Not buy anything new 2014

[Flo]

Err Ina I'm retired so work clothing there is not. There's one good set for Parish Council meetings and going to the cinema but that's about it.

I spotted the fleeces I recycled to a charity shop today - priced at more than I paid for them. Mind they were little worn and in very good nick. But that's ridiculous. This is Regatta not Barbour.

[ina]

Err Ina I'm retired so work clothing there is not. There's one good set for Parish Council meetings and going to the cinema but that's about it.

I spotted the fleeces I recycled to a charity shop today - priced at more than I paid for them. Mind they were little worn and in very good nick. But that's ridiculous. This is Regatta not Barbour.

I know - that's what makes me mad at some of the charity shops! They certainly don't cater for those (like me) who have to live on a tight budget - not anymore... Independent shops tend to be better (at least the ones I know), but those that belong to big businesses (like Oxfam etc) have their strict pricing rules and can't deviate. I sometimes have the feeling they are just there to give a nice, warm feeling to those who volunteer there and those who donate and buy stuff, because that means they have done something for charity, and something for the environment (which is all very well) - and it might even help a little for the actual cause, but it also pays nice salaries for the top managers of these charities - it just doesn't help the little folks who used to buy cheap clothes there, and I used to think that was part of the "charity" bit as well... It's a weird world when the poor have to buy new stuff, because it's cheaper! Or none at all, of course. Maybe freecycle is the best way to go about it.

[Flo]

This morning a neighbour was clearing out his shed. He had a working but old Kenwood food processor - this has replaced mine which was on it's very last legs indeed. There is also an old but working Kenwood Juicer - now the local family is thinking about buying one but will look at this first.

Now this bloke was too idle to use freecycle and quite happy just to put these items in his dustbin for Tuesday - has car, too lazy to even take them to the tip!

He just wanted his shed empty.

[Flo]

The juicer has gone to it's new home and a very happy family member took it.

Now how come the things that you can't buy in the charity shop all wear out the same week? We talk of ladies undergarments here. Sigh.

[ina]

Now how come the things that you can't buy in the charity shop all wear out the same week? We talk of ladies undergarments here. Sigh.

Yep, that's one thing you can't find in the shops. In fact, I have a couple of bras I bought in the wrong size, and I was wondering whether they'd even accept them in the shops if I took them in... Is there a policy against undies being sold? I mean, they are brand new...

[Flo]

My question to you is - would you buy underwear from a charity shop?

[ina]

My question to you is - would you buy underwear from a charity shop?

If it's obviously new - yes, why not! I wouldn't give them anything that's worn, either... But because they never have any, I suppose nobody will give them anything - and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's ever bought something (or been given as present) in the wrong size.

Mind you, I know somebody who wouldn't even buy shoes from a charity shop. Well, you always wear socks in between the leather and your skin anyway - so what's the problem? Could even be disinfected with some spray or other, if somebody is worried about foot rot. (Wrong species, I suppose! )

[Flo]

My neighbour won't buy anything from a charity shop that goes next to his skin just in case .... He'd rather buy a new shirt cheap in a box from TKMaxx - not a thought that the box is extra rubbish that landfill doesn't need with loadsa polythene in it. Funny things people.

[Smilesbetter]

I would definitely not buy undies from a charity shop, even if they looked new. I have however been trying to make some with my sewing machine and the abundance of unused fabric I have. So far they are hideous/wonky/the thread is bunching out as I appear to have the wrong setting on the sewing machine. I'll get there eventually haha, although I suspect I will have to buy new undies soon if my mad creations keep turning out this way. At this rate I have to wear bikini bottoms once a week hahaha (sorry if tmi!).

Well my mother has just been for a visit and brought two pairs of jeans and a bunch of wooly tops and warm tops for winter with her for me from the wonderful St Andrews charity shops. She did mention that she also went to Leven which may explain the second pair of jeans (the first being a nice pair of skinny black jeans) being something directly out of the seventies. The legs are GINORMOUS but they are size 8 (which I'm not any more, haha) so they were very tight and I have to say quite flattering around my bum, but too tight and I'm not sure I could have sat down without having my first ever "trousers splitting up the backside" incident. The mix of too tight and ridiculously baggy was quite something. Hopefully I can find a hippy here in Berlin who will buy them haha.

I've also located (partially) a local weekly or biweekly clothes swap which might be a good way to get rid of the two suitcases of old too small clothes I have and acquire something new, if only I could find the address and time of the place online somewhere. And it turns out there is an Oxfam shop in the local city of Potsdam! Germany isn't so bad for second hand clothes after all (hopefully, I am yet to see what clothes are on offer haha!).

[ina]

I'm still wearing several items I bought in Germany in a second hand shop many years ago... Great stuff, very good quality. "Charity" shops never were a German thing, but there have long been second hand shops.

[Flo]

Touch of the upcycled here. New chair for the computer from a shop that upcycles stuff and a cushion with cover that was being made of some old material from a seat - that had been discovered lurking in a cupboard.

The old computer chair has no offers to recover it - think it could be done but no-one wants the job, least of all me. It's filthy.

[Flo]

A little more upcycling in hand. Local shabby chic place had acquired a set of drawers and repainted them. Had to persuade her that her choice of knobs was not mine but after a scuffle through her selection we found something I like. The ancient and very shaky cupboard that they are to replace has already met the skip in various pieces - it was old, recycled twice and genuinely past the point of retrieval. I think a number of us had kicked it around over its long life and it looks as if it was a cheap one for starters. The moral of that is that the poor can't afford to buy cheap.

So I have till next Tuesday to rearrange the furniture in the bungalow to find a suitable place. I need the drawers but the logical place will ensure that it's difficult to use two sockets and the not logical place will ensure that it gets kicked around again. Hmm.

[Flo]

You can only do so much for the family's Xmas presents second hand. Admittedly the daughter sent the smallest grandson a huge parcel of Lego she bought for a tenner off Gumtree which cost her £44 to post to Switzerland.

But I have bought some as the sort of stuff they want is not going to be second hand (chocolates, candles and such). So I have done the shop local job to support local business which is the next thing up the chain unless I am making things (nope, the things I can make other than Xmas pudding they don't need or want and would be charity shop after Xmas). They are not eaters of chutney, pickles, jam and such.

Sad is life, perhaps I should give up on Xmas!

[Green Aura]

I've been trying to do that for the last twenty years, flo, but everyone tells me I've got to do it. The most annoying bit is that generally, quite literally, it means I've got to do it. I've got wiser over the years and try to share the load, but often it's just easier to get on with it.

(Which is what they all rely on)

As for presents we've cut back dramatically, although apart from a few knitted bits and a cookery book I wrote (well researched and collated might be more accurate) for a friend with health issues, everything has been bought, I'm afraid. Including the Christmas pudding.

[Flo]

I hope that everyone else in the world gets their unwanted stuff down the charity shops so that the stock is there.