Charity Shop Blog Hop and a few magpied marvels

I used to volunteer in a charity shop on Saturdays, it was so bad for me. I jest not, at the end of the day I would routinely walk away with AT LEAST one bin bag full of finds I couldn’t resist. I’d be in the back sorting, going “One for the shop… one for me… one for the shop…. one for me…”

Since those heady days I have installed charity shopping as the primary source for all our stuff. I just see it as totally win win – a good rumble in their jumble gets us both necessary and frivolous things in a cheap way.  But equally I love knowing the money I am spending is going to help someone or a situation AND I love knowing I am making use of someone’s leftovers. ( I realise that is not even win win, but win win WIN.)

Of course, there is the odd time a grumpy worker bites or you have a couple of weeks of thrifting absolutely NADA, or the time you see a Primark dress going for thrice the price, or the time you get something home and it reeks of someone’s armpits.  (But best not to mention these as each time you  do an old shop volunteer dies.)

I know loads of other people adore charity shops too and there is a whole bunch of bloggers dedicated to showing off our charity shop bounty. I fancy holding a bit of a parrrtaaaayyy showing off the charity shops themselves and I’d love you (Yep, YOU) to join in.

Whoever you are, if you have a charity shop you can never pass without ducking in, a route you often traipse around or have hit up a random town in a splurge of charity shop tourism then blog it and link it in ten days time on Thursday 31st May as part of the (drum roll):

It could be a secret route, with intricate detail and a google map, or it could be an abstract poem dedicated to your local – anything goes. The aim is to have a little Tinternet soiree  for charity shop lovers and for newbie thrifters to meet the Old School,  but it might also provide some helpful info so we can all plan our holidays around scouring charity shops (What, no one else designs their breaks around that?!)

Please join in – everyone welcome! Simply write a post before or on Thursday 31st May and visit here to add your link using the linky tool. Include the graphic using the code above so people can find their way back to check out the other party people.

I’ll also do a round up of the highlights  a week later in case anyone missed the joys.

Cool. You in, yeah?

Onto a couple of things I have found lately:

Every house needs a step ladder with a plump pile of neatly folded fabric on it eh? The fabric stacked at the very bottom was a hefty £10 from my favourite Fara shop but it is huuuuuge – about 2 x 3 metres.  I am not sure what to do with it. It is a peculiar shiny material. Maybe a blind?

The top piece is about 50cm by 1 metre and is clearly quite ancient- I just love the flowers on it. It was £1.50 from a Geraniums for the Blind shop. I can’t quite bring myself to give it a permanent setting if it involves taking scissors to it. But I know it is wasted perching on a paint splattered ladder.

And lastly, I scored these five plates from the local car boot fair in East Dulwich- just £1 for the five. I love the brown and turquoise design, all the glories of the Seventies right there.

Linking up with Liz’s Magpie Mondays, of course- do have a poke around their second hand loot.

Have you found anything lush lately?

And, do you reckon you’ll join in with the blog hop?

And, how do you feel bout spending 17  seconds voting for Lulastic in the Thrift & Craft categories of the MAD blog awards? (Saying it in third person sounds much less desperate.) Unlike our electoral system, every little vote counts!