Sunday 17 April 2011

The early bird gets the bargains

Twas an early start for me this morning, I stirred in my bed at 4.30am and decided that was a tad too early for the car boot sale. I pushed the cat out of the way and turned over for a little bit more snoozing. It was 6am when I got up. The place was buzzing when I arrived, I began my methodical way of scrutinising every stall. Up and down the rows, being careful to remember exactly where I had been so as not to miss anything. I had a couple of things on my mind to look for, but you never know what gem you might find so you have to look at everything. There was a pile of fabric laid out on a plastic sheet, it was the 20p each, six for £1, that caught my eye. The young girl said it belonged to her grandmother, who had too much and was having a clear out. I picked out my six for a pound, the pink and the red spotty pieces are very big.

One of the things I was looking for was a saucepan to replace the grotty one on the left in this picture. The handle has fallen off and I managed to boil it dry and have never been able to get rid of the mess in the bottom. Don't worry, I have never put food directly into it, I have always used it to steam vegetables, with a baskety type thingy in the bottom. This enamel pan was given to me years ago so I haven't done too bad out of it, but it is time to chuck it. Look what I found, a stainless steel pan with lid exactly the right size. It looked a bit stained, but it was only 50p, but with a good scrub it has come up a treat. Now it's like new. If the stall holders made a bit more effort to clean up their stock they could make a bit more money. 50 flippin p eh! I'm well chuffed.

My home made wooden, plastic covered, greenhouse, doesn't have a roof at the moment. Here is my roof. A roll of shrink wrap for £1. Magic!

I like it when women want to get rid of their clothes, some of them haven't a clue what to charge and say the first number that comes into their head. You can tell the ocassional booter as opposed to those who are running a little buying and selling business. I only browse car boot sales about two or three times a year, and every time I come to this one there is a woman I know. One day I said, 'you must have a lot of stuff in your house', she said, I've just had an aunt pass away so I am clearing her house out'. She has been booting for at least ten years to my knowledge. I don't buy from her as she always has antique type stuff that I don't need. A bit further along the line I found these teeshirts two for 50p. Thank you very much, I'll have four.

I love it when I see a basket with an 'Everything 20p sign on it', I'm diving straight in there. This is what I found in the bargain basements. Bits and bobs for crafting and bag making, even the scissors were 20p, and they cut perfectly. I'm pleased I went to the boot sale today.

Here is my boy Bugsy, think I'll go out in the sun and join him.

8 comments:

  1. A great raid!

    What was the golden buy then?

    I love the material.

    Sft x

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  2. Hi Sft, I don't know what you mean by 'golden buy'

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  3. Good haul !! Dont you love it what you can get for almost nothing.
    Great to browse round, even if you dont buy a thing it is just as good.

    Dont you love cats, the way they just enjoy the moment to the max.
    We can learn a lot from them. Just look at him soaking up the rays, no sunscreen, nothing, just happy at home !

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  4. Ooo fab bargains, love the fabric !!
    Twiggy x

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  5. Hi, Ilona - like you, hubby and I went to our local car boot this morning (first one of the season). Even car boot prices seem to have gone up this year, but nothing compared to the local charity shops - I`m sorry, call me tight, but I refuse to pay £10 for a second-hand dress! You did better than me, but I came away with a few £1 clothes for the summer. Well done!

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  6. Well done with your bargains, love the colours of your t shirts. So sad though that the lady boot seller has had so many aunts pass away over the years ;-)

    Your cling film reminded me of one of my homemade propogator - a pink deep cat litter tray (cleaned!) packed with newspaper pots and covered in cling film. I'm looking at it now and can see loads of little seedlings poking up.

    Linda xx

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  7. What great finds!

    Oh to have a cats life, finding a comfy, warm spot and wasting away the hours...

    Tania

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