Hello all and welcome to “One Man’s Trash... The straightforward guide to modern Wombling”
Okay, where do I start as I’ve never written a blog before. Firstly people should know I’m a typical average Joe, I work all
day and come home to a beautiful family who I would do anything to make happy. The times I do have something spare we try to do something nice together and then
that’s about it...
We could blame the economy, or the taxman, the list goes on forever but in the middle
of this madness I have discovered I have an odd gift, or a curse, whichever it is it creates
oppertunities to make a middle ground between what I can afford and what I cant. My better half calls me a Womble, and I have to agree with her. For those who don’t know what
a Womble is it is an fictional underground rodent-creature that lives in Wimbledon and makes use of
the trash and discarded items from litter-bug Londoners, turning them into furniture and tools
to improve their home and way of life. It’s a children’s program (well it was when I was a
child anyway...). They are simple creatures just like me, seeing something and getting a feel
for what else it could be used for. Every single one of us has been a Womble at least once in
their lives... Remember that time you had a big cardboard box? Except it wasnt a box, it was a
spaceship, or a robot, or a tv, or a car, the only limit was how creative you could be. So how does Wombling fit into our adult lives? My Wombling really comes out when I’m say surfing
the internet or going shopping and looking like furniture or home improvements. I dont
know about the rest of you but I get the hump everytime I see things that are ridiculously expensive
and I can see that they probably cost less than a fifth of the asking price to make. Don’t get me
wrong, I’m no cheapskate, instead I like to keep my head on straight and not be duped into thinkin
that the only way I can get what I want is to go direct, because where’s the fun (and personality)
in that. I often believe that retailers rely on us being to lazy or to too dumb to do it ourselves,
no-one is born knowing everything but we can learn how to do it if we really want to. The funny thin
is once you’ve finished a project you’ll be suprised how good it looks, the great comments you’ll
recieve and how gob-smacked others will be when you tell them it cost you basically nothing to make. Aside from cost there’s also an important enviroment aspect to Wombling, I used to work as a
dustman and it disturbed me how much people needlessly waste and I must say it feels good to
know you’re not adding to the tons of waste being dumped into landfill. Its a fact, Wombling is good
for the enviroment because you are in fact re-using unwanted items. It starts by noticing a gap, a missing peice of a puzzle that makes up your surroundings that
you’d like to fill but the conventional solutions just dont cut the mustard, and the good stuff is too
costly. Look at the thing you’re trying to achieve and in your mind break it up into it’s main
components and then break up those parts into even smaller parts. Now it’s time for Wombling!! Out and
about you’ll begin to recognise these parts being currently used in other day to day things that
people discard as surplus to requirements or simply have lying in their driveways gathering dust. Just give them a knock and tell them what you are trying to make and if those items you’ve seen
are being thrown out? 9 times out of 10 they will be happy for you to take it as it means they dont
have to dispose of it themselves and solves a huge pain in their asses. Just a word on safety, I would never suggest cold knocking by yourself,
always make sure you have a mate with you and on the brightside he can help you carry your newly
aquired items. Another avenue is telling your friends what you’re looking for and maybe they can
help you in your quest, also check the free to collect websites and newspaper adverts. Bit by bit you’ll
get what you need to get on with your project, pretty soon you’ll try to discover what is out there
being used for something else and you’ll be suprised how simple Wombling is. Now, there are a few rules to any aspiring Womblers:
1: Legal First - Don’t take anything what’s in the street or bin stores, that technically belongs to
the council. Driveways and Sites are fine, Skips are a grey area but I figure theres nothing to say
whats inside it is no longer the property of the resident and never ever take without asking.
2: Hate Waste/Work Tidy - Wombling is a hard subject for others to accept, so it helps to keep your
work neat and tidy so that others can place their confidence in you.
3: Make sure you have adequate storage space for items or suffer the consequences of your missus
4: If you borrow any tools/equipment from others then look after them (its important)
5: There’s a big difference between a Womble and a Junk-Junkie (aka a “Hoarder”), keep what you
collect specific to the project and dont Womble for no reason.
6: Wombling unwanted items is fun but live what you learn and put your unwanted items up for other
Womblers instead of throwing them in the bin. Wombling swings both ways.
7: Have fun and be inspired so think big and don’t hold back. Remember the cardboard box? To show you what I mean I am working on a major landscaping project of which I have been Wombling
most of my parts and in this project I will show you exactly how it’s done. This a huge task with
things like wendy houses/play areas/outdoor kitchen/pergola/ and more. I have a few other
more fun projects in mind for the future so watch this space and please leave comments, I’d really
like to hear what you think and if you’ve Wombled something yourself or need help Wombling then
fire away.
