DECLUTTER BLITZ, THE CRAFTERMATH

Up until recently I've enjoyed the luxury of either living in a fairly decent sized house or, if not, I've had access to the free service known as 'parental house storage'. Either singly or in combination, this has meant not having to really face the problem of what to do with my worldly goods...ALL my worldly goods. After I moved back to Australia in 2012 - well, there it was. All my other stuff. Waiting for me. In a poignant Toy Story 3 kind of way...

TOTES UPCYCLED

Diary of a self-confessed scrap fabric hoarder.

Aside from knackered knickers, almost every bit of clothing that stays the course until it's threadbare will end up in my fabric scraps suitcase...It used to be a bag, now it's a suitcase. When it reached the verge of spilling over into a second suitcase I started to think seriously about what the hell I was going to do with some of this hoard (there are only so many rag dusters you can use in one lifetime, after all).

GROWING SPACES

Why is it that as soon as you hit October, the rest of the year comes rushing at you like a train full of hard slogging optimists grasping for rays of light? So, I was completely planning to do a wrap up of Buy Nothing New Month (I bought nothing new), review my new/used camera (it's awesome), take and post dozens of images (a series of annoying incidents left me without an especially usable camera for the month) and feature some local op-shops (ask the Monster Who Ate October about that).

CORNER OF BISHOP AND SNELL

There's not a huge amount of street art in Darwin unfortunately (though we do have an active collective of decent artists in the city). So whenever I see anything clever or insightful, it tends to catch my eye. I spotted this illustration in Darwin's industrial area of Winnellie during my commute home. Pretty on point for a Buy Nothing New Month I think!

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM (BUY NOTHING NEW MONTH)

I always fancied myself as a professional beachcomber. You know how that daydream goes - tanned, lithe, living on a tropical island (the food magically grows itself, probably), living in a driftwood hut and scouring the shoreline every sunrise and sunset for ocean treasures which are invariably useful and/or beautiful in some existentially meaningful way . I would make wonderful art and decor from it and there was probably a ruggedly handsome Spaniard somewhere in there doing some useful things on a boat. We would have no need for pah!, money, because th..