How I Shop Thrifty.

What’s up my lovelies! One thing I get asked a lot is where do I find my unique pieces, and how do I find them at a bargain price. So, this week I’m letting you into my tips, tricks and secrets when it comes to shopping and being thrifty. Like most people, I love a bargain, and because I’m on a budget, I’m always finding new ways to re-invent, re-use and recycle pieces.

Plus I’m a creative; which means I can’t help thinking of a million different ways to change clothes and accessories and make them new to me.

I’ll start by talking about where I like to go to find some great bargains. For a start, I love charity shops. I know loads of people absolutely hate them, but I think they’re great. They help with the environmental impact that the fashion industry has when it comes to fashion waste, it’s cheaper to buy pre-loved clothes and I love having a root around for that diamond in the rough. To the right you can see a polka dot dress I got a few weeks ago!

Another place I like to go to find unique pieces that’re cheap is car boot sales! I haven’t had the chance to go to some for a long time but I recently went to one and managed to find a new mirror for my bedroom, an old fashioned candle holder and my favourite find of all, an authentic vintage Gucci bag! And I picked the bag up for £4!! £4 for a Gucci bag with all the documents authenticating it. Safe to say I was extremely happy with myself that day.

One other place I like to look in for bargains is the clearance sales in stores like TK Maxx. Sometimes I have a look there for bags, sunglasses and accessories, one of my favourite pairs of sunglasses were £2 from there, supposed to be £72, all because there was a small scratch on the inside of one of the lenses. But guess what?! You can’t even see the scratch when they’re on and when you look through them! No one would buy them because of the scratch, which is crazy when you’re only paying £2 for a designer pair of sunglasses.. in near perfect condition.

So.. what are my tips for bargain shopping? Well..:

• Visit the Charity shops on a Tuesday or Friday (think about when people are likely to drop off clothes. In my area lots of people tend to drop clothes off right after the weekend or right before the weekend).

• Go to the ‘fancier’ charity shops – think about where ‘posh’ people are likely to drop their clothes off to. Sue Ryder is a favourite for branded goodies.

• Go to the charity shops that are the most accessible by car. Think about it, if you’ve ever dropped off clothes at a charity shop, you tend to go to the closest one to where you’ve parked, so check there first when you’re on the hunt for something new, because they’ll probably have more of a selection.

• Don’t be afraid of trying something on. If you think something might work, try it on. You might think something will smell bad or be dirty, but they really aren’t, and if you don’t try something on you could be missing out on a great new item. Plus, if you’re buying something from a charity shop, it’s highly likely that you’re going to wash them before you wear them anyway.

• If you see something that is reduced because it has a tiny fault, scratch or snag, ask yourself if it is something you can easily fix; and if it is, wouldn’t you rather pay a lot less for something that you want and can make good as new for pretty much nothing?

So, now you know my tips for getting a good bargain, here’s my favourite pieces and some things I picked up recently:

Here’s my Gucci bag I mentioned earlier, I’m still super shocked I stumbled across it at a car boot sale and it just shows what diamonds you can find when you look around!

I love this dress I picked up at a Sue Ryder charity shop! It was one of those dresses that I wasn’t 100% sure on, so I tried it on, and just like that, I loved it! And it only cost me £5. The black sunglasses are my ones from TK Maxx which only cost £2 because of that tiny scratch you can’t see. These sunnies go with pretty much everything too!

Onto one of my most recent purchases, this colourful shirt. If I’m honest, I didn’t know if I liked this shirt when I saw it, but again, like the dress I tried it on and realised how cool and unique it was! I’ve never seen a shirt quite like this so I’m glad I picked this up. Oh, and here’s my small candle stick holder which cost me £2 at a car boot too!

Have you ever found a diamond in the rough? If so, what was it and where from? My favourite things about shopping thrifty is the rewarding feeling you get from finding something great in a mountain of stuff someone was going to throw away! And getting it for a great price! If you try out any of these tips and tricks when shopping let me know in the comments!

Have a great weekend lovelies!

Love,

 

I’m Taking Part In RED January

Happy New Year everyone!! 2019 is upon us, and I can’t wait to see what great things are going to happen this year.

For me, this is the year of me trying new things and pushing myself out of my comfort zone; and what better way to start than by doing something I’ve never done before! Cycling. Now, I know what you’re thinking, how can I have never cycled before??

Well, that’s not 100% true, the last time I had a bike I was 6 and it still had stabilisers on it with pink tassels on the handlebars. So in my mind, I’ve never really done any cycling. Especially not on my own bike now that I’m an adult.

So, what even is RED January?

RED January was founded by Hannah Beecham after she found out how your mental health can benefit from exercise; she found this through helping her mother through the darkest of her depression with love, support and by working together towards a goal (The Walk The Walk Midnight Marathon).

Why am I taking part in RED January?

One of my new years resolutions for this year is to raise some money for charities that I have had a personal relationship with. And one of those charities is MIND.

I decided to take part in this challenge because I realised that I’m actually reasonably active; this is due to having to do physio for my back (that’s a post for another day) and developing a healthy relationship with exercise since recovering from anorexia, and it has definitely improved my mental health.

And also because I’ve just received my first every bike, I’m now cycling to work every day! So it makes sense that if I’m already being active every day and feeling the benefit, why not raise a little money in the process??

So that’s what I’m doing this month. Even on my birthday, the 17th! Taking part in RED January doesn’t sign you up for having to force yourself to do something terrible every day that is harrowing. The only requirement is that you do something active everyday in January, if you don’t like running, you can go for a walk, what if it’s raining and cold outside? You could do some yoga, find a workout on YouTube or simply dance around your house just in your pants if you want. That active part is up to you.

Now, since today is the 5th January, I’m about to go do day 5 of the blogilates 100 Ab challenge (wish me luck! I’ll be doing a follow up of this at the end of the month so stay tuned!) and then go for a bike ride if it’s nice outside.

Oh, and if you wanted to sponsor me, you can find my JustGiving page here! I know we’re all tight on money since Christmas is over, so don’t worry if you can’t donate, why not sign up to do the challenge yourself with me?

Have a great day lovelies!! See you next week!

Love,