Buy cheap but ...

[Flo]

The syndrome of we want to buy cheap has it's downsides.

Like the blind from IKEA, made in Ethiopia which cost peanuts, couldn't be washed, couldn't be dry cleaned, couldn't be repaired, couldn't be reused - wot rags you can't wash? Trouble is that it was all I could afford at time for window facing a bus stop on a busy road.

How often do we buy cheap without thinking (or because we maybe can't do anything else) about reuse and recycle?

[Daveswife]

Oh yes, I see what you mean.

I saw some saucepans in Wilko today, £5 for a set of three. Dead cheap! But they won't last long (well, my Mum's cheap saucepans didn't), the non-stick wears off quickly, and because the metal is thin the food burns on. So in a few months time that's three saucepans in the bin and you still need some more. Best to buy from charity shops.

Back to you not wanting a bus full of people seeing into your room, curtains would be the best bet. Alternatively, the very cheapest option is to put two hooks in your wall above the window, spacing them about 6" wider than the window itself; acquire some fabric the correct width (be generous then you can have some gathers), and the right length to cover the window ledge, plus a bit for hems. Machine (or hand sew) a 2" hem at the top and bottom then push a garden cane through the hem and perch it on the hooks. Hey presto, a "window blind". If you want to draw it back, attach a hook to the wall about three quarters the way up one side or the other, make or sew a ring to the bottom corner of the curtain, to the opposite side of the hook, and then you can hook the curtain up.

[invisiblepiper]

Can you make roman blinds? They are the cheapest (nice) form of window dressing i can think of - and you seem to be a craft person. I even made a set using garden canes instead of buying dowelling.

[Flo]

I actually took the metal rod out of the Ikea blind when it feel apart. slotted it through the slot at the top of a length of netting from charity shop and propped the metal rod on the hooks that were in the frame of the window. It needs tweaking but I've been too busy this summer. I've plenty of net left so can spend some of the coming days sorting out something better than the present Heath Robinson arrangement.

At some point there is a proper wooden baton above window so I could install a proper set of curtains (except that I'd need someone who does ladders as we have very high ceilings here so the wooden wotsit is far out of the reach of anyone stood on feet). I like the net in that it allows me to see out whilst stopping people looking in - it also allows the sun in.

I went into Pound Land a bit since and bought two bottles (each bottle 750 ml) of bath foam for £1 (logical from name of shop). I'd have been as well to pay 89p for one litre from the local supermarket - it would have gone further than the two cheap ones. I've treated myself to an expensive one from Oxfam which is selling Faith in Nature and though it's only 400 ml it's lasted me 3 weeks so far and will probably do another two at least. be warned - only a very small squirt required if you try it. On the other hand I did get the old size (300ml) Timotei shampoo at £1 a bottle because the destructions were printed in French.

When I go into the charity shops, I look first for my size, second for the label, third for the standard of the goods and then decide if I like the price and style. I don't make paying for second hand M&S, Elvi (yes I'm a generously built little person), Next, EWM, Beretex, Regatta and similar. There are some labels I won't buy first hand never mind second hand. I can't be dealing with something that won't last two washes.

The rip off British attitude is wrong somewhere. There's a line between being overcharged and buying something of good value at a price that covers the cost of making something which will last. We are doing third world countries no favours morally or ethically by expecting them to work for nothing to supply us with cheap goods which are not going to last.

With the present financial chaos, we are all going to have to learn to save up for things anyway - in which case we may as well go for decent items which will last us. Just like granny did. Or learn to make our own again.

[Thomzo]

There is a saying that poor people can't afford to buy cheap clothes. I can't remember when or where I heard it. But it certainly rings true. Good quality clothes last far longer, just as long as you don't change size.

I don't bother with Poundland now. Partly because the Swindon one has a really terrible reputation for getting stuff pinched out of your handbag, and partly because you can often buy the same thing cheaper in the supermarkets.

I wish I had learnt the lesson about saucepans though. I bought a set because they were blue and matched my kitchen. They only lasted about 5 months. I haven't thrown them away though. They are now plant pots and were probably cheaper than the same number of large blue planters

Zoe

[MrsD'ville mkII]

My philosophy is to buy the best quality I can afford even if it means a wait til I find the right thing. I've long since done with cheap and cheerful except in odd circs here and there. Having said that I've been surprised how well some cheapish things have lasted and been disappointed with more expensive items that haven't, but you live and learn.

The other side of that is learning what you can live without - nothing like a wait for something to make it clear whether it really is vital or not. As we get ready for baby #2 almost seven years after baby #1 arrived I'm very aware just how much stuff you don't need and that of the gubbins you do need 95% can be found on Freecycle or through word of mouth or bought second or third hand for very little. So far the only brand new purchases have been/will be a cot mattress and some cloth nappies on which I got a substantial discount through the council's cashback scheme and which are only about 1/3 of our total nappy haul, the rest of which were Freecycle, friends' or second hand and which I'll be Freecycling one day. Oh and my mother bought some fleece for nappy liners, but you can't do much about generous grannies!

[jim]

Dear Flo,

Regarding poor people can't afford cheap clothes ..... readers of Terry Pratchett will remember Captain Vimes (Guards! Guards! and Night Watch) theory of the poor mans' boots costing more than those of the wealthy man .....

Love and Peace
Jim

[LSP]

I learned the lesson the hard way too. Once as a poor undergraduate bought a pair mules for $9 (Singapore). They lasted about four days. Then 'invested' in a pair of 'Dr Something' health sandals for about $32. The latter lasted me at least three years.

I think the saying that the poor cannot afford to buy cheap is very true. When I first came to this country the charity shops were a great help. Now I try not to be tempted to buy anything I do not need in the first place. I hope the current climate would re-jig our disposable habits.

[Big Al]

I've always wanted to be a chef and regretted not being one but on our wedding list I put down a set of stellar pans at £100 for 3, a frying pan, sauce jug and a strainer. I never got these so I bought them myself after the honeymoon and also a set of chefs knives and a sharpener / steel. They are all still being used today....... Oh and I've been married 21 .5 years..

[Mrs Moustoir]

We were lucky enough to get some Stellar pans as a wedding present - still in daily use 23 years later!

[Green Aura]

Got my first Le Creuset casserole for an 18th birthday present - I'm 52 - it's still going strong, although not used every day.