Discover treasure

Have you ever eaten soggie salad (when the dressed salad leaves go limp and soak up all the flavour)?

Cut the mould off some cheese and eaten what’s left?

Put stale bread in the toaster to freshen it up?

It might sound horrendous to you, but that's how things rolled in my house when I was growing up.

Not because we couldn't afford food, but rather because my parents, particularly my Dad, didn't like to see food wasted.

Dad was born in 1923 and lived through a depression, a World War, the era when things were manufactured locally and the availability of produce was limited by seasons and regions.

So it makes sense.

To him, the idea that you’d throw out a salad because it was no longer crunchy, or a loaf of bread because it had a spot of mould, was crazy to him. Food was food. It was valuable, and should be savoured and not wasted.

In fact, food wasn’t the only thing he wouldn't throw out.

When anything broke, he’d fix it.

He was our very own ‘Bob the Builder’. He’d tinker in his workshop for hours and NOTHING was thrown away before he’d attempted to bring it back to life!

So why am I telling you this?

Because it's the fuel for my passion for recycling and up-cycling.

It's why I believe that what appears unwanted, can be repurposed, rejuvenated, and rediscovered.

It's why I can't go past a Trash'n Treasure stall at a fete or local market, and why I get a thrill out of seeing an unloved item go to a new home.

It's also why I've created another opportunity for you to clear out your wardrobe, declutter your home, and move anything that no longer sparks joy from your space.

It's a wonderful opportunity to uncover some new treasure! (If you haven't been to one of my swap events before, trust me, you'll love it. You always come away feeling like a winner!).

It's this Sunday, 3rd April, from 9.30am - 11.30am in Kew (RSVP and I'll give you address details). It marks the end of daylight savings and a shift in season.

If you're in Melbourne, come along!

Bring your unloved, good quality clothing, shoes, accessories and homewares (feel free to bring your kids or partners stuff too), soak up the goodness from being surrounded by beautiful souls, and leave with treasured items and connections.

If you're not in Melbourne, or you can't come, is there a way you could breathe new life into items you've fallen out of love with?

Maybe pass them onto someone else? Or give them to an op shop or charity?

Remember, your trash is another person's treasure.

See what you can uncover.