We live in such world where we are used to having things on demand, our needs instantly gratified. Of course, I'm speaking from a position of privilege in Australia, where I have a reasonable means of earning money and goods and services easy to come by. Here, if you want something, you buy it - either outright with your wages, or you put in on a credit card.

We pride ourseles in being debt free and never putting things on credit. If I can't afford it, I don't get it.

But there's still expensive things I like, and want. For example, I really, really wanted a two seater leather sofa to match the leather three seater I have in the lounge. I hate the red one as it throws my sense of harmony off - it's not leather (and arguably won't last as long) and it doesn't suit my aesthetic. Both lame reasons I suppose - some people would just like any old nice couch, but hey, I'm a Libran, and my home is important to me.

Please not my house is not always this tidy - this was just before we rented it out to go overseas

But that's not enough of a reason for me to rush out and buy a brand new couch because. Fast furniture is as bad as fast fashion - cheap, poorly made tables and dressers and beds that will fall apart or not last for decades and decades and even be handed down to your children, well, that's not at all my jam. They are usually full of chemicals, contribute to deforestation by using cheap timber from plantations, or end up in landfill.

So when I need new furniture, I put in a search in Marketplace and save it, and wait. And wait. And wait.

Sometimes it can take months and months to get what you want.

I'm still hunting for new bedside tables and a chest of drawers - I'm happy to sand and repaint and put new handles on as I've done before, but I'm not buying new.

Two seater leather sofas are impossible to come by - everyone has three seaters, but that wouldn't suit the space nor fit. And there's a lot of good stuff in Melbourne, but that's too far away. Some sofas are too worn, or chunky, or dated, or torn. I was actually beginning to give up.

Then one arrived for $800. Still out of my budget, but I bookmarked it anyway. It was close by, and looked virtually new. I googled it, and the original sofa online is still there for $2360. I checked the guy's profile - he was in quite an affuent suburb, and had good reviews, and clearly had sold quite a few things on Marketplace. He then changed his ad to read '800 clicks and 25 saves? Make me an offer, come on!' so I cheekily offered $500, which was really low - but still, my budget is what is is.

'$600 and it's yours' he came back with.

Well okay. My patience has finally paid off - eight months of searching and I finally have a new sofa!

It's mismatched - my other sofa is dark brown, and this is tan, but that's okay - it's part of an aesthetic I can live with. And perhaps I can keep searching until I find a sofa that matches, and pass this on to the next person looking for a two seater leather sofa just like this.

My old sofa? That's passed on for free on Marketplace. Let's hope that someone thinks 'that's just for me!' instead of buying new! There's plenty of furniture out there that can be recycled, upcycled and passed on - and if we have a bit of patience, we can find just what we're after.