Happiness is Often Used

[primsong]

I simply love some of the stuff I come across at garage sales and such - in this case it's a computer hutch! It's beautiful and matches my maple kitchen cabinets, which is a Fine Thing as my comp is right at the end of my kitchen, I am sooo happy. It was missing a couple pieces, so my DH called the company (Sauder) and sent them a picture of it to identify the model - even though it was discontinued five years ago they promptly sent us all the parts we needed, free! (even though we told them we'd bought it second-hand and were willing to pay for parts). Unexpected and very nice! Some creative drilling fixed the holes so they work a little better for computer cables and such, DH added a hook for my headset to hang from too, so I can stop running over the cord with my chair. It even has a light at the top. Yay! I feel so spoiled, I would hug it if it weren't a piece of furniture.

I was just looking around my house earlier and mentally identifying all the stuff we got from yard sales - there's quite a lot, I suppose if I were one of those folks who "MUST have it new" my house would be pretty spartan (or I'd be in significant debt). Looks good to me - I'm grateful for my mom raising me to appreciate how used can be good as (or better) than new.

It's an interesting mindset, the 'new' thing. My daughter, starbells, has an excellent artistic eye for clothing and told me one of her classmates admiringly asked her where she got her clothes. She said "Goodwill" and the other girl was both shocked and dismayed. "My mom won't let me shop at Goodwill, she says the clothes are germy."

I just have to roll my eyes. As if her 'new' clothing shipped from companies in China and handled by who knows how many people before her would be germ-free, lol! When my mom was in real estate for a while, she mentioned meeting a woman who said she wouldn't buy a 'used' house, only new because she didn't want to sit on a toilet seat someone else had sat on. I mean...good grief...

But then, germs hold little terror for me, and I love a good treasure hunt - plus now I get to hunt more often as my Etsy shop needs feeding, a nice bonus. Each to their own!

Comments

[shirebound]

I'd say that 80% of everything I own (linens, bedding, towels, furniture, clothes, shoes, purses, coats, books, and nick-nacks) came from thrift stores. Yay for the world of the 'gently used'! It's rather a thrill to get something brand-new once in awhile; we probably appreciate those times more than most folks.

[primsong.livejournal.com]

So true! - and it is nice to be able to buy "exactly" what I want new now and then, but first I have to rationalize spending that much money on them - I get such sticker-shock when I try look at new clothing in a store, for instance. Linens are especially easy to find, I wonder sometimes why anyone would buy them new.

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, glad you have a nice (not so new) computer hutch!

I love rooting around in charity shops over here - admittedly I tend to look more at the books than the clothes, though, but I love the randomness of bargains and unexpected things you can find.

[primsong.livejournal.com]

I always have to give the books a look-over, you never know what might be going by, and I think that randomness is part of what I find appealing - a typical shop has 1000 of essentially the same thing in different sizes and colours, a thrift shop as 1000 different things with so much variety. :-)

I've found some great old titles that have been out of print that way, books I wished I could share with someone except I didn't want to give away the one I had.

[thisbluespirit]

I am hopeless second-hand bookshop addict. :-) (And charity shops are cheaper.)

I once went to Hay-on-Wye (on the Wales/England border) with my alos book-loving friend. I don't know if you've heard of it, but it is a book town, and also on the crossroads of two very scenic walks (the Wye valley is one of the most beautiful areas of the country) and anything that isn't a second-hand book shop (which is very little) sells walking stuff. The cinema was a book-shop, so was the castle... And some of them just sold particular types of books - at the steep 2nd hand proper prices, but still. Then my friend and I lost each other in the biggest second hand bookshop in the country - and her mobile didn't have any reception, either. :lol:

I especially love second hand history books!

Lately, as I still have a video player, I've picked up all sorts of random things on videos - Carry On films, Jeeves & Wooster, The West Wing, Blake's 7 - for a moment there about a year ago, you could find almost anything on video in charity shops. I picked up an old Miss Marple that must have been one of the first things Peter Davison did after leaving DW. (He was the charming villain, oo-er.)

I always lose patience looking at the clothes - I know people who find amazing things in there, but I get bored too quickly and head off back to the books. ;-D

But yes, random discoveries are a good thing! You enjoy yours.

[primsong.livejournal.com]

Oh, that sounds just heavenly! Definitely adding that to my list of must-sees if I ever get over there!

I am lucky enough to have Powells near me, second biggest bookstore in the country - I guess its only competition is somewhere over in New York - it has new and used and grew until it entirely took over its old building...then the entire block... then the shops across the way... then opened one on my westside end of town in a little mall which it then proceeded to grow out of. After slowly taking over the entire mall, it then moved this westside bit to a huge building even closer to me, yay!

If *you* ever end up in Oregon, you can add that to your list - though yours sounds much more charming and funky and walkable. :-D

[thisbluespirit]

Oh, my.

How big is that bookshop? (Noted! Although the chances of me being in Oregon seem slim - admittedly, they just increased considerably, but stil... :lol:) And I thought the Waterstones on Gower St in London was good. (It does however answer the Terry Pratchett criteria in that "A good second-hand bookshop is just a genteel black hole that has learned how to read.")

Hay-on-Wye is lovely but it is on the border with mid-Wales, and therefore, like everywhere in Wales, barring Cardiff, may not be far but is not very accessible! I'm sure you would enjoy it, though. ;-)

[primsong.livejournal.com]

I love the black hole quote - strangely true.

Her's a link to a nice overview of Powell's original store at their site (http://www.powells.com/info/places/burnsideinfo.html?header=Sub:%20City%20of%20Books%20on%20Burnside) - you can buy stuff online from them too, though I expect the shipping wouldn't make it a good option from where you are.

[stellastars]

Your new computer hutch sounds like a wonderful find -- and how nice of the company to send you the parts!

I wish my family was less into the "new" mindset. Generally, I feel like I am pretty much my parents' child, but when it comes to purchasing items (and living quarters) there is a significant difference in philosophy! (I'm grateful that friends in college gave me perspective on the new/used mindset.)

Out of curiosity, are you familiar with the Freecycle Network? I've just signed up for my area and have been slowly checking it out, seeing what sorts of items people have to offer... I know other people have had great luck finding things through the groups.

Also, if I may ask, have you found Etsy to be a good experience? I've been sewing a bit more and, while not ready to actually begin selling items, I'm looking into it.

[primsong.livejournal.com]

I love Freecycle, we've found a couple nice things through it and used it even more often to find homes for extra stuff we have (I've given away lots of u-pick grapes the past couple of years, for instance). I had a rusty old bicycle and it was wonderful how I could put up a post on Freecycle and stick the thing out on my front deck and *voila* it had a home. It depends on how your area is moderated, though - some of them turn into 'begging' forums with nothing but people asking for free stuff over and over.

And Etsy has been great! I've sold much more than I expected to, about 3 items a week on the average, sometimes more, and it gets a lot more traffic than my Bonanzle shop. It's really easy to work with. I absolutely recommend them, just be sure you do your research in pricing comparable items both on and off Etsy and you should be good to go. :-)

[stellastars]

It depends on how your area is moderated, though - some of them turn into 'begging' forums with nothing but people asking for free stuff over and over.
Ahh, thanks for mentioning this... There seems to be a mix of asking/offering in my area; I was surprised by the asking post and that comment makes it make more sense.

And thanks for the info on Etsy! (Especially about checking out pricing.) Always good to hear from people who've already worked with it, rather than just jumping in!

[estellye.livejournal.com]

The hutch sounds awesome! Finds like that are so gratifying.

Being in the new home building industry, I can tell you that what construction workers do on a job site would keep that woman up at night. Our superintendents try to keep things from getting out of hand, but you'd be amazed at the stories they bring back. I am just really glad we employ top notch cleaners to prep a home for occupancy.

[primsong.livejournal.com]

Exactly - so much of it is mental, like imagining a newly built home is somehow under an invisible germ shield until you personally move in. Reminds me of our recent Christmas excursion to the local mall just to people watch and see the decorations, we wandered into a Nordstroms and shook our heads over a rack of cloaks under a shiny light with tags in the $1000+ range - they were nothing but lines of fur attached to felt cloaks, made in China! And I don't mean nice felt, either - it felt like the stuff from the craft store you use to line the bottoms of coasters. Good grief... presentation, all presentation and expectation. It was cheap junk, but "ooooh!" from Nordstroms. I used it as an object lesson for my kids in how something is only worth what a person is willing to pay for it.