“Why Buy It When You Can Build It.”
When I joined a bouldering gym, the membership was already too expensive for my budget, so for any additional things I needed to climb, I found the cheapest option. Of course, my motivation stemmed from my lack of funds, but, equally importantly, from my ongoing attempt to reduce the purchasing of new items (clothes, bags, shoes, you get the idea). I bought $20 used climbing shoes from REI garage; they would bleed red dye all over my feet whenever I wore them (and still do). I would run home, saving a whopping $2.50 by not taking the metro. And I made my chalk bag, the beginning of this series.
Simply put, in this series, I create new things from old things.
Chalk Bag
The light blue wavy outer layer is made from fabric I had left over from another project. The carabiner is from my college’s to-go container program; turn in your carabiner and get a to-go container for the dining hall. The navy drawstring is from the waistband of a men’s bathing suit I thrifted. The green quilted lining is scrap fabric from an Orvis coat my friend gave me; I up-cycled that coat into a puffer jacket.
I did buy new chalk.
Bookshelf
As I rearranged my room, I realized I had nowhere to put my books. I wanted a short locker at the end of my bed, but they were all around $200 anywhere I looked. So, instead, I scrounged around the basement and found scrap wood from old projects over the years tucked behind my workbench, in the trash, etc.
It is made entirely of scrap wood, so angles may not be perfect, and the wood is discolored in a few spots, but I found that this makes me like it even more. I added a lime wash top coat to let the wood shine through and sealed it with varnish.