Nothing New Challenge - March review

Hello lovelies, and welcome to yet another Nothing New Challenge review!

The month of March has been interesting because: I moved. Well I technically moved at the end of February, but I ended up buying the majority of the things I needed in March.

Here in New Zealand rooms tend to come unfurnished, and the only two pieces of furniture I had after living in a bus for a year (or subletting, or being homeless) were an armchair and my ginormous, incredibly heavy bookcase.

So anyway, I did manage to furnish my room all second-hand, and here’s a list of everything I introduced into my life during the month of March:

• Two extension cords and a double outlet plug (from Facebook Marketplace)

• A desk (from Facebook Marketplace)
  This one was for free as someone just wanted to get rid of it. It’s wobbly and I don’t particularly like it, but it does the job. Beggars can’t be choosers! I’ll look for one like better when I can afford it.

• A mattress
  Well this is a long story. I am too old to sleep on a crappy mattress, so I had almost decided that this was going to be an exception from my challenge and I was going to treat myself to a brand new mattress that would last me a lifetime. However, I also didn’t have a spare $1,500 to invest in a sustainable, New Zealand-made, bamboo-stuffed mattress, so I spent a couple of days scavenging op shop until I found something that looked used but not stained or gross, didn’t smell, and was super firm which is exactly what I wanted. And it was only $100. Stocked!

• Two chests of drawers, a table-thing made with pallets and two mirrors
  These were kindly left behind by the previous tenant which I very much appreciate as I did need some more storage space for my clothes and various things, and they were for free!

• A bookcase
  Well, so my original bookcase is massive and also parked at a friend’s place right now. I didn’t want to move it because it’s really heavy, and my current room is tiny so I was worried it would take up too much space. So I decided to sell it (which is breaking my heart, but it was time), and store my books in some ABC wood crates stacked on top of each other instead. This is way more compact and I love the look of it. Got them on Facebook Marketplace for cheap (unfortunately they came with 56 beer bottles that I had to pass on haha).

• A pair of high-top Vans (from Depop)
  This is not house-related but high-top Vans are my favourite shoes ever and I had been missing them. Stocked I found them second hand and hardly worn for $30!

• Women Don’t Owe You Pretty
  I checked out this book from the library but two pages in I knew I had to own it. Someone on Facebook had a copy they no longer wanted and they gave it to me for free!

• Tweezers
  I bought these new from Daiso. I just couldn’t find any second hand. Oh well.

• A phone
  So my iPhone 6 was quickly approaching the end of its life, and for along time I had been researching where to get a new, second-hand phone that would meet all my requirements. Luckily for me, my ex was given a new phone through his work, so he sold me his almost brand new iPhone 12 mini. Score! I feel such good technology is a bit wasted on me, but I’m not ashamed to say I’ve been enjoying the shit out of it.

• A phone case
  I think I ran out of juice by this point and ent for the easiest option. I did look into Pela cases, which are obviously awesome but come from overseas and are expensive, couldn’t find anything second-hand because this is a relatively new phone, so eventually ended up buying a cheap, unethical, basic phone case from Typo that I decorated with a sticker I already had. Eh.

I’m stocked with what my tiny room looks like! Especially since I ended up spending so much time in it since I got Covid two days after moving in haha.

During this time peeps and friends showered me with love and goodies. One of my friends dropped a bunch of clothes she no longer wanted at my doorsteps too, so I ended up acquiring a new jumper, shoes and a pair of pants for free (in fact, they even came with pastries).

In all this, I spent some time reevaluating my possessions, and I’m currently putting together a box of donations as I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the new things that have come into my life in the past couple of months.

I find it very hard to say no to things when they are free, even when I know it means I will have to get rid of something to make space for new stuff. But I also truly love going through my possessions, and I do get bored of things quickly, so I guess it’s somehow a win-win?

(I’ll probably write a separate post about quality over quantity, and investing in pieces that will last you a long time, but also how to relate this with wanting to refresh your possessions out of boredom. Would anyone be interested?)

Anyway, this was me in March. Although I do enjoy writing these monthly reviews, I’m also hoping that from now on I’ll just have fewer items to review: I genuinely don’t need anything right now, and in fact I’m looking forward to decluttering some of the things that were given to me so far. I’m also GOING BACK HOME in a few months which means I can’t afford to buy anything anyway if I want to be able to afford a decent holiday, so that helps haha. This Nothing New Challenge might turn into a Nothing At All Challenge after all!

Is anyone else out there also challenging themselves? Buying less, buying secondhand? I’d love to hear what you are up to!