Why Would You Buy New?

We are counting down to the arrival of "Peanut" our first baby.  He is due in about 5 weeks and we are in the final stages of getting things ready for him.

I have purchased all of his clothes second had from the op shop and have spent about $75 in total on clothes in sizes that range from 00000 up to size 0. We think based on the scans we are having a small baby (Hubby and his family are all small so not unlikely) hence some small clothes but we will not know until Peanut arrives so we have a range of sizes.  In addition to what I have purchased we are borrowing clothes from Hubby's brother and his wife as they had a baby boy 2 1/2 years ago and I see no sense in buying heaps of clothes that Peanut will grow out of quickly.  The additional clothes we are borrowing will be returned when we leave the country in January but by then we will know how big he is and what sizes we actually need.  We can then go back to the op shop and get the sizes we know we need then and into the future.

So many of the clothes I have purchased are either brand new or very close to it as no one really ever knows what size baby they are getting and like us I suspect they buy a range of sizes.  That combined with the fact babies grow very quickly means none of the clothes get much wear.
I have since seen some of these outfits in other stores and new they range in price from $14 - $30 which seems like an awful lot of money just to buy new.

In addition to the borrowed clothes we are also borrowing a bassinet as out revamped cot will be packed away on it's way to NZ.  All of the cot sheets and blankets are also second hand (some were even Hubby's).
At this stage we have only purchased a new car set and pram and a few cloth nappies to trial and we will be trying to limit our spending on everything else where we can and buy second hand if we can as I do not see the point buying new when second hand seems to be so cheap and in such good quality.

Did you buy second hand for your children?
Is second hand your go to when shopping?

Awesome Op Shop Finds

As I have mentioned we are all for buying second hand when it comes to our baby due in October and last weekend my friend Sandra and I went Op Shopping to see what I could get.
I did have a bit of a list including some maternity clothes and baby stuff that I would be keeping an eye our for but have plenty of time to source including a nappy bag, baby wraps, and baby carrier.

Do you ever find that some days when you go shopping you can find everything you want and more and other times you cannot find a single thing?  Well it was the former for me last weekend.

In one op shop I came across this baby gym with all the bits and pieces, even the battery operated kick pad, included plus a few extra things (2 rattles and a couple of fabric books and a teething ring) that had been added to the bag.  I had thought we would not bother with one of these as they are not that cheap but this one was only$10 and in great condition.  It was only after I had decided to purchase it that I noticed the original price sticker was still on the bag, $129.95.  Yep bargain.

At another op shop I found a nappy bag that can be worn as a back pack, over one shoulder or hooked on your pram.  It fods out to be a change mat and is is an older version of this one which retails for $119.95 and I paid just $14.50. The only thing it is missing is the toweling mat to change on, no biggie.  Another bargain.

The same op shop delivered up a couple more bargains in the way of modern cloth nappies.  The blue pair turned out to actually be swimming pants but the others were nappies that just happen to be the brand (peapods) we have been looking at.  Both of these normally retail for $20 a pair so the $1.50 price tag was amazing. 

Back in the car and the next op shop turned up the biggest bargain of them all along with some of the maternity clothes I had been looking for.
A Caboo Close Carrier RRP of $139 was marked at $5.  Yep just $5.  It is made of organic cotton and does not look like it has even been used.  I suspect no one knew what this funny bundle of fabric and rings was, the staff had no idea and I had to explain it at the counter.  It was just stuffed on a shelf and is missing the very outer support that is optional to use if you still want to be using it between 10 and 15kg.  If I wanted I could make the additional support but we will not need it for quite a while and we may want to switch to a backpack by then anyway.

Sandra also managed to find me some great maternity clothes.  She found me some jeans $8, a merino jumper $12 and a polar fleece jacket $7.50.  Both the jumper and jacket are XL and I normally take a M - L so there is plenty of room for the bump this winter and the Jeans are a 16 and I normally take a 14 so I will just deal with them being a little baggy in the legs and butt (who knows I might fill them too).

At our final stop they were having a sale and I picked up a polo shirt and an elastic waisted skirt for the grand total of $3.

So for less than $60 I got over $600 worth of things which is an amazing haul and even though a nappy bag and a baby carrier were not on our radar to purchase just yet I could not go past these bargains.

Have you picked up any amazing bargains lately?

Hand Me Down And Second Hand Baby Paraphenalia

I am now at week 19 of my pregnancy and everything is going well.  I am healthy, the baby is growing and I have not put on any weight yet which according to my doctor is a very good thing as it means I am not putting on wasted kilos that I just have to try and loose after the baby is born.

We are now taking steps to get set up for the arrival of our first child and we are focused on only buying a few key items new (car seat and pram), not over spending, borrowing where we can and buying second hand as much as possible.

Hubby's mum recently handed down to us items she had used on Hubby and his brother ( 40 + years ago) as well as some sheets they no longer had a bed to fit.
She has gifted us 18 terry towel flat nappies, a assortment of cotton cot blankets, a couple of heavy woolen cot liners, 2 single flannelette sheets, 3 double fitted sheets (plus 2 other double sheet sets that we will keep for our spare bed).  I plan to cut the flannelette and fitted sheets down and turn them into cot sheets and although we plan to use modern cloth nappies the terry toweling flat nappies will make good spares and are the right size for burping cloths and change mats.

There was also a carry basket that we probably won't use as it does not have a matress but time will tell.

I picked up a baby change table at an op shop for $35 and it just needs a change mat on top.  We could have not bothered with a change table but we also needed a set of draws so this one covered that need as well.

I also picked up a baby bath for $5 at the op shop too.  I was thinking that I would just bath the kid in the kitchen or laundry sink but for $5 I could justify the spend.

Later this week we are having our next scan and are excited to find out what sex we are having and that everything is on track.  I am also starting pre-natal yoga this week which I am looking forward to as they cover breathing for labor as well as stretching and strength for child birth.

I also had another day op shopping with my friend Sandra on the weekend and came away a massive winner but more about that later in the week.

If anyone has tips on things that are not worth buying and should be avoided please let me know what and why.

Making A Dog Coat On The Cheap

The weather has been getting really cold here at night over the last week getting down to just 2 degrees the other night.  We decided that this year we would get Jessie a dog coat to wear at night to help keep her warm in her kennel.
Last year we created a mattress stuffed with hay to keep her warm but it was dusty and we think it made her itchy.  We have also tried an actual dog mattress but Jessie turned it into a wrestling toy and pulled out all the stuffing.  So this year we have lined her kennel with a thick layer of newspaper topped with a layer of carpet, topped with an old doona (duvet) cover.  But even with these layers beneath her we thought a coat would be the best thing for her.
So I headed off to the local op shop to see if they had any polar fleece jumpers I could convert.  As it turned out I was able to pick up a polar fleece blanket that was being sold as a dog blanket as it had a hole in it.  It was only 50 cents and perfect for what I wanted.  I also picked up a set of double bed vintage sheets in good condition for $3.00 and a brand new coffee plunger for $3.00.  I have been on the look out for either a new tea pot or similar to make herbal tea in.

Op Shop Finds

I spoke to Liz the other day about the dog coats she made and decided that I would just make a paper template and sew it up from there.

My Paper template

I used a double layer of fabric as it was quite thin.  I sewed the two pieces together and inserted the tummy strap at the same time, then I turned it out so the seams were hidden.  I only had some narrow Velcro so I added 2 strips to the tummy strap and 2 strips to the front.

The finished product

Then it was Jessie's turn to model her new coat.

Jessie's new coat

 Doesn't she look pleased... not.

"Really?  You are really taking my photo while I sit here looking soooo impressed"

Jessie does not seem to mind her coat at all but when Hubby let her off from her kennel this morning the front of her coat had come undone and she had walked out of it.  I wondered if that would happen when she stretched because it was such thin Velcro that I used so I might have to add some stronger stuff or a button.

What have you been sewing lately?
Have you ever made pet coats?

Op Shop Finds

Late last week I had to head down to Brisbane for work and a friends 40th birthday so I arranged to do a spot of op shopping  with my best friend.
We had a great day and managed to visit a number of different op shops.

And you know what, those op shop gods must have been smiling at me.

The first op shop we went to was having a half price sale so we were on the right path to start with.  And then I saw this:

An Emile Henry Tagine from the Flame range.  A tagine is something that I have wanted for ages and when I saw this one I was in love.  It was brand new never been used and was priced at just $20!!!

I would have paid twice that but because of the 1/2 price sale I got it for $10.  Unbelievable!!

I also picked up a pair of what appear to be brand new levis jeans for Hubby for $5 after the discount.

At another store I managed to find a nut loaf tin and a tuppaware citrus juicer, and in the last store a stainless steel wine cooler.

It was a great day out and I am really please with my buys.  I cannot wait to try out my new tagine.

Have you had any good buys lately?

Huge Op Shop Haul

I have been asking around about preserving equipment at all my local op shops for a while now and had left my details with a couple of them.  The other day I got a call to say that some had come in from a deceased estate and would I still be interested as they had been in the shed gathering dust in the shed for many years.
I let them know that I was still interested and would be in the next day.

Well what a score look at what I got, a preserving unit, 2 crates of jars and accessories.

The haul
PS the kitchen Aid is mine and was not from the op shop

So here is what I got:
A small preserving unit with the front plug missing.  Well I assume that is what is missing, does anyone know?

See the little hole in the front

 There were a whole lot of rings stored in cornflour and they look to be in perfect condition.  Does anyone know why they would be stored this way?

Rubber rings stored in cornflour, well I assume that white
powder is cornflour.
If I am not back in a week you will know that it was not.

 I guess this is an indication of when they were last used.

Jars with a good layer of dust.

Sorry about the side ways picture.  But there was a stack of clips (about 30), lids (8 that were ok to keep), tongs and a thermometer.

So I did some calculations about what I got and the cost of buying new:

Jars
14 x Number 27 (800 ml) =  Not sure. I cannot find them new so perhaps this size has been deleted.
9 x Number 20 (600 ml) = $28 pack of 6
12 x Number 31 (1 litre) = $34 pack of 6

Clips = $15 pack of 12
Tongs = $16.50
Thermometer = $22
Rings = $4.50 pack of 12
Lids = $15.95 Pack of 12

Approximate cost = Over $220 new

And that is NOT including the preserving unit.

So what did I pay....

$20 for the lot!!!

I will need to pay to have the preserving unit electrically tested but there is no urgency as I have my stove top preserver which is much bigger than the op shop one.

I now have stacks of jars and just need to sort out some lids for the size 31 jars.  Then I will be preserving like a mad woman.