Whether we believe in man-made climate change or not, what we can't dispute is the damage our continuous and often unnecessary consumption is causing to our planet.

I've struggled in the past with the idea that as KBzine's editor, I'm helping sell new products to people who may not actually need them, but I've tried to balance that with regular pleas for us as an industry to push the idea that what we may no longer want, may be someone else's dream possession. We must learn to not discard what we're replacing with new, but to instead try and find a new home for it.

I know it's not the kitchen I'd have chosen by any means, but my kitchen, which I found on Gumtree some years ago and had installed at home, is still going strong. It's a tad old fashioned, yes, and the sink wasn't well looked after by the previous owner and the hob has to be lit with a match, but I'm OK with that. One day I may be in a position to change it all but it won't go to the dump; instead I'll find another home for it. Having said that, the disruption involved with having a new kitchen fitted (and I'll need my concrete floor screeded and walls and ceiling replastered at the same time) means that I'll probably be leaving my home for good before my kitchen does. Life's complicated enough, isn't it?

Recent research by Skoup indicates that homes and business are wasting space and money on storage for bulky items that they'll never use, such as sofas, filing cabinets, old equipment etc. It also found that the average home is wasting 6sq.ft of living space, storing things that are too large or too difficult to recycle or dispose of - and with modern homes tending to be smaller than their older counterparts, 6sq.ft can make a huge difference to comfort, so it makes sense to pass things on that we no longer need, doesn't it?

A simple ad on Gumtree, eBay, FreeCycle or the like with a rider 'buyer must collect', is surely the best way to do it, don't you think?

Yours,

Jan Hobbs