boots sales are nearly over....get ready to go shopping in your attic

apprentice_tycoon · 22 August 2005 at 7:57AM

It wont be too long till the last car boot sales of the year are held, that means 2 things, firstly a lay-in at the weekend for both buyers and sellers and secondly you might want to consider compiling a list of things that you will be needing through the winter till they all start up again in spring - ideally you should be setting up your own personal mini department store in your attic, garage, spare room, shed or any spare space that can be stuffed with things that you can stash away till required.

The list is likely to contain things like

cookery books with rib sticking warming food,
novels and jigsaws for the winter nights,
a slow cooker if you don't already have one,
a yogurt maker if you are so inclined
Christmas decorations
neat and tidy pre-owned gifts for Christmas and birthdays
plants and bulbs
baby equipment
children's clothes and toys, etc, etc......

and saving my best tip till the last

There are things in every house that you think are essential and would struggle to cope without if they weren't there, for example you really can't be without an iron or kettle for more than a day or two. If these die a natural death you are pretty much forced into going out the next day to buy a replacement. Because it will be an emergency purchase not a planned one you will probably end up paying full price because you haven't time to search for a cheaper or second hand one,

This won't happen in our house - in our loft we have the next kettle, toaster and iron and electric styling brush (don't ask, I have to have one

), all bought for a fraction of the full shop prices at boot sales, OH thought that I was nuts buying a another kettle when we had a perfectly good one in use already. He saw the sense of this 6 weeks ago when the kettle packed in unexpectedly and all I had to do was trot upstairs to the loft and bring down the replacement, it was brand new and cost £2.00 at the boot sale (why so cheap? I don't know but it looks good and works perfectly) in the past, pre MSE I would have gone out to Argos the same day and spent around £20.00 on a replacement but now all these essentials are there already in the loft with no more than £10.00 spent on the lot.

catznine · 22 August 2005 at 10:39AM

These are great tips! I have for some time kept a spare hoover, iron and kettle, the kettle was put back in use only last week after my nice new one failed! Even if you don't want the 2nd hand goods in use permanently they do at least give you the time to shop at your leisure for a good deal rather then be panicked into buying something more expensive!

I bought up a few carrier bags of Christmas decorations a couple of years ago at a car boot sale for about £3, including a large Christmas tree! They were given to my dd to give her student house a Christmassy feel.

Now is the time to look for stocking fillers as well and also little pressies to keep on hand for all those birthday parties the children get invited to.

16011996 · 22 August 2005 at 11:23AM

i'm glad its not just me that does this. i have a spare kettle and toaster and iron put away, also i have a box with spare bits and bobs in, potato peeler (mine seem to break quite fast!!) corkscrew, tin opener things like that in old ice cream tub picked up for pence in charity shops/car boots etc. reckon they saved me a fortune over the years as if one breaks, like said before, you dash out and get the first one you find cos you need it.

greenlogo · 22 August 2005 at 2:01PM

Wow, they're fantastic tips - thank you.

My kettle's aged and 2nd hand already - from my mum because the spangly one my ex bought me poured water everywhere but the cup - but I'll definitely hang on to it when I get a new one.

apprentice_tycoon · 30 August 2005 at 8:33PM

You just would not believe this....

On Sunday OH and I were at a boot sale, I spotted and Anglepoise lamp, the sort with a clamp for a drawing board, I pointed it out to OH because he has to have one of these on his work board and it's in use every day. OK, it was a bit tatty with chipped paint but it was only £3.00 and would have been perfect as a spare, but no - I was told that it was shabby and anyway you can get them from Habitat for a fiver (which planet is he from, and which era?) so we left it.

At 6 o'clock today the clamp on his lamp broke, and no, you can't get them from Habitat, or B&Q, or Office World, or Staples or Argos, or Viking etc....etc...there are lots of ones with a lamp base but none that will clamp on an angled drawing board. I know, I looked

He can't work without one easily but he is going to have to manage while the one that we've seen on line (£36.00) is delivered, maybe by Friday? even if he had bought the tatty one it would have been fine for a temporary stopgap to give him time to look around properly -

Can you imagine the words that are ringing in his ears? He has had SUCH a telling off.

tr3mor · 31 August 2005 at 8:46AM

AT - why does he need a lamp? Sounds like the sun shines out of his...

apprentice_tycoon · 31 August 2005 at 8:59AM

He knows that it was really daft not to buy the £3.00 lamp, it's not very often that he's in the wrong so I have had great fun teasing him about it, I think that I can get another day out of it then I'd better let it drop.....but next time we are in a similar situation I can remind him of the lamp saga and the point will have been made

HOLsale · 27 October 2005 at 5:46PM

apprentice_tycoon wrote:

At 6 o'clock today the clamp on his lamp broke, and no, you can't get them from Habitat, or B&Q, or Office World, or Staples or Argos, or Viking etc....etc...there are lots of ones with a lamp base but none that will clamp on an angled drawing board. I know, I looked

you can get the clamp type from IKEA, can't remember how much but i'm pretty sure it's about £10 we've got one

we've also got an ancient one with a heavier base/clamp that is concocted of two different lamps (from boot sales

)

i hope he has learned his lesson, don't forget to remind him next time he uses his lamp :rotfl:

skintchick · 27 October 2005 at 5:49PM

apprentice_tycoon wrote:

(why so cheap? I don't know but it looks good and works perfectly)

Because it's probably stolen.

hermit-crab · 9 March 2006 at 4:15PM

Can any of you lovely people tell me when the car boot sale season begins again? And does anyone have any hints for getting bargains?

Rubber_Duck_4 · 9 March 2006 at 4:18PM

Up here in the north east we have had boot sales all over the winter in covered venues but all the outdoor sales are starting up again this weekend. Not sure what it's like accross the rest of the UK.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

boots sales are nearly over....get ready to go shopping in your attic

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