Bargin hunting

I spoke earlier about the folder of clippings that I'd got together and when my son and I walked into the charity shop that morning it was all sat there waiting for us, everything we needed. The table and chairs was perfect and cost £125 yes it had a little damage, scratches from its previous family, it looked like a grandchild had got a little over enthusiastic when drawing a picture but that was fine Ambleside was a cottage house and furniture with a bit of character and history would fit in just fine. There were several sofas to choose from but there was only one choice for me, a lovely two seater and three seater set with lovely wooden legs and little wheels. It was quite saggy in places but I loved that 'been in the family for years' look it had. It was £135 what a bargain!
I needed a bed and a wardrobe and preferably wooden so that I could sand and paint it all white. A new mattress was essential but the bed and wardrobe at the back of the shop were perfect and totalled £200 The thrilling part of the whole treasure hunt was the old typewriter just sitting there waiting for me and this brought tears to my eyes.

I had lost my Dad the previous year and my Grandma three months later, perhaps it was that my emotions were running very high but I really was beginning to think that they had met the old couple up in heaven and they were all helping me back on my feet. How else do you explain that everything I needed to make Ambleside a home was just sitting there waiting for me!
With the £10 delivery charge the total was £470, can you imagine what it would have cost to buy all that new! So to the kitchen, I needed a washing machine, an appliance I cannot live without with two teenage kids, a cooker and the very important fridge freezer. I went to the showroom of a chap I had been using for years but it was all more than I could stretch to with so much still left to get so I decided to get a new cooker, the cheapest he had and second hand everything else. A local bed shop came up trumps when I went to get the mattress, a washing machine for £99 and an American style fridge freezer all reconditioned and sparkly for £125!! They were up there smiling at me again!
With the new cooker coming in at £199 the kitchen appliances totalled £423 plus delivery. In the teeny tiny kitchen there was no room for a dishwasher, naively I thought this wouldn't be a problem whats a little washing up? Turns out this was a bad decision for a dishwasher princess with my previous routines of unloading first thing in the morning and obsessively re-filling all day long, picking up cups, plates etc etc from around the house left in a trail by each member of my family. The washing up piles up next to the sink and drives me CRAZY but at the time it seemed an extravagance.

The only thing missing now was the TV and the sun was really shining on me when I walked into the shop and found the exact TV at half price!