are people relying more on make do and mend?

[mrsflibble]

i have noticved a severe lack of buggies/pushchairs in the local charity shops in the last three weeks. I am wondering if people are doing what i have been doing for years and making do and mending? it's been so hard trying to find a buggy! i have been through all the charity shops in basildon every few days, phoned the ones in tilbury, visited ones in corringham and stanford le hope and got tea to do a recce in grays for me and it's taken this long to find anything suitable!!

our buggy broke. i revamped it and james mended it as best we could but the back wheels were irrepariabe to it was only a matter of time before we needed a newer one.

after 3 weeks of searching i finally found a public transport friendly-ish buggy in a charity shop in colchester for a tenner. so cheap because it needs a damned good clean and had one nut which needed tightening. the thread on both the nut and bolt were fine and it's been fixed already. i will be cleaning it when i return home...but it's been soooo hard!!

anybody else found a distinct lack of good stuff in charity shops?!

[Flo]

Yes. I reckon that either people are selling at car boot sales or on eBay to raise money or are using things till there is no more wear left. Even the charity shops say that the standard of goods coming in is in decline.

Prams, buggies and child car seats go so fast off the charity shop down the street you would not believe. They seem to go in a day. There is only one charity shop here that carries such stock and none in the posh town up the road. Even freecycle locally seems to have less in the way of pushchairs and buggies than it used to do and nothing much in the local papers.

[invisiblepiper]

you are absolutely right - there is a big decline in donations to charity shops since last autumn - I help in our local Oxfam and we've noticed.
HOWEVER - on a different note - the charity shops have been warned about selling faulty children's goods as on of them was successfully sued over such products. So now they do not accept such donations as car seats!!!!

[Rosendula]

HOWEVER - on a different note - the charity shops have been warned about selling faulty children's goods as on of them was successfully sued over such products. So now they do not accept such donations as car seats!!!!

That's awful. What sort of person sues a charity shop? You know you're getting second hand and it's up to you to make sure it's suitable. The people who work in the shop, sorting and selling are not experts in everything they sell. Oh for goodness sake. I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I would be more than happy to sign a disclaimer or something for items I buy from charity shops, saying I understand the risks, etc., etc.

[MuddyWitch]

It's the same with duvets, the "powers-that-be" have decided they are a health risk and can't be sold as they can't be washed at 60 degrees. My local shop rings me & I collect them for our greyhound recue charity. Seems a bit of a shame when people could use them, though.

MW

[snapdragon]

there have been a couple on our freecycle lately - shame we're not nearer MrsF


I would imagine they are selling rather than giving though - they'll all be on e bay

[LBR]

It's the same with duvets, the "powers-that-be" have decided they are a health risk and can't be sold as they can't be washed at 60 degrees. My local shop rings me & I collect them for our greyhound recue charity. Seems a bit of a shame when people could use them, though.

MW

Only the polyester ones show up at the shops here, and that, very rarely.

The cotton thermal blankets disappeared from the shops a couple of years ago.

It takes a lot of looking, and waiting, to find nice clothes, bed or bath linens at the thrift shops. Same with desk supplies or kitchenwares, or sewing supplies.

Seven or eight years ago, there were more of the better quality goods.

Perhaps, estate sales are the better choice for nicer things.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

I'm sure that make do & mend is very much on the rise. We're not spending on fripperies, no-one we know is spending on fripperies....except that people do seem to be booking holidays. Which, since we make our living from holiday lets, is good news for us. I think people may regard an annual holiday as being somehow more worthwhile than upgrading their car or buying the latest wide-screen TV.

[moocher]

i picked up a gap parka coat like new for £8.50 the other day when i dropped some stuff in,on the pushchair front you rarely see them in charity shops here,we had a cheap umbrella type one that came from woolworths for £15.and as no one wanted it on freecycle before xmas i put it in the local air ambulance shop and next day they had a £8.50 tag on it.

[Shabba]

I'm hoping the financial crisis will make people think more about trying to reuse and revamp things they've already got rather than just chucking things and buying new. Afterall, its something we should all be doing for the environment's sake and if it it takes a crisis situation to make people do it then I feel that's a silver lining!

I but a lot of my clothes in charity shops and I have noticed lately that less new stuff seems to come in (I visit them fairly regularly!)

And I personally am trying to rescue my own clothes that are falling apart. My favourite pair of jeans have been patched so many times that there's hardly any of the original fabric left! So, in the vain of the philosophers axe, are they technically still the same pair of jeans?

[Flo]

Somehow I suspect that there are more people shopping in places like Primark, Asda and T***o and I fancy that the items don't last long enough to be passed on.

[Graye]

I've always been a charity shop fan but I've noticed less and less items in them in the last year or so. We have a great local charity shop in Whitby called Network which seems to deal particularly in furniture, electrical items, buggies, etc. Their turnover is really rapid and they seem to have a contract with a local "man and van" who delivers for a few pounds. Not much use to Mrs F I know but perhaps you could look in the shops of more local charities? Or do you have any auction houses around? There are often real bargains to be had there AND it's an entertainment too!

[mrsflibble]

Wel I finally found a buggy, it did need some work though...it needed a little more than just the nut doing up, but after a visit to my FIL's house and jim using some of his specialist metal milling tools he's totally fixed the buggy. Our old buggy is going to be cut up for parts to add to the cycle trailer so we can use that as a buggy when i go into town on the bike. I wouldnt pass our old buggy on anyway, i think it's dangerous which is why we needed a newer one!!

we have a maclaren style one ere which tea found at a bootsale, but sophie hates it. going to eep it in the shed for moving large objects though i think.

[Graye]

Not only is it a good way to save money if you can resurrect something, there is a great sense of achievement attached too.

We had one of those folding trolley things for hauling items around. Its wheel assembly was ridiculously flimsy and it would buckle inwards with any load bigger than a single housebrick despite being advertised as able to carry 40kg. It was heading for the tip but after a few hours of fiddling it now has a solid axle and can carry anything. It won't fold up anymore but at least it works now. We have saved the cost of a new one and feel very chuffed with ourselves!

[red]

its becoming more acceptable to make do and mend

i can remember my mum not wanting to put torn things on the washing line, in case they were seen. now we wear torn things!