A Thrifty Mrs | Totally addicted to thrift

I'm a Superscrimper

2012-01-24T12:30:00.001Z

Last night a few of you may have caught me on the Channel 4 show Superscrimpers: Waste Not Want Not. Along with an 'army' of other frugal people from all over the UK I was doling out frugal tips, including this one about mending umbrellas and this one about using fruit netting as a cleaning scourer. If you missed Superscrimpers and are in the UK, I'm sure you can catch up on 4OD and other on demand services, however I'm unsure as to how you can view it if you're not in the UK, sorry!

Filming Superscrimpers was a long process which took a few days of Thrifty Towers being turned upside down and me trying to over come my nerves and cope with the mess without freaking out. It was good fun but hard work to keep upbeat, especially because I'm such a misery. They asked me to really ham it up on camera at certain points so if I come across as a bit over enthusiastic or you can see my eyes glaze over at any point that'll be why.

I haven't been able to watch more than a few seconds of my part without feeling sick but some of the other scrimpers had great tips, especially the rather lovely Gem Fatale who has the best frugal beauty tips going. The show is a series so I think I might be on a few more of the episodes but I'm not too sure. So, keep your eyes trained to the TV screen Monday 8pm Channel 4.

TTFN,

P.S. Cringe!

Rediscovery

2012-01-20T13:40:00.000Z

One of my favourite birthday gifts was a new lens for my DSLR. That poor camera has been sat on the bottom shelf of my desk for over a year now, you see I managed to break one the lens I got on with and it's only now it has been replaced.

When sorting through some paperwork I came across the brief for my A level Photography practical exam. An exam I sat 10 years ago this summer. Phew, I'm old. The brief concentrated on street photography and in particular rediscovery of places you already knew.

Memories of my friend and I taking our cameras off to Camden, a place we'd spent many a weekend trying to be cool, to snap what we saw as 'arty' subjects came flooding back. However what I remembered more was getting off the train and walking the familiar streets of our home town, snapping at the places we knew on a daily basis, things we breathed in and out everyday then deciding to go with those real, homely, rediscovery photographs as the work we turned in.

My aim for this year is rediscovery, not just through photography but it's a good start. This week I've taken my camera and new lens on a little walk not more than 100m from our flat allowing me to rediscover and discover detail and beauty just a few steps from Thrifty Towers. Alas all photography skills I once had have evaporated over the years. However I had so much fun on my potter I'm planning to go in new directions every day until, every detail of my very local area has been thoroughly scrutinised.

Things I'd like to rediscover in 2012

Liverpool
I just can't get enough of that city but I really what I really want to do is to take in the architecture of my old university buildings. I hear they're gorgeous but I was either wasted or had my head buried in a book so I kinda missed that!

Cycling 

Alright, alright, so I only learnt to cycle in 2010 but with our nightmare neighbour situation early last year and my health in the latter part of last year I didn't really feel like making that first move out of the front door. 2012 will be the year I rediscover my only very recently lost love of cycling.

French 

I used to speak French really well but now I can barely buy train tickets. I want to rediscover it and maybe take off on holiday to Paris with a friend.

Keeping a diary/journal

In my teens and early twenties I got so much out of keeping a journal. I haven't started it yet but I hope to take it this up again at some point this year. Am I too old for one with a padlock and secret code?

Baking bread

I miss baking different types bread so much. I've become lazy and stuck to the same old recipe time and again, I'm going to make an effort to try fresh new recipes.

Curls

I've long hated the natural curl in my hair but I resorted to going natural toward the end of 2011 because my straighteners broke. I had more compliments than I've ever had before and even you guys loved my curls in my post about the pros and cons of wearing capes. So 2012 is the year I'll embrace and rediscover the power of being a natural curly girl.

What do you want to rediscover this year?

TTFN,

Vintage Suitcase Storage

2012-01-19T16:30:00.000Z

You guys often ask me to share more of Thrifty Towers. So here you are, here's some more. Cor, I'm good to you, aren't I?
This ramshackled stack of vintage suitcases and picnic baskets is situated in our hallway, opposite the two doors which take you to either our living area or bathroom and next to our spare room/my office. It makes my heart sing plus it's super useful and organised too. Each suitcase has a dedicated purpose and provides desperately needed storage. Plus they're pretty, oooh.

From bottom to top -
- Picnic basket - funnily enough this is a picnic basket stuffed full of our picnic equipment.
- Light blue suitcase - Seasonal linens (napkins, tablecloths, bunting, curtains) which get rotated and switched out as the seasons change.
- Navy suitcase - Scarves and gloves. Previously this was stored in the living room but it just wasn't practical.
- Mustard suitcase - Shopping bags. Easy to grab on the way out to the shops.
- Briefcase - Bike lights and bike tools. Until I gave these a home Mr Thrifty's bike bits and bobs littered our dining table each evening, as you know I like everything to have a proper home so that didn't please me greatly.

TTFN,

P.S. Which is your favourite suitcase? I think mine is currently the mustard one which I found on a recent thrifting trip.

Thrifted Favourites

2012-01-17T15:15:00.003Z

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the few times I've been out over the last few weeks have involved thrifting trips. First with Mr Thrifty, then on my own at the mercy of Manchester's public transport system and lastly with the ever lovely Vintage Pleasure. I've hit up charity shops right across Greater Manchester and had some great finds. It seems lots of people are clearing out their old junk and sending it to charity shops as part of their resolutions. There's nothing I love more than a spot of rummaging through what other people think of as old junk. Lots of my finds need a little work (recovering, painting, new zips etc.) so I'll show you in due course but for now, here are some of my favourite thrifted finds from January which don't need any work.

Baby blue bowls at 25p each, to add to my ever increasing utility china collection. The candy colours are irresistible to me, they're easy to mix and match, take a bit of abuse plus you can fill your cupboards full of them for mere pence.

I snaffled this mid-century lake scene picture from a usually over-priced (I'm talking £10 for a Primark dress) local charity shop for a surprisingly bargain price and have placed it on the side of my wardrobe to break up the dark wood. It greets me on my approach to my bedroom everyday and never fails to raise a smile, even on those dear-God-will-it-ever-stop-raining-in-Manchester days.

My favourite thrift find of the month is this quite simply uh-mazing punchy-bright red and white polka dot dress. A potential replacement for my 'me dress' non?

TTFN,

P.S. What have you found recently?

Oh S...ugar

2012-01-16T18:42:00.001Z

Anyone who knows me, knows that all is well on good ship Thrifty-pop when I'm busy baking, alas I haven't been much up to baking of late and who wants to eat the baked produce of someone who sounds like they've coughed up a ~~lung~~ ~~spleen~~ ~~ovary~~, something lower, something lower...knee? I've had a few bursts of energy which have resulted in thrifting trips and slow strolls but after a few hours out and about I'm pretty much rendered bed-bound for the next few days.

Today however I felt that urge, the urge to take wooden spoon in hand, the urge to bake. I decided to bake something with minimal fuss - namely scones.

I methodically laid out and measured the ingredients which I know by heart. I was half way through adding the butter when Mr Thrifty came home with some (v important) work based news and before I knew it I'd added the eggs and the milk and found myself rolling out and cutting the rounds whilst working out the implications of the news. I popped them in the oven and set about washing up the bowls and spoons before finding the little dish containing the sugar which I'd forgotten to add. "Oh sugar!" was~~n't~~ what I shouted however two minutes later, as we slathered them, fresh from the oven, with added the extras of butter and jam we realised that the missing sugar wasn't all that bad.

I'm still missing my sugar too, I don't quite have that pop I once did but I'm getting there slowly but surely. With a few added extras of drugs, hot water bottles and plenty of rest I'm almost as good as normal. I'm getting there, I'm getting there.

Oh and here's my easy scone recipe with sugar.

TTFN,

Happy 2012

2012-01-11T17:30:00.000Z

I realise I'm normally pretty consistent in blogging most days, so I just wanted to let you all know that I'll be back to regular blogging soon. At the moment I'm not very well at all, so I'm taking time to get better, spend time with family and look after myself. If I'm not living my life there really isn't very much to blog about.

My birthday, Christmas and new year all spent with family and friends were lovely. Food, wine and laughs were had, not much in the way of organising or thrifting though. I have lots of plans for 2012 which hopefully, when I'm well enough, I'll be able to share with you with my usual gusto.

Back soon.

TTFN,

P.S. Happy 2012.

Happy Christmas

2011-12-25T07:00:00.001Z

TTFN

Christmas Eve Memories

2011-12-24T09:01:00.000Z

There's something about Christmas Eve that I've always liked much more than Christmas Day itself. I'm not sure if it is the anticipation, I'm not sure if it is the world slowly winding down, I'm not sure if it is just hype but my best Christmas memories are always from Christmas Eve.

As a child my memories of Christmas Eve involved a flurry of phone calls to family members, new pyjamas, spice laden biscuits, a deep dunk in a bubble bath and curling up on the sofa with whichever great film the nation were watching in unison. Dim lights, warm blankets, candles, nice smells and a feeling of safety and home.

As I grew older, into my teens and early twenties Christmas Eve became a celebration with friends. Out to the local bars and clubs, dancing to cheesy music, singing along, drinking too much and wearing a daft hat of some description. The realisation that the clock had turned Christmas Eve into the early hours of Christmas day brought giddy excitement because sssh! we were spending a portion of our Christmas day out on the tiles with friends.

Into my married years Christmas has become warmer, safer and happier than ever. Snowy walks, mulled wine, smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels, forming new traditions, scoffing fudge, a secret exchange of gifts before bed. Safe, protected, warm, happy and settled.

I think I can look back on all of my Christmas Eves, at least the ones I'm old enough/sober enough to remember, and say they've all been truly happy.

TTFN,

P.S. I hope you have a very happy Christmas Eve.

Changing My Age

2011-12-22T09:45:00.000Z

I've changed my age, I'm older and all that type of jazz.

I'm off out to celebrate the fine lines under my eyes with cocktails and something tasty to eat.

TTFN,

Don't Throw Away Christmas

2011-12-21T14:07:00.000Z

Most people throw away a lot of what comes their way at Christmas. Stop and think, just for a second, as you reach for the bin - can you make use of the item you're throwing away?

Here are a few Christmas-y things you can repurpose to ensure they have a full festive life.

- Christmas cards
Christmas cards make perfect gift tags..
Simply take the front of a cheery Christmas card someone has sent you and cut it into gift tag sized portions, use pinking sheers for a zig zagged edge. Punch a hole 1cm into one of the corners and attach ribbon or string. Store away for next year.

- Festive magazines and catalogues
Keep those festive magazines and use them for gift wrapping. Some of the images are really beautiful and a page is just about the right size for stocking filler sized gifts. Tie and secure with string.

- Broken or smashed decorations
Every year we end up with at least one broken bauble, rather than get frustrated or throw it away I do some of the following.
1. I store it in a small tin and when I have time I break the bauble into pieces and add to a frame. In a few short years I'll have a really pretty mosaic with memories of Christmas past.
2. Push the sharp edges into a plain church candle so that the
3. Store away and add sparkle to a wreath next year

- Dead fairylights
If your fairy lights have gone bang and you've exhausted every possible way of trying to fix them (change the fuse, change the bulb etc.) why not use them for gift wrap string? Alright, alright, it isn't exactly normal but if you lop off the plug you have a string of something very pretty to tie around a special gift.

- Chocolate advent calendar
When you've reached the 24th day open up the advent calendar and remove the plastic mould. Give it a good wash and store away for next year. When it comes to next December use the mould to make festive shaped chocolates, from any number of online recipes, to give as gifts.

- Wrapping paper
Don't worry, you don't need to pull a Monica Geller and take your discarded wrapping paper off for ironing. Would your children enjoy cutting it up and sticking it to thank you cards? Can you use it as paper mache whilst making your own decorations?
You could even shred it to use as protective storage when putting those decorations away or packaging material for delicate gifts next year.

TTFN,

P.S. How do you reuse or repurpose your Christmas-y gubbins?

It's not Christmas until...

2011-12-20T12:10:00.000Z

If you find yourself on Twitter during the month of December you'll see lots of tweets starting with 'It's not Christmas until...' rounded off with which film, advert or ritual kicks off the Christmas-y feeling deep inside that person. For me it's music, without hearing certain songs that deep sense of Christmas having arrived just umm, well, never arrives.

To me that song, my 'it's not Christmas until...' is Let It Snow by Dean Martin. Until the moment I hear that song all of my Christmas-y feeling is a charade. I have to hear it organically the first time, I can't play the CDs or records with it on until I hear it on the TV, in a pub or booming out of a shopping centre sound system. As soon as I hear it Christmas has arrived. I'm not sure how or why my Christmas is dictated by this song it just IS.

Here are some of my other favourite Christmas songs, in no particular order. Most of them are from the seventies and eighties so I don't remember Christmas without them, they are all my Christmas memories rolled into one festive mix tape.

Last Christmas by Wham!
Don't even judge me.

Mary's Boychild by Boney M
I like this one mainly for the insane dancing from Bobby Farrell. The man is a genius.

Do They Know it's Christmas by Band Aid
Just because. You know, YOU KNOW.

I Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday by Wizard
Despite worrying about when we'd find time to buy gifts and the fear of spending every morning in church, if we had Christmas everyday, this was my favourite Christmas song as a child.

Happy Xmas (War is over) by John Lennon
War is over, if you want it...
I remember our teacher having us sing this at a school assembly and the priest getting in a strop because the message wasn't 'appropriate.' UMM!

Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin' Stevens
This reminds me of a 'fake Christmas' I spent with my uni flatmates before we went home to our families for Christmas. I can laugh until my belly hurts just thinking about it. A tip from me to you is - turn the oven on when cooking Christmas lunch or you'll be starving at 9pm

And my favourite Christmas carols...

Coventry Carol
I cry everytime, EVERYTIME, I hear this.

One in Royal David's City
Insanely beautiful, this King's College version especially.

O Holy Night
On repeat for much of Christmas Eve.

Ding Dong Merrily On High!
Everytime I listen to this it reminds me of church services and long journeys across the country to visit friends and relatives with the CD player turned up as loud as it would go. Turns out Mr Thrifty and I are no match for the choir, no matter how hard we try.

TTFN,

P.S. Which songs or carols do you have to hear for that Christmas feeling to truly kick in?

Kitschmas

2011-12-19T11:30:00.002Z

Feast your eyes upon our tack-fest, disgustingly hideous Christmas decorations. I'm not even going to apologise for the total lack of taste or tradition. Our 3ft pink Christmas tree is even too small for the only spare space in our flat, so it is kind of squished, angel-less into our deep windowsill but I unashamedly love it.

Our flat is festooned with paper snowflakes, candy canes and fairy lights. Despite the fact we've been making paper snowflakes together since we moved in with each other in 2005 we still haven't developed any decent snowflake cutting skills. I'm sure they get worse as the years go by - we collect a few of the worst ones every year and store them away for the next so we can laugh at how inept we are. Come 2035, wherever we live will be one giant, ugly, paper snowflake at Christmas time. You might just be able to hear us singing Last Christmas, almost on mute from behind the rustle of paper.

I'm not one for a Christmas colour scheme, it usually just comes together in a great hotch potch of everything we owned being slung in the vague direction of a tree. This year a very definate colour scheme of pink, white and silver with the merest hint of blue seems to have developed without me even noticing. I'm not really a pink girlie-girl type but there you have it, I delved deep into my Christmas decoration boxes and this is what happened.

Merry Kitschmas

TTFN,

P.S. There's loads more, our flat is like a Barbie grotto but I don't want to bore you with my bad taste.

The Best Christmas TV 2011

2011-12-18T18:11:00.001Z

I'm sure I'm not the only one who relishes the arrival of the Radio Times in the run up to Christmas and I'm sure I'm not the only one who likes to sit down with a pen and circle the must watch programmes.

Here's the my 2011 best of Christmas TV list.

Bad Santa Wed 21st 9pm Five
Not one for the small folk but Billy Bob Thornton swearing his way through Christmas never fails to make me cry with laughter.

ET Christmas Eve 3.35pm ITV1
A classic to curl up in front of with family. Have some snacks and tissue at the ready or do as we do and try to get drunk by the time ET gets drunk then spend the rest of the film crying.

Downton Abbey Christmas Day 9pm ITV1
I didn't take to the second series of Downton Abbey in quite the same way as the first but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I can't wait to see what happens between Lady Mary and Matthew.

Ab Fab Christmas Day 10pm BBC1
Need I say more? One of my all time favourite comedy shows, Absolutely Fabulous returns two decades after it first appeared on our screens.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Boxing Day 3:10pm Five
It wouldn't be any kind of public holiday or family occasion without singing cowboys looking for love. Fact.

Edward Scissorhands Boxing Day 7pm Film4
Everything about this film is pure genius, if you don't already own your own copy on DVD (or VHS if you're feeling retro) make an appointment to watch this.

Great Expectations Dec 27th, 28th and 29th 9pm BBC
To celebrate the bicentenary of Dickens' birth Auntie Beeb presents a new three-part adaptation of Great Expectations starring Ray Winstone, David Suchet and Gillian Anderson.

The Railway Children Thurs 29th 10:55am ITV1
Jenny. Agutter. Nuff said.

TTFN,

P.S. What are you looking forward to watching this Christmas?

Recycled Snow Curtain

2011-12-16T13:30:00.000Z

At this time of the year lots of us are getting packages in the post and as a result we're left with lots of packaging peanuts. As someone reluctant to throw anything away I just had to come up with a use for them.

Here's how to make your own recycled snow curtain -

1. Cut your packing peanuts in half. Ooh err.
2. Measure a piece of white or clear thread to the length of your window, then add about 10 extra inches.
3. Attach a needle to the thread and push through each a peanut. Add as many peanuts to the thread as you feel works. Our windows don't have a huge drop so I've only added 10-15 per strand but you may need more. Tie firmly at the end and trim any excess thread.
4. Repeat with as many strands as you feel is necessary to fill your window.
5. You can either pin them up individually (if you can hide the pins) or you sew them onto a thick piece of ribbon and attach it to your wall/ceiling/curtain fitting.

These also look great hung down doors or horizontally across book shelves.

TTFN,

7 Good Things

2011-12-15T14:00:00.002Z

In order
>>> A mooch around the Christmas markets in Manchester.

>>> Teeny, tiny marshmallows. On everything. In everything. With everything.

>>> Rediscovering an old favourite.

>>> Learning.

>>> Hot water bottle and stupid slippers, warming the winter months.

>>> A new to me Christmas tradition. Everyday, for half an hour, I step away from the phone, work and my computer to read a good book and eat a mince pie in blissful silence

>>> Wrist warmers, a close friend to those of us who work from home.

TTFN,

P.S. My html issues are still here in full force so sorry if you're having any problems viewing the site or commenting.

Things I Know

2011-12-14T15:30:00.002Z

Things I know - Ice skating is TERRIFYING.

Yesterday I went ice skating for the first time in about fifteen years and my stomach muscles still hurt. Not from any form of strenuous exercise you understand but from laughing so hard it hurt. I'd been asked to the Spinningfields ice rink and The Moose Bar (do visit if you're in the area, it's done up like a log cabin and stuffed full of fairy lights) in Manchester by the social networking site Badoo for an evening of fondue, mulled wine, games and ice skating.

I brought along a couple of good Twitter friends and we had a riotous time on the ice even though two of us refused to let go of the side. Making your way around an ice rink without letting go is harder than it looks, honest. It involved squeaking 'ooh could you just, umm, could you just, PLEASE CAN YOU MOVE, please, thanks, sorry' ad nauseum to the people having a rest along the side. We were NOT letting go, no way, no how. We even adopted a small lad who was as scared as us, we had to do a sort of hug and roll action to get past him at various point around the rink. He looked a mixture of terrified and overjoyed as we reached around him and made gerbil like squeaks as hauled ourselves around him in panic. My number one tip for new ice skaters - don't wear a lot of eye make up because you'll laugh so hard you are bound to cry and once you cry you'll look like a drag queen.

However, somehow we made it all the way round the rink. Can I get a round of applause? ALL THE WAY ROUND. But once was enough, it was straight off with those God awful skates and back inside for fondue, dipping cheese in cheese is an orgasm for the mouth, and a quiz. One of the highlights of the evening was discovering that the bar staff thought we were at a speed dating event and were worried because none of us had moved. Obviously damn good speed date organisers, if we couldn't cope with moving on from the first date.

What does a woman who owns no trousers, well at least none that the residents of Manchester should be subjected to, wear for a session of terrfying ice skating? What she wore to work with added socks, hat and gloves thrown in, of course.

What I wore

Patterned dress - £16, Sainsbury's

Brown tights - £9, M&S

Grey socks - £1, Primark

Rust coat - £4, thrifted (as worn here)

Tan brogues - £12, Primark (as worn here)

Cream scarf - ancient

Red hat - 50p, thrifted (as worn here)

White gloves - gift

TTFN,

P.S. I'm having a bit of a problem with the HTML coding on the blog at the moment. I was supposed to have a bit of a blog revamp but the internet decided to go for a nap half way through, causing me to lose a lot of stuff. I know all of your comments on previous posts are still in the ether somewhere, so don't worry!

I've been pulling my hair out this morning trying to get it sorted out as well as trying to do my work but I'm going to admit defeat for today and eat some cake instead. It'll be sorted soon. Ooh cake.

Corralling

2011-12-13T12:15:00.000Z

As I mentioned in my spice organisation post, grouping items together is one of my biggest tips for an organised life. It might seem really obvious but so few people do it.

Corralling like with like is really useful but on top of that try to put things together based on how I make use them. For instance I bake the same cookies at least once a week so I keep the ingredients for that recipe, along with the cutter I always use, in one basket and I just lift it out of the cupboard when I need to bake the cookies.
All of the ingredients (apart from the butter), a piece of cut to size greaseproof paper and the cookie cutter sits in there waiting to be used together. No searching through the ingredients in my baking cupboard, which is what always seems to take the time when it comes to baking, I can just rely on the fact that everything I need is in one place.

I have separate places for face cloths, hair clips and hair bands but since I use them all together, whilst taking off my make up and keeping my hair from getting wet in the process, I keep a selection of all three items stashed together so I don't have to lead myself on a merry dance.

It's a similar story when it comes to my make up. I have my make up organised into separate sections mascaras, eye shadows, lipsticks, eyeliners and then foundations, concealers and compacts etc. all together on my dressing table.

I then go through on a Sunday night and pick out the looks I'm going to wear for the week and put it into my hanging make up bag which I hang on the side of my wardrobe and know I can rely on to provide me with a quick 5 minute face when I'm in a rush to get out of the house. The different sections can be zipped up so the bag can be slung around the house without anything going missing and everything can be dragged to the bathroom/bedroom/living room depending on where I fancy doing my make up that day.

When it comes to going away, be it for business or pleasure, nothing is ever forgotten. Each of us has a wash bag with toothpaste, tooth brush and decanted miniatures of which ever products we like to use. Since we both go away last minute so often (Mr Thrifty around 4 times a month, me about twice a month) it makes sense to have duplicates that we can just grab and fling into our suitcases. In our suitcases we each have a spare phone and laptop charger and a list of the essentials we like to pack, because without this stupid level of organisation we always forget something. Always.

There's no point having everything you need if you don't have them in the places you need them to be. There's also no point having them if you can't find them or they're not organised into the best possible formation for use. Observe the way you use things in your life for a few days the spend sometime working out how to collate and corral them together so your life is smooth and streamlined.

TTFN,

P.S. I need sleep, someone send me some sleep. I'm broken.

The Best Christmas Cookie Recipes

2011-12-10T13:00:00.001Z

Because you guys loved my post about the best Christmas decorations from around the web last week, I thought I'd share the best Christmas cookie recipes I've found from around the web.

Image: The Pink Whisk

The very lovely Ruth from The Pink Whisk who previously shared her cupcake icing tips here on A Thrifty Mrs last year, shows how to make super cute Father Christmas cookie lollies.

The Gluten Free Goddess shows how to make delicious and utterly delicious gluten free ginger snaps.

Sarah from A New Life in Norway shares 7 traditional Norwegian cookie recipes over on her blog of which Sirupsnipper are looking like my favourite.

I just love these cabin shaped Christmas cookies from Munchkin Munchies.

Image: A Beautiful Mess

These Nutella cookies from A Beautiful Mess might not be traditionally Christmas-sy but come on, chocolate and cookies smushed together that has to spell out Christmas in some way. No? Yeah, good.

Just oh wow, oh my gawd, oh my. Give these chocolate fudge caramel cashew cookies by Bakeaholic Mama, even the name is sending me into a diabetic coma.

Feel free to share your favourite Christmas cookie recipes below.

TTFN,

P.S. Have you been over to visit my Facebook page yet?

Benita Blue Jewellery Giveaway Winner

2011-12-09T16:00:00.003Z

Alright there bonnie lass (as the Geordies in my life say), two posts in one day? Exciting. You can find the other post over here but stick around a wee while to read this 'ere post first.

The other day I announced a quick jewellery giveaway from the fabulous Benita Blue and you guys seem to have gone crazy for it in a a short space of time.

Whilst there could only be one winner (announced below) you can still bag yourself a bargain on this already wonderfully priced beautiful jewellery simply by entering THRIFTY at the checkout which will equal a 10% discount until 25th December. I know, right, how nice is that?

And the winner is

Jetleyface
Congratulations!

I'll be in contact very soon to get your details.

TTFN,

P.S. I blogged earlier today so don't forget to check it out. A great way to store brooches and earrings lays ahead of you.

Homemade Christmas gift - Brooch and earring holder

2011-12-09T11:00:00.001Z

Here's a little something I made for myself a few years back and have been replicating as gifts ever since - a homemade brooch and earring holder. You can make these at home, with thrifted finds really easily and it won't take you long either.

What you will need:
- An ornate frame
- Left over paint or tester pot
- A piece of corkboard cut to fit into the hole in the frame
- A thick fabric remnant which measures about 3 inches larger than the corkboard all the way round
- Two small 'eye' screws
- String
- Staple gun
- A plain piece of stiff card

About the items you need:
- When it comes to frames, corkboards/old notice boards and fabric I have had no problem finding these in charity shops very, cheaply. If you can't find any on the shop floors do ask the staff because often anything that is a bit shabby won't be placed out on general display and it could be just the thing you're looking to give a new lease of life too.

- Lots of people seem to get rid of paint and noticeboards on Freecycle so if you're a user, do ask if anyone has anything that would suit your needs.

- I use string from packages, it is amazing how much string you end up with if you save it all up and the eye screws are around 10p each from a hardware store - even cheaper if you're buying in bulk.

How to:
1. Remove the back and any glass from the frame before sanding down and cleaning it.
2. Give the frame a good couple of coats of paint, I've picked a dove grey here because I had it left over from a furniture painting project.
3. Cut the corkboard so it will sit flush inside the frame.
4. Place the fabric face down on a flat surface and the corkboard into the centre. Fold the fabric in, so it is very tightly stretched across the surface of the corkboard. Staple tightly to the back to secure.
5. Trim any excess fabric neatly and staple a plain piece of stiff card to the back - just to hide messy edges.
6. Wedge the corkboard neatly into the frame so it sits tightly, staple a few times to secure it to the frame.
7. Attach two 'eyes' to two edges of the rear of the frame and tie a piece of string through the holes so that your recipient can hang it on the wall.

Tada!

Just add a beautiful, thrifted or handmade brooch or pair of earrings and you have a beautiful gift for any jewellery lover.

TTFN,

P.S. What are you making this Christmas?

Year Long Wardrobe

2011-12-08T11:15:00.001Z

Making my clothes work for every season is really important to me. My clothes have to prove they work for me and if they don't they're offski. Hey jacket, earn your place!

I loved this accordion skirt during the summer, the floaty layers were perfect on the few hot days we had and it even worked well with thin tights on traditional rainy Manchester days. When it came to winter teaming it with jumpers just didn't work, it looked out of place and strange. Boo.

But a thin cotton jumper under a thick, structured denim shirt, teamed with a belt balanced the floaty-ness of the skirt instantly. I added in my favourite winter scarf, these New Look boots, which never seem to be off my feet and cable knit leggings from last winter.

What I wore

Duffer denim shirt - £4, thrifted (worn here and here).

Black accordion skirt - £1.95, thrifted (worn here and here).

Green jumper - £1, thrifted.

Brown and orange scarf, H&M (worn here).

Tapestry bag - 50p, thrifted (seen here).

Cable knit leggings - £12, New Look (worn here).

Brown boots £5, New Look sale (worn here, here and here).

Hat, Zara, gift from my friend.

What do you think, does the skirt make a good transition into winter?

TTFN,

P.S. Cold out there, huh? Anyone would think it is December.

Interflora Giveaway Hamper Winner

2011-12-07T18:45:00.006Z

Wowzer, quite a few of you entered the Interflora Christmas Hamper Giveaway didn't you? Seems you're all fond of hampers and I can't blame you, I frigging love mine. I'm trying to come up with a good use for the picnic basket as I type. As someone who can't have too many flowers around her, I'd rather have a hamper than a potted plant or poinsettia any day of the week, wouldn't you?

Are you holding on to your hats and clutching the mistletoe folks? I just know you'll want to kiss me if you're the winner.

And the winner is...

Sophie

CONGRATULATIONS!

I'll be on contact shortly to get your details.
A big thank you to Interflora for making this giveaway possible.

TTFN,

P.S. I also have a jewellery giveaway so get your name in the hat before it ends this Friday.

Benita Blue Jewellery Giveaway

2011-12-07T14:30:00.010Z

This giveaway is now closed.

The winner was announced here.

There once was this little redhead chick who lived in my computer and phone, she made me laugh - a lot. Said redhead chick could do amazing fiddly things like make gorgeous jewellery. This redhead chick I'm talking about is blogger, essbeevee who recently relaunched her online jewellery shop with a cute new name - Benita Blue.

The redhead chick sent me some of her new range to try out and further down the post you can win the piece of your choice just in time for Christmas. I know, right? Say thanks. Louder. That's better.

I chose the sweetest, dainty little silver teapot necklace and a pair of snowflake earrings. The jewellery was beautifully wrapped in a sweet box tied up with string, I'm a sucker for pretty packaging so ding, extra points redhead chick, extra points.

My favourite? Hmm, not sure. I flit back and forth between the two more often than Nick Clegg changes his mind on his politics. YEAH POLITICS ALL UP IN MY BLOG. I'll plump for the snowflakes for now, they're called 'No Two Are Alike' because...well you get the point. And I frickin' love 'em. Delicate but sturdy, I've already had compliments from three people. They're festive without being all up in yo' face and pretty, so pretty.

Benita Blue's pieces are really well priced as it is but until 25th December you can get a 10% discount simply by entering THRIFTY at the checkout. Bargain.

So, shall I skip to the giveaway part already? You can win the item of your choosing from Benita Blue simply by following these steps -

To enter you must:
Get yourself over to Benita Blue, have a good look at the lovely stuff then come back over here to tell me which is your favourite item. Please ensure you leave a method of contact with your entry be it an email, open profile or Twitter handle, entries without this will not be counted. Entries must be left in the comments section of this post, other forms of entry such as emails, forum posts and Facebook messages will NOT be counted,

For an extra but by no means obligatory entry you may tweet the following -
'I want to win gorgeous jewellery on @athriftymrsuk's blog and I know you do too http://tinyurl.com/cu8xnqd'
Please make sure you leave a second comment letting me know you've taken this further step and which Twitter handle you've used.
You must complete the first step for this step to be counted.

BE QUICK - This giveaway closes at 2.30pm (GMT) on Friday 9th December 2011. A winner will be drawn with the aid of random.org and revealed on this blog shortly afterward. I will contact the winner but if I am unable to do so or the winner does not make contact within 48 hours reserve the right to draw another name.
Entrants must be based in the UK, or have a UK postal address.

Necklace and earrings c/o Benita Blue.
TTFN,

P.S. Good luck!

Organising Spices

2011-12-06T15:30:00.003Z

As soon as I publish an organising blog post my inbox is instantly filled with emails from people asking me to share more. Most often than not you guys are asking me to share my kitchen organisation ideas, you nosey folk, you. I'll start today with showing you how we set about organising spices etc. here at Thrifty Towers. I know, right, how will you sleep with this excitement raging through your veins?

Until about a month ago our dried herbs and spices were kept in a fairly high-up wall mounted cupboard meaning we I couldn't really see what was at the back and very often ~~we'd~~ I'd forget what we had, leading to us me buying duplicates we didn't need.

Frustrated that searching out spices was taking up so much time, I had a bit of a switch around. I moved spices, herbs and flavourings etc. to a drawer, first labelling the lids with my beloved label maker(don't even start) and then sorting through them and working out which we use most often and which we had duplicates of. Rarely used spices and duplicates were rehomed in a plastic lidded box, then baking spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mixed spice, ginger, vanilla pods etc. were corralled into once place and went into a rotating spice holder in a drawer further up. Grouping items that are used in the similar way is one of my biggest organising and time saving tips but I'll share more on that soon.

The spices we use for regular day to day cooking now live in one of these SALMA storage boxes from Ikea. If you can't get to an Ikea you can pick up similar boxes, which are designed as cleaning product caddies, in most supermarkets or homeware shops on the cheap. I love that it is separated into two sections plus it has the handle, meaning I can just lift the box straight out to find what I'm looking for with ease.

When it comes to buying spices we tend to buy the big bags from Asian supermarkets or health food shops because they are around 1/3 of the price of the tiny jars. We have however kept the small jars, which is how we used to buy most of our spices before we knew better, so we can decant the spices into them as those bags have a habit of splitting if used too often - plus our kitchen is small and we don't have room for dozens of spice bags. We keep most of those plastic bags in a large wooden box elsewhere in the flat and just decant as and when we need to, although we get through curry powder at such a rapid rate that we just keep that in the drawer as it.

How do your organise your herbs and spices?
You might find useful:

How to organise nail polish
How to organise chargers, wires and cables

TTFN,

P.S. God, I'm dull.

Christmas Crime - Early Christmas Trees

2011-12-05T16:00:00.001Z

One year I begged and begged and begged my mother to put the Christmas tree up really early, pretty much as soon as the page on the calendar was turned from November to December if you're asking. We had always been a steadfast put-the-tree-up-the-weekend-before-Christmas-or-the-day-we-broke-up-from-school family but I think I was jealous of the many other children at my school who had their tree up already.

So there we are on the 1st of December with the tree up, the picture frames lined with tinsel (ah 1989, how I loved thee) and from that second on I asked my mother how long until Christmas approx 1756327 times a day. After about a week and a half I got so frustrated with the anticipation that I threw a straight legged strop on the floor and accidentally kicked the electrical cord for the fairy lights, snapping the the cord from the plug, causing the Christmas tree to fall over, smashing 80% of the decorations on the tree and all of the lights in the house to trip. Brat, right? But see, this is the kind of shiz that happens when you put your Christmas tree up too early. You have been warned.

Christmas is not an entire month, much like we don't spend the whole of April pulling practical jokes before midday or every day in October dressed as a corpse in the supermarket. We shouldn't bum the life out of Christmas all month long and take the shine off it. I love Christmas, LOVE it but you're rubbing the shine and and excitement off it with your stupid early trees. If I throw a strop in the middle of Manchester and knock out the power for the entire north west of England you only have yourselves to blame.

I love putting the decorations up, I get stupidly excited and want to get them out as soon as the air turns cold. I want to buy our tree now, now, now but I hold off because I'm not great with dealing with power outages and also because it is WRONG.

The moral of the story is - put your Christmas tree up too early and you will ROAST IN THE FLAMES OF HELL, whilst eating mac and cheese from a tin FROM A TIN and listening to me asking how long until beard face Noel Edmonds is going to be on telly giving children with lazy eyes Thundercats scooters.

I understand we're all different but I'm right.

TTFN,

P.S. Maybe I'm just bitter because my birthday is three days before Christmas?

P.P.S. Oh and UGH, don't even get me started on those advent calendars that are now called 'Christmas countdown calendars' which have 25 doors. Ummm. UMMMMMM. RAGE.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. Don't even start on about pagans and taking stuff in from the outside, I know, I KNOW. Just do what I say, I'm right.

- I actually don't care all that much. Really. Do what you want, we all know you're going to anyway. I'm not the boss of you. I am.

Christmas Crafternoon

2011-12-03T20:30:00.001Z

Calling all folk up here in the weary, grey climes of the north. Here's something exciting and festive for you.

My lovely friend is hosting a Christmas Crafternoon in aid of Royal Manchester Children's Hosptial, a hospital which saved the life of her daughter earlier in the year. The event will feature Christmas craft/gift workshops and a chance to win stockings made by some very talented bloggers and tweeters.

The event is being held at the following address -
St Matthew's
Dean Street
Stalybridge
SK15 2JD

between 2 and 5pm on Saturday 17th December.

Entry is just £2 which includes mulled wine and mince pies.

You can find more information here or tweet @vintagepleasure
TTFN,

P.S. Hope to see you there!

7 Best Homemade Christmas Decorations

2011-12-03T12:00:00.001Z

Here's a collection of the best homemade Christmas decorations from around the web.

Image: Gem Fatale

- Gem's super easy pom pom wreath adds a touch of festivity to homes of even the most crafting deficient.

- Julie's fan-frickin-tastic bauble wreath is easy, cheap and amazing looking.

- Alright, so you might have to down a few bottles of wine to make these cork Christmas tree decorations from Between the line but that's no real hardship is it?

Image: Cherry Menlove

- Cherry Menlove's felt bauble decorations are simple, beautiful and really effective.

- I think these paper baubles would look fab en masse.

- These scrabble Christmas ornaments add a personalised touch to Christmas.

- Grab the crochet hook and make yourself some of these awesome Mini Christmas socks.

Which do you like best?
Are you making any Christmas decorations this year? Share your links in the comments section below.

You might also find useful
Last posting dates for Christmas 2011
Homemade wrapping paper
Family secret santa

TTFN,

P.S. Come say hello on my Facebook page.

On the cover of a magazine

2011-12-02T12:10:00.003Z

I'm on the cover of a magazine, I'm like frickin' Kate Moss or that one wot all the kids like - Duchess Gaga or summat. The glitz, the glamour! Will I have a party? Will I get to ask for a white office filled with white flowers and small white dogs at work now? Will I bum-hole-ry.

Anyway, I'm on the front cover of Love It! this week, looking like a total, toothy div, next to some scary boobs and professional chicken nugget peddler, Kerry Katona. ~~My life is a non-stop full on glam-train~~. My life is a non-stop full on trash-tastic mess. I did send them a few photos but they seem to have picked out the most stupid photo from my blog instead. But hey, s'all good, I'm....

on the cover of a 'magazine'...

Grace Kelly; Harlow, Jean
Picture of a beauty queen
Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire
Ginger Rogers, dance on air

They had style, they had grace
Rita Hayworth gave good face
Lauren, Katherine, Lana too
Bette Davis, we love you

Ladies with an attitude
Fella's that were in the mood
Don't just stand there, let's get to it
Strike a pose, there's nothing to it

Vogue, vogue, vogue, vogue...

Inside I'm chuntering away about doing Christmas on the cheap. Talking about my orange Christmas decorations, teacake and pretzel reindeer, Christmas Eve hampers for children, blackberry vodka and lots of other money saving stuff.

So, if you want to win signed a copy of this issue of Love it just follow these easy steps.
1. Boil your head.
2. Tweet 'I just boiled my head @athriftymrsuk'

TTFN,

P.S. Obviously don't boil your head. No one wants to eat that. Plus I'm not giving it away, so balls to ya!

P.P.S. If you think I'm being serious about autographs then you need your head read.

Advent Paperchains

2011-12-01T14:30:00.002Z

I love these advent paper chains, I've been using them for years as a simple way to inject Christmas into your home slowly. Add one loop to the paperchain with each day of advent that passes. To start off it'll be small but by the time you start to feel festive it'll be a long chain of Christmas decorations.

- White paper
- Festive coloured (or white) paper clips
- Drawing pins
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Pencil

How to make your advent paperchain

1. Clip four pieces of A4 paper neatly on top of each other.
2. Draw straight lines down the front layer of paper, ruler width apart.
3. Cut down the lines so you have long, white paper strips.

4. Put your lengths of paper in a festive jar (be careful not to crinkle or crease them) and add a pot of paper clips to sit next to it.
5. As each day goes by add another strip of paper to the paperchain by looping it over and securing with a paperchain.
6. Once the paperchain is a suitable length, add one end to your wall or ceiling with a drawing pin.
7. Continue adding to the paperchain for the full 24 days of advent.

You can of course glue your paperchains rather than clip them but I like that with clips you can store these away and keep them for the next year. Plus the coloured paperclips add just a tiny little injection of festive colour. These are super easy, so everyone from small folk upward can join in with making them and putting it together.
A solo chain looks fab but you could easily make chains with different sized paper for everyone in your home and string them together to create a really fun look.

TTFN,

P.S. There are no chocolate advent calendars left in the shops near me. Boo hoo.

Interflora Christmas Hamper Review and Giveaway

2011-11-30T18:00:00.006Z

This giveaway is now closed.

The winner was announced here.

When Interflora contacted me recently about reviewing a product, before I'd even finished reading the first sentence I was mentally writing a reply to tell them that I'm allergic to most flowers so thanks but no thanks. I wouldn't be able to review flowers by post without them guaranteeing a lily wouldn't make it's way into Thrifty Towers and bump me off. However I read on and realised it wasn't flowers they wanted me to review but one of their Christmas hampers. Err, yes please! I had no idea Interflora did hampers, I've sent friends flowers or plants from Interlora before and there had been mixed reviews so I was interested to see what their hampers would be like.

"Here you are pet you've got some flowers 'ere" is what the delivery guy gasped as I opened the door "heavy flowers!" Heavy is right, damn heavy, there's a lot of stuff in it.
I heaved the package into the living room, attacked the sticky tape with a bread knife to reveal a gorgeous wicker hamper. Mr Thrifty had the day off so scamped into the room for a good poke through the items in the hamper and made off with a bag of Christmas coloured Haribo jelly beans before I even had the chance to protest. It contains just about every nibble-y thing one could need for Christmas (mince pies, biscuits, chocolates, chutney, nuts etc.) not mention wine. A hamper is particularly useful to us, as we're a family who tend to go away to a rented cottage at some point over the Christmas period, so we don't have all of our kitchen cupboard reserves to rely on when it comes to knocking up a quick nibbely or cakey treat.

The quality of the items inside the hamper are from the same kind of ranges that I found in a Waitrose hamper I received from work last year, so as a gift I think it represents good value for money - especially when you consider an empty picnic hamper of this size can cost in the region of £45. I'll still be sending my homemade hampers to friends who appreciate them but if anyone wants to send an unexpected Christmas treat to someone far away I'd really recommend this hamper.

Bonus eco points go to Interflora for using biodegradable packaging. Boo ya! Take a gold star.

To win your own Interflora Silent Night hamper (the one featured in this post) which is worth £80, enter my lovely giveaway, I'm good to you - right?

To enter you must -
Visit the Interflora site and tell me which item is your favourite from their entire range (be it the gifts for her section, their Christmas section or any other parts of their site) in the comments section below. Please make sure to leave a method of contact, be that an open commenting profile, an email address, Twitter handle or blog link, entries without this will not be counted.

For a second (but by no means obligatory) entry you can tweet the following -
'I want to win an £80 Christmas hamper from @athriftymrsuk and Interflora, do you? http://tinyurl.com/d8bxzq4 '
- Please make sure you leave a second comment, containing your Twitter handle to let me know you have taken this step.

This giveaway will close at 17:59 (GMT) on Wednesday 7th Dec 2011. A winner will be drawn with aid of random.org and revealed on this blog shortly afterward. I will contact the winner but if I am unable to do so or the winner does not make contact within two weeks I reserve the right to draw another name.
Entrants must be based in the UK, or have a UK postal address.

I must stress that it is the Silent Night hamper that the winner will receive and not the item you like most - that is just a simple condition of entry.

- Disclosure: I was not paid to write this post but Interflora sent me a free hamper to review.

TTFN,

P.S. Good luck!

P.P.S Did you know I have a Facebook page? Exciting, no?

30 Day Declutter - The Final

2011-11-30T13:21:00.001Z

Wow, what a month! The 30 Day Declutter has been both positive and draining, ridding yourself of possessions can really take it out of you. Who knew parting with an ugly striped top would have me in tears when getting rid of a pile of photographs left me emotionless? Who knew, when it all started, that it would have me getting rid of more than just possessions but friends, Facebook and jobs?

86. A huge folder of photos - I took out the few that I loved & got rid of the dross - recycle
87. Green see through top - charity shop
88. 150 DVD cases - Library and freecyle
89. Pair of Diesel jeans - ebay
90. Striped t-shirt - charity shop TARGET
91. Old duvet - local animal shelter
92. Red t-shirt - charity shop
93. Black belt - charity shop
94. Green bowl - charity shop
95. Green salad spoons - charity shop
96. Denim jacket - charity shop
97. White shirt - charity shop
98. Khaki shorts - charity shop
99. Swimming costume - fabric bank
100. Pin striped shorts - charity shop
101. Flip flops - charity shop
102. Make up bag - fabric recycling bank
103. Serving tray - giving to friend
104. Stripped tea jar - charity shop
105. PVC apron - charity shop
106. Gardening apron - charity shop
107. Head scarf - charity shop
108. Beige jacket - charity shop
109. White tablecloth - charity shop
109/90

I beat my target by a good, long distance which I'm really pleased about. Everything that needs to be gone is gone, the flat is clear and I can breathe. I know I still have a few things that I'd like to get rid of (clothes) but I'm going to a clothes swap party in January so they're staying in their storage containers under the spare bed until then.

Purging possessions is amazing, perhaps I've become a little evangelical about it? Probably! But honestly? I wouldn't be going on and on (and on and on...) about it if I really didn't think it was such an amazing thing to do. It isn't about grabbing a black bin bag and just aimlessly chucking things away. It's about evaluating your life and deciding that things which have no meaning to you and are useless to you don't deserve a place in your life. We're only here for a little while, don't let your life get bogged down by STUFF.

How did the 30 Day Declutter go for you?

You might find useful:
The original 30 Day Declutter
30 Day Declutter - week 1
30 Day Declutter - week 2
30 Day Declutter - week 3
30 Day Declutter - week 4
Responsible Decluttering

TTFN,

P.S. Stay tuned for a giveaway later today.

P.P.S Happy St Andrews day to those of your north of the border!

Thrifty Chic Giveaway Winner

2011-11-29T17:00:00.002Z

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway to win a copy of Thrifty Chic courtesy the kind folk over at The Handpicked Collection.

With the aid of a random number generator over at random.org I am please to reveal that

the winner is...

Congratulations!

I'll be in contact very soon to get your details which I'll send off to The Handpicked Collection as soon as possible.

So sorry that you couldn't all be winners but keep your eyes peeled because I have a few more giveaways coming up in the run up to Christmas.

TTFN,

P.S. I love what you've done with your hair today.

Last Posting Dates for Christmas 2011

2011-11-29T13:00:00.001Z

Just a quick memo to let you know the last posting dates for Christmas 2011, in the UK are as follows -

1st Class - Tuesday 20th December

2nd Class - Saturday 17th December

There are also a squillion other deadlines for packages, post being sent abroad, airmail and tracked etc., lots of which are coming up soon, so here's the details of the last recommended Christmas postal dates for Christmas 2011.

Keep in mind if we have snow that will all go out of the window, so get organised now! My birthday is three days before Christmas and some of my birthday gifts didn't make it Thrifty Towers until February last year, so think well ahead people.

TTFN,

P.S. Good luck little Christmas cards and packages, I hope you all get there safely.

P.P.S. The Thrifty Chic giveaway has now closed and a winner will be drawn and announced later today, so keep your eyes peeled.

Responsible Decluttering

2011-11-28T13:00:00.001Z

It's all very well to declutter your home or life but we all need to think where these items are going. To just send them to landfill is irresponsible and we're all about responsible behaviour here at Thrifty Towers. Unless of course you're talking about that time I drank half a bottle of gin and thought I was stuck in a lift and phoned my then boyfriend crying at 3am before the final exam of his Maths degree only to realise I was pressing the wrong button. Yeah.

So where do we send all of these items we've decluttered as part of the 30 Day Declutter if not landfill?

It should really go without saying that things such as paper, glass, tins and plastics should be recycled at home as normal if you have that facility, if you don't I imagine the majority of councils have recycling centres, as do most large supermarkets. Here's where to send the other stuff.

Charity shops
In these credit crunch times more and more of us are turning to auction sites etc. to sell items that we would in previous years have sent to charity shops and that's fair enough - a girl's gotta eat. However charity shops are finding times hard at the moment and are clamouring to for good quality items. If you're going to put something in your eBay pile and leave it there for 6 months until it goes out of style leaving you with all of 20p profit, perhaps consider donating instead? Perhaps you'd like to give more to charity but can't afford to? Your donations of unwanted items are just as valid a donation as cash.
Remember - a charity shop isn't a dumping ground, don't send them anything you wouldn't see as fit for sale.

Animal Shelters/Vet surgeries
If you have any towels or linens that are past their best consider sending them to an animal shelter. I sent a pile of old towels and duvets to my local animal shelter and they bit my hand off such was their need for them. Give your local animal shelter a call and ask if they're in need of your old towels.

Textile and shoe recycling banks
You may have fabric that can't be sold because it is damaged or stained. Get yourself down to your local recycling centre or tip and put the fabric into a textile recycling bank. You can find out where your local bank is by entering your postcode here.

Supermarkets
When you're going through your gadgets and electricals you're sure to come across an assortment of batteries. Please don't just chuck them in your general waste bin. You can take them an assortment of supermarkets who have various boxes, tubs and tins for you to deposit them in and they'll do the rest.

Freecycle
I heart Freecycle. Sure the people on there can be annoying but if you ignore the pleas for brand new washing machines and wide screen televisions there are genuine, grateful people who will be more than happy to come and take anything you're giving away. Half full tins of paint, scraps of fabric, lightbulbs, CD cases, VHS tapes, broken landline phone, old furniture, cardboard boxes, broken printers are just a few of the things I've rid myself of via Freecycle in the last few months.

Schools and libraries
My local library were thrilled when I phoned to ask if they'd like 100 DVD cases and a teacher from primary school up the road even came to pick up boxes full of crafting stuff and old magazines in her spare time.

Pharmacists
Please don't chuck your old medication away or flush it into the water supply. Please take it to a pharmacy and they'll be able to dispose of it correctly.

Twitter
Is Twitter perfect in just about everyway? Well yes, it would be if it got rid of that stupid 'Activity' tab. I've managed to pass on tents, furniture, car parts, magazines, shoes and a myriad of other things via Twitter. Just pop out a message letting people know what you'd like to pass on and more often than not someone will be thrilled to take it off your hands.

Blog sale
Why not host a blog sale to get rid of some of those clothes that no longer fit or homewares that aren't quite working for you?

Just about everything can be spared the landfill treatment, you can send your old glasses to charity, the same with your mobile phone (or you can even get paid) and MP3 player.

When taking your items to charity shops, schools etc. please consider the amount of plastic you're packaging them in. Can you use an old cardboard box, hamper or suitcase (empty out and take home, natch) instead?
responsible

You might find useful:
Original 30 Day Declutter post
How to organise a clothes drawer
How to organise nail polish
TTFN,

P.S. What do you do with your decluttered items?

30 Day Declutter

2011-11-25T13:00:00.008Z

November is drawing to a close and my 30 Day Declutter is almost up, just 5 more days to go. Ummm where exactly did this month go? I had a bit of a wibble when it came to clearing stuff out this week, I'm not really sure why. I wanted to surround myself in stuff and not let any of it go but after I gave myself a good talking to that feeling passed and I got back on the declutter horse. What feels like tonnes of paperwork whizzed through the shredder and my linen closet was reduced to the essentials, lots more to go but I'm feeling positive and upbeat without these items clogging up my life.

Reclaiming my life back from the junk has been such a huge positive. I'm not really the kind of person who talks like that but really, truly and honestly ploughing myself into decluttering stuff and people from my life has made my life my own again and I'm enjoying it at long last.

Here's what went this week -
59. A 3 man tent - Gave to a Twitter friend
60. Mr Thrifty's leaky wellington boots - Gave to a gardener friend to use as decoration
61. An sleep mask that lets in a stupid amount of light - Fabric recycle bank
62 -66 Old bath sheets - Local animal shelter
67 & 68. Old flannels - Fabric reycle bank
69&70. Shower curtains - Fabric recycle bank
71. Single sheet - Fabric recyle bank
72. Shaving kit - Mr Thrifty has had a beard for nearly 7 years so it was an odd gift for someone to give him. - Charity shop
73. Internet router - The tip has a special area for electrical equipment
74. Wash Toiletry bag - Fabric recycle bank
75. Pedometer - Gave to a friend
76. A mug tree that I previously used as a braclet holder - Charity shop
77. An ugly (to me) mug - Charity shop
78. An ugly (to me) coaster - Charity shop
79. A packet of coasters - ebay
80. Some weird cushion thing - Charity shop
81. Pyjama bottoms - Fabric recycle bank
82. White duvet cover - Charity shop
83. Striped duvet cover - Charity shop
84. Sequined bag - Charity shop
85. Weird garden sign thing - Charity shop

Only five items left to go until I reach my 90 items target. I have great plans to declutter under the beds, which are currently home to my skinny clothes, so I have my weekend filled and no doubt my target well and truly leap-frogged over.

Are you taking part in the 30 Day Declutter, how's it going at your end?
If you're not already taking part, feel free to join in. It's a really simple process and you don't have to chose 90 things as your number you can go as low or high as you want.
Don't forget to use the Twitter hashtag #30DayDeclutter for moral support.

You might find useful:
The original 30 Day Declutter post
30 Day Declutter - week 1
30 Day Declutter - week 2
30 Day Declutter - week 3
All of the posts in my 'organise' section tucked neatly into one place.
TTFN,

P.S. I also blog over at Totally Money, where I talk about all manner of money saving issues, most recently about buying Christmas gifts with loyalty cards.

Organising a Wardrobe

2011-11-24T13:00:00.001Z

As part of my 30 Day Declutter challenge I have also been reorganising our home and making sure that it is far easier to declutter in the future. Yesterday I sorted through a few wardrobes and it struck me that I should show you how I make it simple for myself when it comes to declutter or spring clean time.

I could bore on all day about organising wardrobe spaces, really I could, I'll save that for another time (if you want?) but today I'll share with you a tip that specifically deals with making sure you're using what is in your wardrobe and not filling it up with junk.

This wardrobe or closet if you're American/feeling fancy is a built in cupboard in which we previously stored our camping equipment but as we've decluttered a lot of our camping stuff we found ourselves with an empty cupboard. It has now become out coat wardrobe, I don't think even the fanciest of estate agent could call it a cloakroom. We have a LOT of coats (more than in this picture, I'm still in the process of getting them aired out or properly cleaned after being in storage), Mr Thrifty finds it hard to leave a vintage shop without a blazer/American baseball jacket/army jacket and he loves them all dearly.

We don't wear half of them, so when I put them into the wardrobe I put all of the hangers the wrong way round (the wrong way being with the curve of the hanging part face into the wardrobe and the open part facing outward), when we return an item to the wardrobe after wearing it we put it back the correct way. After a short while or when it comes to spring clean or decluttering season we can simply look into the wardrobe at the hangers and tell which of our items have and haven't been worn.

I've been doing this in our regular wardrobe for a few years now and I've found it makes it really easy to stop and think about my need for 8 knee length black dresses and 12 red cardigans. Soon Mr Thrifty will have to stop and ask himself some long hard questions about his vintage jacket collection. Perhaps we can all stand around and shout 'hoarder' at him whilst he weeps on the floor? Or did I just mention one of my smutty dreams on my blog?

TTFN,

P.S. You're looking might fine today, is that top new?

Pros and cons of wearing a cape

2011-11-23T13:00:00.002Z

Bought last autumn and stored in a trunk until now, it is time to break out my vintage nurse cape for a second year. I've seen lots of capes in charity shops, be they vintage or discarded from last winter, you can snap them up at bargain prices this winter whilst they're still on trend.

Capes solve a lot of problems but they also cause a lot of problems, here are the pros and cons of wearing a cape:

Cape wearing pros

- Ooh the warmth, you're essentially wrapping yourself in a blanket without stooping to the levels of a snuggie/slanket/whatever the hell you call those ugly things.

- You can play at being a superhero. Seriously it is SO much fun.

- Wearing it done up or undone changes the look radically. Unlike with a coat when it is just, umm,an undone coat, an undone cape can look swishy and dramatic compared to the structured appearance when it is done up.

- You can get up to all kinds of filth under the cape and no one need know.

- Everyone, everyone will stop you and ask where it's from, s'like being on the red carpet instead of the 43 bus into town.

- You can wear your most skuzzy of outfit underneath your cape but the second you sling it over your shoulders you look chic.

Cape wearing cons

- You can't use a shoulder bag unless you want to wear it underneath your cape, which means you will be unable to access it and it'll leave an odd bulk lump on your side. Well, you can but it will be bloody annoying and constantly fall down.

- Your arms may end up cold. Invest in elbow length gloves.

- Your boobs are at risk of becoming a uniboob or 'sausage tit' as I like to call it. Think about styles, big busted ladies aim for something with buttons or zips that can be left partially undone to create a slight 'V' shape which eliminates sausage tit.

- You'll spend forever trying to figure out which top to wear with it if you have the pokey-out-arm type.

- If you fall over you risk smashing your face into the pavement because you're unable to stick your arms out to help you.

Are you a fan of capes?

//Brown skirt, £2.49 eBay (as worn here and here)// Black tights, £6 BHS// Grey socks, £1 Primark (as worn here)// Yellow top, £4 Clothing at Tesco // Boots, £5 New Look (as worn here and here)// Black long sleeved top, £1.25 charity shop (as worn here)// Vintage cape, £12 Oxfam (as worn here)//

TTFN,

P.S. Excuse my hair, my straighteners have gone on strike.

Thrifty Chic Book Giveaway

2011-11-22T13:00:00.004Z

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

The winner will be announced soon.

Hello, hello, hi, hello and happy Tuesday to you all.

Recently the folk over at The Handpicked Collection sent me a copy of Thrifty Chic: Interior Style on a Shoestring by Liz Bauwens and Alexandra Campbell to have a flick through and I'm not sure if I should thank them or bill them for the amount of time I have spent drooling over gorgeous photography (by Simon Brown) of insanely beautiful homes. I devour books and magazines about home styling even more so than fashion magazines, I'm never going to look fat in a cushion, happily Thrifty Chic is one of the best I've read so far.

Split into different sections of the home and even featuring a natty little tutorial section at the back Thrifty Chic guides you through the possibilities for decorating and styling your home with items you already have at your disposal or common thrift finds or recyclables.

The homes featured all look cosy, homely and very much achievable without too much back breaking effort. I'm a fan of anyone who can make something look beautiful using the items they already have, thrifty, chic and environmental responsible. Win, win.

To win your very own copy of Thrifty Chic: Interior on a Shoestring, either to obsessively paw like me or as a great Christmas present for someone else, just enter my easy, peasy giveaway.

To enter you must:
Hop on over to The Handpicked Collection and tell me which item is your favourite. Please leave a method of contact with your entry, be it your email address, blog link or twitter profile - entries without this will not be counted.

For an extra (but by no means obligatory entry) you may tweet the following:
"I'm in with a chance to win @athriftymrsuk and @HandpickedC's Thrifty Chic book giveaway, are you? http://tinyurl.com/bmabof3 "
Please leave an additional comment, including your Twitter name, to let me know you've done this.

This giveaway will close at 12:59(GMT) on Tuesday 29th Nov 2011. A winner will be drawn with aid of random.org and revealed on this blog shortly afterward. I will contact the winner but if I am unable to do so or the winner does not make contact within two weeks I reserve the right to draw another name.

TTFN,

P.S. Good luck!

P.P.S The folk at The Handpicked Collection have also asked me to let you know that you can win a £1000 voucher over on their Facebook page at the moment.

Homemade Christmas gift - framed pin cushion

2011-11-21T13:00:00.000Z

In my humble opinion a homemade Christmas gift is the best type of gift to either give or receive. To know that someone has taken the time out to make something thoughtful just for me warms my heart. I'm not talented with a needle and thread, nor am I great with papercrafts but even I can manage to sling together a homemade Christmas gift which will be gratefully received.

I made a version of this framed pin cushion for my aunt last Christmas and she is still raving about it now. I thought it was about time I showed you how to make a framed pin cushion so you can include it in your Christmas gifts this year. Most of the items you need can be found in your home, recycled or thrifted for very little.

What you will need

- Small thrifted or vintage frame
- Old washing up sponge (washed and thoroughly dried)
- Small fabric scrap
- Needle & thread
- Scissors
- Pen

How to make a framed pin cushion
1.Give your frame a good clean and remove the glass front.
2. Remove the scouring pad from the washing up sponge.
3. Cut the sponge to size. I had to take off add around 4cm from another sponge to make up the length and remove 2 cm from the width of each sponge. Once marked with a pen, I simply cut to size then I sewed them together to make one surface. You may or may not need to do this - it depends on the size of your frame.
4. Wrap the fabric around the sponge (if there is a design on the fabric make sure it lands in the right place) and sew a few stitches into it to keep the fabric tight and in place.
5. Pop the sponge into the frame and affix the back of the frame firmly into place (you may need to trim it slightly if the fabric you use is bulky) so that the sponge proudly through by about 1cm in the centre.

There you have it a quick, easy, frugal and pretty pin cushion which makes a great homemade Christmas gift or even fantastic addition to a small sewing hamper.

Great things to add to a sewing hamper include:

A pretty packet of pins
Vintage or beautifully coloured threads
A small collection of vintage or thrifted sewing patterns
Tailors chalk
A thrifted guide to sewing or stitches
Fabric scraps cut to the same size and neatly bundled together with twine.

Will you be giving my framed pin cushion a go this Christmas?

TTFN,

P.S. Keep your eyes peeled for a giveaway coming very soon.

Mo-to-the-vember

2011-11-20T10:40:00.001Z

Mr Thrifty pretty much covers our facial hair needs here at Thrifty Towers what with his full on bushy beard, although I imagine I'd give him a good run for his money if I didn't keep up with the old waxing appointments, but I still thought I'd give Movember a go in some way or another. Hence the photos. I got some funny looks taking these photos.

If you've suddenly noticed a lot of previously clean shaven men now walking your local streets with a face full of fuzz that'll be due to Movember. During November every year, men up and down the country sport moustaches in a bid to raise money and awareness of men's health and in particular men's cancers.

I'm not usually one to ask people to donate to charities, I realise they're a personal choice but if my photos have in anyway amused you please do consider donating to Movember by clicking here.

You can also have some fun and raise awareness with this Facebook app in support of Movember which will add a moustache to just about any picture you want it to.

TTFN,

P.S. Yep, that last one was a chilli. I don't know why.

You Need to Read

2011-11-19T11:30:00.002Z

It's Saturday, the weekend is here. Hurrah and all that jazz. If you're in the mood for a spot o' reading this weekend then grab your laptop and check out the following links.

...about Elsie's storage boxes. I plan to steal this idea for my wardrobe revamp.
...how Sophie makes festive lanterns.
...Elizabeth's post about her style in the mid nineties. It can't fail to make you smile.
...Lakota's hilarious (if not a bit worrying) post about the search terms that lead to her blog.
...Luv and Hat talking about those red Starbucks cups that people seem to wet themselves about. I think we all know which side of the discussion I'm on.

What have you been reading?

TTFN,

P.S. Enjoy your weekend!

30 Day Declutter

2011-11-18T12:30:00.001Z

Well, this week has been a big week. After my post about how friendship sucks and getting rid of 120 friends and Facebook (can I count those as part of the challenge?) I was left really emotional in both good and bad ways.

I honestly think the process of the 30 Day Declutter made me examine my life and spurred me on to write the post and take action against rubbish friends. In that respect I can honestly and happily say the 30 Day Declutter is life changing. I still feel slightly fragile but I also feel fresh and renewed. Any extra energy has been ploughed into decluttering our flat and moving forward with my life.

Lots of stuff has gone but sadly a lot of it is old bills, uni work and out of date food which I put firmly in the rubbish bracket and don't count as items in my declutter, if I did I'd be nudging 1000 items, easy.

Here's what I've decluttered this week -

36. Fabric - huge amounts, I could really count it as at least 20 items but I'm being harsh on myself - Giving to a friend
37. Old mobile phone - sending to a company who send old phones to charities
38. Artifical sunflower - charity shop
39. Red vase - charity shop
40. - 48. 8 Roald Dahl books - secondhand bookshop ( = £11.90)
49. Charlie Brooker book - secondhand bookshop (= £3.20)
50. Plastic lolly pop sticks - recycle
51. 2001 Writers' book - charity shop
52. Washer balls - recycle
53. Internet router - ebay
54. Inner tubes - ebay
55. Pink felt - giving to a friend
56. Broken scissors - recycle (?)
57. Washing up bottle cover - charity shop
58. Electronic calorie counter (wtf?) - charity shop

58/90

This week I've concentrated on reorganising my fabric stash meaning I have a few bags I'll be sending to friends (only about 1/4 is pictured) and sorting through a huge box of what I at first thought was junk. Said junk seems to be a mixture of really valuable things, uh hello beautiful necklace I got for my 21st birthday, along with old keys, till fobs from old uni work places, lolly makers and other assorted junk from the past decade. It's taking some time and heartache to sort through it but I'm dedicating 45 minutes a day to it - 15 first thing in the morning, 15 in the afternoon and 15 before supper. I don't want to bog myself down with memories and get put off or upset but I do need to get it done or I'll be stuck with it forever.

Next week I'm going for a big push, I have my eye on the clothes stored under the bed in our spare room and the storage cupboard is going to get a good seeing to. You have been warned!

You might find useful:
30 Day Declutter - original post
30 Day Declutter - Week 1
30 Day Declutter - Week 2
TTFN,

P.S. How's your 30 Day Declutter going? Don't forget to keep everyone updated by using the Twitter hashtag #30DayDeclutter

How to Organise Nail Polish

2011-11-17T11:30:00.002Z

I used to have heaps of nail polish, hundreds of little bottles all lined up and yet I seemed to stick to the same few colours. A few months back I got sick of dusting them all, so I gave the majority to a family friend, keeping my favourites and a few seasonal essentials for myself. I now organise my nail polish into a smallish Greengate tin (and some go in the fridge) which keeps them in one place but means I can't see which shade is which. Here's how I've overcome that problem.

Stickers my little thriftsters, stickers. I'm a firm believer that stickers and labels can solve most organisation problems so it was only natural to reach out to them for some help when in came to organising nail varnish.

I wanted some small dot stickers but those only seem to come in bright colours, so I made do by cutting some regular name tag sized stickers into small squares and using those. Many online stationary companies are happy to send out samples if you're buying other items from them. I requested to some CD label samples when I bought some magazine storage from a company about two years ago and they also sent a huge pack of their various sized stickers to try out which I still have loads left to play around with now. In a roundabout way they were free to me.You can also pick up stickers in supermarkets and pound shops really cheaply.

All I did was put a small dot of nail polish onto the sticker and affix it to the lid of the corresponding nail varnish bottle. A cocktail stick helps in smoothing down the edges and ensuring you don't make a big mess of the wet nail varnish. Ideally I'd paint the nail varnish onto small dot stickers whilst still on the original sticker sheet, allow to dry and then attach the bottle but because the stickers needed to be cut to size the adhesive side would have dried out if I'd waited any longer. The lids that don't have stickers are the ones that I can easily identify, I know the lids with dipped gold lids are Estee Lauder and I only have two of those and so and so forth.
Now when I'm in a rush to go out I can see what colours I have available to me in no time at all.
How do you organise your nail polish?

You might also find useful:
How to save an old nail varnish
How to organise a clothes drawer
How to store sunglasses
TTFN,

P.S. I'll be back with my 30 Day Declutter progress tomorrow. Don't forget to let us know how you're getting on with your challenge on the Twitter hashtag #30DayDeclutter

Oh Deer

2011-11-16T10:50:00.001Z

I bought this top with the remainder of a Tesco voucher I won at work, I'm a sucker for anything with a deer on it. You could say I fawn over deer and if you do you deserve a job writing headlines for tabloid newspapers.

I bought it with Christmas in mind and wore it when I filmed a Christmas special a few months ago, I stored it safely away in my wardrobe for the festive season but everytime I reach in for a jumper those wee deer folk purr (do deer purr?) and whisper 'wear me, wear me' so today I succumbed.

// Black skirt, charity shop £1.95 (as worn here) // Deer top, Clothing at Tesco £18 // Socks, Primark 99p // Scarf, very old// Hat I think is H&M// Cat shoes, Store 21 £5 (as worn here) //

Or could I perhaps make that story a bit more exciting?

So, yeah, right? This bastard herd of deer have been stalking me for months, MONTHS. Everywhere I go I hear hooves or see wee glimpses of antlers peeking out at me from behing lamp posts. I didn't quite know what was happening but I didn't feel entirely comfortable for a few months, almost like someone was watching me. Then this morning when I left the flat to nip to the post office they attacked.

Several hundred deer came upon me as I crossed the road, they looked full of rage at my plain camel coloured top. I don't know what happened but I woke up what felt like 3 hours later, but was surely only 30 seconds later, with a deer spattered top. Despite my trauma and feeling like I will forever be stalked by deer, I love the top. So I bunged it on with some knee high socks, my old faithful black pleated skirt, some cat shoes and my winter uniform of woolly hat and scarf and got on with my day. That's my story and I'm sticking with it guv.

TTFN,

P.S. Yeah, I've lost it.

30 Day Declutter

2011-11-11T11:44:00.000Z

I've had a busy week of laying around in bed coughing up what feels like several thousand lungs so my attempt at the 30 Day Declutter hasn't really got much past the frame of my bedroom door. Not to fear there's plenty of junk in here to rid myself of.

If you haven't a clue what I'm talking about have a quick read of my initial 30 Day Declutter post which will hopefully explain what's going on. In essence I'm aiming to get rid of 90 possessions in the 30 days of November. You can view my first week of the 30 Day Declutter and today's post, yes the very one you're reading (exciting, no? Actually no) is my second week.

15. Unflattering blue top - charity shop
16. Unflattering paisley print top - charity shop
17. Ugly black and white skirt - charity shop
18. Red and white skirt of which I seem to have two - charity shop
19. Grey jumper which makes my boobs look like a giant sausage - charity shop
20. Orange bracelet - charity shop
21. Bead bracelet - charity shop
22. Bead bracelet - charity shop
23. Wooden bead bracelet - charity shop
24. Exercise headband which is too small for my fat head - charity shop
25. Contact lens holding kit which I bought for Mr Thrifty who a week later decide to switch to disposables - charity shop
26. Old, dried out foundation - wash out and recycle the glass parts
27. Old, dried out tinted moisturiser - bin
28. Old, manky mascara - bin
29. A mascara that I seem to be allergic to - bin
30. Some kind of hair gunk that never worked for me - bin
31. Eyeshadow palette that I only used once - give to a friend
32. Disgusting nail varnish that I've had since I started uni (in 2002) - bin
33. As above - bin
34. Old hairbrush which has started to pull my hair out at the roots - bin
35. Old perfume bottle with around 1/3 of the contents remaining - ebay (these sell really well)
35/90

Everything is bagged up and ready to go to the charity shop tomorrow or inserted into my eBay listings on Sunday. Remember even if you put something in a pile to leave your house, it doesn't count if it hasn't left by the last day of the challenge. So try to get in the habit of visiting the charity shop or listing to ebay once a week.

TTFN,

P.S. How is your 30 Day Declutter going?

A Money Saving Memo

2011-11-10T18:30:00.000Z

I'm still stuck in bed with the plague, so in the meantime I thought some of my recent posts over on the Totally Money blog may save you some money in the run up to Christmas.

6 Ways to reduce the cost of your supermarket shop
Switching energy providers - what you need to know
Forget Christmas Gifts - host a party

TTFN,

P.S. I'll be back tomorrow to show what I've managed to get rid of this week as part of the 30 Day Declutter.

My Life in Instagrams

2011-11-09T14:04:00.001Z

This is a blog post popular all over the interwebs, so never one to shy away from a trend here is my recent life in Instagrams.

If you use the Instragram app stop by my profile (athriftymrs) and laugh at the insanely grainy images an iPad camera produces, if you're not an Instagram type you can view my daily photos by clicking 'Today at Thrifty Towers' just below my blog header.

TTFN,

P.S. Even though I'm ill I am still getting on with my 30 Day Declutter, I hope you are too!

P.P.S Let me know your Instagram profile name below and I'll try to find you and add you.

This week so far...

2011-11-08T13:22:00.000Z

This week so far has been sponsored by a hacking cough, long periods of sleep, fever and a sore throat. I am officially full of an ugly cold.

Normal blogging service will resume shortly but for now you can probably find me bitching on twitter about the latest lung I coughed up.

TTFN,

P.S. I'm off to steam my weary head.

P.P.S. I hope you are all doing well with the 30 Day Declutter. Don't forget to keep us all up to date with your progress on the Twitter hashtag #30DayDeclutter

Homemade Winter Hair Treatment

2011-11-07T17:30:00.001Z

Oh winter, the things you do to me. I love the weather, I love the dark nights drawing in, I love my hot water bottle and the clothes are about a squillion times nicer but my hair, my hair, my hair. Why winter do you make my hair such a horrible frizz bomb? Please tell me for why? I might fall out of love with you.

A simple homemade winter hair treatment is to take two eggs, whisk them together in a bowl and after wetting your hair a little, apply the eggs to your hair. Work it into the ends and leave until it dries firm. Once dried, rinse with lukewarm water and yeehaw shiny, less frizzy hair. Repeat once a week and you'll stay firmly in love with winter.

TTFN,

P.S. I'm on Facebook too, are you excited about that?

30 Day Declutter

2011-11-04T11:30:00.002Z

I'm so excited that so many of you are taking part in the 30 Day Declutter, I hope you're enjoying sorting through your stuff as much as I am. I find having too much unnecessary clutter around can really depress me and that's the last thing anyone needs as the days start to get shorter.

Here's what I've got rid of so far -

1. An ugly wicker box that isn't the correct size for any of my stuff - Charity shop
2. A skipping rope - Charity shop
3. Bike handle grips for a bike Mr Thrifty no longer owns - eBay
4. Skirt - Give to friend
5. An ugly tie that we bought for a costume party and never used - Charity shop
6. Twilight DVD, I still have no idea what this is doing in my flat - Charity shop
7. Terms of Endearment DVD - Am I the only person who hated this film? - Charity shop
8. Marc Jacobs Lola perfume bottle - No point keeping a bottle if there's nothing left in it - Recycle
9. DKNY Be Delicious perfume bottle - see above - Recycle
10. Argos catalogue - I can't remember the last time I bought anything from Argos - Recycle
11. 3 Phone directories - I exclusively use the internet to look things up - Recycle
12. Behind The Scenes at The Museum book (not pictured) - Return to family member
13. The Bourne Supremacy book (not pictured) - Charity shop
14. The Bourne Ultimatum book (not pictured) - Charity shop
14/90

I haven't had as much time as I'd hope to dedicate to the declutter this week (nor a whole week really) because of a crisis at work but I'm ready to take it on big time next week.

Most of what I have decluttered is now waiting in to go to charity shops or to be added to ebay, which I'll be doing this weekend. Remember, even if you put your items in a pile to leave the house be it to charity, ebay or friends, it doesn't count if it is still in your house at the end of the month. Make it part of your challenge to visit the charity shop or tip once a week and set aside an hour per week to list on auction or sales websites.

How are you getting on with your 30 Day Delutter challenge?

You might find useful:
A post explaining what the 30 Day Declutter is about
TTFN,

P.S. Don't forget to use the Twitter hashtag #30DayDeclutter

P.P.S. Over on Totally Money this week I've written about free fireworks displays across the country and all you need to know about switching your energy provider.

What every girl needs - A Shoe Mirror

2011-11-03T12:32:00.000Z

The way our flat and furniture are laid out means I can't see myself all at once in one mirror without some hardcore acrobatics. Plus my boobs are so stupidly large I can't look down and see more than the very tips of my shoes. I missed seeing my shoes!

// Shoes (as worn here) - George at Asda, £4 // 'Thursday' socks - gift // Mirror - charity shop, £3// Skirt - Laura Ashley via Charity shop, £1.50//

So chaps, I hunted me down a charity shop and treated myself to a shoe mirror. Neat, simple and it adds space to our otherwise dark hallway. Ah, nice to see you again shoes. How'ya doin? These types of bevelled mirrors crop up all the time in charity shops and bootsales across the country for good prices and because they don't have flashy, gilded (or otherwise) frames they can fit into most styles of home without looking out of place.

TTFN,

P.S. Don't forget to sign up for the 30 Day Declutter (if you're on Twitter feel free to use the hashtag #30DayDeclutter) and check back tomorrow to see how I've got on with the challenge this week.

How to organise a clothes drawer

2011-11-02T11:30:00.001Z

Organising my wardrobe and clothes drawers is so satisfying to to me, I know, I know, I need a life, right? But seriously, knowing how to organise a clothes drawer can streamline your life that bit more and give you more time to spend drinking gin. WIN.

It's almost a natural instinct just to fold clothes up and pile them into a drawer on top of each other, they're in the right place, job's a good'un. Big mistake. You end up having to lift everything up and search underneath to find the one item you are looking for and if you're anything like me, nothing will end up back in the drawer, there will be clothes all over your bedroom for weeks and you'll end up picking them all up and throwing them out the window in a fit of despair about three weeks after you first searched for the brown top with pink flowers.
This is my easy solution for organising a clothes drawer.

Fold your tops like this

until they look something like this, with a neat spine on the side (hopefully a bit neater than mine here)

and then stack them sideways so you can see the the spine of all of your tops in one glance. I then organise mine into plain, striped, polka dot, floral and other patterns but you don't have to be quite as anal as me. No more hunting underneath, you can see the entire contents of that drawer at a glance.

These particular drawers are deep but not quite enough for another layer of clothes so I keep my detachable Peter Pan and lace collars at the back as they are easily reachable and are also next to the tops I tend to wear them with.

Try and organise at least one drawer this way this week and make sure to get rid or anything that doesn't fit as part of the 30 Day Declutter.

TTFN,

P.S. Are you taking part in the 30 Day Declutter? If so don't forget to use the Twitter hashtag #30DayDeclutter so you can let me and everyone else who is taking part know how you're getting on.

30 Day Declutter

2011-11-01T11:30:00.003Z

Thrifty Towers is small and despite getting rid of lots of our possessions when we moved, it still feels cluttered and jam packed full of stuff. I'm setting myself as challenge.

Starting today, November 1st 2011, I will rid myself of 90 items in 30 days. These items will be sold, donated, given to friends or recycled. Either way they have to go. From big to small, come 30th November 2011, 90 items will be gone.

Brief guidelines

- Regular rubbish/trash doesn't count.
- If you put something aside to be donated it must be out of your house by the last day of the month.
- Shred any paperwork in order to combat identity thief.
- Spend a max of 30 mins a day decluttering, you don't want to become bogged down by it.

A few basic areas in which to declutter

- Tupperware cupboard. How many clippity, mini cracker sized boxes do you really need?
- Music and film collection. Will you really watch that rubbish rom-com again?
- Shoe collection. Do you really wear all of them?
- Photos. Come on, who wants to look at a photo of your thumb?
- Linen cupboard. Do you use everything in here? Are you likely to use all of it in the next 6 months?
- Medicine cabinet. Now really, when did you last need that amoxicillin?
- Paperwork and notes. Who needs to keep their undergraduate notes? And do you really need that utility bill from 1994?
- Utensils. 6 fish slices? Seriously?

Feel free to join the 30 Day Declutter and streamline your home, your mind and your life. I'll be posting my purged items every Friday, I'd love you to keep track of my progress or even join in (be it the same challenge, bigger or smaller.) Are you up to the challenge?

If you're on Twitter use the hashtag #30DayDeclutter to let us know how you're getting on and to follow the progress of me and others. Good luck!

TTFN,

P.S. I know, right?

P.S. Are you looking forward to Guy Fawkes night? I've put together a list of the best free fireworks displays and bonfires for 2011.

Halloween Shoes

2011-10-31T11:30:00.012Z

I'm not really 'feeling' Halloween this year. The eating of squash and pumpkin seed filled pasta and my wicked cat shoes are my small nod toward the spookiest of days.

Have a terrifying day.

For those asking, this is where I got the shoes. The website doesn't seem to have them but they had lots in store last week.
TTFN,

P.S. Do you have any Halloween plans?

P.P.S. You can find me on Twitter and Facebook, plus I'm now on Pinterest.

You Need to Read...

2011-10-29T11:30:00.001+01:00

Happy Saturday, I hope the weather is treating you well. If you fancy curling up with your laptop, a cup of hot chocolate and your favourite cushion then now is the time to do it.

...Pearl taking on Gok over on Fashion Pearls of Wisdom.

...Candy Pop's first post from what looks to be a gorgeous new home.

...about Harriet's trip to York.

...the pyjama love over on Under the willow trees.

...about other bloggers on Clothes, Cameras and coffee.

...about French For Cupcake's travels through Tokyo.

...the tidy ways of Benita living over at Chez Larsson.

TTFN,

P.S. Which blog posts are you reading at the moment?

A Corner of Thrifty Towers

2011-10-28T11:30:00.001+01:00

Everything is busy, busy, busy, go, go, go here at Thrifty Towers, so just time for a quick peek into our living room.

// Suitcase, wooden box, picnic basket, blue blanket, small picture - thrifted // Lamp and lampshade - Ikea // Metal heart - gift// Crochet blanket - made by moi // Large picture - thrifted yellow fabric stapled to old canvas frame //

TTFN,

P.S. Happy Friday.

6 Tips For Cutting Cleaning Time in Half

2011-10-27T11:30:00.000+01:00

We all have to clean our homes when we'd rather spend time in the pub, shopping or with friends. The following tips will cut down the time you spend cleaning, meaning you have more time to live your life.

1. Put a layer of tinfoil under the item you are ironing. The foil will act as a conductor meaning you have to spend less time ironing. This works best with cotton items rather than delicate items.

2. Stick to the 3 minute rule.

3. Spend 15 mins a week cleaning out and organising a different drawer and make sure it is just one drawer alone. It'll keep them clean, tidy and organised and it also means you'll never have to do one of those huge clear out sessions that leaves you regretting it 30 minutes in.

4. Throw salt on cooking spills and spatters. They'll be easier and quicker to clean later on.

5. Wipe and tidy as you go. Made a small mess? Clean it up now, don't leave it until you have to clean the whole room.

6. Have your cleaning supplies dotted around the house. Keep a bucket of supplies in the bathroom, some in the kitchen and a duster near the bedrooms. Having your cleaning supplies spread throughout the house means you can grab at will and give a shelf a quick wipe down as you pass meaning cleaning doesn't become A Big Thing.

How do you cut your cleaning time in half?

You might find useful:
30 Second Cleaning
How to keep spiders away
No effort cleaning tips
TTFN,

P.S. You can now find me on Pinterest. I wonder if there is a cure for being addicted to that site?

Cookie Cutter Collection

2011-10-26T11:30:00.002+01:00

I'm pretty sure that my cookie cutter collection and obsession stems back to making gingerbread men with my mother and fluted cookie cutters squishing their way into scone dough on a Sunday afternoon in my childhood.

I brought into our marriage a collection of traditional circle cookie cutters and a small heart and over the last four years it has become this, well actually this is only about half of it. I also have my Christmas, Easter, letters, numbers and symmetrical shapes. Yeah.

Every year someone buys me a bunch of cookie cutters for my birthday or a friend will send me something fun, like a cowboy because they know the ridiculousness of a cowboy shaped cookie will make me laugh. Oh and Mr Thrifty, always one to think of his stomach, will buy me them because it means he is more likely to get fed a tasty, sweet treat.

My favourite? A helicopter that my friend brought me back from NYC. Love it.

You might find useful:
How to make your own cookie cutters
TTFN,

P.S. Are you a cookie cutter fanatic too?

Easy Scone Recipe

2011-10-25T11:30:00.001+01:00

There seems to be a myth that scones are hard to make. They're not, in fact I find a scone the easiest of the baked good to knock out at will. Bust the myth today and knock out some scones in under 20 minutes.

Here's my easy scone recipe -

450g Self raising flour
4tsp Baking powder
100g Butter
50g Golden caster sugar
2 eggs
Milk

1. Put the flour, baking powder and butter into a bowl. Rub into very fine breadcrumbs.

2. Stir in sugar.

3. Break the eggs into a jug then add milk to the jug until the eggy/milky mixture reaches 300ml. Mix together well with a fork.

4. Slowly add the milk and egg mixture to the flour mixture. You probably won't need all of it, so do this slowly. Bring the mixture together into a soft (not sticky), almost shiny dough.

5. Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and roll out to 2 cm thickness. Cut into rounds using a fluted cutter.

6. Place on a baking tray and brush the tops of the scones with the leftover eggy-milky mixture.

Cook for 10 minutes at 220c or Gas mark 7.

I'm taking these bad boys off to tea with some blog and twitter friends. Enjoy yours!

TTFN,

P.S. What is your easiest bake?

Quick Kitchen Organisation Tip

2011-10-24T11:30:00.000+01:00

As I'm sure you've heard me say oooh 7000 times, meal planning has changed my life. Not only does it save us here at Thrifty Towers a pile of money and stop us from umming and ahhing over what to have and then rowing before splurging £25 on a takeaway, it also keeps us organised.

One quick tip that works well with meal planning is to go through your recipes for the week and get out all of the dried goods you need and weigh them out in one go. I weigh out any flour, sugar, cornflour, cous cous, pasta etc. that I might need and keep them in small plastic pots or tins with a labeled post it note on top. I also go through the cupboards and take out all of the spices, dried herbs and bulbs of garlic I need for the week. I organise them, loosely in a dish into the order I'll be using them or put together any marinades and spice rubs that I'll be using.

I then take out any recipes books I will need (most recipes are from memory or made up as I go along but I try to do one new meal a week) and pop in a bright post it note on the page I'll be using. I make sure a little bit is still visable and write the day it will be used in large lettering. I store them next to the hob so I don't have to fiddle about trying to find the book I need because I'm of the forgetful breed.

I'm tired in the evenings and would prefer to spend time down the pub or out with Mr Thrifty so, those 20mins once a week means making supper every evening is quicker, seamless and smooth. Any faff searching for things is all but cut out and I love feeling that little bit smug knowing that my evening is going to be planned out and hassle free.

TTFN,

P.S. Are you a meal planner?

Sunday Spied Vol.10

2011-10-23T11:30:00.000+01:00

Ah how I love hockey season. Mr Thrifty plays field hockey and it takes up most daylight hours of every Saturday from Sept - April (and then there's summer hockey too) and in the 7 years we've been together I have been to watch 3 times. It bored the life out of me, honestly I wanted to die so the boredom would wash over me.

Anyway, I think Mr Thrifty feels guilty about these Saturdays being taken over by the dullest sport in the world, so he lets me get away with anything I like on a Saturday morning (unless he is playing in Carlisle and has to leave at stupid o'clock in the morning.) Yesterday morning I let Mr Thrifty drive me around the charity shops like I was the frigging Queen. I could tell he was bored out of his mind but pah, he got to spend time with meeeeeeee.

Anyway, what did I find? Quite a lot of lovely stuff but I'll just show you these two for now. I don't want to spoil your lunch.

This frankly uh-MAZE-ing Lloyd Loom style bedside table/unit. The shape screamed out to me from across the shop and I snatched it up in a heartbeat. It is dirty, chipped and grubby, it'll get a makeover one way or another but doesn't that shape just make you swoon? Almost like those mail and newspaper boxes that you get on the street in America.

Perfect for our spare room, which was much in need of a second bedside table, or dotted about in a couple of places I can think of in Thrifty Towers. A total bargain at just £3

And check out these pink horse shot glasses, aren't they the most disgustingly kitsch and cute things you've ever seen? LOVE THEM! 25p for three.

Yeah, you read that correctly bay-beh, twenty five of your human British pence.

What have you spied recently?
TTFN,

P.S. Promise me you'll never go to a hockey match? Good girl.

Brag Bomb

2011-10-22T11:30:00.001+01:00

Everyone hates a bragger, so get ready to hate me because I'm about to drop a brag bomb - lookit, lookit, lookit!

I'm no.4 on Cision's Top 25 UK Personal Finance Blogs list and no.2 on their Top 10 UK Personal Finance Blogs on Twitter list. I'm allowed to be happy about that, right?

I'm not terribly sure what it means but it did make me do a squeal.

Just to let you know, now is the time to contact me if you'd like to advertise on A Thrifty Mrs over the Christmas period.

TTFN,

P.S. What are your weekend plans? I'm hitting charity shops today and making Christmas puddings tomorrow.

To spray or not to spray?

2011-10-21T11:30:00.002+01:00

I'm currently trying to turn our spare room into somewhere I can work properly without having to step over piles of laundry and boxes of fabric. Streamline baby! There are a few items I need to find to complete it but thrifting being thrifting it can be hard to find what you need without months or even years of hunting.

I'd been after an old fashioned, metal wastepaper bin for years but stepped up the hunt after lusting over some gorgeous examples on American blogs over recent months. I couldn't find one anywhere and the ones I did find were coming out at around £55 when I factored in postage, totally out of my budget. Well, whaddya know? Yesterday I found one in a local charity shop for £1. I carried that bloody bin home with my food shopping and umbrella stuffed inside. Turns out everyone in Didsbury saw it as a sartorial choice rather than my bid to save the world from yet another plastic bag. I swear I'm now known as bin lady to the locals.

Anyway, something is telling me it needs a little cosmetic help. Something is telling me to spray paint it with some red gloss spray paint that I have sitting around doing nada but something else, back there in the deepest depths of my mind, is telling me to put the spray can down, step away from the bin and just let it damn well be.

What say ye my little thriftsters? To spray or not to spray?

TTFN,

P.S.Have you got any makeover projects coming up?

Winter Coat Time

2011-10-20T13:00:00.000+01:00

October has been a strange month so far, at the start of the month I was on a beach in Wales wearing flip flops and a summer dress in the 27c degree heat and just 20 days later my knuckles are turning blue if I'm out in the cold for longer than 10 minutes. I can't get away with tights, long sleeved top and scarf anymore, it's winter coat time folks.

I found this 1980's rust coloured jacket on the bargain rail in a charity shop for £4, it was reduced from £25 due to a huge slash in the lining but it took me all of 15mins to hand sew it back to perfection. I liked the coat instantly because I have a thing for neck ties, especially because you can play around with them and change the look of the coat by tying it in different ways or leaving it loose. I also liked that it sat nicely both closed and opened plus there's plenty of room for jumpers underneath as we stumble further into winter. Another pro were the deep pockets for my gloves and ipod - am I the only one who ends up in a tangle of wires if they put their ipod in their bag? Nope? Just me?

//Brown skirt, ebay - £2.49 (as worn here)// Floral top, bootsale 25p// Striped tights, M&S - £8// Bag, H&M via charity shop - £3.95 (as seen here)// Brown boots, New Look sale - £5 (as worn here)//

Have you bought your winter coat yet? Do you plan to buy a second hand coat?

TTFN,

P.S. Have you joined my Facebook page yet? Pah! What are you waiting for?

Meant to be, non?

2011-10-19T11:30:00.001+01:00

On our jaunt into Liverpool the other day I saw a bag I liked in H&M, it was a mustard yellow satchel style bag and whilst I liked it a lot I walked away without buying it because I thought in time I'd find something similar in a charity shop if I hunted hard enough. We lunched, we chatted, we pubbed, we walked and about 400m and three hours away I found the exact same bag, unused (if the original price tag still attached to the side is anything to go by) for £3.95.

H&M bag £14.99 // British Heart Foundation bag £3.95

The material is a tad imperfect because it is bit ruched up along the top, which I assume is why it was languishing in a charity shop but I like imperfections, they add charm.

Meant to be, non?

TTFN,

P.S. Have you had any 'meant to be' charity shop moments?

Happy Birthday Mr Thrifty

2011-10-18T12:00:00.001+01:00

Mr Thrifty, all of two months older than me turned 29 yesterday. Everyone who meets my husband speaks so kindly of him, I even have people stop me in the street (on more than one occasion) telling me how incredibly lucky I am to have met him. His friends describe him as a 'good man' and 'the nicest man.' He is kind, caring and thoughtful, he'll remember the smallest of things that please you. Do you like lots of baked beans with your full English breakfast? He'll remember. Are you uncomfortable driving in the dark? He'll make sure to drive so you feel safe even if it means he can't drink. And like me, if you like your pillow to totally cover his and leave him with 1cm of the bed, he'll laugh and see the funny side.

Plus he is a total, bad ass, vintage wearing, mega music loving FOX.

A sweeter man I couldn't wish for and our past 7 years together have been filled with laughter, learning and leaning upon one another, I wish you a very happy birthday Mr Thrifty and many, many more to come.

Yesterday we hit Liverpool, ate fun food, tried on every stupid hat we could find, pulled stupid faces, pretended to be tour guides, hit the vintage and charity shops and laughed so hard that I pulled a muscle (who knew I had any?) in my stomach.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR THRIFTY!

TTFN,

P.S. Check out this cute sign that we saw near our house.

Q&A

2011-10-16T11:45:00.002+01:00

I've been asked a lot of the same questions recently so I thought it best to address them here. I hope they help.

Which camera do you use?

I'm a nightmare when it comes to cameras, I can't tell you how many I've broken! Since blogging I've used (and broken) a Canon 400d, Canon 40d and many lenses, plus had 2x Sony Cybershots decide to die on me. I'm so lazy and fling my camera into my handbag only to pull them out and find they're broken. So lesson learnt, I've invested in a good camera bag and am currently using the 400D again with a 50 mm f/1.8 II Lens or a Sony Bloggie HD .

Do you edit your photographs?

Yes! I give them a quick blast in Photoshop or the free online version of Picnik.

What do you do for a living?

Gosh, what don't I do?! It is all a bit hectic at the moment. My main job is for a regional radio station, I edit website and live to air content and I adore my job. I also write and do social media bits and bobs as a freelancer for various publications. I work a minimum of 55-65 hours a week, so I have no idea how I manage to fit in blogging.

What is your favourite thrifty find?

I love the bureau we found in the street and the low level 1950s floral chair you can see here.

Can we see more of your house?

Thrifty Towers is a bitch to photograph, I'll tell you that as a starter. We live in a basement flat so it can be really, really dark. I've done a flat tour post and you can see some bits and bobs scattered across various blog posts but if you want to see a specific room tour let me know and I'll try my best to show you.

Do you recommend getting married so young?

Wow! Well, Mr Thrifty and I were both 24 when we got married, which I don't consider that young and we'd been together for over 2 years at that point. I would never advise anyone on their relationship without being very close to them. All I can say is - we're very happy and I love being married.

What did you study at university?

I did a BA in Journalism followed by NCTJ and an MA in Critical Theory.

What is your favourite money saving tip?

Don't buy anything, anything until you've searched high and low for a free or cheaper version.

Are you obsessed with cleaning?

God, no! However I'd rather clean little and often than have to dedicate whole days to panic cleaning.

Why on earth do you blog about Christmas all the time?

Ha haha! I'm not one of those mad people who eat Christmas lunch every day of the year, I promise. I hate having the entire Christmas season dominated by stress and angst so I plan well ahead in order to to take time off and enjoy myself. I like the festive period to be seamless and fun which works out a lot easier when I've had my shopping, planning and crafts done for months and months.

What was #blogdebate and why did you stop it?

#blogdebate was a twitter hashtag which I ran with fellow blogger Bangs and a Bun. We aimed to have lively debates about blogging issues. It has been temporarily halted due a small number of participants (in the final week) bullying others. Those small few seemed incapable of understanding what a debate was and saw opinions and ideas as attacks on the way they chose to do things on their blog. #blogdebate will be back soon in a slightly different guise so keep your eyes out.

How do you manage to get so many bargains?

I think it is a mixture of luck, sheer bloody mindedness and the will to try anything. I think if I had a very specific taste in homeware or clothes I'd find it a bit harder to find as many bargains but because I have quite ecclectic taste and I'll happily give different styles a try I find that I have the pick from lots of bargains.
My top tip would be to get to the charity shops etc. as often as possible and be friendly with the staff. If you're nipping in and out and make yourself familiar with the staff they'll often think of you when they see something in your style. I've had many a charity shop worker put something aside for me because they know I'd like it. Here's a link to some more of my charity shop tips.

TTFN,

P.S. I'm in these places too - Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and Bloglovin'.

10 Must Read Blog Posts

2011-10-15T11:30:00.001+01:00

To keep you occupied this weekend, 10 must read blog posts from across blogland. Enjoy!

1. Miss Believer's Style Manifesto is inspiring, interesting and something I want to replicate in my own image immediately.
2. Squashy Love from the intoxicatingly brilliant writer, Mrs B.
3. Lakota's rather hilarious take on the craft magazine Mollie Makes.
4. Lisa's recipe for a rainy day makes me want to steal her away and be friends with her forever.
5. The photos in Mademoiselle Robot's Hollywood Forever Cemetery shoot have me lusting after her shades, outfit and THAT weather.
6. This post from Her Library Adventures has made my belly rumble so loud that my goldfish was a tad startled.
7. I think we can all agree that Helga must send me this outfit at once, for keeps.
8. An oldie(ish) but a goodie from Emma, as a freelancer this is a post that I want to send to everyone I know.
9. Land Girl 1980 also needs to send me her outfit, when will these people learn?
10. Shiny, pretty and organised?! I'm sold(!) and have been back to oggle Alex's post at least three times.

Which blog posts have you enjoyed this week? Share the links in the comments section below

TTFN,

P.S. Have a good weekend.

How to save an old nail varnish

2011-10-14T11:30:00.000+01:00

I'm a fan of cheap and cheerful nail varnish but it does tend to dry out or go gloopy in the bottle after a while. Here are my top tips for reviving nail polish thus saving it from the bin and saving you from having to buy more. Thrifty, non?

Is your nail varnish gloopy, sloppy or even separated?

Give it a good shake then pop it in the fridge. All of my gloopy and separated nail varnished now live in my fridge. They glide on perfectly but remember to put them back or they'll return to their grim ways.

Has your nail varnish dried up or become hard?

Add two small drops of nail varnish remover to the bottle. Close and shake like a mo fo.
I've also found putting the nail polish bottle into a bowl of very hot water (not boiling) for 10-15mins works well.

TTFN,

P.S. What is your favourite colour nail varnish? Mine is currently navy.

Eat, Pray, Love movie - live blog

2011-10-13T13:22:00.001+01:00

In a bizarre twist of genius I bring together my book review of Eat, Pray, Love and my first (and indeed last) viewing of Star Wars to live blog my review of the Eat Pray Love movie.

I don't know if I was drunk and thought it would be hi-lar-ious to put this DVD on my Lovefilm list or if Mr Thrifty thought it would be funny to watch me open the envelope hoping for ER Season 2 and find THIS but somehow, someway it has ended up in my living room, swirling around my DVD player and the government are thanking me for not downloading it illegally.

I've treated myself to a can of full fat coke and a Bounty, the likes of which Julia Roberts can never have set her eyes upon and umm, I'm about to press play.

- I'm turning the volume down lest someone in my building know what I'm watching.

- Ah a voiceover. A voiceover spoiled The Shawshank Redemption for me, I mean, how the hell can a 'masterpiece' revolve around a bloody voiceover? I'm well aware that I do voiceovers for a living but THIS is different.

- Oh hai, can I go abroad and take the best bits of your cultures and thought processes and mash them altogether to form my passage through my middle class life? Can I? Can I?!

- Did she just roll her eyes because her husband has tried out different jobs and wants to go back to uni to do a masters? Really?

- You know when you cry you can either just have one tear rolling down your cheek or THE UGLY CRY? Well Julia Roberts has one too, full on ugly cry. With the vein bulging, the lot.

- 'Everyword in Italian is like a truffle' - dear me, I'm going to chunder.

- If someone took a busker's guitar and played me a ditty I'd hurt them. With a saucepan.

- I HATE the way people pin all of these amazing hopes and dreams on an entire country. Why do people 'wanna-go-da-Fraaaaaance' all the time, why do they fall in love with Paris when the closet they have come to it is the final episodes of Sex and The City? This bitch is pinning her hopes on Italy and pasta. Because all Italy has is pasta. Shut up.

- I am 33mins in and I haven't come across a single character that I like.

- The word for London is 'stuffy'? Based on what? Churchill? And the word for Rome is 'sex'? I can tell you for one sweetheart, I've lived in both and had a lot more sex in London than Rome. And better sex at that. Shut up.

- The meal she makes with the egg looks goooood. I wish I could eat egg.

- Jesus Christ, this woman is awful. AWFUL! I can't even explain to you how truly awful she is.

- Stop examining your life and live it.

- I find it strange that for all of her obsession with praying she never thought to think about it when in Rome, y'know the base for one of the biggest religions in the world. Perhaps it isn't quite as trendy anymore?

- This is BULLSHIT. Why am I watching this?

- So this dude from Texas, Richard? I want to maim him.

- I'm thinking of adding a vodka to this coke to get me through the rest of this film. It isn't worse that Sex and The City 2 but it is damn, near close.

- Oh yes, hearing the misery of another always helps me reach some kind of peace.

- You can't hear me but I'm swearing a lot. A lot.

- I like the elephant, I name him Trevor.

- Did she just steal from that old man? She did, didn't she?

- Is that Craig McLachlan?

- I'm turning it off before I start full on war on the idiot that wrote the book AND Julia Roberts.

TTFN,

P.S. What did you think of this film?

Autumn in Manchester

2011-10-12T11:30:00.002+01:00

I'm a miserable wretch most of the time, if you've followed me on Twitter for any length of time you'll know I'm prone to bouts of misery and rant but something is making me smile ear to ear at the moment and that something is autumn. Autumn in Manchester. After a daft foray with an Indian summer, the weather has seen sense and given us a good dose of full on, rusty coloured, knitted clothes demanding, conker shaped autumn and I'm loving it.
The leaves, the conkers, the smell, the pumpkins, all fabulous but nothing compares to walking in the autumn rain. A slight chill in the air but just, ever so slightly just warm enough to get away with a light jacket or cardigan (perhaps with a scarf and a hat too, yeah?) rather than a coat and the big splodges of rain thrashing down through the rusty leaves into the puddles are sheer perfection. The only thing that can beat it, the first snow.

Yesterday I put on pretty shoes, my 'me dress' and forwent an umbrella to take a walk in the rain. Walking in the rain, the autumn rain, puts me in a good mood, a happy mood. The rain makes my hair frizzy but sometimes I don't mind, sometimes I like it. I like being exposed to the elements. I like to walk the grey streets of Manchester, with their hints of fully-changed-season-glow colours dotted around, on my own. I like to see the people bundled up with more clothes as the we get further into the season, I like to look up at the rain, I like to feel it on my face and I like to smile at everyone who passes me. People on the 111 bus to Piccadilly Gardens, looking at me like I've escaped from a nearby 'facility.' SMILE!

Manchester specialises in rain but the autumnal drenchings this city provides should be in the tourist guide books as a good point. Experience a true Manchester, autumnal drenching just once in your life - with a brazen smile on your face and then you have lived. Of course you'll die soon after but you'll have ticked that off your bucket list, so that's fun, no?

TTFN,

P.S. What is your favourite thing about autumn?

The Snail

2011-10-11T10:40:00.002+01:00

You know your husband has too much time on his hands when a blu tack snail suddenly appears, balancing on the top of your laptop screen.

He tells me the snail is called Sunita and she is happy with her lot. She likes spinach, saucers, sleep and Simon Cowel. She dislikes soup, sun and people called Stuart. So, umm, y'know, there's some information for you.

I squished up Sunita, I know, I know THE HORROR and continued to use her as a stress ball as per normal but upon my return from the loo later that day Debbie had arrived. Ummm, yeah Mr Thrifty turns 29 next week, that is all.

TTFN,

P.S. At least he appreciates the simple life.

Homemade Wrapping Paper

2011-10-10T11:30:00.002+01:00

Another in my Christmas preparation series, are we feeling anywhere near prepared folks? This week I'll show you how simple it is to make cheap and festive wrapping paper at home. Homemade wrapping paper needn't be boring, folks.

As you've probably guessed, I pick up a lot of my wrapping paper in the sales. I'm still working through a stash of brown parcel paper I bought in the Ikea sale for next to nothing and red wrapping paper I bought in the Tesco sale for 14p a roll about three years ago. However for something a bit different I make my own.

I save all of our newspapers and go through to find pages that don't have huge logos, images or advertisements (harder than it sounds) and simply stamp a festive pattern onto the paper using an old washing up sponge, with a shape cut into it, and cheap poster paint. Hang on the washing line to dry, et voila, cheap and attractive, recycled wrapping paper.

A few tips:
- Have a spare piece of paper hanging around so you can blot off excess paint.
- Brush the paint onto the sponge for a more delicate, vintage look.
- Add glitter to the paint for a kitsch twist.
- When storing the paper for a long time, roll instead of folding so the paint doesn't flake.
- Use a stencil or cookie cutter to trace a shape onto the old washing up sponge.

Don't leave it until December to get going with this. Get at least half of the amount needed for wrapping done now so that you can enjoy the lead up to the festive season without constantly staring at your To Do list.

You might find useful:
Christmas Eve hampers for children
Homemade Christmas Vouchers
Family secret santa
Snowflake prints from poppy flower husks
TTFN,

P.S. How is your Christmas prep going?

Weekend = Cake

2011-10-08T10:30:00.001+01:00

If your weekend doesn't equal cake, I am sad for you. Cake always features in my weekend plans which might explain why I am so ~~fat~~ big boned. A weekend without a new recipe, or even an old faithful seems wrong. A weekend without stocking up on flour and sugar - wrong. A weekend without THAT scent wafting from the kitchen - wrong. And a weekend without that first slice of still warm cake - is wronger than a wrong thing from the island of wrongland.

My friend is on her way over, we're making plans, plans for baking. Is there anything more soothing than chattering with a friend as you cream sugar and butter, as you sift flour, as you beat an egg? Catching up on the gossip as you pour a smooth, cakey mixture into a tin. Sipping on tea whilst the oven does it's magic and makes the sponge spring up.

Mr Thrifty is off out playing some kind of stupid, yet dangerous sport whilst us women folk stay at home in the warm to deal with the business of cake. Sometimes I love a weekend full of plans and sometimes I love a weekend that has no more plans than CAKE.

You might find useful:
If you make these cookies your life will be better
Apple and raspberry heaven cake
Cake in a cup
TTFN,

P.S. What are your weekend plans? Are they cake based?

My favourite, easy, ways to save money

2011-10-07T11:30:00.006+01:00

Just the smallest changes in the way you live your life can save you enough money to take a lovely holiday at the end of the year or even for that 'It bag' that you've been craving for months. You could even pay off those debts. *cough*

- Eliminate the coffee run

A £2 cup of coffee everyday soon adds up. Bring in instant to the office if you can't get through the day without a caffeine hit or sip water instead. Put the saved money in a pot and you'll have a nice little holiday nest egg after a while.

- Wrap up

Put on a pair of socks, pile on a jumper and turn OFF the heating. A woolly snood keeps you cosy and warm and blankets are your friend.

- Dial Down

Is your mobile phone contract coming to an end? How often do you honestly use it? Can you go to Pay As You Go or negotiate a cheaper tariff with your provider? Work out roughly how many internet and call mins you use and how many texts you send then look across various network websites. I saved £40 pcm by swapping down to PAYG when my contract ended.

- Swap time for food

I work 3 hours a week on my friend's allotment in return for free veg. Plus it is good exercise! Lots of local people are looking for people to help out in gardens, allotments and smallholdings across the country.
You can offer your time at Landshare.

- No estimations

If you're not in when the metre man calls you are likely to get an estimated energy bill through your door. If you provider a call you can give them the numbers from your metre and (more than likely) watch your energy bill drop quickly.

- Meal plan

I'm pretty certain that I've mentioned meal planning approx 400,000,000 times on this blog alone but a.) it saves me sanity and b.) saves me a small fortune. Do it, dooooooo it!

What are your favourite, easy ways to save money?

You might find useful:
Impluse Shopping
Meal Planning
Why Are You Thrifty?
TTFN,

P.S. Have you been over to visit my Facebook page or Twitter feed? How 21st century of me, eh?

Keeping For Best

2011-10-06T11:30:00.001+01:00

Recently and really rather tragically an old friend of mine died after a long battle with cancer. When her parents went to sort through her belongings they found two cabinets filled with china, glassware and other bits and bobs that she was keeping for best. Never used. Boxes of shoes hardly out of their box, saved for a special occasion. Never used.

I'm sure she had visions of the perfect afternoon tea with family or dinner party with friends in which to use her dearly loved items but those occasions never arose. I make an effort to use my good things on a daily basis but there are some items that slip to the back of cupboard and only get used when the in laws come over or a birthday crops up. From now on I will make a concerted effort to use the beautiful items, to pour the breakfast cup of tea from a chintzy tea pot into a fun mug or a pretty tea cup rather than the first dull, chipped mug to hand.

Please use those items that you are saving for best, you never know when 'best' will come - if at all.

TTFN,

P.S. Do you keep items for best?

Budget Camping Wardrobe

2011-10-05T11:30:00.001+01:00

Ah my dear friends, what to wear camping? How does one form a camping wardrobe on a budget? Let's face it, the proposal of a camping trip asks more sartorial questions than it answers. Should one invest in lyrca, crinkly-swishy trousers and hiking boots or make wise choices from your normal wardrobe and forge forward with hesitation set deep in your eyes? When it comes to my camping wardrobe I like to strike a balance somewhere in between.

Let's face it, if you're essentially going to be outside twenty-four hours a day, like I was just a few days ago, you're going to end up cold at some point. Even in the summer months, the clouds will move over and cover up that yellow ball in the sky, so even just for a few minutes you'll need a cover up of some kind because that vintage mini playsuit just won't cut it.

Don't pull out everything in your wardrobe, throw it on the floor and discount it as unsuitable. Think layers. That short floral dress will work well alone when it is warm, add a cardigan on top to fend off the breeze then pop a long sleeve top on underneath for some warmth because I tell you this now, sitting around reading books next to the sea gets cold and quick.

Add layers as the sun sets and the clouds draw in - zip up tops, hoodies etc. Pack scarves, woolly hats, gloves and a nice blanket for sitting round the campfire toasting marshmallows. Leggings and thick tights work well with camping as do knee length socks. Don't even think about bringing anything white. Nuff said.

Must have camping clothes

Fleece

Yep they're not pretty but they do keep you warm. Camping is a bit like labour, at one point it'll get so bad - you just won't care what you look like. When the fire burns out and the wind claims your tent for itself you will be desperate to pull a fleece over your head. Mr Thrifty and I stocked up in Decathlon whilst their fleece-y tops were on offer at 3 for £20.

Socks

Lots of socks, lots and lots of socks. Take two pairs per day (they have a habit of getting wet or running away) plus a fleecy pair for bedtime and knee high socks...just because.

Band hoodies

I don't personally own any hoodies but Mr Thrifty does have a habit of getting drunk at gigs and spending a small fortune on merchandise, the hoodie being one of his favourite choices. They are usually reserved for Sunday afternoons in front of Come Dine With Me but these are dug out for camping and become the mainstay of my wardrobe when sitting about doing nada on the campsite. Inactivity makes you cold, shocking, non?

Trainers

Find your scuzziest pair of stable trainers, a pair you don't mind getting muddy/having spider corpses embedded into and have them at hand at all times.

Silk scarves and hairbands

Hey, did you know it is often windy outside? I know, mad right? Well it is and having your hair blown in your face gets old after the 46th time, bring something to tie it back with. A silk head scarf can add a chic twist to even the most fleece-based of outfit.

Waterproof

Invest in one good waterproof now and you'll have it forever, one trip to a camping shop and never again will you have to enter. You'll thank me for this tip when you encounter the type of rain that bounces off the ground whilst it pours from the sky.

Big knickers

This be no place for thongs, cover your arse.

Other must have stuff

Plasters, scissors, elastic bands, clothes pegs (clothes pegs & guy line = somewhere to dry wet socks), eye mask, sun cream (even in the winter), MP3 player & batteries, flipflops (for the shower block) - I use the freebie ones you get with magazines in the summer months, hot chocolate sachets, hot water bottle and Percy Pigs.

TTFN,

P.S. What are your camping wardrobe must haves?

Thrifty Camping

2011-10-04T11:30:00.003+01:00

Back in July when I suggested a ~~glamping~~ skuzzy, cheap camping trip in the autumn I almost called my mental health team to ask if I was going through some sort of manic episode, it just wasn't errm, me. However it seems my suggestion was one of the best I've ever had.

Britain was gripped by an unseasonable heatwave last week which magically coincided with our camping trip. I had previously been worried that we'd freeze to death in a field. My friend, fresh from eighteen months in Spain, telling me (a week before our trip) she didn't own a jumper or anything remotely warm gave me slight panic attacks but I needn't have worried.

We had a bloody good time but I won't go into details unless you want to hear about almost breaking my thumb trying to climb up a cliff, people stranded on a causeway as the tide came in, the drunk man in a campervan who had his erm, private hair, on display at all times and the couple having some midnight 5m away from our tent.

Lots of BBQs, 27c degrees heat, reading of good books, fish and chips, (filthy) gossip around the fire, fun fairs and arcades, drinking games, starring at stars, marshmallows, watching dolphins in the bay, good music and lots and lots of laughter.

Just what I needed after a thoroughly rubbish year.

TTFN,

P.S. In the truly thrifty spirit of camping we used Mr Thrifty's parents tent which is older than both of us at 30 years old and an old washing machine drum as a fire bin.

P.P.S. Are you a happy camper?

A Thrifter's Guide to Harrogate

2011-10-03T11:30:00.002+01:00

I adore Yorkshire and spend a lot of time in the charity shops across the region, perhaps rather selfishly I asked Kat from one of my top must-read blogs Kat Got The Cream to write a guide to charity shops in Harrogate. Okay, okay not too selfish because Harrogate really is a must visit destination but I'll let Kat get on with telling you more about it. Enjoy!

Welcome to the charity shops of Harrogate.

When I tell people I’m from Harrogate, a common reaction is, “oh that’s why you don’t have a northern accent” or “Ahh posh north.” I’ve even heard some people refer to it as “the Paris of the north” but I think that’s stretching it a bit (even though I do love the coloured twinkly lights).

So, it’s safe to say there’s a bit of money in this place but we are thrifty northerners too so we love a bargain. Hence I like to think we have some pretty good charity shops here. Sadly they’re not the cheapest and many shops have undergone the Mary Portas treatment with a hike in prices to match but there are still some rich pickings to be had.

If you’re planning a thrifting trip to Harrogate, here’s my handy guide. Firstly, parking can be tricky so I’d recommend you take a train or bus if you can, particularly as both stations are situated right in the centre of town and close to the main charity shopping boulevard. Most of the charity shops are conveniently located on two adjoining streets – huzzah!

Head for Beulah Street, a pedestrianised road that runs adjacent to the bus station and leads on to Commercial Street. This route is your Rodeo Drive or Champs Elysee of Harrogate charity shopping, if you will. See this map for reference.

At the top of Beulah Street, you’ll find Barnado's and Cancer Research. Both have laminate floors (say no more) but hold a decent range of stock and are fairly priced in the main. I once picked up a lovely set of pomanders and a vintage shirt for the mister.

A few doors down on the left is British Heart Foundation. I always find this shop a bit cramped but then I do barge in with a pushchair. It’s good for a rummage and has nice accessories. Not as cheap as it should be (sigh).

Close by is a fairly new addition to the ranks; a Quit charity shop. It is the grungiest of the lot (think jumble sale) but is by far the cheapest. If there’s a bargain to be had it’s here but you have to search for it.

Last on this street is the Mind shop. It’s small, overpriced and (clearly) in need of stock BUT as with any charity shop, you never know…

Cross over Cheltenham Parade straight onto Commercial Street. This is a great little road full of independent shops including a fab cheesemongers and a couple of haberdashery shops. It’s also home to a few more charity shops on either side.

First on the left is Shelter. I recently got my fingers burned here due to their no returns policy and I don’t like the way it sells tacky, plasticky, new merchandise such as pet accessories (*hurls) BUT it does sell a lot of M&S samples at reasonable prices and I once picked up two beautiful vintage teacups here.

Next door is Age UK. This shop always has good stock including lots of decent clothes and a great range of shoes and handbags. There’s also a great bric-a-brac section, squirreled away in a back room, which shouldn’t be overlooked.

Over the road on the right hand side used to be a branch of Sue Ryder and one of the better charity shops (smelly carpet: great bargains including a pair of vintage brogues for £4). It’s recently changed hands (sob) and will be a craft shop so I am slightly appeased (but not much).

Last but not least is the Save the Children. This has been here for years and is still quite an old school shop run by some lovely old volunteers. It has resisted a complete makeover but recently introduced a ‘Special Rail’ with selected designer/vintage items.

For some this might be helpful, for me it spoils the fun. The staff here are very keen to get the most money for the charity (I eavesdropped a whole conversation along these lines) so expect prices to reflect this. That said, they have high standards and only put out quality clothes and labels (they detest lots of donations of Atmosphere! – also overheard).

After all that thrifting you’ll be glad of a cup of tea and a sit down. Of course I could mention Betty’s but you don’t really want to schlep all the way to the other side of town to queue so I’d recommend a small independent café called Bean & Bud, situated on Commercial Street itself. As the name suggests, this place sells a great selection of tea and coffee varieties plus cakes and sandwiches. The staff are nice and knowledgeable too so all in all it’s a great place to fuel up and consider your purchases.

Good luck and happy thrifting!!

A huge thank you to Kat for giving us a virtual tour of your home town. I'm sorry if my rabble of readers steal all of the goodies.

TTFN,

P.S. Kat can be found blogging at Kat Got The Cream and tweeting @katgotthecream.

Sponsor Feature

2011-10-02T13:00:00.002+01:00

Today I'm getting up close with another of my sponsors, this time Katherine from Paper Pocket.

Katherine is a writer, dreamer, waverider and collector of old stuff. Her beautiful blog, Paper Pocket is a place to collect and blog the things that inspire her, her travels and her latest vintage finds.

What is your favourite blog post?

Trek Days: Bannau Sir Gaer, Wales
(note from Thrifty - check out the photos, utterly gorgeous)

Which is your favourite post on A Thrifty Mrs?

My Gilmore Girls Shaped Wish
What better way to wile away duvet days than with a Gilmore Girl marathon DVD session?! I had great fun singing along to the theme tune at the top of my lungs and I think we all could use a sing-along to brighten up these stormy days...One more time from the top!

Paper Pocket blog

Paper Pocket Twitter @paperpocketxo

TTFN,

P.S. If you'd like to sponsor A Thrifty Mrs have a look at my advertising page or email me at athriftymrs@hotmail.com for information on rates and terms.

Competitions - How to win them (part 2)

2011-09-30T11:30:00.001+01:00

Yesterday we were joined by the lovely Lakota who blogged about winning competitions and where to find competitions, today she is back with part two as she tells you the best way to win competitions and how to enhance your chances of winning.

Competitions and how to win them – Part 2 What enhances your chances?

Increase the Volume

The more you can enter, the better your chances. If you can allow an hour or so a day, you’ll be amazed at how many you can rattle off. I used to do my entries while my babies were napping. Ok, the house was a bombsite, but I made up for it with a steady stream of prizes. You can speed up your entries in a variety of ways. If your pc has an auto-fill option, this can save a lot of tedious typing of your name and address. I know of dedicated and very successful winners who swear by a programme called RoboForm, but I haven’t tried that myself. I found what took the time was actually joining up to the sites and registering my name and address, but once you’ve done that, when you’re logged in it’s usually possible to enter all their competitions without retyping your details.

Tip Whereas it’s obviously not a good idea to have the same log-in and password details for sites where you actually spend money, if you’re only visiting Cosmo, Marie Claire, Glamour, etc for the competitions, I’d advise keeping the same details for them all. You won’t want to be trying to remember a different log-in for every site you go to.

For email entries – done from your dedicated comping account – set up a signature that’s your name, address, email and telephone. Then you just need to add your answer and subject line.

For the old fashioned postal entry you’ll need postcards. Brightly coloured and free postcards are readily available from cinema foyers, or you can recycle the front of birthday and Christmas cards – just make sure they’re not too large to send by second class post. When you have a stash, label a pile with those free address labels you get sent by charities, and all you’ll have to do is add your telephone number/email and an answer.

Tip There is no real scientific reason for this belief – but I always feel it’s best to send postcard entries so they arrive within 5 days of the closing date. That way, if they really are pulled out of a ‘hat’ – as opposed to the data being entered onto a computer - they won’t be languishing too near the bottom.

Mix it up

Spread your net wide. As well as entering by email, phone, postcard and online, try and look for different types of competition as well. Most promotions just require you to answer a very simple question, often the answer is something you’ve been told in the introduction to the comp, or is easily found on the site’s home-page. These are easy and quick to enter and will get your numbers up. However, this means they’re quick and easy for thousands of other people to enter too. You might see a comp where you’re asked to make a short film or an advert – if you have a video camera and are happy to make an arse of yourself or your family, then go for it - entry is likely to be relatively low. However, so far I’ve steered clear of any kind of competition which requires you to gain votes from the public. Accusations of rigging and vote harvesting are usually rife, and I’ve heard various reports of this type of competition not being handled fairly. But hey, if you have a massive blog or a zillion Facebook friends it might be worth a try – you have nothing to lose but your dignity!

Tiebreakers are my personal favourite. They do take a little more time and effort, but the rewards can be brilliant. Glamour magazine ran a competition in conjunction with Magnum minis – only seen in the magazine, not on the website – where you were required to describe your ideal night in with magnum minis in 50 words. The prize was a year’s supply of Magnum Minis and a year’s worth of Heavenly Hands manicures from Nails Inc.

I spent a couple of hours fiddling around to make a rhyming poem of 50 words, which mentioned doing my nails, eating Magnums and reading Glamour whilst ignoring calls from Brad Pitt. [The aging square jawed one is not really my type, but you have to play to your audience]. I counted and re-counted the words to ensure it was exactly 50 – avoid contractions like don’t and can’t, as you don’t know whether the judges will deem them one word or two – typed it out, and sent it off with a good feeling. I won! I’m almost certain there weren’t many entrants, even though it was a brilliant prize, as a) it was hidden in the small print of an advert and b) most people who saw it probably dismissed it as too much effort.

Luckily the next competition I got into was on packets of Snack A Jacks, as none of my clothes fitted since every meal ended with a choc-ice on a stick. [They sent me 52 vouchers for a free box, if you’re wondering, not a refrigerated lorry.] This competition was in connection with the film The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic, and was giving away pre-paid credit cards of different values – from £25 to £1000. There were lots of the smaller prizes, and proportionally fewer of the higher value ones, and you needed to buy a packet with a unique code, then visit the website and say why you deserved that amount of money. The funnier or sillier the reason the better, and while I didn’t win any of the £100 plus amounts – I did manage a prize fund of £325 in total, enough to play at being a shopaholic at Bicester Village.

Make like a Drug Dealer

‘Professional’ compers often have more than one mobile phone. Occasionally a competition comes up where they limit you to one entry a day/hour per number, but you don’t have to enter your details until you’re notified of a win. More phones = more entries. It’s not worth it for the premium rate television advertised comps at £1.50 a pop, but if it’s a standard rate text for a high value prize, the gamble can be worth it. A PAYG mobile is also a useful way of keeping track of how much you’re spending on entries, rather than getting carried away and having a nasty shock when your bill comes in.

Tis the Season

I’ve been really enjoying Mrs Thrifty’s posts on Christmas prep. I love Christmas, and am always keen to make a few presents for people whom I know enjoy a handmade gift. Last year it was teacup candles, this year it will be wild plum vodka and sloe gin. However, it’s been my experience that there is invariably one relation who will not fully appreciate the effort that went into that jar of runner-bean chutney with gingham mobcap – teenage brothers being a case in point – and thus it’s always handy to have some ‘retail’ gifts. Even better if you don’t have to pay for them, and that’s the beauty of a lot of wins – I’d never have been able to buy my aunt a Longchamps handbag, but I was happy to give her the one I won as a present. [It was the bag part of the Bafta awards goody bag given out to nominees]

The run up to Christmas is also an excellent time to win, as loads of companies are feeling generous, and many also run ‘advent’ competitions. So many advents pop up in December that Loquax devotes a whole section to them, and basically they’re an online advent calendar. You visit a site every day, click on the relevant ‘door’ and enter to win something different each time. Get in early and make sure you’re one of the few in the first draws, before the promotion becomes widely known about. Each comp is only open for 24 hours, and you’re therefore likely to be notified of any wins pretty quickly.

Have a small baby

Seriously. If you don’t have a small child you can rely on to wake you at regular intervals through the night, insomnia or a job working the graveyard shift work just as well. This tip is probably one of the best for genuinely increasing your chances of winning certain types of competition, but is overlooked by thousands of entrants. Look out for competitions where there are draws throughout the day – often advertised along these lines – “One games console to be won every hour!”. Soft drinks companies often do this kind of promotion, and you just need to enter the code from under the label (by text or online) to be entered in that hour’s draw. Don’t bother sitting at your desk, finishing your sandwich and diet coke and entering the draw at 1.30pm. That’s when everyone will enter. Save the code as a draft message in your mobile, and when you’re woken in the wee small hours by screamy junior, [or your bladder, or needing a drink of water] reach for your phone first. I have won several great prizes thanks to the 3am – 4am slot!

Don’t have any children

I really wish I’d got into competitions before I had any kids, as there are loads of holiday giveaways out there, and most of them are for couples, or need to be taken at short notice. When I was a student I was collecting tokens from the paper for £30 flights to stay in a Parisian roach hotel – these days I’d be entering comps and hopefully jetting off for luxury breaks in Reykjavík. When you do track down the elusive family holiday comp – almost always for 4; fine unless you have that pesky extra child – a peek at the terms and conditions is likely to reveal that you can’t take it over school or bank holidays. Not much use when the terms and conditions in question also often stipulate that the children must be over 3 years of age. And we all know that requests for time off during term are greeted with about as much enthusiasm as Gary Glitter’s CV.

A freezer full of ice-cream, a fridge full of lard

Look in any comper’s kitchen and you could be forgiven for assuming that they’re in the grip of a bizarre eating disorder. 10 tubs of margarine, 8 boxes of Special K, 3 bottles of vanilla essence… You thought that woman at Asda rooting through the identical packets biscuits was just a nutter? She was probably trying to find ones with a different time stamp and best before date. Someone on the Loquax forums confesses to the following behaviour at the supermarket:

“I make a list of things I need to purchase and then usually do it in one go. Only problem is I usually need separate receipts that need to be sent off or kept just in case.

So....I get in the queue and it do something like this....

Family size bag of Walkers.....Next Customer Please sign.....multi pack of pepsi.....Next Customer Please sign.......Box of Magnums.....Next Customer Please sign.......A bag of Pears from South Africa.....Next Customer Please sign.........Packets of McVities Biscuits......”

Yes, this does sound a little OTT, but this is exactly how some people make serious money. Magnum ice-creams ran a competition a couple of years ago where you needed to get a code from the sticks, which could then be entered into an hourly draw to win ‘Pleasure cards’ – another type of pre-paid Visa. There was all sorts of hoo-ha about people buying hundreds of pounds worth, extracting the sticks, chucking the ice-cream, and easily doubling or tripling their money with thousands of entries. Presumably Unilever ran the competition in the hope of increasing their sales – it was certainly successful in that regard, even if it didn’t work quite as they’d expected! They have a similar promotion running at the moment – but sadly they’ve changed the rate of prizes to one a day, shifting to one a week later on!

It just goes to show though, a careful reading of the t&cs and a working knowledge of arithmetic can pay big dividends when there’s a sufficiently large number of high value prizes on offer. When Pepsi were giving away Flip Camcorders as prizes, there were a couple of sellers on Ebay I just knew were using this technique.

Tick the box

Debate still rages about whether you should tick the box saying no to newsletters/marketing/keeping in touch etc. Personally, I say no to postal and phone communications, but I’m fine for them to send me information by email – that’s where that dedicated comping email address comes in again. Technically, everyone is supposed to have an equal chance of winning, no matter whether they’ve opted out of communications or not. But if you were a company running a competition, wouldn’t you rather award a prize to someone who’s at least willing to receive the odd email from you? I mean, it’s only polite. Also, if you at least have a cursory glance at your emails, you may well find out about sales and promotions before everyone else. This is the method I use, and it works for me.

This ends my masterclass on competition winning – have you won anything lately? Or do you have any hints or tips of your own? I’d love to hear them! If you’ve got any questions you can find me on my blog, or Twitter as @FHCShopping

Lakota x

A huge great bit thsank you to Lakota for taking the time and effort to share her comping wisdom with us.

TTFN,

P.S. Visit Lakota's rather fab (not to mention funny) blog Faith, Hope and Charity Shopping.