13 No New Things
Ashlee Piper's goal for me today: Slay Secondhand. But I don't really care about flexing my secondhand shopping muscles. My goal in these 30 days is to buy nothing, used or otherwise, only consumables like food and soap.
When we first moved out of our parents' homes, my partner and I filled ("filled") our house with secondhand furniture. It was a necessity. But as we've lived here for over 12 years, we've slowly replaced those items with new ones. It happened organically as items wore out or broke or when we decided we needed something to fit our specific needs and tastes a little better.
I don't have anything against secondhand. I do, however, think that the affordable prices and environmental benefits received from thrifting may encourage one to either over-buy or over-accumulate. We bought soooo many different types of glasses and dishware simply because they were so cheap to buy that I ended up decluttering later. And now my kids bring home things we definitely don't need or even really want just because it could be gotten for free. The trick is to be mindful. It would help, I think, to use a Need Note like Ashlee Piper suggests to limit acquisitions to what's needed instead of what happens to be available.
- large area rug
- medium area rug
- runner rug
- wooden stool
- small glass-topped table
- 4 wooden chairs
- 2 nightstands
- various planters and pots
- various plants
- various books
- piano
- 2 lamps
- various throw blankets
- wall shelf
- 2 paintings
- couch
- loveseat
- recliner
- storage cabinet
- washing machine*
- clothes dryer*
- clothes rack
- camping stove
- wood laminate flooring
- garage window
- 2 bicycles
- tv stand
- television
- mini motorbike
- various games (board or video)
- various clothes
- 2 bookcases
Wow. Now that I see this list I can see that we've kept WAY more secondhand items than we've replaced. So that's cool. My favorite have definitely been our washer and dryer.
*Somebody was replacing them for newer models and were going to throw them away. We salvaged them before they could end up in a dump. These models are probably from the 1990s and clearly look old, but function just fine. We always have clean and dry clothes to wear! We've been using them, and thus expanded their lifespans, for about 12 years so far. When the agitator in the washer broke, I repaired it myself with a $50 part. When the door latch in the dryer broke, I repaired it myself with a $13 part. Then the knob on the washer broke and now we just continue to use it without the knob, simply turning the post to the desired time setting. So $66 total for a washer and dryer that have been getting hard use (did I mention I have 3 sons?) for 12 years. I'm so thankful for them. And I prefer the older models because there are no complicated computer systems or buttons and I was able to repair them myself!
Money spent today: a takeout wrap (because hunger + tiredness).
- <nothing>....$0
TOTAL....$303
Super success!