Category Archives: Shopping

Worth the Wait

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Some things just take time.

We moved into this house 4 months ago and one of the first things we did was to order some furniture for our large loungeroom. We were advised that the wait time would be over 3 months as it is all custom-made.

There was great excitement on Thursday when the furniture was delivered. There is a 3 seater sofa and two super-comfortable armchairs and footstools. The chairs are able to both swivel and recline for maximum comfort.

Although it is somewhat dictated by the placement of the television, we have yet to decide on the exact configuration of the furniture in the room. There are also pictures to be hung and decisions to be made about other pieces of furniture it is definitely a work in progress.

Meanwhile, we are making some adjustments to the location and positioning of other items and furniture. Watch for more details in upcoming posts.

Matching Accessories

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You probably remember my recent post from a couple of weeks ago where I showed you the shoes I bought to wear to a family wedding later this month.

Well, I decided I also needed a handbag and thought a matching bag would be good, however, my younger daughter pointed out that it may be difficult to match the colour so I was prepared to compromise with a metallic finish of some colour.

Anyway, earlier this week we were in a suburban shopping precinct in Melbourne as we were stocking up on a number of pantry items. Once that was done, I wandered into a couple of op shops in the area. The first two didn’t yield anything much at all in the way of bags. The third one was a different story. I had rather optimistically taken the shoes with me so that I could check the colour if I happened to find something suitable.

This was the result. A bag in perfect condition with no marks or signs of wear which matches my shoes perfectly. It was $7. I am beyond thrilled.

Successful Shoe Shopping

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Today we went to Bendigo, a regional city located about 30 minutes drive from where we live. As well as doing our regular grocery shopping I also wanted to look for a pair of shoes to wear to a wedding we are attending next month.

There are a couple of quality independent shoe retailers so I was hopeful but not super-confident as I had some fairly specific requirements – closed toe, low heel in a nude/beige colour.

Well, I was in luck.

I am so pleased to have found exactly what I wanted and they will get plenty of wear on other occasions which makes them a worthwhile purchase.

A Zippy Day

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One of the op shop buys I mentioned in my last post was a vest which had a broken front zip.

Yesterday I bought a new zip and my project for today was to replace the broken zip.

Replacing zips can be a bit of a challenge as they are generally inserted fairly early in the garment construction, therefore, it is a bit of a balancing act to deconstruct enough of the garment to allow the removal and replacement of the zip.

I have managed to achieve my goal reasonably successfully.

Is it perfect? No.

Is it good? Yes.

Am I happy with the result? Absolutely.

New zip inserted

Zipped up.

Wearing the finished garment.

The zip cost me $8.50 which was more than double what I paid for the vest but I still regard it as $12.50 well spent to have this addition to my wardrobe.

Wardrobe Wins

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Yesterday we headed out and about with a bit of a plan which included visiting a specific op shop in a small town some distance from us. It had been specifically recommended so I was keen to see for myself.

The pricing was very modest and I bought 3 summer tops. It is the middle of winter here but I regard this as forward planning because it will definitely be hot in 6 months time.

This sheer floaty top will need a camisole underneath it.

A girl can’t have too many navy/white striped tops. (In my opinion). These tshirt tops appear to be unworn or only very lightly worn. I will shorten the navy one a little bit.

I could not believe my luck as these tops were $2 each! It is almost impossible to get anything for $2 these days in an op shop.

Later in the day I spotted another op shop near the supermarket. Once again, I was in luck.

I had been on the lookout for another vest and spotted this one for $4. The zip does not work but I am not too worried as I generally wear a vest like this unzipped. However, I do plan to buy a new zip and replace it to restore this lovely vest to full functionality.

My final find was this knit ‘dress’. It is a synthetic mix and quite fine but will be perfect with a layer of thermals underneath and teamed with tights, boots and a scarf.

I scored all of these additions for the amazing total of $15.

However, it is not all about the money. My prime reason for op shopping is to minimise my use of new resources. It is scary to see the amount of clothes and other textiles which end up in landfill and this was what drove my decision to limit, and preferably eliminate, my reliance on new clothes. My exceptions are underwear, socks and shoes.

I set myself a challenge in November 2018 that I would not buy any new clothes from retail outlets for 5 years. It seemed outrageous and probably unachievable but I was determined to give it a go.

I only have 4 months to go. So, how I am I going? I have bought 1 dress and a scarf (in February 2021) brand new to wear to a wedding. The scarf went to an op shop after a couple of wears as I realised it had been an impulse buy and was not really going to have a long-term place in my wardrobe. The dress was a bargain – reduced from $179 to $21!! I have worn in many times since the wedding, including to my mother’s funeral, as it is very versatile.

My wardrobe has altered significantly in nearly 5 years and I have achieved that through buying pre-loved items in op shops as well as higher-end recycle boutiques. Some have appeared to be brand-new and it is even more important than ever to save these items from ending up in landfill. It has been a continual evolution as I moved from full-time work to retirement and again as we moved from Queensland to Victoria.

A Rainbow of Scarves

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I like to wear a scarf and find that it often adds the final element which completes an outfit. However, in a cooler climate they have become a necessity rather than purely for their value as an accessory. That is not to say that looking good is not important.

My scarf collection is mostly a mix of finely woven scarves in plains and prints. In the past week I have picked up two more plain ones in my op shop adventures. A beautiful blue scarf as well as another red one. My original red scarf is very lightweight and starting to show signs of wear.

I love the colours and brightness that they add to my mostly black, grey and navy winter wardrobe.

More Bargains

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We have been rather occupied with our guests for the past five days so no time for blog posts.

Yesterday I took my granddaughters to Bendigo. I bought more fruit and vegetables, we enjoyed the Australian Women’s Weekly exhibition at the art gallery and we found time to check out a couple of op shops.

I found a summer dress for Liv – no mean feat as she is 15 and liable to change her mind at a moment’s notice. Also, a warm fleecy black top for Izz as well as a skirt, long sleeve knit top and scarf for myself.

However, the standout purchases were a pair of shoes and a chair.

These shoes caught my eye but did not appear to have any size, brand or country of origin markings. In fact, I think they may be handmade. I tried them on and they fitted perfectly. They have barely been worn and were priced at $8. Lucky me!

I actually saw the chair outside the shop as we approached the door. You may remember that I bought a dining setting with 4 chairs from Marketplace some weeks ago. You can read about it here. I was prepared to have one or two extra chairs and was not too worried about whether they were an exact match. I figured that this one would be suitable so I handed over $5 and it was mine.

I brought it home and here is the recent purchase (on the left) beside one of the existing set. Can you pick the difference? The whole chair is marginally (about 1cm) lower, the curve at the top is not quite as pronounced and the top of the sides are rounded rather than flat.

I am absolutely chuffed with my finds.

Plastic-Free Challenge

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This is a rather timely post as we approach Plastic-Free July. I choose not to participate directly in this initiative but simply to make every day a challenge to reduce, preferably eliminate, single-use plastics.

Moving to a new town throws up a few challenges when it comes to refusing single-use plastics.

Naturally, I take my own bags when grocery shopping and tulle produce bags when buying loose fruit and vegetables. I have managed to locate a couple of shops in Melbourne where I can buy bulk dry goods such nuts, flours, seeds and dried fruit.

However, one of the trickier items to purchase without single-use plastic is meat. Some butchers are prepared to place meat directly into the customers container but plastic bags remain the default position and some outlets specifically refuse to use containers provided by the customer. Unfortunately, Covid19 has become an ‘excuse’ for not accepting containers.

A few days ago I set about searching for a butcher in our general vicinity who would be amenable to placing my purchases directly into my own containers. I found ‘Meats on Mitchell’ in central Bendigo so yesterday I tested them out. Aside from the single-use plastic issue, the meat needs to be good quality which appeared to be the case.

It was a simple matter of asking for what I wanted and handing over my containers. There was no hesitation or problem with checking the weight of the container before adding the meat. I was happy with the entire transaction and let the staff know that I had chosen their shop primarily because I was able to bring my own containers.

The chicken we ate last night was excellent quality and I intend to make this my regular butcher for meat purchases. Although we do not eat a lot of meat it is good to be able to source it without any single-use plastic.

An Extra Shelf

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I do not have a large collection of linen and I had a relatively small linen cupboard in our previous home. You can see details of it here. However, the space allocated as a linen cupboard is a bit smaller here. The shelves are not adjustable which limits the usefulness of some of the space.

So, I searched online and found a suitable addition at Howard’s Storage World. We went to Melbourne yesterday and one of my goals was to buy this piece which I felt would maximise the effectiveness of the available space.

It came flat packed and was relatively easy to assemble.

It was then a simple matter of adding it to the existing shelving. This adds an extra shelf for smaller items such as handtowels and serviettes.

More Marketplace

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One of the few pieces of furniture that we did bring with us when we moved was our dining table and chairs. However, we soon realised that due to the space available that a round table was not the best option.

We bought another setting from Marketplace a couple of weeks ago and you can read about it here. The next step was to sell our existing one. After a few unsuccessful enquiries it has now gone to a new home.

The lady who bought it has downsized to a retirement unit and was very excited to find what she wanted. I also gave her several tablecloths which fit the round table and are no longer any use to me.

We had been using a couple of the dining chairs at the office desk and also my sewing table so it was time to find some suitable replacements. So, it was back to Marketplace where I found these 2 from different sellers.

They are perfect for our needs and we picked them up yesterday.

I am currently looking for a suitable floor rug for the family room so stay tuned.