To think we all need to learn to love second hand

[Ravenspeckingontheroof]

Second hand almost everything? Go onto eBay; there are 92000 used size 10 tops for sale, 4500 used travel systems, 1700 used Bluetooth speakers. Go to your local recycling centre and watch people throw perfectly useable furniture away.
We are literally drowning in cast offs many of which will go to landfill, but which are perfectly useable.
I’d say about 1/3 of my wardrobe is preloved and maybe 10% of our household furniture. I love going and choosing new things. But I think choosing preloved needs to become a first choice, and we should be incentivised to do so.
But if I walk down any high street, read any magazine, pick up my phone I am bombarded with ads for all the new things I ‘need’. Every single shop is rammed with more stuff to buy. Our society depends on us buying more stuff. How do we fix this?

We need to stop being like sheep.

When I grew up in the 80s the only things my parents had purchased for the house was their bed, the cooker, a sofa and a music centre. Carpets were always from the remnant section of a carpet shop. They bought what fitted then chose paint to match the carpet. Every other item in our home was hand me down or bought second hand. I hated it at the time not having a tv with remote control or vcr like my school friends had and our house always looked dated. But it saved them a shed load of money and in reality all the high tech stuff that other kids parents had was never allowed to be touched by them incase they broke it.

I read recently that to consume we must feel sin. So I guess we have to all stop feeling sad just because we haven't got a gloss white kitchen with sparkly corian worktops. I buy any furniture I need from auctions. Very rarely buy new tech and my Hoover is held together with gaffer tape. I could take note of the sneering comments of "oh just buy another, they are cheap enough" but that's the problem isn't it. We're all conditioned to be paying out constantly for sub standard items that have become disposable as soon as a bee colour range comes out.

I set up a tools library in my town for stuff like big ladders, lawnmowers, twin prams etc that are only of use rarely or for a short time. Did you know the average drill is used for eight minutes in its lifetime ? It’s ridiculous that everyone has one and uses it once every two years.

The children have approx 50% preloved clothes in their wardrobes. All of their clothes will be sold on (if nice brands, frugi jojo etc) or given to the baby bank (if cheaper brands which aren't worth selling).

Buying expensive brands is worth it in these cases, my daughters have some secondhand frugi items which we got preloved for far cheaper than retail, have been worn by both my kids and still sold on for someone else to wear. As opposed to primark stuff which is cheap but not fit to wear for multiple kids and worth nothing second hand.

Baby stuff like travel cots, pushchairs, Bath seats, toys and everything like that is so easy to get second hand. It all gets donated to a children's charity once they're too old for it, or a few bits might be sold.

We also have a lot of second hand furniture which is perfectly good.

Its definitely the way forward.

@KeflavikAirport

I set up a tools library in my town for stuff like big ladders, lawnmowers, twin prams etc that are only of use rarely or for a short time. Did you know the average drill is used for eight minutes in its lifetime ? It’s ridiculous that everyone has one and uses it once every two years.

Wow my family is bringing that average properly up😂

@KeflavikAirport

I set up a tools library in my town for stuff like big ladders, lawnmowers, twin prams etc that are only of use rarely or for a short time. Did you know the average drill is used for eight minutes in its lifetime ? It’s ridiculous that everyone has one and uses it once every two years.

This is such a good idea. I have often thought that our small street could club together and share a lawnmower. There needs to be more of this sort of thing.

I’d say 50% or more of my wardrobe is second hand from charity shops / Vinted / EBay

Probably a little higher percent for the DC clothes

We have a secondhand couch , ikea drawers etc

I must admit for my rare twice a year night out I like to buy a brand new on trend outfit though. I like to look nice and up to date and put together for my rare child free nights.

For kids I’d say 100% of the big ticket items like jackets for winter etc are second hand from eBay , I try to search for excellent condition items.

I do think most people are more open to secondhand goods nowadays , it used to be seen as embarrassing, now everyone is into “ vintage “

The only people I know that turn their noses up at preloved / second hand etc are the mirror sideboard / grey velvet couch brigade.

I’ve worked with colleagues who will only buy new for them and DC and it’s got to be new Nike editions etc , full football strips for DC .

@chocolateorangeinhaler

We need to stop being like sheep.

When I grew up in the 80s the only things my parents had purchased for the house was their bed, the cooker, a sofa and a music centre. Carpets were always from the remnant section of a carpet shop. They bought what fitted then chose paint to match the carpet. Every other item in our home was hand me down or bought second hand. I hated it at the time not having a tv with remote control or vcr like my school friends had and our house always looked dated. But it saved them a shed load of money and in reality all the high tech stuff that other kids parents had was never allowed to be touched by them incase they broke it.

I read recently that to consume we must feel sin. So I guess we have to all stop feeling sad just because we haven't got a gloss white kitchen with sparkly corian worktops. I buy any furniture I need from auctions. Very rarely buy new tech and my Hoover is held together with gaffer tape. I could take note of the sneering comments of "oh just buy another, they are cheap enough" but that's the problem isn't it. We're all conditioned to be paying out constantly for sub standard items that have become disposable as soon as a bee colour range comes out.

Agree with so much of this

Also a child of the 80’s , we lived in a small basic house , no CD player , no heating , no car ( only dads work vehicle ) , no credit cards or fancy toys , no branded food it was Tesco own brand crisps etc

Our friends had huge houses , mr slushys , big plastic toy kitchens , tiny tears dolls etc

But looking back we were taken out walks a lot , had second hand bikes etc , our dad built us swings .

I’m glad as it has all rubbed off and we do more experience type things with our DC rather than buy material things or fancy household goods.

I keep trying to get into second hand.

But the stuff in my local charity shops is crap! Very out dated stuff in styles that aren't and never were popular, things look well worn, anything half decent is almost the price of brand new but without the certainty of knowing you can return it if there's a problem.

I've hunted online and been disappointed with almost everything I've bought - it's always heavily worn & well washed but described as very good condition/barely worn.

Most of all though it's the time. I have very little to trawl through Ebay or charity shops hunting for the items in better condition.

At the end of the day, a lot what people donate to charity shops aren't good quality timeless classics - because why would you donate those? You wear them over and over again and only part with them when they are stained or worn out. So you get lots of things in short lived trendy styles, odd pieces that you won't wear over and over etc. I hate trawling through all that for nothing.

The tool library idea is an excellent one

Pretty much everything I buy is second hand.

Prices in a lot of charity shops can be set by the manager, we have three or four here from the same charity and one is ridiculous with its prices .
The other is stuffed full of clothing , furniture and major bargains .
Guess which one has the queues !
Recently I bought a brand new Lumie sad light for my office in the winter, fully PAT tested for £8 they normally go for £70 -£100
There was also an almost new Quinny Zap for £6
Since COVID and working from home I’ve cut my shopping for material bits including clothes in half, I literally do not ‘need ‘ them any more .

You're so right.

I wonder how many of those buying second hand (to save money, save the planet, etc etc), used disposable nappies for all of their wains

What a strange attitude. Surely its better to use disposable nappies and buy secondhand clothes, than disposable nappies and buy new. Obviously it would be even better to use washable and buy secondhand - but something is better than nothing.

(Incidentally I used washable nappies, some of them second hand and many sold on after use.)

I just remembered there is a tool library in liverpool. I wonder if that's you @KeflavikAirport ! It's great. Especially if you need one off job and can't afford to buy stuff

We have a toy library in our town. Its a brilliant idea, especially for toys like baby toys which they only play with for a few months (if that). And if you don't have a lot of space, you can borrow big items like play kitchens or garden toys or lego sets but don't have to store it all the time.

Sadly it closed in the first lockdown and struggling to reopen now

I am definitely buying into the view that I need to buy less new clothes - the whole 'fast fashion' model is so fucked. All my recent purchases have been from Vinted and I've had some lovely stuff. My trick is to stick with classics and decent quality brands. Recently have bought M&S, Monsoon, Laura Ashley, Hobbs.

It's been really encouraging during the pandemic that loads of people are posting on local FB with "had a clear out; have the following items to get rid of ...." and proceed to list things that they might other wise have thrown away. Pretty much everything gets snapped up - it's amazing what other people want!

We also have a really thriving community "library" - basically a weather proof box where people put books they no longer want and are free to take any that are already there.

Most things I own are second hand

I could take note of the sneering comments of "oh just buy another, they are cheap enough" but that's the problem isn't it. We're all conditioned to be paying out constantly for sub standard items that have become disposable as soon as a bee colour range comes out.

That most certainly is the problem. Nothing is made to last these days, and often the message is pushed that electrical goods will only last a certain number of years, making people think that when the time mentioned comes around they should replace them whereas the reality is the goods will probably keep going for twice as long (although still not long enough).

My washing machine developed a fault two years ago, and I wasn't in a financial position even to have it fixed at that stage so worked around it - it's still working fine with my method and it must be around 15 years old anyway. Most people I know would have dumped it and brought a new one. When it finally dies it will be replaced with a second hand one.

I don't buy clothes second hand, but I wear them until they fall apart. DS wears hand me downs from a friend and then I pass them on to another friend. Some stuff has been through 7 boys before it finally goes to charity or for rags.

I do think it's a class thing as a pp said. My parents are solidly working class and my mum won't have anything second hand. She also told me I had to buy DS shoes as a baby as people might think we couldn't afford shoes if he was seen in a buggy (before he could walk) with only socks on.

Its a risk if you buy from ebay etc with clothes as they may not fit and cant be returned.

True, but you can then sell them yourself, I've done it plenty of times.

I hate 2nd hand clothing. They have a distinctive smell and I just don't like the thought of wearing them.

What utter crap! I have a friend who always looks stylish and unique - her clothing is a mixture of new (usually bought on sale) and second hand. She has a good eye and knows her labels. There is no way you would ever be able to tell which of her garments are the new and which are the second hand. She could afford to buy everything new, but loves the charity shop experience and the thrill of a find.

Your suggestion that second hand clothing smells is ridiculous - many charity shops wash the items before selling, and if you are that particular you could wash them yourself.

I buy some things second-hand but it's not my first choice, and I don't like buying anything that can't be machine-washed (like furniture). It's just nicer to have something completely new that no one else has worn or sat on, and I can afford new things (but often buy in sales or discontinued new stock on Ebay). I look after my clothes well and don't buy new stuff just because it's a new season or whatever.

I've bought some large toys off Ebay second hand but to be honest it was quite a faff arranging to collect them so that's another thing that puts me off. We don't own a car (which is more of an eco-friendly stance than buying everything secondhand) so buying secondhand furniture isn't really an option as everyone wants you to collect (but I've rescued old chairs and a filing cabinet from my street before - I think it would be nice to have a system where people can do that rather than calling it flytipping as it was actually useful for me!)

Someone has to buy new in order for second hand to be available.

I say that sitting in living room with secondhand units, wearing secondhand jeans, and watching a secondhand TV. Someone bought them new.

Most items do have a lifespan. Clothes wear out eventually. Nobody will want these jeans when I am done with them because they will have holes in.

@Reachersloveinterest

Someone has to buy new in order for second hand to be available.

I say that sitting in living room with secondhand units, wearing secondhand jeans, and watching a secondhand TV. Someone bought them new.

Most items do have a lifespan. Clothes wear out eventually. Nobody will want these jeans when I am done with them because they will have holes in.

That's true about your jeans but sadly many people would just bin them and buy a new pair well before the point at which they were in holes and it is that idea of fast, disposable fashion that needs to change.

A friend of mine would keep holey jeans to cut up for patching other things with holes in. That is properly thrifty and eco-minded!

Humbug these jeans are a good example actually, I bought them secondhand but in excellent condition (as I buy most of my clothes) sold by someone who had barely worn them and just got bored of the style, and I'll wear them as jeans till they wear out on the hems or knees. Then they'll have their second (third?) life as a pair of 'good' shorts, then they'll be downgraded to gardening shorts and finally into the scrap bag. Not bad for £8.