The past few years, I wrote articles about everything I bought new in a specific year. That’s because I challenged myself to buy nothing new for an entire year, as that is the most sustainable thing to do. When I wrote about everything I bought new, it was an evaluation. I never managed to buy absolutely nothing new. But over the years, the list did get shorter and shorter. And now, in this evaluation of 2024, I am expanding the list with a new category. I am writing about everything I bought new ánd secondhand in 2024. Because, spoiler, the ‘new’ list is so short, I can finally expand the article. That means I’m minimizing even more! Here’s everything I bought new and secondhand in 2024.
Everything I bought new in 2024
The goal in this category is zero. I will keep aiming for that every year, because buying new stuff is the most impactful thing on the environment that we can do. Buying nothing new is therefore the most sustainable thing we can do. Because I intend to keep this list small, I have the room to elaborate on every item.
1 | Pink crop top (4 euros)
In August of 2024, my mom bought a pink crop top from H&M for me. It was a gift, but I include gifts in this list too. That’s because it’s my personal responsibility to make sure that the people around me know that I do not want new items. My mom and I bought a secondhand pants for me in the summer of 2024, so when she saw the pink top she bought it because it fit perfectly with the pants. I think that’s very sweet of her. However, I did ask if she had the receipt still to return it, but she threw it away because the top was only 4 euros. I will try to wear this top for as long as I can, now that I have it.
2 | Bicycle tire (8 euros)
This is a new purchase that I made myself and do not regret. I have a secondhand bike, which I’ve had for some years and try to repair whenever something breaks. When the tire was flat, I brought it to the repair service straight away. I could have walked home (which is about an 75 minute walk), searched for a secondhand bicycle tire online and repaired it myself. But in this case I chose to save myself all that trouble. The repair cost me more than 8 euros, but I saw on the receipt that 8 euros was for the new tire and the rest was the money for the labor.
3 | Books for Think Big Act Now course (72 euros)
My full-time job resolves around the European Emission Trading system, so I work for a system which makes the industry in The Netherlands cut their emissions to zero. On this blog, my Instagram and Youtube-channel I write about another part of a sustainable future: personal impact. I think it’s not only up to industry to change, we as individuals can change as well. In december of 2024, I took a course to become a speaker on behalf of the Think Big Act Now institute. They spread the message of The Hidden Impact, which I do on this blog as well. It resolves around informing people on how they can best reduce their negative impact, focussing on the biggest impact instead of details. I am thrilled to become a speaker. For the course I took, I received three books, the books on which the institute is built.
I did try to refuse the books and asked if I could buy them secondhand, but I was not persistent enough. The institute insisted that I received the books and I simply wasn’t brave enough to stand up to it. I do have some regrets here. If I just bought the books secondhand upfront (because I do actually need them when I give lectures) and said that I already had them, I could have easily refused.
Total of new purchases in 2024: 5 items worth 84 euros
This year is my lowest score ever. The lowest score that I had before this one was in 2019, when I bought 337 euros worth of new stuff. That’s a big jump I made, 253 euros lower than my lowest score. And compared to last year, I cut down almost 500 euros (494 to be precise)! I feel proud, but I can’t help but feel that I could have done better. If I had been a little bit more brave and refused the books, I could have had a score of 12 euros. But well, I guess that’s a new challenge for the new year 2025 haha. For now, I am pretty content with my score. Especially when I see where I came from when I started this journey in 2018. It’s become much easier and natural to buy (almost) nothing over the years.
Everything I bought secondhand in 2024
My goal in this category is not zero per se, because I know that that’s unrealistic. But I do want to aim low. Let’s say my goal is to have no regrets in this category of secondhand purchases. And mind you: I do not include secondhand clothing in this category. It’s a little unfair, I know. But in this article of today I want to focus solely on stuff (and I want to write a separate article about all the secondhand clothing items I bought, with pictures, to show everything how awesome secondhand clothing is). In this category I will not elaborate on every item, because the list is too long for that. Maybe I can elaborate more in the future.
1 | Laptop standard (9 euros)
2 | USB-splitter (3 euros)
3 | Keyboard (10 euros)
4 | Shoe trees (3 euros)
5 | Clothes shaver (5 euros)
6 | Travel plug (1 euro)
7 | Privacy screen (3 euros)
8 | Agricola board game (? euros)
9 | Lost cities card game (5 euros)
10 | Universal phone charger (? euros)
11 | Bicycle rack (10 euros)
12 | Heel protectors (2 euros)
13 | Lamp (7,50 euros)
14 | Digital photo frame (2,50 euros)
15 | Samsung Frame TV (275 euros)
16 | Bed (150 euros)
17| Laundry basket (14,25 euros)
18 | Mending Life Book (24 euros)
Total of secondhand purchases in 2024: 18 items worth 524 euros
This is the second year that I am measuring how much secondhand stuff I buy in a year. I can’t say much of a trend (yet!). All I can say that I spend almost 3 times times as much as in 2023. The amount of items is also higher (18 vs 12 last year). I think 18 is a bit too much. For this phase of my life, I think one item a month is acceptable. But, this past year I had only three regrets and I think that’s what most important. Three small slip-ups, I can live with that. More about these regrets below. The other 15 items were just things I needed. And I very happy and grateful that I managed to buy them secondhand. That’s already the biggest win.
The majority of the money comes from a bed and tv I bought together with my boyfriend. I listed 275 euros and 150 euros. The items were in total 550 and 300 euros, but these are items we explicitly bought together, so I think half of the purchase is for him and half is for me. A tv and bed are just expensive, even secondhand. But like I said, we needed those items, because we’re moving in 2025. More about that soon! The end conclusion for me is: I am content! Just three regrets.
My regrets in secondhand purchases
I will elaborate on the secondhand items which I have marked with underline, because those are the items I regret. The USB-splitter was something I needed for my previous job. At my old job, I had a MacBook air, which does not have so many USB-entrances. For a keyboard that I wanted to buy, I bought USB-splitter. But, soon after I switched to another job and now I don’t need it anymore because the laptop I have from this employer has plenty of USB-entrances. I already brought it to the thrift shop again, so that it can have a new life with someone else.
The shoe trees were a mistake because they don’t fit exactly in my shoes and they’re made out of plastic. I hadn’t thought it through when I bought these in a thrift shop. Where possible, I want my stuff to be made out of compostable materials. My boyfriend has wooden shoe trees and I am buying wooden secondhand ones when I find them. At that point, I will get rid of these plastic ones that I bought. I will also try them on in the store, to make sure they’re my size.
The last regret I have is a travel plug. I was going on a trip to Scotland (by train) with my dad and I had asked around if anyone I knew has a travel plug. I needed one to charge my phone, as the sockets in Scotland are different than in Europe. Nobody seemed to have one, so then I started to look for one secondhand. I found one for 1 euro and bought it. Not long after that, I got offered a travel plug to borrow by a friend. I guess I was too fast with buying one secondhand.
The plan for 2025
In 2025 I am aiming for zero new purchases again and will try to also have zero regrets when it comes to secondhand purchases. That is the most sustainable I can manage: nothing new and only secondhand things I actually need. But like I said, I have a big move coming up.. So, my goals are ambitious. But we’ll see how it goes. 2024 went pretty good! Let’s continue this trend.
Yours sincerely,
Romee
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