SECONDHAND LOVE

AS an avid recycle fan, I love trawling op-shops, garage sales, roadside hard rubbish and online sale sites.

It's a great way to obtain marvellous items at little coats while being sustainable.

Usually I'm on the lookout for gardening items, books or cooking gear - yes, yes, seven Sunbeam mix masters is enough, I know.

But last week i manged to score the holy Grail of bargains - a Technika 900mmm working gas cook top, fan forced oven stove for a song.

A friend opened a new restaurant and decided to sell off through Surf Coast Secondhand their old cooking appliances.

It gets connected tomorrow morning at 7am - cannot wait to get baking!

Upcycling the kitchen

RECYCLE, reuse, regenerate – these are the bywords for my home as well as my garden.

After several weeks of painting the bright blue, orange, lime and grey feature walls a more sedate cream, I’m feeling more at home.

At the moment the floor man is finishing off sanding and sealing all the living and bedrooms but the kitchen and laundry have a nice wood-floor look vinyl. 

 

As I have downsized into a cosy old 1950s renovated clinker-brick former housing commission house, it’s been a fun challenge to work out where to place everything.

In the last couple of years, I decluttered my life which involved several massive clean-outs with around 66 per cent of my stuff going to various op-shops, friends and the tip.

This was a good move as my new home has about half the floor space and a quarter of the kitchen storage space I was used to.

 

So rather than renovate the perfectly good kitchen, I have given some bookcases another coat of paint and put them to good use to hold jars of dry goods, cookbooks and the mix-masters.

(No doubt I'll eventually put in wider bench-tops and a dishwasher, but so far the rubber gloves and sink are doing the job!)

The chairs came from an op shop at a ridiculous cheap $68 for the six (and I’ve seen similar versions in online retro catalogues for $140 each) and the table I bought seven years ago from an op-shop in Sydney for a song.

 

Hanging above is an art deco brass lamp from my first apartment in Hawthorn - I love it but as the ceilings here are lower than its previous homes, I placed it over the dining table so none of my guests will get concussion.

 

Scouring opshops and garage sales and spending less is so much fun and it allows you to create a home which reflects your real life - not something dreamed up by some marketing person for a faceless furniture store.

New hen house

CLUCKINGHAM Palace II is nearly finished and the feather riot are thrilled with their new abode.

Moving house is nothing compared to moving garden and chickens, as any chook-keeper will tell you.

Firstly you have to create a fox-proof, safe environment for the gals. Then you need to move them at night when they are more docile. Note, carrying a box of sleepy chickens is a lot easier than dealing with recalcitrant, squawking hens in broad daylight.

Anyhow, Hilda, Gidget, Layne, Philly and Ledger survived the experience (far better than I) and have settled in beautifully, still laying all the way.

The old shed with green plastic before the transformation

into Cluckingham Palace 2 - to the right is the studio.

 

 My new house came with a north-facing yard and five sheds, one of which looked like it had been a greenhouse. Using a range of mostly recycled materials, I've converted it form a raggedy-looking shack into a clean and safe  hen run.

Here the shed has been transformed into Gidget's Chook Shack.

Steel sheeting from the carport roof has been used to create a windbreak and extra-secure skirting along the bottom of the wire walls and doors.

With help from a friend, I stripped off the heavy-duty plastic and replaced the walls with avian wire and cement sheeting. An old built-in wardrobe was cannibalised for the hutch and the doors from a wooden TV cabinet were also used.

 

On the shed roof i found an old wooden ladder, which was chopped down to size to allow the hens an extra roost.

 

All I have to do now is paint the cement sheeting on the next fine weekend and it's finished!

Recycle, reclaim and feel great!

SURF COAST residents who love a recycled bargain will be thrilled with the new second-hand shop opening at the Anglesea Landfill this weekend.

Council has finally seen the light and will be selling pre-loved items hopefully at realistic prices - since the shop is manned by volunteers and they are getting the items donated, for zilch and for nothing.

See you there at 10 am!