Sourcing it second hand

I am a big fan of estate sales, and let me tell you, you can source just about anything second hand :)

I live on the east coast in the south, so minimalism, zero waste and low waste are essentially foreign concepts. A lot people tend to stock up a lot and have a bunch of things in their homes.

I have gotten really good at shopping estate sales before shopping first hand, if you are interested, I highly suggest you to look up estate sales in your area

There are lots of ways to shop second hand

• Estate sales(personal fave)
• Yard sales
• Facebook marketplace
• Craigslist
• Free cycle(I don’t live in an area where free cycle is used)
• Bunz(again, not accessible in my area)
• Charity shops/ thrift shops
• Barter and trade(another personal fave, just traded some wheels for insulation that someone had in their attic for 6 years)

You can also

• Repurpose things around the house
• Dumpster dive (check your rights and your cities rules, but most cities are okay with it. Obvi, locked dumpsters are sadly off limits. I know there is good stuff in the trash, but if something is wet, don’t do it, wet stuff always gets a certain smell :’/)
• Make something with stuff you have
• Try a trading group(clothes if you know someone else who is your side, a book club where you pass around books)
• Ask someone you know if they have xyz that you are looking for
• Go without for a bit and see if you really need xyz that you were looking for

Essentially what I’m trying to say is you can find most things already. A lot of stuff that you may want or need already exists, so there is no need to buy first hand 90% of the time

I’m always seeing China sets, candles, decor(please, no more decor! There’s so much of this crap for every season, just get it second hand or craft it!!) Sheets still in the packaging, nice wood furniture, clocks, wood scraps,garden supplies of all types, lonley plants wanting to come home with you, books, China sets(there are so many) kitchen ware and gadgetry

The point is, there’s already so much stuff that’s out there and so much that’s just waiting for a new home, next time you are looking something, try to source it second hand first. It’s always better to use something that is already there than to create demand for something that doesn’t need to be made :)

I hope you have a prosperous day and find some great second hand finds soon!