Charity shops

tiff

I had forgotten about my furniture, my pride and joy is the 80's solid pine dresser that now looks like something from Laura Ashley. Our dining chairs were from the 80's and falling apart but new chairs cost a fortune so we always put off buying them. A few months ago we bought 6 teak chairs from a charity shop and have sanded and oiled the chairs and now waiting to recover the seats. Got a bureau from a very kind mse member and a teak coffee table from my MIL's loft. Bought a mirror for the bathroom for 50p that had a lovely swirly frame but it was gold plastic so I sprayed it white and you would never know. Bought a pine plate rack (shelf) painted it white and put it on the wall in DD's bedroom.

After promising myself we would never buy flatpacked furniture again, I did relent for Ikea's shoe storage for under the stairs but that is it. Next project is to replace the old MFI wardrobe and drawers in DS's room for something solid wood that can be refurbished.

oldtractor

yes,me,i am also addicted to getting it for free. i love freegle/freecycle.

tiff

wilkies5 wrote: »

I agree with you totally. I get a real buzz out of getting a bargain and making use of something which someone else no longer needs! My youngest son is the same but my 19yr old is horrified with my frugal habits!!

Must admit I havent bought any clothes for my 13 year old son, but he does buy his xbox games secondhand especially when its his own money he's spending. DD is 11 and is a bit embarrassed about clothes from the charity shop so I just say so and so's Mum gave you this and that is fine with her! I had hoped they would learn that you get more for your money if you do it that way but not so far.

erdd2

I was not addicted, I had no choice. I did however learn how to appreciate what I have and how others will abuse that.

rollwithit

I am too very addicted to secondhand my abosoloute favorite is bootsales I love the thrill of the not knowing what treasurs I may find! and I get a real face on if I wake up on a Sunday and it's pouring rain.
The fact that I can pay a tenth of the price of something which may well still be full price in the shops gives me a real sense of acheivement, I have had a giant de clutter this weekend and filled 5 bin liners full of clothes that dont fit/like/wear and most of them are what I have paid full price for at cheap shops! I am left with some stunning finds from the boot sales including Monsoon dress and coat (£1 each!) plenty of Next stuff for work, and decent quality/brand jeans too. As well as some beautiful pieces of 'home' items.

Plus myOH & little boy gets kitted out for pennies not to mention the toys I have been going to boot sales/cs for 10 years and I am only 24, I can see me EVER stopping ....LOVE IT!!!!


Sometimes my friends screw their noses up with me waffling on about it , that is until they see my 'finds' he he

Sue14

I am totally addicted to secondhand stuff, bought or donated. I grew up mostly in hand me downs, and after I had my son I still never had much money so didn't have too much choice, and my first home was filled with second hand furniture and stuff. OH was always bringing boxes of things back from his mum and her friends when we first moved in, and I loved going through the boxes, it was like Christmas, lol, one friend even gave us a filter coffee machine, I didn't use it much as I couldn't afford the coffee or the filters but it looked good in the kitchen, lol.

One of my best jumble sale buys was a denim jacket, that I bought for 20p for my DS when he was about 7 or 8, it was a bit big at the time but he loved it, and when he finally outgrew it I started wearing it, as it was still in good condition. I still wear it now and my DS is 30, so it has lasted well, and is only a bit frayed on the cuffs.

I still can't resist a bargain, even though money isn't quite as tight as it was, (still nowhere near rich by any stretch of the imagination though) and would much rather buy secondhand than new for most things. One thing I really hate is hearing people boasting about how much they've paid for things, I don't know if I'm supposed to be impressed but I just think they're idiots with more money than sense, and I'm convinced that even if I won mega on the lottery I'd still seek out bargains in charity shops and boot sales, just for the thrill of getting a bargain!

415SanFran

I am 47 years old so only wear certain styles of clothing,and it has to be made of certain material, silk, pure wool, cotton or denim. I was hanging out the washing the other day and I did a mental thing of wear thing came from. It went something like this.

Monsoon, monsoon, monsoon, M&S< M&S M&S M&S, Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein, Edinburgh Woolen mill.
Then I realized that not ONE item had I actually bought brand new, All items had come from ebay at one point or another, as someone else said some of it was new with tags, others worn once or twice, if I had to pay full price for all the clothes that I have I would be down to about 4 changes of clothes!

maman

At one time I only bought books from the CS and the odd nicknack. Lately I've been losing weight and needed smaller clothes but didn't want to pay too much. I've had some wonderful finds that I love to bits: Tops from Jigsaw, Phase Eight, Laura Ashley and White Stuff. Gerry Weber trousers, a couple of good skirts and lovely Phase Eight scarf. My absolute favourite is a Joules tweed jacket.

Due to weightloss I've also taken loads of things to CS, so it works both ways.

Mingle

Oh I love it! I encouraged my little sister to volunteer in a charity shop so she could do some snooping for me! I love pre loved clothes because I always think the classics fit better than modern clothes. I have a 1940's/50's style because that's my body shape (I'm 20) and I get compliments on my outfits. It also reduces the odds of being in the same room as someone who has the same outfit

I also love second hand books. I'm and English student and I particularly love reading other people's margin scribbles!

betheebee

Yup me too, Hubby and I love CS's we often have break aways and the first thing we do is hit the CS's and have found some great bargains. A lot of my stuff has come from freecycle, baby moniter, safety gate, cotbed, sandpit, kitchen units for the utillity, fridge, upright freezer, the list goes on. Went to CS last Saturday and found a black and white striped silk blouse for £2 25. It was Monsoon.

HB, I've also got an old bottle collection, some found in the garden when doing a makeover and others from CS.