Without Recourse to Retail
So this last week I have been plotting how not to shop for certain household items that I wanted.
My first want was a cupboard in the the loo. It is kind of a necessity in a house full of women. For many years it has been on The Man's list of things to do. He even bought a large piece of beautiful timber to construct it with. However, for one reason or another it didn't get built, and last November I used that piece of timber to get a lovely desk built in my new study. So how to get some storage space in the loo? After prowling around the house several times, I noticed some old CD storage cupboards in Posy's room. I bought them years ago for the girls to store their precious tiny treasures. So, much to Posy's disgust, I annexed one for the loo. Perfect for storing girl essentials.
Want Number Two was a lamp for my bedside table. I did have two in the bedroom, but moved one downstairs to what is now the room that The Man and The Boy use when they come to stay, and the other is now Posy's desk lamp. My first solution involved an extremely expensive, locally made beeswax candle that I bought last year, and a candlestick I found when clearing out a cupboard full of vases. It makes me very happy because I feel like I am living in a fairy tale. However, I must say that anyone in old novels found to be reading by candlelight must have gone blind shortly thereafter. I was not prepared to give up reading in bed, but where to find another lamp. The solution came to me in the shower, of course. I do feel that all the electricity used in long hot showers is absolutely justified in the long run..
There has been a lamp sitting on the sideboard in the dining room for a number of years. I bought it after we renovated because I felt that dinner by lamplight would be soothing and relaxing. However it turns out that my family prefer to see their dinner rather than be soothed and relaxed, so we never used the lamp. It just sat there and I never noticed it except to dust it. Is that not the uncomfortable truth about many of our possessions? Now it is installed next to the bed, and I can choose to live in a fairy tale OR read a book at night. Such riches!
So, two household 'necessities' supplied without recourse to retail. I would love to know what you have been doing to use what you have..
My first want was a cupboard in the the loo. It is kind of a necessity in a house full of women. For many years it has been on The Man's list of things to do. He even bought a large piece of beautiful timber to construct it with. However, for one reason or another it didn't get built, and last November I used that piece of timber to get a lovely desk built in my new study. So how to get some storage space in the loo? After prowling around the house several times, I noticed some old CD storage cupboards in Posy's room. I bought them years ago for the girls to store their precious tiny treasures. So, much to Posy's disgust, I annexed one for the loo. Perfect for storing girl essentials.
Want Number Two was a lamp for my bedside table. I did have two in the bedroom, but moved one downstairs to what is now the room that The Man and The Boy use when they come to stay, and the other is now Posy's desk lamp. My first solution involved an extremely expensive, locally made beeswax candle that I bought last year, and a candlestick I found when clearing out a cupboard full of vases. It makes me very happy because I feel like I am living in a fairy tale. However, I must say that anyone in old novels found to be reading by candlelight must have gone blind shortly thereafter. I was not prepared to give up reading in bed, but where to find another lamp. The solution came to me in the shower, of course. I do feel that all the electricity used in long hot showers is absolutely justified in the long run..
There has been a lamp sitting on the sideboard in the dining room for a number of years. I bought it after we renovated because I felt that dinner by lamplight would be soothing and relaxing. However it turns out that my family prefer to see their dinner rather than be soothed and relaxed, so we never used the lamp. It just sat there and I never noticed it except to dust it. Is that not the uncomfortable truth about many of our possessions? Now it is installed next to the bed, and I can choose to live in a fairy tale OR read a book at night. Such riches!
So, two household 'necessities' supplied without recourse to retail. I would love to know what you have been doing to use what you have..
Comments
Thanks Jess:)
Meanwhile I discovered, today, that we need a sock intervention in our house. Two family members had no less than 80 pairs between them.
Tanya, yes, familiarity breeds contempt..
CJ, glad to be useful:)
Fran, you are a re-using wonder!It's also a wonder that you don't spontaneously combust with all that activity! I love the strawberries in the boat. Brilliant! Will keep an ear out and let you know if I hear of anyone with water chestnuts.