If you want to pick up a bargain AND do some good, pop in to this Bondi op shop. Open Thursday to…read moreSaturday from 9am to 3pm, you'll find it hidden away in a cute church about 15 minutes' walk from Bondi Beach. The funds raised from your purchases help run a meals program for the homeless and disadvantaged, as well as women suffering abuse, through the Norman Andrew's House and Magnolia Hearing Centre. There are things crammed everywhere, so be prepared to sort through piles of rubbish to get to the good stuff. From scarves and belts to toys, clothes and homewares, the chances are you'll probably walk out with something completely random you never thought you needed. There are usually some quirky little vases and the clothes tend to be in fairly good condition compared to other op shops. It's run by a bunch of sweet volunteers, so stop and have a natter if you've got the time.

This is where you would go if you had to start from scratch…read more The shop occupies an enviable corner location and is as big as three regular shops. It is also right at the top of the shopping strip. In a lower room (just a couple of steps down) is furniture. Good quality lounges, wardrobes, shelves and desks for example. In an ante room was men's and kids clothing, and also women's sleep attire and dresses. Toys were in there as well. A good number of tracks contained the men gear. Denim, trousers, jackets, shirts, tees, ties, belts... There must have been about 100 women's shoes. Half of the main room was also women's shirts only. More space was then dedicated to jackets, costs, tips, belts, scarves, bags and even wedding dresses. Books galore, DVDs, CDs, even Vhs. Vinyl. A back wall houses the house hold items. Everything from dinner sets to decorations. Then there were buckets of bits. For example, one bucket contained button sets (the ones you'd buy at the supermarket). Jewellery as well. I got op shop fatigue in there. Prices were extremely good. I picked up two fashion dresses for $8 a piece.

I initially came here to deliver boxes of random yarns. Not only did I get help bring ing the boxes…read morebut it was explained that there are many things I can bring in to recycle...including original patterns. AND then I walked into the store....not only was there well sorted recycled yarns, materials etc but new stuff as well

Nicest staff i've seen in a while. Has a very warm welcoming atmosphere with the cheapest prices on…read moresewing items. Sells vintage machine as well for a good price! A lot of vintage 70's-90's sewing patterns for only 2-5 dollars

As we walk into Reverse Garbage in Marrickville we are met with gigantic paint brushes and pencils…read more The exterior of this recycling warehouse is almost an art installation more so than a shop. "You can't look for something here. You just have to look and hope you find something." I am told when I ask what we are looking for. The answer to my innocent question both profound and vague. We scour the aisles looking for props and set pieces for the music video we've been hired to make. The gigantic dinosaur head is no good, nor are the various blow up hippopotami with back packs on. There are buckets full of circuit boards and shelves full of old digitised and erased film and audio reels. It would seem that everything you could ever imagine would be, at one point or another, housed within these walls. There's a book section out back and I sneak in to have a look, I should be looking for music video props but can't help myself and scour the children's section looking for Seuss. No such luck, there never is. I find 'The Little Match Girl' by Hans Christian Anderson and being that it is in great condition and only $1 I decide to buy it, even though I know that it will make me depressed. A warehouse full of everything you need as long as you don't know what you need.

This place is simultaneously the biggest hoarder of crap and a gold-mine. Depending on what you're…read moreafter. If you're after 20 of the same birthday card, 100m long reams of paper, a never ending supply of pipe cleaners, rolls of carpet and maroon velvet or manikin feet and arms, then you may just be in luck. Or, rather, if you're not exactly sure what you're after then you may be in luck here too. I'm a bigger fan of The Bower, a similar joint next door with a tad more class, but a trip to Reverse Garbage can be rewarding - we bought 50 cardboard drums from Reverse Garbage which we used as seating for a performance and then recycled into punch bowls, a fortress and super-sized bowling pins in the future. Perfect for a themed party, you can pretty much base your theme on whatever you find the most of at Reverse Garbage. NB: Specified items may or may not actually be stocked by Reverse Garbage. But rest assured that similar such crap will be.

Wayside has just had a massive revamp, and is looking wicked…read more These guys are doing a great community service and provide a couple of services you can use. First up if you're looking to make some space on your bookshelf wayside have a bookshelf for its visitors so you can rock up and restock that. Also a clothes deposit. Which is really useful, I'm talking to you with the overflowing clothes rack and no built ins. Make some space, you always end up wearing that A-team shirt and those cowboy boots anyway, so why not drop off a few items which can be useful to someone else! I'll five star the wayside as a shout out, it takes all kinds of people to make up our neighbourhood, wayside is one of those joints keeping it real.

She's seen a few winters, this ol' girl. A few summers, too. And sure she looks her age, but what…read morebeachside stalwart doesn't? All that salt air and buffeting wind is good for the soul but you're bound to show a few cracks here and there, and a few other places besides. Regular beachgoers won't know how much a part of the community this place is, there's function rooms where kids learn karate, a resident theatre troop (the Bondi Rock Surfers) and tons of events throughout the year, from pop-up bars to an ice skating rink to open-air cinema to Bondi Feast Festival. There's talk every year of a mega refurb, but who knows when that'll happen. Long may she reign.

Bondi Pavilion is a bastion of community arts and cultural centres everywhere. They have such…read morecreative ideas and make great use of the deco-esque venue, I frequently get excited about some new programme they have coming up. The Pavilion plays host to annual events like Festival of The Winds, Beats on The Beach on NYE, the South American Festival, Flickerfest, Bondi Open Air Cinema and many other cool cultural activities. As well it is home to a Gallery, Marine Centre, an amphitheatre as well as an indoor theatre, classes, a youth programme... you get the idea. Various local businesses are lucky enough to be housed under its high ceilings and ever-importantly, if you're looking for a bathroom, changing room or locker on Bondi Beach this is where you'll find them.

The Green living Centre is an absolute necessity for the sustainable-minded suburb of Newtown!…read more Specializing in anything from warm farming to bike pannier making, window farms to natural cleaning, this is a powerhouse of eco education. Run by extremely knowledgeable staff and volunteers, the Centre has tons of educational pamphlets and books to kick-start anyone's personal quest for conservation. They're more than happy to sit and chat with you about how to compost or how you can use less in-home energy. My favourite aspect of the Centre is that it hosts workshops on anything "green" you can imagine. Some of the workshops teach skills, while others are "talk and tea" that act as a forum for eco discussion. I've been to a "talk-and-tea" pickling workshop, as well as a DIY worm composting workshop, and both were fantastic! If you're like me and are somewhat new to the whole eco-sphere of living, this is the perfect place to go! No judgement, only encouragement. Stop in and give it a go!

Pavement artists are not recognised or appreciated as much as gallery artists. All that changes at…read moreParramatta's chalk art urban festival. Held every year, Parra council opens up the pavement for artists to have a go and creating art! It is fascinating to watch artists work fervently and the end result is almost always spectacular. I especially love the pavement art where the artist manages to create depth on hard concrete. The competition is open to the public and there is a People's choice award. There is definitely more to do in Parra when they have festivals. Last year, they had a Rio theme and there was a carnival street parade. I wish I could upload a video on Yelp of the same. The rhythm, the costumes, the participation, everything had a feeling of authenticity. I had a great day and loads of fun. I hope to go every year. See you there, maybe?