My secret side hustle revealed

Just in case this ever leaks, I need to make a confession:

This year I’ve been doing some ‘side hustle’ work as a garbo.

It all began in lockdown when I was looking for an excuse to get out of the house. A mate of mine has a rubbish removal business and asked whether I’d like to tag along on some of his jobs.

How could I say no?

There’s something about hydraulics, a mate to talk rubbish with, and snooping on people’s trash that really revs my engine.

“I could make a killing by selling a paparazzi shot of you picking up rubbish”, teased my mate. “I can see the headline now: ‘Barefoot investor goes broke, becomes a GARBO’.”

Yet there was an ulterior motive: I have been decking out a barn (read: man cave) on the farm, so I was keeping a lookout for any discarded gems.

As we toured the suburbs dropping off giant skip bins, it was clear that a lot of people had been inspired to do a Marie Kondo cleanout over lockdown.

But you know what was really weird?

I was expecting to find loads of old junk. Yet most of the furniture being chucked wasn’t that old … and the people who’d chucked it would have paid a pretty penny for what had quickly become semi-disposable Swedish furniture.

For my man cave I wanted something that would last. So on the weekend I went shopping for a ‘good’ sofa, and I met possibly the most honest furniture salesman in Melbourne.

“Is it leather?” I asked, pointing at a classy-looking chesterfield.

He looked at me, smiled, and shrugged his shoulders.

“Honestly? It’s spat out of a factory in China. It could be made of rat for all I know. But it looks good, right?”

(He was only slightly joking. Consumer group CHOICE says — incredibly — that there is no one definition of leather.)

“Look, mate, no one makes anything here in Australia anymore”, the salesman said to me emphatically. “It’s too expensive. Everything is made in China. EVERYTHING.”

That was like waving a red rag to a ... rat?

Eventually, after much googling, I found a furniture-maker in Melbourne who has spent decades honing his craft. So I gave him a call.

“How can I ensure you’re putting real leather on my sofa?” I quizzed him.

“Well, how about we go pick out the hide together?” he said.

Hard core.

Now I know what you’re thinking: “Not everyone has the coin to get something custom made, Barefoot!”

And I agree — which is why, in addition to getting a sofa made, I’ve also been hunting for restored antique furniture on the cheap off eBay (for the man cave). The sort of stuff that was built in a different era, long before everything was created to be flat-packed on a ship from China.

My thinking: I not only want to be sustainable for the planet, I want to buy something that will outlast me — and support Aussie jobs to boot.

Yes, it will cost more. But, then again, so does paying good money for average stuff and paying two dudes to cart it away every few years.

Tread Your Own Path!