Confession of an Op Shop Addict

Came downstairs this morning to this funny picture.  Kids dancing to "I see you baby shakin that .... " with bowls as bottoms. Guess what Bowerbird dad was doing?

 HOT!

Now for some sordid truth.

If you read my post yesterday I mentioned I didn't need any more stuff in my life .
It was time to hold back on this buying business,
Well I think I have a problem,
In fact I know I have,
I went to the op shop yesterday,
And couldn't help myself,

I bought old, 

In fact, a lot of old,

I came home with the red, white, and blue bag!

 This is me exercising restraint! $47.24! ouch.

Poor middle one said their is nothing for me.  But then had a great time reading books and playing with magnets with the little one.

I was confessing to mum on Skype last night, she was laughing at me and telling me I'm hopeless, and then had a few confessions of her own.  I know where I get my problem from - she's just been travelling and has come back with an old ink well, cigar case, cigar cutter (she doesn't smoke), batik, and bought a new skirt and pants. She lives in a flat full of Indonesian treasures and is hopeless at resisting old gems and crafting genius. 


I think collecting is hereditary - fulfilling some deep primal urge - however we should be gathering berries and roots - feathers and rocks - not clutter.


As punishment for my sins I am filling that red blue and white bag to the brim with stuff to go back to the op shop. As I have two new jumpers, I have pulled out all my jumpers and found a maternity one at the bottom, been a while since I cleaned that shelf out. 


Still staying true to the Buy Nothing new Pledge, and Blogtober - on the home stretch now.


Don't forget to enter my giveaway as part of Blogtober, especially if you like birds.

Op Shop Yearning - Buy Nothing New Month Day 20

I think it's about a month since I've been to an op-shop, I hear gasping, it is some sort of personal record.  I'm feeling an itch for old stuff, and scrounging, and 70s colour, the thrill of the hunt and gather.  I've been participating in Buy Nothing New Month, and in the name of de-cluttering, I have been avoiding buying anything old as well.  We just seriously don't need any more stuff in our lives, there's not enough room to enjoy the stuff we have.

Mr Bowerbird broke the buy nothing new pledge again this week, first it was $5 worth of chain to fix the fence with, now it's new sunglasses $7, to replace the ones that have broken. Out bloody rageous, hard to find sunnies you like at the op shop though - probably should have spent more and tried to get some that will last. I've made not buying easier on myself, by not going anywhere, after all if you're not buying, you don't need to go to town. I also keep rapidly deleting my Outlook 'shopping' folder, where tempting emails from the Book Depository, Fishpond or Aldi might land.

I'm not really finding I'm missing much. I want some blackboard paint, and its more for work, not pleasure, so I might go there....And I would like to visit those lovely old ladies selling recycled fashion.

Tomorrow I have vegie group at a friends house, and it will be the closest I've been to the shops for weeks (apart from the tiny local supermarket), there will be good op-shops nearby and I do have some goods I need to take to them. I might have a peek, and be VERY restrained.

My bank balance is looking better than normal, there is some money in it, as opposed to the fortnightly boom bust cycle.  I'm not much of a shopper but I must be buying something because that account doesn't tell lies like my mind might.  I think even not going out anywhere has saved us money - no fuel, no coffees, food for kids.... I'm not missing it really - more time to garden, to play, to cook, to organise, to craft, to be.  Giving up buying is a bit like going on a good detox diet, well I imagine that's what a good detox diet feels like, if I ever went on one. It's training my mind to say no to stuff, a bit like giving up smoking, trying to catch my brain's shopping reflex, before I've taken a puff of consumerism. I think it will make me more mindful next month when buying things, I may even try to keep going with it, at least the buy nothing new bit.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway as part of Blogtober, especially if you like birds.

GIVEAWAY and Buy Nothing New Month

I am now 10 days in to Buy Nothing New Month, we had bought nothing new until this weekend, then Mr Bowerbird went and bought some chain to hold our gate closed - $5.  This was an essential repair to prevent our dog from wandering, however, I'm sure we had chain around our house that might have been able to do the job.  Ah well, a small glitch, I am proud that I have bought nothing old either, my true weakness is Op-shops and we really need to de-clutter.  


The 10 year old has been good at keeping me honest, she said I couldn't buy the 50c water sprayers at the supermarket - you know the type you use to spray concoctions on your plants to keep the bugs and black spot away. Mostly I haven't missed buying things, however, it's a strange feeling saying to myself that I can't.  A bit like giving up smoking, buying stuff we like can be such a reflex action, used to lift our spirits or distract us from our thoughts.  I most probably wouldn't have bought anything much so far but there's a niggling feeling I'm missing out - I think it will fade as the month goes on.




I have also posted on my Blog everyday as part of Tinniegirl's Blogtober, and have been trying to continue the Spring Clean my sister began. I am almost at 100 posts so it's time to celebrate.

Now the Giveaway bit.  Once I went to a garage sale, and found a whole box of prints of beautiful parrots. It was the end of the day, and the garage sale sellers just wanted to get rid of them, so they sold me the lot.  I looked at them, admired them, and then put them downstairs in our mega junk room. My sister found them during the big clean up and helped me put some of them in frames, replacing the tired faded prints I had in them. They are on beautiful paper and exquisitely painted with water colours. After a little research I have discovered they were painted by Jacques Barraband for François Le Vaillant's Histoire Naturelle des Perroquets.  I'm assuming they're reprints of the original as they seem in far too good condition to be old. They both sound like fascinating characters and worth studying http://www.audubonhouse.org/barraband/barraband.cfm
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2009/04/19/penny-olsen-francois-le-vaillants-histoire-naturelle-des-pe
Some of Francois' parrots have never been recorded in nature.

If you would like a parrot print for your house let me know your favourite colour and make a comment on this post before the 27th October 2011 - can't promise I can match a parrot to all colours but I will try. I will give away two prints, this competition is for Australian residents only due to the cost of postage, sorry. Actually I take that back - I think I can cut down some of the parrots to an A4 version which wouldn't be too expensive to post - so if your overseas and would like a smaller print let me know.

I am about to go through some seeds and will choose some of them to give away as well - a bit cheaper to post. I know I have a lot of beans and Giant Russian Sunflower seeds. Anyone overseas is welcome to enter for these if their quarantine laws will allow it.  


Winners will be randomly drawn on the 28th October 2011. Good luck.
For more Blogtober giveaways visit Curlypops .

School Holiday fun and Buying Nothing new

 

The big one made gingerbread biscuits this week, she started cooking on her own, then a friend came to visit, and then the smaller ones joined in, and it was an all in cookie fest.  She was very kind and patient with the cookie dough stealers and later did a gorgeous job decorating them. She's really found her cooking hands, or would that be a brown thumb? Little one had to have her sandwich in shapes once the cutters were out.




After my sister helped me remove some of the excess stuff from my life I have felt a duty to carry on her hard work, so I am continuing to cleanse and have made a pledge to Buy Nothing New Month.  Great marketing promotion by those who deal in all things second hand, but also thoroughly worthwhile. I really shouldn't buy anything old either, as this is where my gathering problem lies. So far so good, although I had to control myself in Acland Street - Saint Kilda yesterday, especially in the book shop which had so many lovely reads.  I think a month will go by quickly, I wonder if I could do it for a year?


I do love a challenge, so I have also joined Blogtober hosted by tinniegirl, which requires its participants to post in their blog daily.  If it was Blogtember I would have been successful.  I think I should be pretty OK on this one too, I was always the kid who kept talking and the last to go to sleep at sleepovers.  Perhaps a bit less stuff, and a few less blog words, or perhaps a few less blog pictures.  Can you see how I am filling up my blog with clutter?  A gadget here, a picture there.  I'm gathering blue bits for my bower down the right hand side of my blog, they're all things I've posted about.  Just can't help myself.


Others I know of who are Buying Nothing New this month
Little Poppa - http://littlepoppa.blogspot.com/2011/10/i-pledgeto-buy-nothing-new.html
Amanda Brooke - http://amandabrooke.typepad.com/amanda_brooke/2011/10/october-buy-nothing-new-month.html
The Byron Life - http://www.thebyronlife.com/2011/10/day-1-thrifty-gardening.html


Have you made the pledge? these amazing ladies are going without new for a whole year
Dottie Angel - http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2671/3935309072_fc172cfd6d_b.jpg
And then there were four - http://www.pilesofwashing.blogspot.com/


Dottie Angel has a huge list on her blog of those who have joined her challenge, that's a whole lot of recycling going on. I like the hand crafted clause however I'll keep away from that this month too.




I think in the name of decluttering, and Blogtober, I might find something to give away, stay tuned.