Desire is Fleeting; well almost!

Since undertaking to stop spending and start living, my life has changed quite a lot.  I have tried lots of different things from blogging, tweeting and photography, to volunteering and meeting new people.  My weekends are now packed with picnics and bike rides, and I don't miss shopping one little bit....honest!

What I have noticed about my old Magpie self is that although I still want new things, the desire is fleeting; well for clothes at any rate.

While volunteering in the charity shop I find that one piece of clothing calls out to me to try it on and buy it.  Each time I run a shift it bugs me to take it home.  But, as soon as it is sold to a customer, it doesn't bother me anymore.  I am just glad that the charity has raised some funds.  The weird thing is that the next shift will find a new piece of clothing which says, 'buy me, buy me, buy me' at me all morning.

I love raising money for charity and feel great when I have run lots of sales through the till.  And if you are going to spend money on clothes, charity shopping is a much better bet than supporting unsustainable knock-down price, high street stores and I will definitely be buying clothes there when I do need to make replacements in the future. But, for me, volunteering at the shop has been a great experience to know that I do have will-power after all!

That said, my current Magpie Moments are focused on a Roomba, the hoovering robot (pictured).  I  haven't had a vacuum cleaner, since my previous one died about six years ago.  I got a broom instead, due to cupboard space issues.  I now spend at least 45 minutes each week sweeping.  Which works out at 39 hours per year!  Which is the same as spending three 12 hour days, every year, constantly sweeping!  Oh how dull!! And, oh, what a waste of my life!!  So the desire is very strong and not fleeting at all, for a £300 robot which will do my sweeping for me. My elder sister has a Roomba, and with four kids, she says it is the best thing since sliced bread!

I have almost cracked a couple of times in recent months and have been hovering (as opposed to hoovering!) over my computer, almost ready to click on the 'add to basket' button.  But I have restrained!  How unusual and how amazing! 

But with all the money I am saving on coffees, clothes and eating out, I am sure it won't be too long before the bank balance says 'oh, go on, you can get your Roomba now'.  Oh how I look forward to that day!

Make Do & Mend

As all of you fellow green-beans will know, April was Remade month.  So I thought it would be fun to share all of the things that I have fixed up and remade over the last couple of weeks.  Here goes:

No. 1 Son's Jeans (big old hole patched up)

My front door blinds (a repair to fix a snapped slat - too boring to photograph!)

A top I haven't worn before, which needed taking up & in (it had been lurking in the wardrobe for 2 years!)

And the piece de resistance, an old sideboard gifted to me by my in-laws, which got painted up (with a 1/2 tin of paint I had lying around needing used up).  

Before, looking a bit outdated and tired.

After, looking cool in Muted Mocha!

Every month is Remade Month for me. I find myself fixing stuff up all the time.  My next project is a snooker table, which I saved from being chucked on a skip.

I have to thank my Dad for my fixer-upper outlook.  A waste-not-want-not attitude was drummed into us kids.  If we needed anything in our house, my Dad would probably whip it up from the 'just in case' pile.  Need an Electricity Generator for those 70s and 80s power cuts?  No problem, Dad'll make one.  A Garage needing built? Leave it to Dad, he knew those blocks would come in handy.  New kitchen you say?  Dad's got a lovely one just here, which Jim down the road is chucking out! 

As a teenager I thought my dad was nuts, what with all the following us around while muttering and switching off lights, combined with his general hoarding tendancies.  Now I realise he was just ahead of his time!

So, it is great to see the idea of fixing things, rather than chucking them out, being championed by 10:10 and others.   You can find out more here:  http://www.1010global.org/uk/remade  One thing's for sure, I know my Dad will approve!

How about you; What have you Remade and saved from the scrap heap this month?

A Thrifty Business: Charity Shop Volunteering

Although I spend a lot of time blogging about saving money, Goodbye Magpie isn't just about reducing living costs, it is actually all about finding a better way of living.  A way of living that isn't about spending and buying, working and stressing; but is about living a pretty happy and satisfying life.

For example: this picture of koalas, sits on my desk and makes me smile everytime I look at it.

On the other hand, the sound of the washing machine beeping incessantly to tell me to come and empty it makes me go 'grrr' on the inside.  (Damn you Hotpoint beep creator!)

So, in essence, I am looking for more Lovely Koalas and less Annoying Beeps!

And it is with this thought in mind that Operation Goodbye Magpie has taken a new turn.

I have decided to take giving back to a whole new personal level.  I have taken up post as a Shop Volunteer, at my local Mary's Living and Giving, Save the Children shop!

I can report that it has been a successful step.  The shop is a really nice environment to be in.  Other volunteers are friendly and fun and it is all organised by a super-energetic manager who is all up for letting everyone get hands on with the shop.

It is pretty good to know that while I am enjoying myself categorising books (one of my all-time favourite activities!), arranging shelves and helping with window displays, I am also raising money for a really good cause. 

As I was getting ready to head down to the shop last week, the Today Programme was reporting from Liberia, one of the poorest countries in Africa.  And Save the Children's work to reunite 'lost' children with their families was highlighted.  Now, that made me feel good!  Koalas all round!

My biggest challenge is going to be keeping to my No Clothes Buying for a Year challenge!  I am seven months in to No Clothes Buying and it is going really well, I don't miss clothes shopping AT ALL. 

Temptation is creeping in however, everytime I straighten the clothes out on the rails, or price new donations to go out on the shop floor.  But, I see it as an extra challenge.  Is it possible for me to wear fun outfits to work in the shop, from my own existing stock of clothes? I think I can!  I've just got to get creative.

This photo is what I wore yesterday (looking a tad crumpled by the end of a long day), I have never put these clothes together as an outfit before.  So I reckon I have loads of outfit combos to play with in my cupboards.

In the meantime, I still always have thrifty birthday presents to buy.  So I can support the charity shop in other ways, and thus avoid being a complete hypocrite!  Which is always a good move!

No new clothes for a whole year, means knitting needles to the rescue

The weather here in Edinburgh is dire!  The winds are howling, the rain is pouring and there is a definite icy chill in the air everytime you step outside.

All of this wintery weather has got me pondering my 12 month challenge to not buy myself any clothes.  I am day-dreaming of cosy sweaters and thick tights, (M&S apparently have tights with a fleecy lining to keep you extra snug - heaven when you are standing at the bus stop while the wind whistles, I would imagine...)

But alas, new jumpers and fleecy tights are out, as I just can't afford them.  I have already made it four months into my challenge without buying any new clothes for myself.  With the thought of saving over £613 on last year's spending, I haven't found it to be too difficult so far.  Apart, that is, from the fact that my clothes seem to have all decided to fall apart at the same time!  For example, yesterday I had on jeans which had a hole in the backside, (now patched over the previous patch!), a top which had moth-type holes in the front, socks which had been darned on both toes and boots which had holes in both soles!  What a holey state of affairs!

In my usual fashion however, I do have lots of balls of wool, which I have bought and then never got round to doing anything much with.  So, at the end of last year I set to work on finishing off a lovely cosy jumper for myself, that I had begun many months before.   And today was the first day I wore it!  It was absolutely freezing outside, but my top half was snug as a bug in my wool sweater.  I teamed it with a home-knit real wool scarf I had made the year before and it definitely seemed to be true that wool keeps you much warmer than synthetic fibres.  With my puffa jacket (of many a year) on top I was ready to face the elements outside.

My next challenge is going to be to use some more of those balls of wool to knit up some gloves and a matching headband.  It is just a pity I can't knit myself up some new winter boots!

Make Do and Mend

As part of my efforts to say Goodbye to my Magpie self, I am looking at every line of my family's annual spend and finding ways of reducing it, while at the same time unleashing (I hope) my creative side, which has been stifled for too long by the lure of the high street.

Last year I spent £631.89 on clothes, so Challenge 7 is to spend absolutely nothing on clothes for the next year.

Thankfully I am becoming a dab hand with the sewing machine.  My family clubbed together and bought me a lovely Brother sewing machine for my 30th birthday a couple of years ago.  The machine sat in a cupboard for more than a year and then as soon as I gave up work it became a regular feature on the dining room table. (Magpie Alert: I would love a craft room in my house, so that I could keep all my mess and materials in one place!)  I finally had the time to take sewing classes, which gave me the confidence to get making my own clothes.  But, I will begin this challenge by looking after the clothes I already have.

Last week my only decent pair of jeans became obscene, as a big threadbare rip developed over the backside.  I have already made a few adjustments to these jeans, with elastic stirrups sewn into the legs to keep them straight when wearing long boots, (I find it so annoying when skinny leg jeans bag around the knee in long boots, don't you?).

Hidden Elastic Stirrups Stop Legs Riding Up in Long Boots

I have also cut into the waist band so that my muffin top is not constricted into a really unflattering shape! (Magpie Alert: Desire for Muffin Top Surgery is Strong).  My legs are really skinny, but my waist doesn't match (legs are size 8, stomach size 12), so trying to find skinny leg jeans is impossible.  When I bought my current pair of Levis the shop assistant had almost every pair of jeans in the shop in my changing room!  But I have found that if you chop into the waistband and wear a belt, no-one sees your handy work and your jeans suddenly fit!

Chop into Waistband

Add a Belt; No-one Sees

So my latest repair to these jeans has been to patch the bum.  If I hadn't been saying Goodbye Magpie I would have been tempted to buy myself a new pair, but I am really glad I spent 20 minutes repairing them, as they are my favourite pair and I hope they will last me another twelve months at least!  (I must get round to fixing that belt buckle though, what a mess it is!)

Patch Magic; You can't see it when jeans are on, unless you are a perv!