Buying Used

I have to admit, sometimes I get a little embarrassed talking about my year of not buying anything new. A lot of people treat my year of non-consumerism as a fairly amazing feat, but the truth is ... not buying new is really not very difficult anymore.

If you wanted to buy used, you used to be reliant on charity shops (like Goodwill or Oxfam) or garage sales. Now, with a little help from the internet, you can find almost anything used through Craigslist or Gumtree, Freecycle or Ebay.

When I moved to the UK, the first think I did was to start religiously checking Gumtree. A few weeks later, I had almost everything I needed at a fraction of the cost had I bought everything new.

Buying used does take patience and time. I still have some dresses lying on a chair because I haven't bothered to find another ten hangers. Anyone in the central London area have some extras? Anyone?

But because buying used takes time, it also means that you don't end up impulsively buying things you don't really need.

Instead of seeing buying used as a hassle, I view it as an adventure. And when I found the perfect winter coat for four pounds at a charity shop? That's magic.