Since I came out of my “nothing new” closet, lots of lovely folk have asked me how I manage it. The most common question: Don’t you feel deprived?

I tell them that my world is full of “not new” instant gratification. But instead of heading to the mall or the plaza to get a fix, I seek out an op shop or, as I did this morning, treat myself to an hour of garage sales.

Sometimes, the hour turns up nothing but craptastic consumables that I’d never have paid for in the first place. Other times, the gold surfaces and I come home with a pleasing booty of instant gratification like this:

6 x thermic double-walled glasses for $5 the lot. My niece serves me up cappuccino in glasses just like these and I’ve been hankering for my own set for quite some time. High five.

A set of 1960s anodised aluminium measuring cups for $2. For a mid-century vintage lover (like me) with a penchant for slavishly following the current trend for copper homewares, these are a superb find. Cute as a button.

2 x 1960s atlases ($2 each) and 2 x unused journals ($2). Gotta love the colours in these old atlases. I’ll be upcycling these beauties into bunting like this and envelopes like this. And the journals? I journal a lot, yet always manage to pick up enough of these at garage sales to keep me going. It seems not everyone journals. That’s my good fortune.

These Rip Curl sunglasses for $3. They’re in mint condition, but probably last season’s style. < See that “probably” there? That’s the point … I have no idea whether they’re the latest or the greatest. I just like love them.

This big old-style key for $10. My top ticket-price item for the morning and a perfect gift for Mr P who is a collector of such things.

My treasures made it home with no excess packaging, no credit card payments and no guilt about the environment. That’s doing “nothing new” like a boss.