Showing posts with label Secondhand goods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Secondhand goods. Show all posts

5/28/14

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Decluttering: The Joys of Fluid Ownership

Posted by Inspired at 2:25 PM 2 comments :

Do you cling to possessions? I have in the past, but I’m getting better at letting them go.

Moving house is a great way of shedding the fixation with stuff that so many of us suffer from. This is because you end up forgetting half the things you actually own and it’s a nice surprise when you start opening the boxes at the new place – it’s like opening presents.

My recent move from my shabby old deco flat was so rushed that I ended up giving things away, donating them or just putting them on the hard rubbish pile. There just wasn’t time for a garage sale.

When I got to my new place – a first floor sixties flat in a bayside suburb – I still had too much stuff. Luckily I now have time to downsize at my own pace. I will sell some of these things, and if they don’t sell, I’ll give them away as gifts or donate them.

But my attitude to stuff has changed. I am much more willing to get rid of things I have no room for. I want objects to be functional and if they don’t play their part I will part with them. My huge vintage radio, which has never done a day’s work in its entire time with me, has recently gone to a new owner who may even be able to get it working again.

My thirties standard lamp didn’t survive the move intact, and the other day I put it on the hard rubbish pile outside the flats with hardly a twinge of regret – it’s gone already! I’ll eventually buy a lamp that can be adjusted so that the light is close enough to read by – something I couldn't do with the standard lamp.

This relaxed attitude to things is what the freecycling movement is all about. It’s about embracing an alternative way of looking at goods – ownership isn’t permanent any more. You use something until you simply have no use for it, and then you pass it on to someone else. It’s not so much collective ownership as fluid ownership.

I freecycled my old cream couch before the move and I offered some things for freecycling that didn’t get taken – time was partly the problem. Embracing freecycling completely would probably mean rarely having to make any major purchases – you give stuff away you don’t need, and get stuff for free when you need it (people on my freecycle list post ‘WANTED’ ads as well as offers). But I cannot, at this point, be a complete freecycler. I want to sell some of my old stuff rather than give it away – it took me so long to collect! If it doesn’t sell easily then I’ll gracefully let go of it by other means.

Different ways of freecycling

Sometimes there are things that are just too sentimental to give up completely, even if you have no room for them. One option is to lend them to trusted family members on a long term basis (a written agreement might be helpful here). It’s still fluid ownership, but you know that in a few years’ time you can reclaim your stuff if your circumstances change.

Fluid ownership is a great principle when it comes to clothes. Swap meets are wonderful for getting rid of clothes that are still wearable but that you are simply sick of. We all need novelty and if you are fashion conscious, endless rotation of your existing clothes won’t be enough. At a swap meet everyone comes home with something new, yet no new resources have been used to produce your ‘new’ items.

When it comes to clothes, roommates often practise fluid ownership as second nature. Thrift stores are also a way of practising fluid ownership – we sometimes donate things just because we’re sick of them, and hopefully find things that other people have donated for the same reason.

In whatever form you practise fluid ownership, my belief is that it produces good karma when it comes to stuff. When you give stuff away freely or at a reasonable price, you are more likely to get bargains or freebies back again when you need them.

Do you practise fluid ownership and if so how?

Until next time!



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8/26/13

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Uniquely Melbourne: Alternative St Kilda

Posted by Inspired at 2:58 PM 2 comments :

Ah, St Kilda - surely the place in Melbourne with the richest combination of social ingredients. Glorious, diverse, artistic and a little bit seedy, Melbourne's young bohemians started flocking to St Kilda and its bay beach after the Eastern Europeans who settled there after the war gave the suburb its alternative cache.

Traditional Jewish food culture flourished in the delis and Hungarian restaurants of Acland Street, musicians played at the Espy, penniless artists rented out crumbling old-style apartments for a song, the windows of the cake shops became a drawcard for tourists and the Kooglhoupf made its appearance on Melbourne's Sunday lunch tables.

St Kilda's popularity has changed the suburb, which is much more upmarket these days. But when I went in search of its soul recently I didn't have to go far. There's plenty of life left in St Kilda, as these small cafes and retailers attest. Come with me on a journey to the soul of St Kilda. (As you can see, my photography skills are still 'evolving'.)

Before we hit the shops, let's stop at a hidden oasis south of Acland Street, the Blessington Gardens. I once lived opposite them, and they weren't as superbly maintained then as they are today. There are several discrete sections - a rose garden, an area of native Australian plants, a rotunda for weddings, and a lake with white ducks. Here's a pleasing vista.


Now we're ready to hit the road. Our journey starts at a charming group of cute little cafes bunched together in Blessington Street. Kotch Lane is arguably the sweetest of these.


The cafe has some lovely personal touches.




Next door is the famous Lentil as Anything with its 'pay as you feel' philosophy. There are no prices on the menu - instead you decide how much the meal is worth. There are now three Lentil as Anything restaurants in Melbourne, and St Kilda was the first. The 'pay as you feel' model has since been adopted internationally.


Below is a shot of the restaurant's interior.


It's now time to cross Barkly Street, lured by this charming clothes store, dot & herbey, on the corner of Barkly and Blessington.


dot & herbey is an independent Australian label, with all clothes manufactured in Australia.


Crossing to the corner of Acland and Barkly streets, in need of refreshment, we find Leroy Espresso Bar, which takes its coffee very seriously. Manager Sam obliged with a pic:


Striking exposed brick walls make the interior of this cafe distinctive, giving it a warehouse feel.


Here's the cute tiled exterior.


Wandering in a north-westerly direction up Acland Street, we hit the group of cake shops that first made the street famous. One of these is Monarch Cakes, which has apparently been recommended by Tourism Australia as one of the top 25 places to visit in Australia. This cute window display caught my eye.


This store interior definitely retains the feel of 'old St Kilda'.


Crossing the street, we come to the St Kilda RSL on the corner of Albert Street, where we find the Southside Handmade and Vintage Market. This is held on the last Saturday of each month (except September and December) on the first floor of the RSL, a charming art deco building. It's the perfect setting for the market, which is full of lovingly crafted clothes, soft furnishings, jewellery, knick-knacks and vintage fashion. There's even a cafe at the back.



Wendy Scully's wonderful hats, Chapeaux by Wendy, caught my eye - the hats are all handcrafted original designs, and there are plenty of summery designs as well as the winter ones shown here.


We then head off to the Galleon, a long-established cafe around the corner from Acland Street, in Carlisle Street. I used to come here in the late eighties - my favourite dish was the spanikopita, which was about four bucks! The Galleon is still a retro oasis, much-loved by the locals; the ones there on Saturday looked as if they had settled in for a good few hours.


The bold use of colour gives a funky feel to the place.


Soon after this point in our travels we meet Rebecca Kennedy, a creative fashion stylist known as the 'style guru' who lives in the area. (I'd never met Rebecca but thought she looked amazing and had to stop and ask for her photo. As I had unintentionally added an arty setting on my camera, the pic doesn't do justice to her great use of colour but it shows her amazing style, which I'd describe as 'street glamour'.)


It's time to leave Acland Street and head off down Barkly to the corner where Inkerman Road becomes Grey Street. This is a groovy corner indeed and the hilly topography combines with the terraced shop fronts to create a village-meets-inner-urban-cool atmosphere. Scout House is a charming homewares store in Grey Street that has  a carefully curated collection combining the old and new.


Here's part of the store interior:


Next door is Mollisons, a contemporary homewares store with a shabby chic feel. I fell in love with this charming group of knitted light shades in the window.


So ends our visit today, but I've really only scratched the surface of the soul of St Kilda. There's still a lot to discover in this town.

BTW, if you're in Melbourne, the StripFest festival, in Acland Street and surrounds, runs until 30 August.

Until next time!

If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Uniquely Melbourne: Alternative Carlton.

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7/6/13

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Chipped Thrift Store Treasures: Celebrating the Beauty of Imperfection

Posted by Inspired at 8:38 PM No comments :
Do you ever buy chipped things? I used to have a horror of anything that wasn’t perfect and whole, but now I embrace the odd chip, scratch or dent as long as it doesn’t detract from the look of a piece.

Herewith, a showcase of some chipped things I love.

I bought this large ceramic vase for ten dollars at my local thrift store / op shop. It’s very heavy – it’s  been fired in a kiln, and has a lovely glaze. I’m not sure of the level of skill of the person who produced it – there is no identifying signature at the bottom – but the glazing and colour are very soothing. I discovered there were chips on the inside of the rim when I got it home, but they’re not that visible so I’m not too worried about them.


I bought this decorative vase from an op shop for about ten dollars, but didn’t realise the sculpted flower on the top right was chipped; it's difficult to notice. Still I love the detail so much I don’t really care.


This cement (I assume) pot was bought at a garage sale for a couple of bucks – I really should keep some sort of record of prices I pay for things – and the sculpture that makes up the rim is chipped. It’s really supposed to have a plant sitting in it but instead it sits happily enough in the corner of my bathroom to the right of the vanity basin, slowly accumulating black mould (which I recently scrubbed off it so it’s not looking too bad). It has a kind of decadent Roman, neoclassical feel to it.


I bought this picture from the Brotherhood op shop in Bentleigh. It was very shabby chic when I bought it (shabby being the operative word) but is now even shabbier after a piece of the frame on the lower left-hand side fell out a few months ago. I suppose I could mend it with suitable glue – I tell myself the missing piece simply adds to the olde worlde appearance.


This little birdie sits on my front porch. Because its tail was already chipped it cost about four bucks at a local garden centre. It sits precariously on narrow little toes and I chipped its little beak once, when I tipped it over accidentally. I feared it would be useless but somehow it still retains its birdiness.


It’s easier to accept imperfections in something that has always been imperfect. When a possession we’re invested in gets chipped or dented, it’s as if the ego itself sustains the injury.

Then gradually the change becomes incorporated, and we stop seeing it and feeling it. It's like a tiny scar, reminding us of all the injuries, bruises and deeper wounds we ourselves have sustained. It also reminds us that imperfection is the essence of beauty, life and growth.

Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry you might also like: In with the Old and Out with the New - Shopping and the Search for Perfection. 
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5/14/12

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Three Frugal Tips So Obvious You Probably Haven't Thought of Them

Posted by Inspired at 12:25 PM No comments :


Getting serious about saving money can seem like an onerous task. But it starts with simply changing your attitudes to money and the way you approach spending it. Here are three new frugal tips that are so obvious you may not have thought of them yet!

1. Assume you don’t need anything

Apart from the basic necessities (food, housing, energy, transport) we often say we ‘need’ new items. What we really mean is that we believe our lives would be easier, happier and better overall if we had those items.

When we go shopping for a particular non-basic item we start from a default position that’s so drummed into us we don’t realise it – that we must buy whatever it is we’re looking for. We feel deprived and somehow inadequate without the item.

One way to decrease your spending is to assume that you already have everything you need apart from basic necessities. Then, when a fresh need comes to your attention – a new smartphone; a pair of Mahno Blahnik shoes – you start from the assumption that you don’t need it and work backwards.

Assuming you don’t really need it, ask yourself if there’s anything you already have that could substitute for it. Alternatively, could you borrow it instead? Find it secondhand? Swap something to get it? Or, when you give yourself time to think about it, do you really have enough of that kind of item already?

Of course, at any one time there’s a fair chance that you don’t have everything you need. I often recommend people write a list of things that they intend to buy to put some boundaries around their spending.

The beauty of starting from a default ‘no needs’ position is that you exhaust every other possibility before buying the item. Then if you decide you do really need it, you can buy it without guilt. The real, genuine needs will emerge from the dross of your many wants like shining diamonds, and you’ll find the right items easily at the right time.

2. First things first

I used to be in a 12-step program, and if there’s one thing that is plentiful in these programs it’s wise sayings. Some might argue there are too many, but they can sometimes be quite profound. One of the sayings that has stuck with me over the years is ‘first things first’.

There are two useful ways you can apply this to your spending. The first one is simply allocating enough money for the basic necessities of life (food, housing, energy, transport) before buying non-necessities. Of course, there are many ways you can reduce your spending on these necessities so that you can save more money or buy something you really need.

The other meaning of the saying is even more straightforward, and involves how you spend your time. Shop for the necessities first, and then do any leisure shopping you want to do. If you’re prone to overspending, getting your priorities right in this regard could help you reduce the amount of leisure shopping you do, and therefore your spending. Instead of tacking your food shopping onto the end of a spending binge, take the time to think about what food you’ll buy, where you’ll buy it,  and how you can buy the healthiest food to look after yourself. Changing your priorities in this way is a signal that you’re looking after yourself, and this could also have benefits for your spending. 

You could also look more carefully at other basics like the transport you use to get around, and how you use electricity and gas. Putting time and energy into thinking about those things that you might otherwise spend, say, shopping online could not only reduce your carbon footprint but give you a more mindful experience of life.

3. Look at your family’s money history

You’re not stuck with the spending habits that were instilled in you – it is possible to change your attitudes, and looking at how you came to develop them is a great way to start.

A useful exercise is to sit down and write a history of your family’s attitudes to money. Ask yourself:

How did my parents and grandparents spend money?

What were the attitudes to money that lay behind their spending habits?

What are my attitudes to spending?

How have the attitudes and habits of my family helped form my own attitudes?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll be able to look at your spending habits much more objectively and start to get some distance from them. And you’ll begin to understand that you don't have to be stuck with them!

After taking a serious look at my parents’ attitude to money, and those of my maternal grandparents, I now have a completely different approach to saving and spending from the rest of my family. 

Have you found that you gained more control over your spending after changing some of your basic attitudes? What were your original attitudes and how did you go about changing them?

Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Are Any of These Negative Beliefs about Money Holding You Back? and Be a Creative Stinge – 12 Great Tips for Cutting Your Spending and Saving Money.


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4/29/12

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Treasure Hunting: Five Brand New Op Shop (Thrift Store) Tips

Posted by Inspired at 9:37 PM No comments :

1.  Visit stores that are far away from where you live. It’s easy to get used to the prices and kinds of stock in your local op shop, and to assume that it’s all the same wherever you go. Explore further afield and get a new perspective on prices and the stock available. Not only that, but a new store is a novelty that gives you a fresh eye to hunt out the bargains with. I found the navy cardigan pictured above at a Salvos store in Bentleigh, a suburb I hardly ever visit. It was half-price so cost only a few bucks. I just love the ruffled sleeves. The pendant in the picture was also an op shop find, from Salvos in Camberwell.

2. Don’t make assumptions about how the geographic area affects stock quality and prices. Stores in disadvantaged areas don't necessarily have poor stock, and those in well-heeled parts of town aren't always overpriced. There’s a tiny op shop opposite Fitzroy’s high rise housing estate that obtains some of its donations from the pupils of an exclusive boys grammar school in the south-eastern suburbs. A couple of months ago I visited a Vinnies store in Kew, a prosperous inner eastern suburb of Melbourne, and found it was cheaper than the Vinnies in Malvern. This cute shirtdress was waiting for me -- it was only $8 and brand new. An independent op shop I visited in Kew on the same day also had great prices.



3. Visit op shops when business is quiet. Any day when there’s less competition for the stock is a good day to go op or thrift shopping! Long weekends are a great time to visit; most of my suburb seems to go AWOL if there's a public holiday either end of the weekend. Cold rainy days are also great for secondhand treasure hunting.



4. Leave something behind. On most of my best op shop visits I'll find at least one treasure that wasn’t meant for me. On a recent visit I bought what appeared to be two brand new cushions (Ikea?) for $5 each (pictured above). On the back wall of the same shop I found a gorgeous kitsch print for only $19, but I left it behind because it just didn’t feel right to buy it. That print was meant for someone else, and whoever they are, it's probably looking fantastic in their loungeroom as I write!

5. Wait for prices to go down. As op store mavens know, ‘chainstore’ op shops like Salvos and Vinnies have a ticketing system that involves reducing the price of items that haven't sold after a certain time period. Independent op shops will often overprice their stock for much longer, but eventually they'll reduce the prices on items that aren't selling.



I waited about two months before I nabbed this gorgeous picture at my local op shop. It has a lovely carved frame in gold-coloured metal and is in great condition, but at $70 it was beyond my budget; about $45 would have been my limit. Luckily it was hanging quite high up on the wall so it was easy for shoppers to miss. One morning I dropped into the store and noticed that the price had been halved to $35. I snapped it up immediately! My patience had been rewarded.

Happy hunting!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Inspired Thrifting: What Makes a Good Find at the Op Shop or Thrift Store? and Great Tips for Successful Op and Thrift Shopping. 



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2/15/12

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Decorating on a Budget? Nine Reasons to Discover the Delights of Kitsch Prints

Posted by Inspired at 11:33 AM 2 comments :

If you want to decorate on a small budget, you can’t go past kitsch. Kitsch prints in particular are an incredibly cheap (not to mention cheerful!) way to decorate.

As a style kitsch is unfairly derided. Wikipedia describes a typical kitsch object as ‘an inferior, tasteless copy’ of an existing style of art, one that is ‘cheap and mass-produced’, ‘aesthetically deficient’ and overly sentimental. Yet in the last ten years I’ve developed a huge love of kitsch, particularly when it comes in the form of originality-challenged pictures. These ‘bad taste’ items are now the first thing I look for when I go on one of my op shop (thrift store) crawls.

Below are nine reasons to use kitsch pictures to add colour and fun to your rooms. Most of the pics are kitsch prints I’ve amassed (‘collected’ just doesn't seem the right word!). 

 1.  Kitsch pictures work on two levels – irony and visual display. Kitsch demonstrates a sense of humour, but the colours and designs should also complement your decor. I only buy pictures whose colours and designs attract me, no matter how daggy the pictures may be.


2.  Hardly anyone else is buying them so they’re dirt cheap. Kitsch pictures are too old to be modern and too recent to be retro but they will graduate to retro in a few years’ time. Buying them now will put you ahead of the pack! Of course, one person’s kitsch is another person’s retro. Some of my pictures, such as the one above, could be described as retro, kitsch or both. You can also stumble across cheap kitsch paintings that are originals, but they’re harder to find.




3. Kitch is fun! Kitsch pictures give a lighthearted, playful tone to your decorating.




4.  Kitsch prints are everywhere, so they’re easy to find. Op shops are full of them. They’re on eBay, can be found at garage/yard sales and auction houses, and are probably hiding out in the garages and sheds of your friends and rellies.


5.   Kitsch prints go well with many different decorating styles and eras. They’re often fairly bland, and can be safely paired with all kinds of decor for an eclectic look, as shown below.






6.  Because they’re so cheap, you can buy a lot of pictures and play around with them. Group many together for maximum impact. The image below, from Kitsch Cafe, shows how effective a grouping of  floral and landscape pictures can be. 



7.  Kitsch prints are easy to let go of. If you get sick of your kitsch prints, your taste changes or your decorating budget expands to embrace, say, emerging artists, the low cost of kitsch prints means you won’t be mired in regret about wasted money. And you should be able to offload your prints easily to the op shop or your council hard rubbish collection, or by selling them on eBay or at a garage sale.




8.  Kitsch is environmentally friendly. Decorating your walls with kitsch prints is a great way to recycle and reuse. For every kitsch print on your wall, one less new print needs to be generated!




9.  Kitsch prints are easy to upcycle. If you’re crafty it’s easy to upcycle the wooden frames of kitsch prints, eg by painting, stripping or shabby chic-ing them.

Do you have a fondness for kitsch? Got some tips for finding and making the most of kitsch prints? Please feel free to comment!

Until next time!
If you enjoyed this blog entry, you might also like Inspired Thrifting: What Makes a Good Find at the Op Shop or Thrift Store?

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