Charity Shop Shopping

sparrer

Hi sb, congrats on buying your home :j and well done on your find, sounds like you'll soon be an experienced OS'er . Also you could try freecycle, you can find lots of nearly new, and sometimes even new, bits there that folk have bought, used once then left in the back of a cupboard.

woodwoman

Wow,great find.I love a good rumage in a charity shop.

Just wanted to let you know that I was in sainburys earlier and they had some small plastic tubs,ideal for freezer,fridge etc and they were cheap at 35p each.Or was it 25p.

notatvstar

I totally second TK Maxx - they've also got a special homeware chain called Homesense. There's a lot of showy dross, but some real gems and total bargains if you like 'names'. Me and the OH have kitted our our kitchen with Creuset, Global (knives) and Bodum coffee and tea pots. Last year they had a load of Nigella Stuff and they usually have Jamie Oliver stuff too.

If you don't care about names they have some real good quality cookware too. We also bought our cutlery there too. As Valli says though - the stock changes every week so you need to keep popping in. Mind you - I loves a decent rummage once a week

I like to get things like crockery (for the shabby chicness of it all...), cups and glasses from charity shops (checking for chips etc). I think it's fun if things don't match

Good luck with kitting yourself out!

[Deleted User]

I still have my first pyrex casserole dish (sadly the lid dissapeared ) that I bought when I first got married in 1962 so well worth buying Mine has gone a bit cloudy now and I would love a pound for every meal I have cooked in it.:) also keep a keen lookout at bootsales as often you can pick up bits there I have around 10 different size wooden spoons all bought over the years from bootsales and not one probably cost more than pennies.I have one I keep just for stirring curries and another for custards and blancmanges.Small kitchen utensils are picked up very cheaply thereI have a range of measuring jugs ,mostly pyrex from bootsale and also best of all small brown earthenware individual pie dishes that I use in my freezer to portion odd leftover up in.to freeze for later eating If I make a lasagne I always have at least four or five portions left over .Instant meal in the evening when you can't be bothered to cook.Charity shops and bootsales are great places for bargains .

notatvstar

... actually - sounds a bit weird, but you know those enamel pie dishes (the blue and white ones) they're great to roast and cook in. You can pick them up very cheaply at camping shops and army surplus shops. They're a bit trendy now and are expensive when you see them in posh cookery 'boutiques'.

Butterfly_Brain

Well done:T and congratulations on starting on your OS path
I second the enamel pie dishes. I got one in poundland 3 years ago and it is still going strong, I also have an enamel casserole dish that I have had for 24 years and stainless steel saucepans that are the same age and both look as good as new.
Wilkinsons do a lot of good homeware things, and are quite reasonable in price, especially when they have a sale.
I picked DD a lovely 16 piece cutlery set up at the beginning of the year for £2.50 , a set of enamel baking trays and a roasting tin, pyrex bowls and jug, a mezzaluna for £4 this week and 4 glasses for 99p (not on sale normal price) I went into asda last week and bought her a lovely casserole dish for £2.50 ( I think I will treat myself to one as well because ...you guessed it mine is 24 years old:rotfl:)
I have been getting bits for DD for a year now so I know that when she gets a home of her own she won't have to worry about the smaller bits that really do add up in price, she will just have to get bigger bits apart from a bed which we bought her last year and she can take all her bedroom furniture as well.
My OSness must be rubbing off on her because she is going to look in charity shops first and ikea second.:D

sb88_2

Thanks for the tips! I have a voucher for the Metrocenter we got for our engagement, I'll have to see how far that stretches in TXMaxx! I have no idea about how much things cost in their (besides the clothes)


I love a good rummage! Picked up a gorgeous painting at the bootsale last week, and there fruit and veg are great, £1 for 6 HUGE pink lady apples, and £1 for a large punnet of Grapes!

We have a really tight budget, shoe string almost, my parents are helping us with the deposit, otherwise we just wouldnt be able to do this.

Got most of the furniture we need of people, large kitchen appliances, couch, wardrobes

I plan on cooking from scratch as much as possible (This will be a shock to Andrews system, he lives of potnoodles and those frozen chicken pieces from asda when left to himself)

sb88_2

I did a price up yesterday of all the "little bits and pieces" for the kitchen we will need, buying at Wilkinsons it came to just under £100 (still going to try and make this lower, I've wrote down a list of everything we need, and a price next to it, to keep handy)

At asda, a large spoon costs £4, in Wilkinsons, for the same type £1.35!

We are getting married in two years time, and plan on putting things like pots and pans on our gift list if anyone wants to buy us them! So if we can get some pans to last us for a couple years! That'd be great

quintwins

my fav casarole dish was on offer in asda at £1 i wish i'd bought more now but since we don't have an asda i bought it while i was away so couldn't go check for me it's about 4 years old now and used atleast once a week, ikea are fab for little bits and peices (altho they soon add up and you end up with loads) what i will say is for years i bought cheap oven trays and replaced them every 6 months or so til i won a pampered chef one in a raffle and it's so fab i replaced all my trays with them, they weren't cheap but i honestly beleive i will never have to buy another one (and since i'm only 24 thats a good ivestment imo) i got mine slightly cheap by buying off ebay and buying a bundle i saved £20 on the rrp

try freecycle/freegle aswell and remeber you don't acually need much, oh and i'd also buy a decent tatie masher ours all used to bend or warp i now have a stellar one and love it, i was also told you should have good knifes so i do, but i bought my first block with vouchers we got as wedding pressies, there stellar but instead of £200 i paid £80 in a sale, and i also a knife block that i saw on offer on the grabbits tahts should have been £50 but i paid just £4 and it's acually quite good, so it's definatly worth looking out for offers

and i'd never buy another non stick pan again (except for ikea frying pans for eggs they make a brill omlette) we have 2 sets one on non stick and flaking even tho it's barely used i always pick my stainless steel set first

pinkmami

Congratulations of buying your first home:j. Best of luck to you both for the furute.

I love Asda/Matalan/Dunelm Mill/Wilkinsons. Wilko is my fave though. They have lovely stuff in there.