Why Second-Hand Furniture Is The Future

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Louis Watton

Heart shaped bench — Source: Google Images

Buying new furniture is exciting. It often means you have moved into a new space and need to decorate, giving you a chance to redesign your surroundings and the feeling of a fresh start. For a large majority of the population, it also means that you get to go to Ikea and eat as many meatballs as physically possible in one afternoon.

Whilst it is undeniably tempting to go and get yourself an entirely new setup, it is also a fact that buying brand new furniture every time you need something for your home or office has an impact on the environment due to the energy and materials used to make them. There are a number of really good second-hand furniture options for sale both in-store and online, and often you’ll find that they can give your space a much more unique feel.

The one strong selling point of Ikea is that they seem to always have exactly the thing you need, whereas buying second-hand makes it harder to find what you want. However, this is not an excuse to not try. Think about how much time you spend looking online for the best deal on whatever your next purchase is, or if you are someone who buys second-hand clothes, think about how much time you spend trying to find the perfect jacket. This is time that you could spend looking for that perfect piece of furniture for your new place.

second-hand furniture — Source: Google Images

All you need to do is make a quick Google search for your local second-hand store and take a look, or if you don’t feel like leaving your seat you can browse sites like eBay, Gumtree, Etsy and Freecycle just to name a few. If you do find something online, you can use Shiply as an eco-friendly shipping option as the drivers are typically filling their vans on journeys they are already making (and it’s also up to 75% cheaper than standard rates!).

Even Ikea themselves are now testing schemes where you can hand in old furniture so that they can find it a new home. With all the emphasis on social responsibility at the moment it feels like the times are changing on fast flatpack furniture, so next time you need a new sofa, think about the environment and take a look at second-hand options before going straight to the meatballs!

Shiply’s Recycling Tips for Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2019December 24, 2019 by Louis Watton

Whether it was the very public demonstrations of Extinction Rebellion or the passionate appeals of Greta Thunberg, there is no doubt that climate change and the current ecological state of our planet has been a hot topic of 2019 (and so it should be).

With one of the most notoriously excessive holidays just around the corner, we wanted to share some of our best suggestions on how to combat unnecessary waste this Christmas and make sure that you can enjoy the festivities in planet-saving style:

Food Waste

When it comes to Christmas dinner our eyes are always bigger than our stomachs. No matter how tasty your roast is there are always inevitably leftovers, and to make sure you are getting the most out of your food you should do one of two things:

Save them for another meal – remember Ross’ Christmas sandwich from Friends? You could recreate your very own ‘moist maker’, and believe me they are as good as they sound! Keeping leftovers means you can get multiple meals out of your food and keep the unnecessary waste at bay.

Use Food waste bins – if there are not enough leftovers to make a meal of, make sure you are disposing of the food in food waste bins. When food is disposed of improperly and ends up in a landfill it produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas, whereas if it goes in the food waste bin it ends up as plant fertiliser!

Wrapping

Unwrapping presents can be one of the best parts of the day, but it certainly does leave behind a lot of rubbish. According to gov.uk, the amount of wrapping paper thrown away after Christmas would stretch to the moon! When all the gift-giving is finished, make sure you collect all the paper and cardboard up and put it in the recycling bin to ensure it is put to good use in the future.

Unwanted Presents

We all love receiving gifts at Christmas, but a lot of the time we receive things we don’t necessarily want. ‘Stocking fillers’ are the biggest culprit, and you may be wondering what to do with your seventh pack of Lynx Africa if you really don’t need it – here are some options:

Give them to charity – there are always people who need something more than you do and giving unwanted gifts to charity is an excellent way of guaranteeing the gift will be used and appreciated by someone in need.

Return it for something else, or even just for store credit – keep those receipts! Although it may ‘spoil’ the fun by revealing how much you have spent, supplying receipts with gifts means that they can always be returned for something else or for store credit rather than ending up unused or in the bin.

Sell them on – if you don’t have a receipt but don’t want to throw the gift away you can always sell it on sites like eBay and Gumtree, ensuring that it is still going to be used by someone and not put to waste. As an extra eco-bonus, use Shiply to deliver the sold items for up to 75% less than usual rates and to stop unnecessary traffic on the road by using someone who is already going there.

Merry Christmas from the team at Shiply!

Have a Green Halloween

Posted on October 27, 2017October 27, 2017 by admin

Halloween is a time for fun, but the costumes, pumpkins and sweet wrappers can make it a breeding ground for waste. If you’re worried about contributing to the amount of plastic filling our bins this halloween, there are a few things you can implement to keep waste (and cost!) down without affecting the fun.

Shiply blog image

Image Source: avogel.co.uk

Walk, don’t drive

When you’re trick or treating, stay close to home and avoid getting in the car. Take a walk in your area instead – try and organise trick-or-treating in a group so you feel safe and can have fun chatting on the way round the houses.

Make or borrow your costume

If you’ve got some time, why not try making costumes from materials you have in the home? This obviously takes some time, but don’t be afraid to keep it simple and work with what you have. If you’ve not got time to make a costume, try visiting eBay for second hand costumer or visit a local charity shop. As well as reusing a costume, it’ll probably save you money, too!

Use up the pumpkin

Many of us buy a pumpkin to carve for a window display and typically throw most of it away. Next time you’re digging out a pumpkin’s insides, have a think about how you can prevent throwing it away and putting it to good use. You can make soup, or use the pumpkin in the same way you would use butternut squash in recipes, and you can of course roast and flavour the seeds how you’d like for a healthy snack!

Make treats

If you’re going to a halloween party, consider baking something to take with you rather than purchasing cakes. By doing this you can cut down on sugar and cater to dietary requirements, and you’ll have fun getting creative in the kitchen. An added bonus is that you’ll know exactly what ingredients you’ve used so you know there won’t be too many nasties in there!

Avoid plastic bags

When you’re trick-or-treating, consider taking a reusable bag for collecting your treats rather than purchasing a plastic halloween-themed vessel, only to be thrown away days later once the sweets have gone. You can decorate your bags to make them fit the theme (hint: an orange Sainsbury’s bag is a very convenient colour for halloween!)

Happy Halloween!