WHY did I ever buy Pinocchio-shaped egg cups in my regular Wellington coffee roastery a decade ago?
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Why do I own so many egg cups for that matter?
It's even stranger given my penchant for poached eggs and omelettes!
You'd be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't decluttered to some degree this year.
Being confined to quarters amid the coronavirus pandemic national lockdown - and second lockdown for those south of the border - left us home alone with our stuff like never before.
If you too, however, managed to escape the nationwide cleanup sparked by the Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo in early 2019, then we really had run out of excuses by early 2020.
Still, I couldn't deal with the autumn declutter, holding out instead for the traditional spring clean.
It's amazing the amount of dinner inspiration you can whip up by just sorting through vinegars, oils and Asian sauces alone.
Adam Liaw's Everyday Teriyaki Chicken is a weekday dinner solid standby once you retrieve the homemade teriyaki sauce from the nether reaches of the pantry. #winnerwinnerchickendinner
Food waste aside, textile disposal is one of the biggest problems in Australia today.
Australia ranks number two in the world for textile waste and the average Australian buys about 27 kilograms of textiles a year and disposes of 23 kilograms.
In Australia, more than 500,000 tonnes of textiles and leather end up in landfill each year. Low-cost, low-quality garments mean we are buying and disposing of more clothing than ever.
In 2017 Roy Morgan Research found 1.7 million Australians were buying at least one pair of jeans a month. Seriously!
I'm a huge fan of secondhand clothing but even this can pile up at times.
It's pointless holding onto quality clothes for five years only to find out your child thinks the items are too "fancy", "itchy and scratchy" or even the wrong shade of red i.e. pink.
Having got to the bottom of what to hang on to only recently, I sent the rest to two charity stores aside from a few things I planned to sell.
MORE MATERIAL GIRL:
- Shopping for staples the new game of strategy
- We're all in it together, jigsaw puzzles and Monopoly aside
- In times like these, you learn to live again
- Our privacy concerns are already pie in the sky
- Sit tight folks, we'll catch you on the other side
- We're free to care now but don't burst the bubble
- It's standing room only as Victorian lockdown hits home
If you managed to escape the nationwide cleanup sparked by the Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo in early 2019, then you really had run out of excuses by early 2020. Still, I couldn't deal with the autumn declutter, holding out instead for the traditional spring clean.
Turns out this weekend is Garage Sale Trail 2020, which aims to help people make and save money through selling secondhand goods and reducing waste.
Households, businesses, schools and community groups will join more than 400,000 people across the country for the 10th annual Garage Sale Trail, which will also take place online for the first time.
Event organisers estimate more than 2 million items will be listed for sale and diverted from landfill across 16,000 garage sales.
Founded by Sydneysiders Darryl Nichols and Andrew Valder, Garage Sale Trail is a not-for-profit social enterprise.
It aims to educate Australians on the importance of reuse and the need to take individual responsibility for the impact of their consumption habit.
Garage Sale Trail has grown from a grassroots idea in Bondi Beach to being powered by more than 115 councils nationally and supported by state governments.
In NSW this project is a NSW EPA Waste Less Recycle More initiative funded from the waste levy.
Garage Sale Trail has teamed up with journalist and self-confessed secondhand Queen Jan Fran.
Fran is now in her second year of avoiding new clothes opting instead for secondhand treasures in a bid to reduce her impact (and ensure no-one is wearing the same thing as her!).
For those hosting or shopping at physical sales, Garage Sale Trail will provide guidelines to ensure COVID-19 restrictions and safety precautions are in place.
To host a sale or shop the trail people can register at garagesaletrail.com.au.
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