Op Shop Adventures - Bentleigh

Centre Road, Bentleigh, where all the op shopping action is. This past Saturday we went adventuring to 5 op shops, 2 of which were in Centre Road (there are actually several along the same strip, but I've been to a couple of them before). The day was shaping up to be beautiful, weather wise, I just felt like everything was going to turn out awesomely.

So first up was...

Sacred Heat Mission

271 Centre Road Bentleigh

9557 0895

Mon - Sun 10am - 5pm

We were greeted first by baskets and suitcases waiting at the front door, all in wonderful condition, some filled with toys and others with linen for sale. 

Upon walking in the door there are so many things to look at, from books, to costumes, to linen and jewellery. 

Books for miles! Everything was so well organised, no rummaging through books, it was nice and easy to have a look at all the book spines and work out what we wanted. Justin ended up with a couple of books from here, no idea what they were, but he was happy!

  

In the centre of the store they have a couple of large storage racks full of glassware and crockery. I bought 4 large drinking glasses, and 2 nice little spotty mugs for work, at $1 each for the glasses, and $2 for the mugs. The glasses were a hit, so I think I might head back next weekend and buy a couple more.

 

I just loved how the store recycled everything to decorate the store, or organise and store their products. Above left is the way they organise ladies intimates, and on the right is the change rooms, which look like giant glass doors, covered by coffee bags! All in all, we left with 2 mugs, 4 glasses, 2 winter scarves, new shoes for Justin, a couple of books and a checkered jacket too. Everything was really well priced, and the staff were wonderful!

We left with smiles on our faces, and hope in our hearts! Off to Vinnies!

394 Centre Road, Bentleigh VIC 3204

(03) 9557 1002

Mon - Sun 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

The store display that can be seen from the street was full of goodies when we went, but I completely forgot to take a photo, so here is the front table instead! A bit jumbled, but still full of fun things to look at. 

The store was reasonably busy which was nice to see, and it looked like there was a new volunteer working that day who was still learning the ropes. We wandered a little, having a look at all of the clothes on display, which were plentiful, but we didn't find much for us. I did however find an amazingly soft grey woollen scarf, so I had to have that (one can never have too many scarves).

 

The store had a great stock of winter coats, both natural and man made fibres at great prices ($8?!?!?) and fashion handbags of all sizes and styles. The handbags were a little hard to look through just because of how they were stored, but if you really  wanted to, you could work it out.

 

As is tradition at most Vinnies stores, they also had the 'Vintage' rack for $20 a pop. Some interesting designs I must say, none of them appealing to me though. They also had some great shoes for sale, sadly, none of them to fit my flippers. I was surprised however at their rather large selection of larger sizes. Look at all that gloriness! (That's a word, right?)

When we were paying for our goods, the lady at the register was so lovely! She was training, so it took her an extra minute or two to work everything out, but we chatted while she worked, and her boss was teaching her at the same time. It was so nice to see older people working and learning new things! 

Granted we didn't find much here, it was still a lovely store to visit.

We didn't find all of the op shops on Centre road, so will be heading out again in a couple of weeks to find the rest.

Love,

J xx

Recycle, Reuse, Reduce

As a kid I was always taught the three R's; Recycle, Reuse, Reduce. 
The aim was to reduce the amount of landfill, by recycling and reusing our things. 

With so many items in today's world designed to be 'one use' or 'disposable', not a lot of people think about the consequences of our actions. We're creating a disposable life, when it really isn't.

Our landfills are overflowing with items that could be salvaged and brought back to life. We could be re-purposing our belongings, we should be reversing the damage created by years of living a lazy lifestyle. I know not everyone will think it's something important, but I personally believe it really is. I feel like my kids and my kids kids will have to suffer because of our actions today. 

I try to make my mark by buying second hand. Sometimes it's exciting to buy something new, but it's not something I often do. I love rummaging through thrift bins and op shop displays. I love adventuring out to the local transfer station (the tip) and looking at all of their goodies.

I did that such thing on Sunday when I had a bit of time to kill. My local tip is the Knox Transfer Station & Recycling Facility, (which you can have a look at here) is open 7 days a week, and offers a selection of building materials, clothes, books, trinkets and electrical goods (untagged) as well as hundreds of other things. Entry is free if you're going to the shop, and the staff are always lovely.

 

I also went and had a look at my local 'recycling shop'. Now I say that, and not 'op shop' as I think the Hunter Gatherer at Knox isn't an op shop. It's too stylised, it's too much about making a profit, and not about helping the local community. Now I might be wrong, and that's fine, I'm entitled to my opinion. Don't get the wrong idea though, you can still find some great little bargains there.

  

I find that sometimes these higher end stores have more brand name items, but that can also come with a brand name price. Generally the quality of the stock is better, and if you are an avid op shopper, you might just know where to look.

Now, I didn't get a chance to head over to any of my other favourite op shops on Sunday, but I wanted to mention them here, because I feel like everyone needs a bargain sometimes, and op shops are generally the best places for them:

Harrison Community Service Op Shop - Scoresby
4 Darryl Street, Scoresby, 9753 2203
 - Great for photo frames, kitchen trinkets, linen, records, and shoes

Salvos Rowville
3/5 Fulham Road, Rowville
9753 2575
 - Great for womens clothes, books, furniture and jewellery

Salvos Dandenong
1/111-115 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong
9792 2575
 - Great for clothes (mens and womens), fashion accessories, trinkets, kitchenware

The Mustard Tree
3/28 John Street, Lilydale
9735 3500 - Great for baby clothes, adults clothes, books, kitchen knick knacks, scarves, records.
*Bonus round - There's a cafe on site that sells great coffee and foccacias.
Vinnies Oakleigh
20 Crewe Road, Hughesdale
9568 1034
 - Great for furniture, homewares, plus size fashion and mattresses

If you want more information on any of these op shops, or want to look for one local to you, head on over to www.opshop.org You can search by suburb or postcode, you can read peoples reviews and you can find more contact details.

I hope reading this post has made you think about buying second hand, it really is a good idea, both for saving money, and saving our world, a little bit at a time.

Much love

Jayde xx