Do you also have old electronics in your closet / garage / clutter-coffin? You are not alone!
It was 2020 — I was looking for the perfect WFH-Setup — because as we know — the more gear, the more productive
Press enter or click to view image in full size
Blue light filter glasses, check — f.lux app for a healthier darkroom screen experience, check. Then Instagram kept on trying to convince me buying a “Monitor light bar” — ok another invention from the “lets captitalize on another niche because maybe people buy it” - product designers (yea I know, we all need to feed our families). But then a tech YouTuber pulled out some studies for healthy screen light distribution etc. — I was convinced for the moment of the purchase.
Press enter or click to view image in full size
I used if for some time but in the end it was not super convincing for the added footprint to my desk setup — and because I was using a curved monitor at that time, it revealed the dust on the monitor from day one. And there went the Amazon return window.
1 week later I tripped over the cable, the thing fell down and its mount broke.
I ended up putting it to the notorious box *clutter coffin* for electronics, trying to forget about about, what was probably my “worst purchase decision in 2021”
Raised in Clutter, Destined for Landfill: Lots Of Unneccesary Stuff and E-Waste Is Rotting In Our Houses
I wrote in another article on my experince on World Cleanup Day and how the increased level of squarefeet per person in US housholds and around the world goes hand in hand with people’s interest for storage room facilities. The power-banks for your physical consumption.
But Then I Found Another Item In My Closet.
And this is the moment where my forced-connection-#IKEAHackers-brain kicked in. Besides on their own funeral, men don’t often get flowers (despite when living in The Netherlands during a pandemic where they had to shred tons of tulips due to lower demand — so both my employers gifted me flowers during that time). Anyway — for now, this flower vase was not of particularly high use for me
2 Useless Items turned into a designer lamp
For reference — this is the monitor lamp I am using — it fits the IKEA vase perfectly.
Maybe I was inspired by a lamp I already owned. An iconic designer piece that uses standard wiring and some rare special S14d-socket. Although I love the fact that now, my DIY-lamp is more practical due to the adjustable light angle, temparature and the passive nature of the light .
What was your worst purchase decision? And did it end up to add purpose after all?
Let’s embrace #ForcedConnections more and repurpose stuff that deserves a second life.
Also, feel free to join my Substack / Digital Garden (still figuring out which Blog works best)