If you shop in charity shops. What do you buy?

[PopcornKettleBlack]

I only ever look for books and dvds. It's made me wonder am I missing out on anything else? I'm not a clothes person, well I wear them obviously but I hate shopping for clothes. Now I'm wondering what else I might be missing out on.

What do you buy from charity shops and have you found any bargains lately?

Oh god. Of aall the typos I lube it is going a bit far.

I love it. I don't lube anything in charity shops

One last tip - bags and shoes but bags especially. They are often all crammed together.

Feel them for real leather. Sniff them! Real leather comes up a treat with lube saddle soap or any leather cleaner.

Got a £300 The Bridge bag for £3. Because it was with all the other bags that were £3. Except it's real leather. It was a bit battered and dirty but took about 30 mins to clean up to beauty.

If I'm double google makers marks/brand names and labels.

I only buy things I actually like - I don't re-sell on eBay, though I could.

I love the hunt and I love owning this that are quality snd made to last - and have a bit of history.

I buy a lot of glassware from charity shops.

And...I also always check out the racks of fabric/den linen/curtains/table clothes. I've found some great blankets/thrones/scarves that can used as throws

Half my wardrobe is charity shop finds. My fave shop is a Cancer Research UK superstore (www.cancerresearchuk.org/get-involved/ways-to-shop/superstores) where stuff is priced to sell really quickly - everything is less than £5. I got Alexa Chung blouse for £2, Next jeans, lots of Per Una stuff, brand new portable battery pack charger, lots of small electricals and jugs/bowls.

Thursday I was in my local town which has 5 shops and found a beautiful claret jug for £4 - my grandpa had bought a similar one in the 30s off a market in the East End (when lots of people were flogging off possessions to afford to eat). I remember it in their house but it unfortunately got lost over the years so it is lovely to have a reminder now.

I always buy cafetieres when I see them as we break them so regularly! Ditto casserole pots with lids. And any pots that will look nice with house plants in them.

Craft stuff - knitting yarn, embroidery kits, watercolour sets...often they are totally unused.

Books.

Necklaces - there is a lot of junk but also occasionally some lovely costume jewellery.

Children's games, jigsaws, etc.

I almost never buy clothes. I'm plus sized and the few bits they have that might fit are usually poor quality or well-worn.

Almost anything. Clothes, shoes, decorative plant pots, tankards, like new kids books. Most of my belongings are from charity shops.

@PopcornKettleBlack

I only ever look for books and dvds. It's made me wonder am I missing out on anything else? I'm not a clothes person, well I wear them obviously but I hate shopping for clothes. Now I'm wondering what else I might be missing out on.

What do you buy from charity shops and have you found any bargains lately?

I got a bargain today, a full sized sewing machine and a dolce coffee machine, both for £25

I buy almost everything from charity shops. Today I got a beautiful cashmere cardigan for £4 . I have loads of Levi's and designer dresses too . Last week I got a brand new pair of Clark's shoes for £5 . Most of my house is secondhand. It's the only way to shop .

@Shannith just spat my tea out reading about your lubing activities 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I don't go in them anymore but maybe I should! I wouldn't buy clothes from a charity shop (don't know why - I don't fancy the idea much plus my charity shops tend to stock old primark tat)

Anyway, when I used to pop in a few years back, my decent and memorable finds were ...

A signed Roald Dahl book

A glass Victorian Bon Bon dish

A new vanity case which, on a google, was on the site for £200

Almost all the our clothes apart from stuff thr oldest 'had' to have is from charity shops and I find them excellent for little kid toys easy to clean and cheap enough you can give them back when they get bored.

Last week I got what might be my favorite ever find though, a stokke Tripp trapp for £10!

I don't buy underwear but everything else is a possibility. My living room window is enormous. I have beautiful William Morris curtains that look like they were made for my house. The fabric alone would cost £500.00 but I paid £ 5.00 for them.

I buy cushions and household items as and when I see something I need but I buy most of my clothes from charity shops. I bought my outfit for my son's wedding from the charity shops - Jacques Vert trousers still with tags for £ 1.00, long black shell top, £ 1.00 and a chiffon coat for £ 5.00, bag and fascinator - also £ 1.00 each.

I love charity shops- at the moment I’m mainly shopping for baby stuff as my first is due in October.

The best bargain I have picked up is a limited print by an artist that is still selling the print as a limited run. I got it for £3 and on her website they sell for £195 I was very pleased with it.

Not able to at the moment as housebound

But when I'm not I've found/bought:

Books
Clothes
Jewellery (much prefer charity shops for this as I don't like boring jewellery generally) and hair accessories
Ornaments
Crockery and glassware
Toys and games for dd when she was younger
Furniture (we have one near us that's just for furniture and the items are far better quality than what's usually available on the high street) and soft furnishings
Pictures and frames
Handbags and purses

Dozens of wicker hampers of varying sizes for storage.

Definitely - so useful

Don't discount the men's wear section either

True of any clothes shopping! Men's clothes basics tend to be a LOT cheaper than women's, I've been buying men's t shirts, belts, hats, scarves, pyjamas, socks & gloves (well boys I have small feet) for YEARS!

I go in looking for specific things. Anything I need I'll consider getting at charity shop first. Recently...

sought shorts for DS - nothing his size, spent £30 in end to get him 2 new pairs, eek!

sought & found skinny trousers for me, bought a few tops, too

wanted a small thermos, but didn't see any just right size, had to buy new, boohoo

1000 piece jigsaws: can often get a decent one

The charity shops in the UK are usually much better than here in Ireland. In fact, one in Edinburgh (British Heart Foundation) saved my life once when I arrived there for a family funeral having forgotten to pack my black outfit. I managed to get a pair of black trousers and a top on a Sunday which was great as one of my relatives would absolutely not have forgiven me for turning up in jeans.

In saying that, I recently discovered a charity shop local to me here where I got a whole set of Elemis Frangipani products for 40 euro, rrp about 85euro. I'm still enjoying those.

@Shannith please post a pic of your garden room!

And would love to see pictures of other peoples’ finds too.

I used to consider a trip out a failure if I didn’t come home with at least one book from a charity shop. I use a kindle now though - it’s not quite the same but at least I always have a book on hand.

Like other people on here I love charity shops. I buy all my clothes in them (not underwear) and have found some fantastic bargains over the years. I have a lovely Toast wool coat that I got for a fiver because the lining was damaged. The coat itself is in great condition and will last for ever, so I re-lined it myself. I have found Fly London boots, loads of lovely leather bags (a navy leather Radley shopper only yesterday). I get books and dvds and also china. I have a lovely Cornishware coffee pot that I use every day . I'm addicted to bargain hunting now!

I have recently bought walking boots which are £150 new for £8.

I can't resist vintage Pyrex so I have bought a few items recently, casserole dishes and bowls.

I love a browse around charity shops.

This week I have bought 2 teapots ( there was a reason I bought two ! ). I have also bought 3 jigsaw puzzles after donating about 5 back. I have also bought a new handbag and four wine glasses.

I also got 3 brand new John Lewis's storage jars in a lovely Cornflower blue colour. they were slight seconds, but had £15 on the original label and I got them for £3 each.

Pretty much everything mentioned above, but also my best ever haul was in December 5yrs ago. We were so, so skint after I'd split from exP and we had no Christmassy stuff. My wonderful, amazing local charity shops were selling decorations & artificial trees ridiculously cheaply, and we managed to decorate the ground floor of our new house for under £15. We've added a few bits over the years, but being able to buy a 4ft plastic tree for £3 absolutely made our Christmas.

We also do the 'Christmas Charity Shop Challenge' I give the DC £20 each to buy presents for 3 family members. The rules are: It's not about how much you spend, it's about whether it's the right present. So a £5 bag for aunt A might be perfect, whereas a £1 scarf for Nana will be equally loved, but a 50p book for Grandad is ideal. The DC always spend the full amount, because they can add little things like a necklace for another £2, or a nice mug for 50p. It gives them a better idea of working out the value of something, and it feels more personal than buying a load of smellies from Boots. Plus I'm skint, so it saves me money

@Ilovemaisie

If I am really really lucky I buy Lego. But it's rare. I saw some old 90's sets a couple of months ago and I gasped so loud the assistant asked if I was ok .

We don't see Lego through the shop often but it does sell well. About three years ago we had a mixed bag in, spotted a couple of Harry Potter bits but no idea what it was supposed to be, colleague priced it at £9.99 so I bought it for my kids.

That evening DH and my eldest sat for ages at the kitchen table trying to work out whether it was a set, then building it using the manuals online. Turned out it was a Hogwarts castle set and all that was missing was 2 dementors.

Last week we had a huge donation of bits of Lego, all mixed up. So we measured out 2kg into plastic bags and put it out for £9.99 per bag. Sold well, everyone loves lego.

I'd buy anything, if it was decent. I've started to look in all the charity shops first before looking in normal shops when I need something now.