Before You Buy, Try to DIY!

I was browsing The Container Store the other day, after picking up some glass food containers, and I started inspecting all of the attractive products that caught my eye and made me think, “I want that!” Most of them were plastic, and most of them were made in China. While there were quite a few products throughout the store that were manufactured sustainably, it was hard not to think of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch while standing in the Amac box aisle, even if those cute little boxes are BPA-free, made in the U.S.A., and featured in the Museum of Modern Art.

It's no secret that we live in a largely consumerist, throw-away society. Every day, companies try to sell us product after product, hoping that we don't ask how it was made, who made it, how much that worker was paid, and what kind of harm the manufacturing process did to the environment. Many companies will do whatever it takes to drive down production costs and undercut competitors. As a result, these products become so cheap that we can no longer expect to find a way to repair many items. Instead, we're just expected to throw them out and buy a new one. With the sustainability movement, however, is coming the do-it-yourself life philosophy. Why not use the things you have to try and make something you need or want before buying a new item? Or, even better, try finding a used item that you can save from the landfill.

With this philosophy in mind, instead of just buying small accessories for my new apartment, I'm on a mission to see if I can make them first. So far, I've made a bulletin board out of layered cardboard (including a top layer of lime-printed cardboard from Piperlime), a similarly constructed necklace holder from cardboard and bobby-pins, and a “filing system” using folders and envelopes I already had, well-labeled and filed away in the perfect-sized paper bag from The Gap. I've even made a few shoe repairs and upgrades with foam and crazy glue!

I'm also hoping to take this DIY mentality to furnishing our new apartment. I love to check design blogs and see features on furniture pieces that started out drab, dull, old, and ugly, and ended up totally chic and trendy with a little paint, wood stain, new hardware, and elbow grease. Your local Freecycle and Craigslist pages are great places to find cheap, or even free furniture items that can be “upcycled” into something cuter and more “you” than anything you could find in the store. Other great resources are auctions and estate sales. An auction-loving friend of ours took my husband and I to an auction when we first moved in to our apartment, where we were able to pick up a long coffee table, a matching square table, two antique end tables, and two barstools, and an air mattress, all for under $25 total. Our friend also gave us a couch, love seat, and sturdy vintage dresser that she had picked up at auctions herself, but not longer wanted. I haven't had the resources to fix them up yet, but it is the most anticipated item on my to-do list.

Fixing up used items, or trying to make your own out of sustainable materials, can be an extremely rewarding process. I love my necklace hanger and bulletin board so much more than things I could have bought in the store, because I know that I made them with my own cleverness, and when they're old and broken I can just recycle the materials.

So, next time you think of something you need or would like around the house, ask yourself first “can I make that?” and second “can I find one used?” You'll earn the satisfaction of doing something with your own two hands, you'll save some waste from being created, and you might even save a little money!

-Natalie is a blogger for The Daily Vine. Check out her bio to see where her view comes from.