Charity shopping

….or chazza shopping as I like to call it. My Mum loves a good charity shop! and my GMa loved them even more than my Mum (which is saying something). GMa used to spend hours on a Saturday galavanting with an empty buggy and come back with all sorts, along with her obligatory strawberry splits and crab sticks from Heron. She was notorious…and once bought me a bike for £30 which I rode for years. What a star she was

Charity shopping is so varied…you have to be an eager opportunist. One day you can find ridiculous amounts of treasure, and another you can’t uncover a morsel. It differs so much from town to town. Whenever my Mum and I are deciding to go on a day out somewhere the subject of charity shops always crops up: “how many does it have?”, “which ones are they?” and “what are they like?”. It wouldn’t ever sway us to not go somewhere but it’s always good to have in the back of your mind if you decide you’re ‘in the mood’, which I would say is about 75% of the time – sometimes the thought of rummaging is intolerable.

Charity shops are getting noticeably more expensive (will keep the rant to myself) and they have caught onto brands and the vintage market, which is a good and a bad thing. I get angry when I know I can find something cheaper on eBay, but there is so much glee to be had when you discover a ‘clearance’ charity shop and everything is 99p or £1. My sisters and I:

“What everything is 99p?” – “Yes”,

“Sorry did you mean everything in this shop is 99p?” – “YES”,

“Everything?” – “YES!”,

“Even shoes?”-“YES!!!”,

“Is this 99p?” – “YESSSS!!!”…times by 10.

Here are my favourite chazza shop finds over the past few months:

1. A Whistles jumper found in Harrogate for a bargainous £3.25. I absolutely love it. It is just a sweater but it is shaped properly, I love the flecks and the quality is fab. It was worth every hideous moment my sister in law and I spent in Harrogate with three unhappy children, plus the train journey there and back we thought would be ‘an adventure’ – which it certainly was!

2. A pair of H&M chinos bought for £4.50 in Pocklington. So comfy and already worn so the colour is improved…just an all round useful find.

3. A knitted blue cap for my son, bought in London for £1. The Winst will hate pics of himself in this embarrassing number when he’s older, but I think it’s hilarious and adorable. Another bonus is that it matches a pair of dungarees that my Mum knitted for him…and yes he has worn them together. Priceless!

I have discovered that most charity shops aren’t very buggy friendly which is slightly inconvenient as you do need time to look, and space to check yourself out in the mirrors. Please share the love and tell me what gems you’ve found recently!

E xx