Things that have gone – 21

It’s always amazes me what you can sell and sometimes you just need to be patient. This week I finally sold something which had been doing the rounds on eBay for more than a year! OK, OK, so I don’t recommend leaving it that long – better to take it to the charity shop and have rid of it.

I also sold some larger items on eBay, which I normally avoid because I think the higher postage costs will put people off. Actually by using a company called MyHermes, I have been able to send them for a reasonable price.

This week I have netted approx £100 and shifted several items. (Sorry don’t have pictures  of every item this week).

1. Refurbished pram canopy
2. Vintage jewellery box
3. 2 piano sheet music books
4. 2 jars homemade cranberry sauce (unwanted Christmas gifts, donated via Freecycle)
5. Cassette tape storage box (Freecycled)
6. Lampshade (Freecycled)
7. DVD

 

Make it Yourself- Drawstring Bags

I’m currently learning to sew- I’ve been using a mix of online tutorials and attending a sewing course. This has been a really good combination for me, as there are just some things I need to be shown. From not being able to sew – I’ve been able to make a pin cushion, make 2 pairs of lined curtains, make a simple top, a simple maxi skirt and 2 lots of bunting. I’m seriously impressed with what I’ve been able to make and I absolutely love it. I wish I’d learned when I was at school, but I was scared of how technical sewing machines seemed and teachers never have enough time to give one-to-one attention to build up your confidence. I stuck to cooking which I had more experience with, but I am learning now – almost 20 years later!

I am currently making some seat cushions for our dining chairs and making a net curtain! I will put up some more posts showing my efforts soon. But for now, here are some pictures of some drawstring bags I’ve been making. I am not going to put a whole tutorial here because I simply search for what I want to make online. I don’t think I’m quite at that level….yet…. although I am inventing my own method to recover my chair cushions, so that will be mine to share with you here very soon! Always have a read through first and make sure the method is something you feel comfortable with. I rejected a few, until I found the simplest one I could!

I got my material for free from Freecycle and I always save any old bits of ribbon that I get, so I just re-purposed this for the drawstring. So these are basically free – you can’t get better than that. They take 20-30 minutes to knock-up and are useful for SO many different things. I actually made these from an old scarf – hence the fancy tassel detail which I couldn’t bear to cut off! My top tips are to fold one side of your fabric to save yourself any unnecessary sewing and to zig-zag your edges (if you don’t have an overlocker) for additional strength.

I use these types of bags a lot at my local greengrocer to bring home my zero waste fruit and veg. What sort of things have your sewn? Any for zero waste purposes?

Swagbucks

Now, this is a little detour from my normal fodder. However, I find Swagbucks allows me to regularly treat myself and others. You can redeem for all sorts of vouchers, but personally I choose Amazon as they give the best return for my bucks. In the last month, I have been able to buy all sorts of things that move us closer to becoming Zero Waste- all at no cost to myself. This is where my lovely Kilner kitchen composter came from (featured in a previous post), I also got some opaque glass bottles with metal lids for homemade toiletries, a metal spray bottle for homemade cleaners and they sell all sorts of things- like Dr Bronner’s Castile soaps too.

Surely Zero Spend is related to Minimalism and Zero Waste, so I just want to do a really quick post to let you know how I achieve this.

I have earned £800 earned to date and been signed up since 2012. It did take me a while to get the hang of the site, but now they have mobile phone apps you can run whilst you get on with your day. So you really can get money for doing nothing! Currently I make around £50 a month from this site which is not insignificant.

I don’t really want to veer too far off my normal topic, by going into the ins and outs of this site. There are enough other sources of information out there. However if you’re stuck I’d be happy to help, if you care to comment. Please consider using my link below to sign up.

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/BusyLizzyBee