Whether it’s the thrill of the hunt and never knowing what treasures you might uncover, the satisfaction that your pre-loved items are finding new homes, or that you get to make money from items that have otherwise been collecting dust, let’s face it – people LOVE a good garage sale!
Community Vibe
One thing I love about Second Hand Saturday is the buzz – the positive community vibe created as everyone bands together for a common cause.
Plus so many sales within walking or a short driving distance of each other makes for the perfect excuse to get a group of friends together and make a day of it!
One of the highlights I’ve experienced during Second Hand Saturday was talking with the lovely people I met along the way. You never know who you’ll meet! One guy happened to be a local mechanic who we’ve continued to use over the years, while I also got to know my neighbours a lot better.
Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be chatting to people within our community to find out what they love about Second Hand Saturday and showcasing some of the great fundraisers and bargains coming up, so stay tuned!
Interview with Ash Grunwald
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| Photo credit: Simon Conlon |
This week I had the opportunity to ask Australian Blues and Roots singer and Byron local Ash Grunwald a few questions about the importance of garage sales.
So why Ash you might ask? Well, its not only his booty shakin’ songs often about escaping the big city or spending time in nature that attracted me to him, it’s his devotion to helping fight the war on waste.
What many people might not know is that together with his wife Danni, the couple share a strong commitment to our environment, particularly in the fight against single-use plastics.
Chatting with Ash
Have you heard of Second Hand Saturday?
No but I think it’s a sensational idea!! If we were around more, I’d probably get amoungst it!!
Have you ever held a garage sale?
Danni my wife did when we left Torquay to move up to the Northern Rivers. We made a couple of grand I think? I was on tour as usual!
We love that garage sales are social, what do you believe is the benefit of holding a garage sale?
I think they are an amazing idea!!! Ahead of their time. The inspiring thing about garage sales is that they allow people to benefit from the money they have invested in something, that would otherwise be wasted. This is huge! Especially as most of us are in the shackles of debt. The humble garage sale has been doing this for years!! Also as we all know, we tend to over consume. Delpeting the planet of much needed resources and creating toxic waste at an alarming rate. Reusing stuff is the ethical option. It’s also way cheaper for the buyer and free money for the seller, in that the things they choose to sell weren’t being used.
There is quite an emphasis on sending less to landfill and promoting re-use, why do you think this is important in our community?
I think people are waking up. We can’t keep polluting at the rate we are and expect no consequences. The good news is that although in some areas it gets worse every day, the problem is being counteracted by many brilliant people working on new initiatives such as Second Hand Saturday to encourage positive change.
How do you think the NSW north coast does in terms of reducing what we send to landfill?
I spend more time in Bali these days. And we certainly do better in NSW than in Bali but are we just better at hiding the problems?
Do you think you might get time to do some shopping this Second Hand Saturday? If so, what’s something you might be on the hunt for?
Yellow surfboards and funky old oddball guitars!
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| Yellow Surfboards and funky oddball guitars are on Ash Grunwald’s Second Hand Saturday wish list. Credit Jim Banks Surfboards |
