Category Archives: MONEYFREE

SMALL STEPS

Blogging isn’t easy for me, so I’m trying a new approach – very quick posts.
Yesterday we went for a bike ride along the old East/West Berlin border. Really recommendable! The part we went to is between a river and an autobahn and it’s really green. There is quite a few people there, but it’s still kind of mystical. I’ve never been there before. We even went outside Berlin, crossing the border to Brandenburg, the next state. We saw horses, sheep, lots of birds and a crane.

rocket

On the way we’ve found some wild rocket. I have been finding it around Berlin quite a bit this year, never noticed it before or knew it grew wild. Just came across the smell one day and thought I’d try it. It tastes amazing! Quite peppery and so much better then from the store!

In one of the little towns outside the city we came across some bushes of different kinds of cherry plums next to the road. The bigger yellow kind, some red ones and some small unripe looking things, literally the size of cherries. I first was worried they’d be really sour. But they are delicious, bursting in your mouth, just a bit tangy, but also really sweet. So, we were grazing from these bushes for a while and then took some home too.

plums

Another good thing about them, they are really easy to pick, coz not on a tree. If I get a garden I need to plant a couple of those. I didn’t like the yellow and red kind too much. Too floury, not so juicy and refreshing.

We also went into a garden colony, which was very neatly kept, around the corner from us. And people had put out baskets with apples and little pots with plants to take. Very sweet!

Yesterday was great! We’ve been having really great weather the last couple of days, actually the whole summer has been pretty good so far. I’m soaking in the last rays, getting worried autumn will be here soon.

Anyways, we had an awesome day out, it was really cool seeing a very different side of Berlin, at times I thought myself in another town and to get some foraging in.

Have a great week!!!

FREE FLEA MARKET

Two weeks ago I went to a free flea market for the first time. A free flea market is  just like at a normal flea market, but everything is of curz-free. Some of the market stalls are run by free shops, but anyone can come and participate and put up their own stall. People can come and just take things or if they wanna give something away, they just put it on one of the tables.
It’s like a spontaneous free shop.

bbb

I took the pictures a bit late, almost no sun anymore.

The last market was held outside on a nice, sunny day at the backyard of “Kunst-Stoffe” in Pankow, which is in the north part of Berlin.

shirts

What projects am I gonna make with these?

Kunst-Stoffe is also an interesting place, it’s like a recycling yard in a building. People and businesses can drop off materials and resources they don’t need anymore.

linen stack

Got a nice stack of fabrics!

They have fabrics, haberdashery, wood, old electronics, foams, wood, tiles.. all sorts of stuff. You have to pay for the things, but you can probably get them at a decent price.

steckdose

A splitter box, also very useful!

The market was very small and lots of fun. I met some of my friends and we had a blast looking for things and hanging out.

books

Got one book on wild plants, the second one that I’ve got for free! And one on storage solutions.

One woman even gave me a free green smoothie.

kitchen knife

Ah yeah, a knife. You always need a knife.

There weren’t many stalls, but people brought really cool stuff, no rubbish. And some people even like “rubbish”, I would still use ripped clothing and sew something with it for example. And everyone was really lovely!!

Some eccentric coat hangers!

Some eccentric coat hangers!

Very awesome!! I will be there again next time!
Is there something like free markets where you are? If not, maybe you feel like organizing one?

FREE SHOP HAUL

I love Free Shops!! They are awesome!
And I just wanted to show you a couple of items I got on my free shop hauls lately.

I got a cute shirt.

I got a cute shirt.

Free shopping is so much more exciting then regular shopping.
It’s like another person left presents there for you to find.
You’ll often find something unique, I sometimes find handmade or hand embellished clothing.

Wearing this, I already got asked twice if I am a communist by people looking at me in bewilderment.

Wearing this, I already got asked twice if I am a communist, by people looking at me in bewilderment.

Free shops are awesome, coz they redistribute stuff from people that don’t need it to people that need and want it. They are like the flow stations in society. Things flow in and they flow out. No throwing beautiful, useful items into landfills or incinerators. Thinking of all the great stuff that already ended up in landfills, coz people didn’t think about it or didn’t know what to do with it, makes me pretty sad.

Another person commented I was post socialist. I liked that. And of curz I am post socialist!

Another person commented I was post socialist. I liked that. And of curz I am post socialist!

No exchange of money needed. Just giving and receiving.

Ladybug skirt!

Ladybug skirt!

It’s almost like a free rental shop, if you don’t like something, just bring it back or give it to another free shop or one of your friends.

The kettle in our studio kitchen broke. I had just brought a kettle to the free shop a couple of weeks ago. And I found this one last time. Mini kettle. Cute!

The kettle in our studio kitchen broke. I had just brought a kettle to the free shop a couple of weeks ago. And I found this one last time. Mini kettle. Cute!

My favourite free shop in Berlin is called “Schenkladen”, which translated means “the shop of giving”. Sweet name!

This is a patch from a shirt that looks like a pyjama top. It says ‘superluck’, how cool is that?!

This is a patch from a shirt that looks like a pyjama top. It says ‘superluck’, how cool is that?!

A new friend of mine invited me to a ‘free flea market’. Can’t wait to go! Have you been to a free shop before? What cool things did you get or experience?