Sunday, March 18, 2012

Op Shopping in Canberra

We have become avid treasure hunters in Op (Thrift) Shops when we visit new towns. I guess it's the thrill of the find and I often pick up bargains that I can re-purpose and donate to people in need.
On our recent trip to Canberra we only had time to visit 3 Op shops but one was so good that we went there twice. I read about them at the blog site I Op Therefore I am and also found info about Canberra shops there.
We were staying at the caravan park in Watson so a visit to Tiny's Green Shed at Mitchell was very easy. It's a "tip" shop so items that are available have been rescued from the garbage. There are only general price guidelines and the price you pay is calculated by "eyeballing" by the person serving. My favourite bargain was the wooden piece like a portable writing desk and I think it has also been used as a bread keeper. I paid $5 for that and it needs a clean but doesn't have a mark on it apart from some dust.
I also got a lovely Harrods tote bag and a smaller wooden box which needs painting for decoupage, as well as some lovely pottery cups and 3 glasses to donate. The clothing was free and I only picked out a couple of pieces which are in excellent condition and will donate them. The kid's socks were brand new. We also bought quite a few books and probably spent $20 all up for all our purchases there. I couldn't resist taking a photo of the bin of crutches available. There was a large amount of things to choose from but you need more time than we had allowed to sort through for more treasures.







From there we visited a nearby Salvos shop but it didn;t had anywhere near the selection and things were much pricier. I bought some vintage patterns and a couple of craft magazines but at $3 for each pattern book I knew I could get better deals elsewhere. I also called in at an Op Shop near Parliament but the pickings there were slim as it is a much smaller shop and prices were also dearer. I bought 2 tote bags and a couple of magazines there and really we only visited that shop because it was near where we were sight seeing.
If you only have limited time I'd suggest just visiting Tiny's Green Shed at Mitchell for value and choice it was the best by far.
I've also been op shopping locally and have been buying clothing at 50 cents to $1 an item and re-purposing them into useful items to donate. I'll show some more finished projects soon.
Working night shift and extra shifts has cut into my quilting time but I have managed to finish another couple of quilts, shown on my other blog.
More later, Jan Mac

2 comments:

Carol E. said...

I try to pick up great finds for donations, too, like the pristine condition baby clothes. Usually, though, I don't like to go to thrift shops because it's a toss-up - will it be a good find or a dump? If it's a dump, I'd rather be home, sewing!

Merilyn said...

Op-shopping can be fun, looks as though you had an enjoyable time of itm, and Tiny's shed looked interesting!!!!