I’m currently renovating my new house, and I’ve been fortunate enough  to have the services of a local artist/auteur who moonlights as a jack-of-all-trades. This man  built his own home out of assorted second-hand materials - collected over a lifetime - and was in possession of several items that were surplus to requirements. He was kind enough to give me a two-tier 1940s timber mantelpiece that had been trumped by a more elaborate Victorian one, and he made me a multicoloured bathroom out of whatever tiles were sitting in his shed. He also tore up my old  hot water service to create copper splashbacks for the kitchen.    

Wash basin and jug, $7

I rinse my hands dozens of times a day. After using the toilet, after using an ointment, after feeding the cat, after eating an orange, after wiping down the table, after pulling a weed. To save water, I keep a basin of water on the countertop so I don’t have to turn on the tap every time. But if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing prettily. Remembering to use this wash basin and jug satisfies my desire to save water, but it also satisfies my other desire, which is to bring as many Jane Austen-era domestic touches into my life as I can.

Soap dish, $2

The toiletries aisle of the supermarket is an environmentalist’s nightmare. Panty liners for everyday freshness? Just change your underpants at lunchtime if you want to! Hand wash that comes in a plastic bottle and routinely contains petrochemicals? I’ll stick to soap. And if I want up the ante I’ll buy a fancy bar and put it on this stone dish. The dish comes from an op shop with a shelf laden with car radios and collections of doorknobs and a sign saying “Men’s Business.” Oh, the things men get up to these days.