Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right.’ Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along. George Herbert
And RUDE Boy is relating to this quote below
I like doing things where I can get dirty, work with my hands, and use power tools. Last weekend, I did some grouting. Nathan Fillion
For this week’s blog post RUDE was keen to do a post about a collection of things. Interestingly we do not see ourselves as collectors. Maybe it is because we do not collect things as a hobby. We collect to reuse things in a very practical way. And monetary value rarely comes into play. It is always about function for us. And if practical things are beautiful to look at, well that’s a bonus. This morning, as with most Friday mornings, I lie in bed wondering what to post about. I was thinking about some of the stuff we have around our home. I thought maybe our baskets, chopping boards, CDs, vinyl LP records and books. RUDE Girl has rescued many cane baskets from landfill. We have baskets for laundry, sewing, clothes, serviettes, ironing, shopping, display, food, storage and towels.
Photos below: RUDE Girl’s cane basket collection
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RUDE Boy has tools that were purchased new, many years ago.However, it was time to feature those in his collection that have been rescued from TIP SHOPS. The tools featured in this video below, are a great asset to the business of running our frugal household.
When I said I wanted a curtain for our shower recess, my husband replied, “Like in the movie Psycho?” Karen Ellis / Blogger
After 15 days, RUDE has conquered! We did it, re-tiled the shower recess and did some minor and frugal makeovers along the way. Our journey was shared on Facebook @ruderepair. We were keen to share what we were doing, to encourage and/or help others, who might be keen to give tiling or re-tiling a shower a go. It also helped us stay on schedule, when encouraging comments, were posted. We kept the mood light by pretending, to sort of be, contestants on The Block.
For a tradesperson to do this job, it would have cost $3,000 to $4,000. We could have paid that amount, but RUDE Girl was really keen for RUDE Boy to give it a go. He had never tiled before, so it was way out of his comfort zone. I had all the faith in the world in his ability to do it. And, I kept saying that if he/we failed, we could pay our son-in-law [another Danny] to come and help out.
I also was keen to have the job undertaken our way. Tradespeople can be incredibly set in their thinking and way of doing a job. I wanted us to do it the RUDE way, and not have to coax a tradie into, for example, using recycled materials. For example, we had bought the grout a year ago in a TIP SHOP already mixed and in tubes! We wanted to use it. It cost $7.50 to grout the whole shower recess ~ no mixing up involved!
This project not only involved re-tiling the shower. RUDE Boy has improved on the waterproofing of the shower cabinet using aquaboard and by applying three coats of a blue waterproof sealer [paint of sorts].
It was a great opportunity to inspect the hardwood frame of the bathroom walls and floors, and make sure there had been no water damage. The water pipes required some fastening and shock absorption which were attended too, whilst the walls were removed.
We had decided we were going to replace the old gold framed screen with a shower curtain. However, believe it or not, the rail fixture to attach the curtain to, was going to cost $100 or more. It was fun to think of a way to make a rail up ourselves using some metal rod and plumbing fittings. Total cost $17.
We replaced the old tap handles with similar ones from a TIP SHOP. These just need a good old clean, and were soaked in water with two denture tablets.
Our shower curtain is a Mileno brand that we purchased for $18. It was originally $29. We knew it was not going to be long enough. In the video below, I demonstrate how I made it longer, using a Husky brand jacket.
Our shower project’s total cost was $320. Beat The Man and DIY, if you can!
RUDE Boy is into Day 7 of our shower recess re-tiling. We have never DIY tiled before, so it’s a stressful home improvement project for us. We are both relieved we are not revamping the entire bathroom! You can view our daily antics over on our Facebook blog @ruderepair
Meanwhile, us RUDE Guys talk rubbish all the time. We are interested in trash talk and subscribe to various websites and Facebook pages related to the topic. We administrate our city’s only zero waste blog [that we know of] on Facebook @zerowastemelton
We have watched a couple of documentaries on landfills, and the people that scavenge on them. And we are waiting to view a couple more in due course. Please let us know if you have seen this doco titled Something Better to Come. And if yes, what you thought.
SOMETHING BETTER TO COME [2015]
Below, are a few movies we are keen to view. Let us know if you have watched any of these movies, and what you thought.
‘Our signature folly is Scavenger Style’ ~ Rude Record
RUDE Girl just has to share all these images, I have been collecting of on-trend fashion, that is readily available at Aussie TIP SHOPS, that sell recycled textiles.
You will probably not even find most of this ‘trashion’ [or scavenger style, as RUDE calls it] in charity stores, because the volunteers are told to discard worn and/or ripped garments, into the recycled textile bags, for collection and downcycling. Well, I have never seen ripped jeans in op shops in Australia, unless things have changed.
Anyways, these celebrity looks featured below are easy to get, for next to no cost. That’s if you dare to venture out to a recycling transfer station, and then go inside the TIP SHOP there [if, of course, it has such a TIP SHOP shed on-site].
M Magazine: September 11, 2016 pg 4 ~ When Trends Attack
RUDE Girl’s $2 military punk style boots
M Magazine: Denim is Back ~ September 18, 2016 pg 4
December 17, 2013 ~ RUDE Girl was way ahead of this current trend, featured in the above image. Jeans rescued from landfill fate were to small. Added in a yellow piece, from another pair of jeans, which were too small and also from a TIP SHOP.
M Magazine October 2, 2016 ~ Underwear As Outerwear
M Magazine: September 11, 2016 pg 4 ~ When Trends Attack
The designer slip, in the above image, was $1 and will look pretty as a top with jeans or a skirt this summer.
Above image: M Magazine September 25, 2016 ~ Keeping It On The Level ~ Granny look garments are plentiful at TIP SHOPS. The secret is knowing how to pull the style together like Reese.
Sunday Style Magazine ~ Just get a cotton shirt from a TIP SHOP, and rip the collar off it, for this look. EASY, hey!
Beat The Man to the recycled clothes at the TIP SHOP! Worn and torn really is the look [apparently], and it’s super affordable to achieve!
“Mending really matters, whether it’s a broken heart or a pair of slippers.”
Karen Ellis / Blogger & Mender of Things
When RUDE Girl’s daughter, Beck, visited the other day, she commented that my fabric slippies are cute. I told her the story of Jaimee, a Facebook friend [who I have never met] gifting them to me. And, that I had another pair, that were also made by Jaimee. Here is the link to that story.
At the time of Beck’s compliment, it reminded me that I had to mend the soles of these cute slippers, as soon as possible. They have such sentimental value, and have been worn by me, most days, for a couple of years.
This is the second time they have been mended. The first time the soles were replaced. Here is the link to that blog post.
This time the old soles have remained in place, and have been reinforced with new soles over the top of them. The Japanese visible mending technique of boro has been used.
Below is the recent video, that explains how I continue to boro mend my favourite slippers.
Beat The Man by mending your favourite things, especially those things that have been made with love, time and effort.
At Home with Mend It Aussie 