The best places to buy bits for the hous

Techbe

Hello all,

Currently in the process of waiting for new build to be built.

I’m starting to buy bits monthly as part of my usual budget to help reduce costs when I move in. I’m looking for recommendations on the following please:

best brand of pans to buy 
best place to buy cutlery
best of pace to buy dinnerware
best place to buy glassware

hoover you’d recommend 

Any of your best or worst buys as well  

goldfinches

You can get the cutlery, crockery and glassware for pennies at any charity shop you care to patronise. The cutlery is likely to cost about 10p per item and will be significantly nicer than anything you can buy new in my experience.  Crockery and glassware are both donated in huge quantities to all charity shops and it's just a matter of choosing whichever you want.
For the pans I suggest having a good look around the Dunelm, Harts of Stur, Lakeland, Robert Dyas and John Lewis websites and deciding which sets you want and then plunging in the January sales. Dunelm in particular tend to have very good reductions but if you get on all their email lists they'll all send you special offers and so on and sometimes you'll get vouchers or reductions for a first purchase as well. I can't give a recommendation without knowing more about how and what you cook as well as your budget so do post again if you want more help.
For the hoover again without knowing whether you want cordless, upright, cylinder and so on it's difficult to give a recommendation so do tell us more if you want to go into that in more detail.

comeandgo

I like tkmax for pans and kitchen ware.  I suggest you buy the best pans you can afford as cheap pans can burn and ruin your food.

FreeBear

I've not had problems with the Tower or Judge brands of saucepans - Fairly low cost, and are lasting quite well. Make sure you get ones suitable for induction hobs and you'll future proof yourself should you need to move away from conventional (gas or ceramic) hobs.

theoretica

Look on local facebook/gumtree and let friends and family know what you are looking for - My cutlery set was apparently bought 2nd hand by my grandmother in the 1960s and I am sure I am not the only person to have a stash of stuff that hasn't quite made it to the charity shops yet...

Ikea can be a useful source too.

Doozergirl

For glass and crockery I really like M&S 'Maxim' as it is their constant range - there is nothing worse than needing to replace something and find it isn't stocked any more.  If you have a Sparks card then occasionally you'll get a 20% off voucher for homeware, which is when I go wild. 

My H bought stainless steel Prestige pans before we moved in together 21 years ago and we still have half of them left. The ones that died, it was the handle that gave up.  Prestige have gone bump now, but I'd probably pick John Lewis own brand Stainless Steel.  I've been working my way through some non stick Tefal stuff left from a client job, but the direct comparison confirms my feelings.

Non-stick coatings are BS. They don't cope in dishwashers or with metal implements and I've never really noticed any improved difference when cooking.  A suitably hot pan and your cooking stlye is what prevents sticking.   

Stainless steel is definitely where it's at for me.  I have some traditional Le Creuset cast iron but it is so heavy, I only use it for specific purposes.  

Doozergirl

Cutlery - Ikea's DRAGON range has been going forever, so again, it's really easy to replace when stuff goes missing. 

You can spend fortunes on stuff, but all you really want is something timeless that wears well and is easily replaceable within a set.  

TELLIT01

Dunelm sell pans branded as Prestige.  Whether they have bought the name or are selling the stock off I don't know.  I disagree about non-stick being BS.  If you buy good quality, and treat it well, it will last for years.  I don't use a dishwasher and use plastic tools so there is no problem.  I also have a couple of Woll pans which were very expensive but will cope with metal implements and dishwashers.  I still use plastic on those.  I did have to replace on Woll pan after about 20 years when my other half left it on the hob overnight with the heat on low, and nothing in the pan.  I think any pan would have given up after that treatment.

Doozergirl

TELLIT01 said:

Dunelm sell pans branded as Prestige.  Whether they have bought the name or are selling the stock off I don't know.  I disagree about non-stick being BS.  If you buy good quality, and treat it well, it will last for years.  I don't use a dishwasher and use plastic tools so there is no problem.  I also have a couple of Woll pans which were very expensive but will cope with metal implements and dishwashers.  I still use plastic on those.  I did have to replace on Woll pan after about 20 years when my other half left it on the hob overnight with the heat on low, and nothing in the pan.  I think any pan would have given up after that treatment.

Thing is, I don't want to treat my pans well.  I want to put everything in the dishwasher, I can't supervise what utensils everyone else uses to cook or whether my daughter is going to burn porridge and create a spectacular mortar like she did this morning. 

The majority of the stainless steel pans have lasted since before our son was born until now, past his 21st birthday.  

If I don't need to treat something well, why choose something that I do? 

I'd be interested to take a look at the Dunelm pans, thank you!

ka7e

I have the ProCook professional range, metal handles so can be used on the hob (including induction) and in the oven. I've put the lids in the dishwasher, but I've found the pans so easy to clean that I wash them by hand. 25 year guarantee too.

M and S and Ikea have basic white crockery that is easy to replace, ditto cutlery plus Viners.

GDB2222

We have a drawer full of miscellaneous cutlery, as bits keep getting lost.  Some of it is IKEA Dragon.

We just buy cheap non stick saucepans and replace them when manky. Same with oven tins.

If in doubt, buy a Henry vacuum cleaner.