Hopefully though this one will last at least as long, if not longer, than the now-defunct one (which must have been about ten years old, I reckon).

Or maybe I should have gone looking for one of these?

 I was slightly comforted to know that Tif from Dottie Angel has had similar issues recently!

Confronted

I was reading through some of the recent posts on Zen Habits the other day and I came across these two:

The Clean-Slate Guide to Simplicity and How to Simplify When You Love Your Stuff

I love the idea of simplicity. I love the idea of having less stuff. Perversely, I do also have a lot of stuff, including stuff that I don't use, wear, read, like, or even remember that I have.

That's too much stuff, in that case, then, isn't it? But how to get rid of it? How to manage it?

I felt particularly confronted when I read this, in the 'How to Simplify' post:

7. You will know you are buying mindlessly if you:

• Buy on a whim.
• Buy to impress others.
• Buy because you feel you deserve it.
• Buy when you can’t afford it.
• Buy just to update something that still works or looks fine.
• Buy because someone else has it and you want it too.
• Buy because the advertisement seduced you.
• Buy because you are bored.
• It’s purchased because buying soothes you.

I don't really think that I buy to impress others, or because someone else has it and I want it too, or because I am seduced by advertisements. But... because buying soothes me? On a whim? I'm bored? And even... because I feel I deserve it?

Ow. Those ones bit deep on a number of levels. I had to stop reading and come back to the article later. I felt ashamed. And a bit overwhelmed. The excess stuff that I know is lurking around has been haunting me for the last week or so. It is hard enough not buying things. Why is it also so hard to get rid of them?

On the one hand I want to hang onto some things for Pippin's sake. Like knick-knacky things... our glass paperweight collection for example. I don't think I would miss them if they weren't on our shelf, but I reckon he will have heaps of fun looking at and playing with those things when he's a bit older. (I remember how fascinated with my mum's sewing box and button collection and fabric stash I was.) Some old clothes will be good to hold onto for dress-ups. Should I start a 'Pippin stash' with things like these? What do you think?

Books and notes and things from my university days though, that I haven't looked at but have been hanging onto just in case... they could definitely go. So I am making a commitment to de-stuff my life a bit. Today I took the time to go through the boxes of crafty things that I have under my desk: sorted them into 'Christmas' and 'non-Christmas', tidied them, got rid of some stuff. I also did the 'clean-slate-email' thing and emptied out my gmail inbox. I don't have a backup drive so am a bit scared to try the complete computer reformatting thing!

Next will be the box of folders I have from my old public service job; I can pretty much guarantee I NEVER intend to look at them again.

After that, my old notes and books from uni.

And after that, the bathroom cabinets.

And after that, stuff on top of my desk (this is a scary one!).

And after that, my iPhoto library... yes it's only taking up space on my computer but it's driving me bananas how many useless photos I have on there.

And after that... well, that might do for the time being. I reckon I could get many of these tasks done in the course of the next couple of weeks. I'll let you know how I go! Do you have any helpful tips or advice for managing your STUFF??*

*and also possibly your husband's?? I'm feeling a ruthless cull of excess socks coming on.

Second Hand Stuff WIN!

Look what I picked up at one of our local Red Cross stores the other day...

 ...a lovely green hoodie, a pretty flowered scarfy thing (it will probably end up being a tablecloth) and a dark-yellow flowered shirt. I can't tell you what a miracle finding this shirt was; not only did it fit, but it is almost EXACTLY the shirt that (for some unknown reason) popped into my head as The Shirt I Really Wanted To Have But Could Not Find. I have no idea why I suddenly developed a private obsession with having a yellow-flowered shirt. It paid off though.

And this week I also bought two second-hand activity tables for Pippin to play with... for a grand total of $27. Score. Here he is playing with the musical one:

Cuteness!

The Challenge Begins

Well. Notwithstanding my sister's evocative description of my commitment to The Challenge of the Utmost Kind as 'el lame-o' (thanks sis! I love you too!) I remain resolved to undertake it.

Here are my parameters:

Official start date: 19 July 2010 (that's today folks)
Official finish date: 18 July 2011

The Commitment: all purchases made by me, for myself and (as far as is practicable) the house and family will be either second hand, or handmade, or possibly even both.

Some exceptions:

- Gifts. Obviously I am not going to require that someone who is so delightful as to wish to give me a gift adhere to the Challenge parameters. I will note that antique, vintage estate jewellery, preferably with diamonds, is acceptable from all perspectives. Also if my husband decided to present me with a shiny new dishwasher I would not complain. Subtle hint.

- Shoes. I'm not 100% confident that, should I need a new pair of shoes, it will be possible to get them second hand. Handmade offers possibilities though. But I'm just not sure. That said, I am just not that into shoes so it is not like I am making a tremendous sacrifice by promising not to buy them.

- Underwear. Obviously. This also applies to socks and tights. No point in replacing my holey socks with someone else's. I will try hard to find handmade ones though and if I can justify their cost I will invest in some should I need to.

- Things for Pippin and other family members. I will do my best to source things in accordance with The Challenge but it might not always be possible. Life is unpredictable.

- Work-related items. In the interests of full disclosure I should reveal that I am about to sign up for the Tea Geek Certification course (yes! I know you all thought I was ALREADY a tea geek but within 12 months I shall have a certificate to prove it!) which will involve being sent some specialist (sort of) tea wares that will be new and unlikely to be handmade. However I PROMISE not to buy any other new, non handmade tea wares. Cross my heart. Why, purely in the Spirit of The Challenge I've already been wasting hours of my time drooling over antique tea cups on eBay!


It's going to be an interesting year I think... I'm already facing a few challenges like... I have a bunch of cardigans (including some that I inherited from my sister before she went overseas). Most of them have buttons missing or holes (thanks, jumping, sharp-clawed cat). My sewing skills extend to replacing buttons but do NOT stretch to darning machine knit fabrics, nor am I sure that hand-sewing a split seam on one of them will be of much benefit (I don't have a sewing machine either). So I am tossing up what to do. It's not quite as easy for me to 'make do and mend' as it would be for someone with more skills.

 Letterpress poster by Print for Love of Wood

My commitment is already bringing up some questions for me about consumption generally. I AM doing The Challenge partly as a way to be more conscious about my consumption. I do love buying nice things (especially unique handmade fun things); I am also very short of personal spending money... Apart from the minimal income I get from my Etsy shop, we are now a single income household. I haven't been financially dependent on anyone for a long time and it's making me a bit uncomfortable I must admit. So I am more confronted than usual by the dichotomy of need versus want. Also slightly ashamed of how easily I am usually able to convince myself that a 'want' is actually a 'need'. I'll probably be posting more about this in the future.

At any rate, let The Challenge of the Utmost Kind begin! I promise to be quite honest about any slips and difficulties and also will do my best to post regular updates about thrifty finds and homemade goodness (I have a plot for some new cushion covers in the works, as soon as I can find some fabric dye).

A Challenge of the Utmost Kind

I have decided to sign myself up to the Dottie Angel 'Challenge of the Utmost Kind.' You can read about how it all started here. I know, I know; it's almost at the end of the challenge year that Tif set for herself. What can I say? I'm a late bloomer.

But still! Here we go. I am challenging myself to only purchase handmade and second hand goods for my closet and home... I am still working out the nitty-gritty details though, and will post up some more specifics for myself by the end of the week.

I'm excited! And also rapt to have discovered that this 'challenge of the utmost kind' is not, in fact, about hair-shirting it in a painfully sanctimonious eco- and socially-conscious* manner (unless you want to) but about having fun and being creative... how awesome is that. Stay tuned!

*Note: nothing wrong - far from it - with being eco- and socially-conscious. It's the sanctimony that's the problem.