vintage

Vintage life hacks for old school improvement; technology makes everyday life easier, but some useful instructions never go out of style.

A Long and Storied History of the Most Interesting Secondhand Items I've Ever Bought
For as long as I can remember, I have been enormously enamoured with the act of visiting charity shops, and other establishments of the secondhand-selling persuasion, whenever it was possible for me to do so.
By Jack Anderson Keane5 years ago in Lifehack
The Heisey Trophy
In 2001, my husband was in the military, had served four years and was getting ready to get out. Then 9/11 happened. Things changed for us and he stayed. Two years later, he finally separated.
By J Magnuson5 years ago in Lifehack
Thrifting Through Life
Thrifting is in my blood. I can't walk past a garage or yard sale without stopping, and I can never resist going into a op-shop anywhere in the world. I've found favorite pieces and treasures in second-hand stores across the USA, in London and Australia, and on holiday in Italy, Singapore and Bali.
By Liz Sinclair5 years ago in Lifehack
Junkyard Dog
Like many young guys, I had a car fixation. It was the expression of my freedom. I could pilot myself... or even better, myself and a date... anywhere I wanted or needed to go.
By L. Lane Bailey5 years ago in Lifehack
Thrift Shop Thrills
Thrift Shop Thrills Our house is full of thrift shop, yard sale, auction house, and estate sale treasures. Luckily my wife and I both are drawn to thrift shops and all their variations, wherever they are. If we go to the beach, we go to a thrift shop near the beach and buy champagne glasses to use while sitting on a balcony, watching the waves, and toasting our good fortune of being there. If we go to England, it is much a tour of the thrift shops as it is a tour of stately mansions and castles.
By Cleve Taylor 5 years ago in Lifehack
The Pros and Cons of Online Auctions
Internet auctions have become increasingly popular over the years for several reasons, from their wide geographical scope to your absence of time limits. If you are contemplating moving to this area of sale, there is a wide variety of attractive benefits to consider, but also some negative aspects to take into account. Here is a summary of some of the pros and cons:
By Alex cox5 years ago in Lifehack
Dirt Flippers
By Joan D. Warren When Joan Warner teamed up with Kurt Bagly, it was an unlikely paring. She was an uptight soccer mom from a well-to-do community who had just started a career in Real Estate. Kurt was a rough-around-the-edges blue collar carpenter with a rap sheet and a beat up pick-up truck.
By Joan Warren5 years ago in Lifehack
Chrysalis
The metal box sat in the back of the closet. Unassuming, 8 inches long by four wide and not much deeper. I pressed the small lever and it sprung open. Carefully wrapped in a faded red ribbon were a dozen letters, paper thin and brittle. As I lifted them out of the box I noticed the little black notebook tucked underneath. Carefully, I brought the metal box out of the closet and placed it on my bed. The black notebook had a faded date on the cover, 1957, in gold leaf, suggesting a different time. As I opened it, my eyes fell on Alfredo's handwriting--ornamental and fluid. The notes of the artist lay in front of me, hidden from view for all these years. I put the notebook back in the box and turned to the bundle of missives. Carefully, I freed them from the ribbon and started at the top. "I look around me", it said, "and I recognize nothing. There is no brilliant sun, no colorful malecón, no Cafetín del Muelle. Miramar is not El Vedado. My studio--a small garage on a main road in a house once owned by my family, was left behind. Marble and clay broken and crushed, dreams of liberation that were nothing more than that. I boarded the freedom flight and realized that freedom was and is no longer. The easy collaboration, the afternoons of tertulia and cafecito, the quest to create art that was authentically Cuban--all broken promises and political propaganda. To start over, to surrender my identity and replace it with a shiny gold eagle. Peace to work, that is the price of peace. To lose yourself in your work, each new piece an effort to bind you to this new reality. Exilado. Denaturalizado. Desterrado. The choice impossible. To die at home or be reborn in foreign soil. I struggle. I carve a piece, unyielding marble. Each drop of the hammer a reminder." Twelve letters in all, twelve pages filled with ennui and regret and loneliness. Hundreds of words spilled from a soul lost to its identity. All addressed to Sara, of the clear green eyes and long red hair. Sara, tamer of lost souls and curator of memories.
By Viviana Valdes-Santos5 years ago in Lifehack
Why You Should Convert Your Old VHS Tapes to Digital?
So many precious memories of many families are stored on VHS videotapes. Those old tapes can give you a lot of great memories, from your family Christmases, your wedding video, favorite childhood films, home movies, even your kids' first baby tapes that you watch with the entire family. These old footage but unforgettable memories could be unwatchable soon, just because Video Home System (VHS) tapes are rapidly declining. VHS tapes not only cut down over the time but the devices on which to play they are not in production any more.
By My Legacies5 years ago in Lifehack
An Antique Shop Christmas!
I have always found it hard to figure out what to get my family for Christmas. I'd either get a stupid "As Seen On TV" thing that would break within the week but was fun for a while kind of thing, or I'd just go for the easy way out and get a gift card. I always felt like a jerk that didn't care about anyone when I sprang for the gift cards, and I bet that's what everyone else thought too.
By Emilio (Sleepy) Salinas5 years ago in Lifehack
Starting a Coin Collection
What do Hollywood star Jack Black, Louis XIV of France and the Roman Emperor Augustus have in common? The answer is a passion for coin collecting -- and they have tons of company too.
By Rosie Bagley5 years ago in Lifehack
Vintage Suitcases Two Ways
Like many first time home buyers, when we bought our fixer-up starter home - actually a townhouse - we were a bit house poor. After moving in I threw myself into renovating the main floor, which was a depressing shade of beige, and spent the first year in our home spending my weekends spackling, sanding, painting and wallpapering.
By Apple Dainty6 years ago in Lifehack