This fall my water kettle broke. I went to the second hand shop and found one for €9, it a Breville and in perfect condition. The woman who brought it in (that morning) mentioned that she just didnt need two. A few weeks back I also bought a pair of brand new New Balance shoes for €4 in a second hand shop. Second hand shopping has been my main method of making a home since relocating over a year and a half ago, I love it.
When we bought our first house in Seattle, a 1924 craftsman fixer-upper, I really wanted a classic camel-back couch for the living room. But, after all the house repairs, we couldn't afford a new one. My husband mentioned to his co-workers that we were looking for a couch (without sharing the details) and one of them showed him a picture of one she was giving away - it was the exact camel-back couch I wanted, complete with claw feet, and even in the rich maroon color I'd hoped for. Serendipity!
I really enjoyed Geneen Roth's new-then book, "When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair," and had thought about giving a copy to the dear friend who first introduced me to Geneen Roth and her eating tips. I was emptying my recycling bag into the "junk mail" bin at Stanford Recycle Center, when I saw what clearly looked like a perfect, brand new hardback copy right on top of the bin! Made a perfect gift to my eco-appreciating friend!
What I am discouraged about, is I can't shop secondhand clothing stores anymore, as so many people use scented laundry products that I can't even be inside the stores, much less survive the months it takes of re-washing to get rid of that toxic smell. (I hang my clothes to dry, so the whole house will smell as the scent slowly fades over time.) I even have to be careful on the Buy Nothing group to ask if the folks use Febreeze or Glade in the home, as that petroleum-based scent just doesn't come out of some materials.
I do wish we could convince people/legislators/manufacturers to stop using those chemicals, which are not good for anyone's liver!, but only bother those of us who have been over-sensitized somehow already.
Please Anne-Marie get more famous and popularize your recipe for homemade laundry soap!!
Repairing is very frustrating to me, because there are few places where I live and I feel like they don't do a good job (they probably have to lower their prices for people to actually go there, which means they can't give that much dedication to just one piece). But your post made me want to compile those places and inspire people where I live to use those services, maybe try to improve them.
Beautiful article. I am now 81 and have been living a similar lifestyle for about for the last 40+ years and love it. I hope others reading your article, who are not already doing so, try out your ideas.
As winter sports are a big part of our life, and since skiing in particular involves so much equipment, we get great satisfaction giving clothes / skis / boots a new home selling on platforms like Vinted and on a new online store in France called "Everide" https://www.everide.app/fr/
Also FYI https://ecoski.co.uk/ have repair and rental services since actually a lot of people who only spoend a week skiing each year totally do not need to buy new gear - actually the most sustainable thing to do it simply re-use the old ski jackets that you've at the back of the cupboard or in the garage, especially since eighties fashion is back in!!
Of all the great free/secondhand finds I've ever had, my favorite is the four embroidery floss organizer boxes, all full of loaded bobbins, that I got for $.50 each. Several years later I'm still using up that floss.
I find this to be such an interesting topic generationally. It's a fine line between being burdened and cluttered by things that may be needed "someday, just in case" and having things ready-to-hand to use, loan, or give to someone who needs it. I also think that it's interesting seeing the *slow* shift back to viewing purchases as investments, looking at options for the items' end of useful life disposal, and factoring repair capacity into purchase decisions. There will need to be some kind of educational component, too, since a lot of us grew up in the reality that *everything* was disposable, even if you wanted it to be durable, so a lot of repair/diy skills simply weren't passed along.
This article made get excited all over again. I bought a new to me house in NM, that had been recently renovated and the previous owner said he would leave the washer, but not the drier. I knew I had the sun and wind ++ to dry my clothes. However when fall set in, I knew snow flurries would soon be upon us. I just started to think about a drier as I drove. I was used to seeing items on the roads near town, but I was in a really rural ranching area. After about 2 hours listening to NPR, I saw a washer and drier sitting a the edge of a driveway. A woman was heading back to the house. I immediately stopped and asked her if the drier was available. She said both items were free! They had just installed gas so did not need the appliances, she said here husband had just moments ago taken them to the road, and she had been wiping them down. Well, of course I had a pick-up, and I figured I could find someone to take the washer, and yes I did. The drier worked perfectly, and the people who bought my house, eventually ran a daycare out of the house, and report the drier is still going strong.
In that house, the seller also told me he would "just give me money towards the purchase so that I could pick my kitchen appliances. I gladly accepted and made do until I could look and find what I wanted. I rented out one room every winter to my ski instructor buddies who commuted up from Albuquerque every W/E. I told them about my lack of kitchen appliances kitchen. One friend who rented out properties had an older model fridge he was happy to give me, another had a two burner cooking plate to give, and I had an old large toaster oven. I made do with all of those items, including hosting a Thanksgiving dinner, for over 3 years, until I sold it to my tenants when I took a job in another city.
I am glad to hear that no-one can do without the books. I know the newsprint is shipped either from China or made into the books there. In northern Denver, we had the choice of 2 library districts. One was attached to the college, so alot of reference texts were available. However one decided on a huge revamp through it's system. The numbers of customers were declining and the # of books circulating were dwindling. So they decided to decrease total books x 2/3 and make the libraries look like (considerably more welcoming) Barnes' and Nobles. Customers were allowed to take out 21 books at time, and to keep them x 3 months, with NO fines, ever! They also started events where farmers came in and set up eggs to incubate and then show the children how chicks hatched, and of course reading times, and all kinds of workshops, and speakers. Inter-library loans took 1 week. The library's circulation tripled and the number of patrons/customers doubled. Michelle Obama rated it number 3 in the US when she was first lady and doing her tour's and promotions of US libraries. Here, now in BC, I am finding the local library very small and sometimes grumpy staff (yes the pandemic is trying), but interlibrary loan is quite restrictive and takes 6 weeks to get a book. So I am buying books more, but I try to keep them in good condition and donate them to the libraries, as I find the ones I have frequented here, are lacking in new titles. I have never had my books turned away. Patagonia has a "worn out wear" service, they will take back articles from you (can't send them) that they deem okay, advertise them and sell them. They have a buy second hand section to their business, and I am noticing that more outerwear companies are doing that. I am thrilled to read a previous commenter today. I had the Tightwad Gazette books, and used them for years, unfortunately after years of use, someone left the copies in a tool shed, they got mouldy and I had to throw them in recycling. I have never been able to find copies since, they are no longer published. Nice to hear someone else was influenced by Elizabeth Cline, as I first heard NPR interviewing her when up in high altitude S. Colo mountain. I bought her book immediately when I went to town, and have been on the fast fashion bandwagon ever since!
Yesterday I bought dining table chairs from Marketplace that have barely been used, in the exact style I wanted, after using folding chairs the last 2 yrs because I didn’t have the budget to spend on new ones (or want to buy online). I am so much happier knowing the chairs are secondhand!
In my condo trash room, I found $6K worth of shutters. Years ago I read Overdressed the High Cost of Fast Fashion by Elizabeth L. Cline and about three years ago I attended a book talk/workshop on her newest book, the Conscious Closet. My wardrobe has almost no polyester. I also live in Berkeley where people just put free stuff on the curb. I scored the add on for an Osterizer that turns it into a food processor. I could go on and on. My fave book is The Tightwad Gazette, also a FB group. Years ago, I came out of the closet and announced I was a Tightwad. Life became much easier. I am 76, and financially independent.
This fall my water kettle broke. I went to the second hand shop and found one for €9, it a Breville and in perfect condition. The woman who brought it in (that morning) mentioned that she just didnt need two. A few weeks back I also bought a pair of brand new New Balance shoes for €4 in a second hand shop. Second hand shopping has been my main method of making a home since relocating over a year and a half ago, I love it.
When we bought our first house in Seattle, a 1924 craftsman fixer-upper, I really wanted a classic camel-back couch for the living room. But, after all the house repairs, we couldn't afford a new one. My husband mentioned to his co-workers that we were looking for a couch (without sharing the details) and one of them showed him a picture of one she was giving away - it was the exact camel-back couch I wanted, complete with claw feet, and even in the rich maroon color I'd hoped for. Serendipity!
I really enjoyed Geneen Roth's new-then book, "When You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair," and had thought about giving a copy to the dear friend who first introduced me to Geneen Roth and her eating tips. I was emptying my recycling bag into the "junk mail" bin at Stanford Recycle Center, when I saw what clearly looked like a perfect, brand new hardback copy right on top of the bin! Made a perfect gift to my eco-appreciating friend!
What I am discouraged about, is I can't shop secondhand clothing stores anymore, as so many people use scented laundry products that I can't even be inside the stores, much less survive the months it takes of re-washing to get rid of that toxic smell. (I hang my clothes to dry, so the whole house will smell as the scent slowly fades over time.) I even have to be careful on the Buy Nothing group to ask if the folks use Febreeze or Glade in the home, as that petroleum-based scent just doesn't come out of some materials.
I do wish we could convince people/legislators/manufacturers to stop using those chemicals, which are not good for anyone's liver!, but only bother those of us who have been over-sensitized somehow already.
Please Anne-Marie get more famous and popularize your recipe for homemade laundry soap!!
I'll do my bit talking up your work!
Repairing is very frustrating to me, because there are few places where I live and I feel like they don't do a good job (they probably have to lower their prices for people to actually go there, which means they can't give that much dedication to just one piece). But your post made me want to compile those places and inspire people where I live to use those services, maybe try to improve them.
Beautiful article. I am now 81 and have been living a similar lifestyle for about for the last 40+ years and love it. I hope others reading your article, who are not already doing so, try out your ideas.
As winter sports are a big part of our life, and since skiing in particular involves so much equipment, we get great satisfaction giving clothes / skis / boots a new home selling on platforms like Vinted and on a new online store in France called "Everide" https://www.everide.app/fr/
Also FYI https://ecoski.co.uk/ have repair and rental services since actually a lot of people who only spoend a week skiing each year totally do not need to buy new gear - actually the most sustainable thing to do it simply re-use the old ski jackets that you've at the back of the cupboard or in the garage, especially since eighties fashion is back in!!
Of all the great free/secondhand finds I've ever had, my favorite is the four embroidery floss organizer boxes, all full of loaded bobbins, that I got for $.50 each. Several years later I'm still using up that floss.
I find this to be such an interesting topic generationally. It's a fine line between being burdened and cluttered by things that may be needed "someday, just in case" and having things ready-to-hand to use, loan, or give to someone who needs it. I also think that it's interesting seeing the *slow* shift back to viewing purchases as investments, looking at options for the items' end of useful life disposal, and factoring repair capacity into purchase decisions. There will need to be some kind of educational component, too, since a lot of us grew up in the reality that *everything* was disposable, even if you wanted it to be durable, so a lot of repair/diy skills simply weren't passed along.
This article made get excited all over again. I bought a new to me house in NM, that had been recently renovated and the previous owner said he would leave the washer, but not the drier. I knew I had the sun and wind ++ to dry my clothes. However when fall set in, I knew snow flurries would soon be upon us. I just started to think about a drier as I drove. I was used to seeing items on the roads near town, but I was in a really rural ranching area. After about 2 hours listening to NPR, I saw a washer and drier sitting a the edge of a driveway. A woman was heading back to the house. I immediately stopped and asked her if the drier was available. She said both items were free! They had just installed gas so did not need the appliances, she said here husband had just moments ago taken them to the road, and she had been wiping them down. Well, of course I had a pick-up, and I figured I could find someone to take the washer, and yes I did. The drier worked perfectly, and the people who bought my house, eventually ran a daycare out of the house, and report the drier is still going strong.
In that house, the seller also told me he would "just give me money towards the purchase so that I could pick my kitchen appliances. I gladly accepted and made do until I could look and find what I wanted. I rented out one room every winter to my ski instructor buddies who commuted up from Albuquerque every W/E. I told them about my lack of kitchen appliances kitchen. One friend who rented out properties had an older model fridge he was happy to give me, another had a two burner cooking plate to give, and I had an old large toaster oven. I made do with all of those items, including hosting a Thanksgiving dinner, for over 3 years, until I sold it to my tenants when I took a job in another city.
I am glad to hear that no-one can do without the books. I know the newsprint is shipped either from China or made into the books there. In northern Denver, we had the choice of 2 library districts. One was attached to the college, so alot of reference texts were available. However one decided on a huge revamp through it's system. The numbers of customers were declining and the # of books circulating were dwindling. So they decided to decrease total books x 2/3 and make the libraries look like (considerably more welcoming) Barnes' and Nobles. Customers were allowed to take out 21 books at time, and to keep them x 3 months, with NO fines, ever! They also started events where farmers came in and set up eggs to incubate and then show the children how chicks hatched, and of course reading times, and all kinds of workshops, and speakers. Inter-library loans took 1 week. The library's circulation tripled and the number of patrons/customers doubled. Michelle Obama rated it number 3 in the US when she was first lady and doing her tour's and promotions of US libraries. Here, now in BC, I am finding the local library very small and sometimes grumpy staff (yes the pandemic is trying), but interlibrary loan is quite restrictive and takes 6 weeks to get a book. So I am buying books more, but I try to keep them in good condition and donate them to the libraries, as I find the ones I have frequented here, are lacking in new titles. I have never had my books turned away. Patagonia has a "worn out wear" service, they will take back articles from you (can't send them) that they deem okay, advertise them and sell them. They have a buy second hand section to their business, and I am noticing that more outerwear companies are doing that. I am thrilled to read a previous commenter today. I had the Tightwad Gazette books, and used them for years, unfortunately after years of use, someone left the copies in a tool shed, they got mouldy and I had to throw them in recycling. I have never been able to find copies since, they are no longer published. Nice to hear someone else was influenced by Elizabeth Cline, as I first heard NPR interviewing her when up in high altitude S. Colo mountain. I bought her book immediately when I went to town, and have been on the fast fashion bandwagon ever since!
Yesterday I bought dining table chairs from Marketplace that have barely been used, in the exact style I wanted, after using folding chairs the last 2 yrs because I didn’t have the budget to spend on new ones (or want to buy online). I am so much happier knowing the chairs are secondhand!
In my condo trash room, I found $6K worth of shutters. Years ago I read Overdressed the High Cost of Fast Fashion by Elizabeth L. Cline and about three years ago I attended a book talk/workshop on her newest book, the Conscious Closet. My wardrobe has almost no polyester. I also live in Berkeley where people just put free stuff on the curb. I scored the add on for an Osterizer that turns it into a food processor. I could go on and on. My fave book is The Tightwad Gazette, also a FB group. Years ago, I came out of the closet and announced I was a Tightwad. Life became much easier. I am 76, and financially independent.