The Snail Mail Revolution

I've always been a big fan of writing letters and sending cards to my nearest and dearest, it's like a hug in an envelope. There is no better feeling than receiving post that isn't a bill or a piece of junk mail, but a heart felt 'howdy' from a friend. To think that that person took the time out to sit down and write to you, is lovely, and so much more personal than reading an email or a text.

Handwritten letters from loved ones are saved, re-read, and carried about. It’s just not the same printing out a typed email to tuck under your pillow!

Life can get hectic, I seem to have so much going on at the moment that seeing everyone is a bit of a struggle. There are a lot of wonderful people in my life that unfortunately live far away, and they all deserve a nice, handwritten piece of love. 

I expect I'm not alone in feeling like this. So I put this to you, find ten spare minutes in your day to sit down with a cup of tea and let your friends know that you are thinking of them with a handwritten letter.

Let's bring back the art of writing a good letter and let snail mail glide again. Viva la revolution!

Thrifty Inspiration

We recently held my 29th [ahem] birthday party in our new home. Friends seemed [and rightly so!] to be gushing about our house renovation and quirky furniture, decorations and objects about the house. Moreover, I was looking through a close friends' photos of the party and they were mainly of items in the house! More house pictures to follow in later articles.

People constantly ask where I get my unique and thrifty inspiration from, and the answer is from many sources.

The 'make do and mend' mentality comes from my family. During the war, clothes were rationed just like everything else. I remember my Gran telling me about unwanted jumpers which were unravelled and knitted into something else, or just like Julie Andrews in 'The Sound of Music' old curtains were cut up to make skirts and dresses. This obviously past down to my mum because when my brother and I were little she made all our clothes, and has brought me up to make my own soft furnishings, not to buy them.

Maria made clothes out of curtains - very make do and mend!

My love of salvage was probably first inspired by dad who was a dustman in the 1970's. During a house clearance he managed to salvage a pair of beautiful Ercol chairs, that are still to this day, in their kitchen. Later, as elderly relatives died and I inherited old furniture and stunning pieces like cut glass perfume bottles, I really began to favour the old over the new. Something about my things having a bit of history about them, excites me.

My parents salvaged chairs.

Other than that, I've always read a lot of house and interior magazines, I check out other people homes quite a lot on Right Move (maybe I should become an estate agent?) and I spend many a weekend scouring charity shops, car boot sales, flea markets and antique shops looking for the perfect items for our home.

Alphabet Accessory

 

When your child has outgrown their alphabet building blocks, why not re-use their forgotten treasures to make your own unique and thrifty word displays. You could spell out 'Noel' for the mantelpiece at Christmas, or use them for a feature in your bathroom with the word 'Relax' spelt out. Display words can be quite expensive in the shops so save yourself money and make your home style-savvy.

Thrift-Queen's eBay Buying Tricks and Tips

I'm not going to lie. I ♥ eBay. I use it to buy all sorts of goodies from clothes and toys, to furniture and accessories. But knowing where and how to look can be mind-boggling. So I thought I'd share with you my tips and tricks to achieving eBay buying success.

Where To Search

A must for anyone looking for a specific item, is to remember not everyone can spell! Spelling mistakes are rife on eBay. If you're looking for the perfect wedding dress, for example, try searching instead for a 'weeding dress', or let Fatfingers.com do the work for you. They search eBay for hidden treasures that would otherwise end up no bids, as nobody can find them!

Another top tip that I often use, is to remove the word 'and'. A higher itemised result can be found if you were to search for 'Lyle Scott' as opposed to 'Lyle and Scott'.

How to Search

My ultimate top tip in searching for anything on eBay, albeit a generic 'antique furniture' search or a more specific 'Harry Potter Lego' search is to personalise the search. There are many tools for you to do this and sniff out a bargain. The three that I have the most proven success rate with are:

• Dictate to eBay how you want the results to be arranged using the 'Sort By' drop down list. The options include 'Ending Soonest' and 'Price: Lowest First' but I always opt for 'Nearest First'. This option will ultimately save you money as you'll be able to collect the item as opposed to paying for postage or shipping by couriers. It's not uncommon for eBay sellers to up-quote the cost of postage and packaging to make a bit more money for themselves.
• Narrow down your search by searching in a chosen category - this option is particularly useful if you know what you are searching for. Choose from a drop down menu along the top of the search results page. But be aware that items often cross over into different categories. When this does happen, eBay lists (on the left side of the page) the actual categories where the search items were found.
• Set a price limit. The light yellow column on the left-hand-side allows you to choose the amount you are willing to spend in the form of two boxes. In the first box you enter in the lowest price and the second, the highest price you want to pay for an item. Such as £0.01p - £28.77p. A much more purse friendly way to search. Some websites might recommend u looking at forums, for the average price varying items should be sold for, but I say just go with your gut.

How to Bid

Congratulations! You made it this far.

There are various tricks of the trade to eBay bidding. I would advise, if you're buying more than one item from the same seller, to contact them and ask if they offer combined postage (if you're unable to collect, as previously mentioned). Sometimes sellers might have a 'Best Offer' option whereby instead of straight bidding, you are able to offer them a price which you are willing to pay. The advantage of this is that you can see the previous offers that have been made by other buyers, to gauge how much to pay and provide the change to haggle.

My golden rule for bidding would be to wait until the last few minutes before entering your offer. Bidding too early will boost the price of your wanted item and you might thus miss out. When using this method, I tend to enter the highest possible amount I'd be willing to pay for the item, such as £43.77. Then I just hope that I am not outbid.

Unless paying cash on collection, I would always advise using 'Paypal' as they offer payment protection on items that are lost in the post.

Follow my simple guide and you too could enjoy eBay at its thrifty best! Need anymore advise? Drop me an email at thrift-queen@hotmail.co.uk and I'll be happy to help.

Car-Bootyness

I love a bargain, and thus am a HUGE fan of car boot sales. Yes, they're fantastic places to sell your unwanted junk, but I love them so much more for the potential of whiffing out a secondhand gem. However, even the most seasoned bargain hunter needs pointing in the right direction from time to time. And thus I would like to share with you the Time Out guide to London's best car boot sales http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/1193/londons-best-car-boot-sales . Their top five are:

1. Wimbledon car boot sale. £2 for early birds, 50p there after.
2. Battersea car boot sale. £3 for early birds, 50p there after.
3. Capital car boot sale (Pimlico). £5 for early birds, £1 there after.
4. Holloway car boot sale. Free.
5. Hounslow West car boot sale. Free

The Thrift-Queen's top tips for buying at car boot sales are: haggle, haggle, and haggle. But more practically, bring lots of plastic bags to carry your new treasures in; arrive early and with lots of cash; and bring an umbrella and/or wellies depending on the weather.

Skipping Happy

One of my favouite features of my bedroom is a pretty shelf that I have in an alcove. This was, believe it or not, sourced from a neighbours' skip! But I love it. Keep your eyes open at all times when on the hunt for thriftful pieces. One man's junk is another man's treasure.