Looking around my room, as I was obliged to do during the pandemic, I discovered that I only had a hand-me-down desk and a second-hand wardrobe that wasn't purchased new.
It's tricky to admit how much we rely on rapid interiors. The fact that my nearest fast fashion merchant has pretty much everything I need just in its homeware department explains a lot. I would love to fill my home with high-quality, thrifted, or locally made goods, but while funds are tight and I'm not living in my forever home, I have always sufficed.

In a 2018 study, it was found that people feel good about spending money on expensive items as long as they are splurging for the right reasons. Buying luxury handbags and sunglasses can often feel selfish, so when consumers purchase costly things for their homes, they may feel more responsible and communal. Whether it's reasonable or not, I think we need to be smarter with our buying to start solving this issue. For example, instead of swooning over how cheap Kmart's rug collection is, I should think about what rug I'd like to follow forever instead of suiting my current aesthetic.

Buying timeless pieces can be a bit of a guessing game. Who knows, I may hate my collection of terracotta plant pots in 5 years' time. But, if the day does come when I want a refresh on my pots, I need to think really hard about whether or not they can be repurposed, gifted, refurbished – just anything other than the skip.
The Facebook group ‘Zero Waste in NZ!’ is a fab resource to go to when you are in a pickle about throwing things away. I wrote to the group recently asking for advice on repurposing my very old plastic shower curtain. Turns out some bloke 15 km away was looking for a semi-soft plastic sheet to use for a rain shelter on his farm. I cannot express how much of an eco-warrior I felt dropping that off to him knowing that I had just saved our landfills from one huge sheet of plastic and the thought of his little chickens getting a little cover up was too much!