Waste is worse than loss. The time is coming when every person who lays claim to ability will keep the question of waste before him constantly. The scope of thrift is limitless.
- Thomas A. Edison -
I've been pondering buying a new outdoor setting for my alfresco area for a year; the current six-person glass-topped setting is looking a little worn out and the weather has taken a toll on its overall finish. It was a cheap setting at only around $500 Australian dollars twelve years ago so it's been cost-effective and changing it over seems viable...but I'm unconvinced.
I went to a furniture store to price up alternatives; I knew what I'd find though, and knew I'd revert to an alternative solution; I'd get no change from $3,000 dollars for a "cheap setting" and the one I liked was over $4,500 and that's just not going to happen.
The alternative was much cheaper, a rejuvenation of the existing setting.
It would involve some DIY which I like and am good at and some effort which I'm happy to inject because I'm not a fucken lazy bastard, and a little money for supplies too. I got sandy and painty and gave my outdoor setting a new lease on life. I'll not get another twelve-plus years out of it, I'll be happy with two which will give me time to squirrel money away for its replacement though.
The rejuvenation has cost under $200 for materials and I think that's a pretty good saving.
I won't pretend it was a difficult DIY job because it was pretty simple, it just took time.
I stripped off the cushions, which were thoroughly washed prior to being reinstalled, took sandpaper and a wire brush and began to sand back the surface rust from the arms, backs and legs of each chair and the table frame. I decided not to do the metal frame supporting the glass table-top as whenever I use the outdoor setting it has a tablecloth over it although I did the edge around the glass; I was reluctant to demount the glass as breaking or chipping it would mean a new setting.
After a good wipe over to remove dust I applied a primer which helps the topcoat to stick to the pre-coated metal and let it cure.
The top coat (two of them) went on next and I decided to go with white to give the outdoor setting a different look instead of the heritage green colour. I could have left it green which would hide a multitude of problems moving forward and maybe extend its life a little, but a different look felt right and it came out pretty well; no it's not perfect, but nothing ever is.
I don't like wastage, it just doesn't feel right, a legacy from growing up in a family in which money was tight. We had to make things last and get full-value from the things we made or purchased and I've carried that forward.
That's what made rejuvenating this outdoor setting time-worthy. I have the money to replace it, that's not an issue, it just doesn't feel right to buy something new when I can extend the life of something I already have. It feels good from the DIY enjoyment-factor, the planet-responsibility factor and satisfies my need over want ethos I learned as a kid.
Eventually I'll get a new one and this one will get recycled however it's good-to-go for a while yet and when I'm out in my alfresco area having a barbeque, enjoying breakfast and coffee or entertaining friends I'll feel happy knowing I put a little effort into extending its life and making it look a little nicer.
Have you done the same? What DIY projects have you done to save money or extend the life of an item? Have you repurposed/rejuvenated a usable item or do you prefer to throw things away and replace with new ones? Feel free to comment below, I'd be pleased to hear from you.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
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All images in this post are my own.