Life Cycle of Junk

I went looking for a kitchen today. Just a simple, little kitchen that someone out there doesn't want anymore. People get rid of these things and some on a fairly regular basis - they get rid of the old, the out-dated and/or the crapped out. From items as small as a can opener that make opening a can difficult to a kitchen which has been replaced by the new look of the day in kitchens - people get rid stuff.
And people like me go in search for this stuff. I wouldn't call myself a hoarder, I've got a few things lying around the house that were bought to be used and never have been, but on a fairly regular basis I also dump things. So it all happens in a bit of a cycle I guess - new stuff comes in and old stuff goes out.
I decided to check out Habitat for Humanity in Devon St, Frankton this week. It has been a long time since I've visited Habitat and I thought I better get in before the V8 races make it impossible to shop there.
Habitat for Humanity provides housing for low income families. The type of houses that the recipient, volunteers and sometimes celebrities help build.
It's housed in a large building in the industrial area of Frankton, parking is good and it's not over-crowded by junk as other op shops. This means that there is plenty of room to move around and it's well set out with areas for crockery, furniture, clothing, shoes and other junk.
When I hosted a cocktail party a few years ago Habitat was an invaluable source for cheap retro glasses.
There is always an abundance of furniture and I would recommend the place to anyone trying to set up a flat on a budget.
Sadly there were no kitchens but I stumbled across matching bedside drawers (solid pine), a funky green skirt and a bread basket (every house needs one). The bedside tables were $30 and the skirt and basket totalled $5.
The bedside drawers will eventually make their way to our bach in Colville which is where the kitchen that I'm hunting for is destined.
So as you see, even junk has a life cycle - sometimes it just goes into a landfill, other times it begins a new life with a new home.

The Bach that Trademe Built

I think that the best place in the world is Colville. It's a sleepy little village on the west coast of the Coromandel. If you come looking for golden, sandy beaches you will leave disappointed.
For my whanau it's Heartland NZ. Our children's whenua are buried there with native trees planted atop. And our baby daughter is buried there near a grand old puriri tree.
I've been going to Colville for around 15 years, my partner for all his life and my children for all their lives. It's the kind of place that progress has left behind and we like it like that.
Many people will know Colville by the general store which is one of the last of its kind in NZ. The store stocks just about anything; the prices are inflated but it is the last place north of Coromandel town where you can stock up and refuel. It's also the hub of the Colville community, where locals shoot the breeze and an assortment of allsorts turn out to catch up on local gossip.
Our bach is situated in Colville Bay. The bay is tidal and our little beach is only swimmable an hour either side of high tide. There's pipis out there at low tide and a bevy of other seafood to be had.
The flounder trap in the bay is pre-European and it is fondly referred to as the flounder pond. As soon as the flounder pond is up the kids are off to spear themselves a flounder trapped on the outgoing tide. The partner has recently caught a John Dory in the flounder pond but there are stories from the past of all sorts of fish becoming victims to the pond.
Summer 2007 has been a momentous time in our history of Colville as we demolished our old bach over Labour weekend and started putting up the new one.
The old bach had a life of its own having been swept across the road in one of the Coromandel's notorious floods. It was rescued by the father-in-law and some of his linesman mates in good old kiwi style many decades ago. The bach had grown over the years as a lean-to was added, the mother-in-law would decide it needed walls and then a floor would be thrown down. Not good building practise but the old placed surivied only to succumb to a Council cock-up which saw the little leaks become larger leaks. I knew it was time for the old bach to go when the partner sent me a text saying "it's manky even by my standards".
So Labour weekend was the time set for the demolition and nearly every weekend since has been spent growing the new bach.
Don't let the title of this blog lead you into believing that the bach materials are all Trademe finds. Some materials just had to be purchased new and logistically that meant going to the local sawmill or getting Coromandel ITM to deliver, which they did for free I might add.
When it came to windows we didn't even consider buying new as it would most certainly have blown our budget. Even the demolition traders secondhand windows were over-priced. So that left us in the hands of Trademe and most of the windows were found this way.
My love affair with Trademe has faltered over the years however there have been times when the old flame has been rekindled. Thank you Trademe, the view from the windows of Colville Bay are awesome.