Lightening Online

While we were away, I popped into another op shop. I basically only have 2 op shops that I visit when I can. Neither of them are close to where I live. I’ve tried others but these are the 2 I’ve had the most success with so I tend to stick with them. I don’t think all op shops are equal. Some are well laid out to make it easier to find things. Others have a crowded mess which I find somewhat overwhelming. Some are a lot cheaper than others. If I can buy something brand new from a discount rack for cheaper than an op shop item is priced, I’m going to leave it in the op shop (unless it’s something I REALLY like or have found hard to find).

My mood will often determine how successful I am when it comes to op shopping. If I’m going to spend most of the day shopping (as is sometimes the case due to our location), I need to visit the op shop first while I’m feeling fresh and in the mood for browsing. If I’m not feeling like browsing, I’ll tend to give the op shops a miss as I’ll do a quick walk round and then leave again. Those kinds of visits don’t seem to yield any “finds”.

Op shops also present something of a danger for people like myself who get a real “buzz” out of finding a bargain. There’s a temptation to purchase things simply to get a “bargain”. But it’s not a true bargain unless it’s something you really need or can make good use of. In my early days of op shopping, there were items I bought and never used. They ended up back at the op shop and my couple of dollars was essentially wasted (thankfully not completely wasted as most op shops make use of the money in the community - sadly not all these days though).

I was very proud of myself on Tuesday. I found the most beautiful winter jacket in DD’s size that I almost bought. Had it been a size bigger I would have snapped it up. However, chances are, with the colder days coming to an end, it would have taken up space in her cupboard only to need to be redonated next year as she’s likely to have gone up a size by next winter. So I left it for someone else to enjoy.

It’s been a while since I’ve visited this particular op shop. I don’t find them all that great for kids clothes but I found quite a few things for myself this trip.

These are both 3/4 pants so will be great for summer. All of my pants from last summer are now too big, so being able to pick up a few from the op shops will certainly help with restocking my wardrobe. I now have 5 pairs of 3/4 pants for the summer - ALL of them have come from op shops.

This jumper is so warm and soft. I actually

found 2 jumpers that I liked but decided to only buy 1 and this was my favourite. It’s a Sussan brand so should be of reasonable quality.

This is a plain long sleeve top for me. It’s a lot more purple in colour than the photo is showing. I’m not sure yet whether I’ll attempt to add something to the front to jazz it up a little or whether I’ll just leave it plain.

I couldn’t resist this skirt when I saw it. It’s in immaculate condition. The top is a cardigan with a single button. I have a nice pink tank top that I think would go well underneath. Now all I need is a reason to wear it somewhere. LOL.

As an added bonus, they were having a sale on clothing. This particular shop is a little more expensive than my other favourite op shop but all items of clothing were on sale for $2 each this week so my additions to my wardrobe cost me a whole $12.00. Can’t complain about that kind of price tag!

I’m always on the lookout for books for my 9 year old DS. He is a very avid reader and devours books very quickly. I love some of the older books and we don’t own many books in the “small novel” type range. I think he’ll really enjoy these old Choose Your Own Adventure books. DH was very pleased with my find. He told me that even he enjoyed reading choose your own adventure books. And he’s not what you’d call an avid reader. They cost me $1 each. I don’t come across books like these very often. There are plenty of old cookbooks, magazines and adult romance books in op shops but not so many books suitable for children.

So another successful haul. Sadly, still haven’t come across any wool/yarn bargains in the op shops yet. I’ll keep looking though.

Yesterday was the day to go back and pick up our butchered and cut up sheep. Naturally I jumped in with DH for the ride so I could revisit my favourite op shop. 2 hauls in as many weeks! But it might be a while before I get back there again.

I wasn’t sure how much I would find having only been in there less than 2 weeks ago. Being a small country town I wouldn’t imagine their turnover is huge. Then again, visiting regularly is the way to snap up some really cool stuff (the kind of stuff that never hangs around long).

Here’s what I came away with:

* pumpkin patch warm denim jacket in size 5. I’ve been mourning my 3 year old growing out of the size 3 jacket that I bought at a pumpkin patch clearance sale years ago so this was by far my most exciting find of the day!

* plain denim jeans and a nike jumper for my 9 year old.

* a striped winter top with matching scarf for DD (should fit her next year).

* a Wiggles Anthony toy for DS. He has Murray so now he has 2. I paid $15 for Murray when I bought him so 50c for one in excellent condition was a bargain!!!

* a soft merino wool jumper in excellent condition.

* a pair of Adidas shorts for myself that feel like they’re still brand new. Even better was finding them stashed amongst the kids stuff so they were only 50c!!!!

* black top and denim capri pants for me (also in kids section for 50c each).

Here’s a photo of my “haul”:

I spent a grand total of $7!!!! DS also picked up a toy car but he didn’t want to stop playing with it long enough to add it to my photo. LOL. I don’t think the lady charged me for it either as DS was having such a great time playing with it while I was browsing.

I did contemplate buying some knitting patterns they had there but I wasn’t sure I was quite up to something too complicated. So I left them and I’ll see how I go with the knitting before I get too carried away with buying patterns. I have to be careful as it’s just as easy to pick up too many bargains and end up with a heap of unnecessary stuff cluttering up the house.

And on a note totally unrelated to op shopping - the first of the lettuces I planted 10 days ago have just popped out of the ground!!!!! Who would have thought there’d be so much excitement over a tiny little green shoot. LOL. I have planted some other seeds so hopefully we’ll see them soon.