Wednesday 5 October 2011

Buy Nothing New Month

Having read Stitchybritt's latest posting, it didn't take much for me to hide all cash deep in the depths of a large handbag & sign up for the Australian Buy Nothing New Month.

I usually try, wherever possible to avoid buying new & try to upcycle instead. The challenge of not being allowed to buy anything new is a good one. There are exemptions for food, drink, medication & hygiene products. The website suggests that you can beg, borrow, barter, swap or buy secondhand whatever you need instead.

I announced to Mr TH that I had pledged to buy nothing new until November. He was sceptical, something was bound to go wrong he said pessimistically.

Within 24 hours our loo seat had broken.

My parents are due to stay this weekend, we were going to need a loo seat.

Thankfully Mr TH is very organised & practical. He, like me, prefers to mend things where possible. Tucked away in the shed we had some hinges from another seat that he could use. He also took the opportunity to give the seat a face lift.

Over the weekend our tiny garden was turned into a workshop.

Spot the workbench...Do you remember this photo from a recent posting?

After much sanding & varnishing & restorative cups of tea (& only 36 hours minus the loo seat), we were back in business (so to speak).


Having admired the loo seat no end (& even photographed it for you too), I reasoned that it had been a productive start to Buy Nothing New Month because we'd saved money & the environment by mending rather than throwing away & buying new. Mr TH looked askance, his face plastered with a 'what's going to go wrong next?' look & I could see him imagining all manner of future calamities...

I will let you know how we get on...

4 comments:

Marigold Jam said...

Brilliant idea and so glad you didn't fall at the first hurdle. I look forward to seeing how you go though of course it will all be for nothing if you go on a mad shopping spree at the end of the month!!

Annie Cholewa said...

Well done Mr TH ! I've pondered trying this myself ... but I'm not sure if knitting yarn really counts as medication ;D Good luck with it :D

litlove said...

Bravo to you and Mr TH! I'm almost tempted to tell my husband about this challenge, for he is a very thrifty, fix-it sort of person. I do like it when he fixes things, though, and admire him (and you!) very much for doing so. I'm just afraid he'll tell me that cheap secondhand books still count as new... Love the look of that jelly too, what a gorgeous colour!

Calico Kate said...

Oh after my own heart. I always prefer to buy second hand if at all possible. Recently I made my father laugh at me by telling him I didn't want a new bathroom sink if it wasn't second hand. We've just bought a 1908 bathroom suite for our 'new' house but the sink is too big for the allocated space. A solution has still to be found I favour knocking a wall down!
Good luck & keep it up!
CKx

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