Guest Post: Giving Things a Second Chance


Hi! I'm Zoe! I'm a UK based blogger and I write my little green blog: Life of a Vegetarian Girl! As Laura and I both have a passion for recycling and reusing, we thought we'd share some of our favourite items on each others blogs.
Over the past few years I have really begun to think of the impact my lifestyle has on the world. I loved throw away fashion, discarded things that were perfectly good and all of my items had to be shiny and brand new. I'm not quite sure what started this shift, but I really started to think about what I was buying and how much I was wasting. I really wasn't happy with what I was doing and wanted to make more of an effort to recycling, reuse and buy pre-loved.
This new ethos in my life has bought me much joy in many ways. I am now a true believer that 'one mans trash is another mans treasure'. I love thrift stores and charity shop, I shop for the majority of my clothes at them. I love rummaging, getting a bargain and wearing items unique to everybody elses. The dress I am wearing on the left is pre-loved and is among many pre-loved dresses which I adore. I love inheriting and buying items which have a history to them, this makes them so much more interesting and one of the things that brings me the greatest joy is knowing that I am having less impact in the world.

Pictured right is my living room set. When I moved into my new apartment, I only bought two things new. A table and chairs and a mattress, everything else was second hand, inlcuding my bed frame, all my bedroom furniture and my living room set. The sofa and chair were given by my flat mates Dad, the table by his Gran and the throws and pillows were from my Grandmother. Even my Christmas Tree this year is a lone off my Gran. I love my living room, it's comfortable and didn't cost me a penny. It also shows how supportive friends and family can be when you're moving out, my furniture completely reflects this kind of kindness. There are also items I would love to inherit in the future, like my Mum's Welsh Dresser, which was once my Gran's, and is an item I would love to be passed on for generations.

I am such a big lover of recycling and reusing that even my Cat is pre-loved! All my life if we have ever had pets, we have always have rescue animals. This may not strictly be recycling and reusing but by adopting an animal from a shelter you are giving them a second chance and are supporting animal welfare.

This cheeky chappy is Oscar and I have been his proud owner for 3 years. It was a bit of a struggle at first, as Oscar is very timid and was not used to living in a house but now I wouldn't be without him. He is by far my favourite pre-loved item!

As for up-cycling, I am also a big fan although I haven't got round to any of my own projects, I do have plans for the future for some re-fashion of old clothes, such as old band t-shirts I have with holes but beautiful pictures on, however I am unsure of how to approach these. 

I really hope you have enjoyed my take on recycling and reusing. I hope this will encourage more people to buy or inherit second-hand rather than buying brand new. I would also like to thank Laura for letting me post over here!