It’s officially winter over here in the Southern Hemisphere and while it’s definately cool, we at NNG are staying warm and cozy with these essentials we’ve thrifted or bought secondhand.
Warm winter clothes
From a beanie to warm fleecy socks, you can buy pretty much everything you’ll need to stay warm and dry this winter at an op shop. You may often find ski jackets and pants that were originally very expensive down to a fraction of their price. Leather boots and wellingtons are also other great buys!
Books
Not many things are better than snuggling up inside with a good book on a cold and blustery day, and what better place to find your next great read than at the thrift store? Many stores often have books at $1 or $2 and have a wide range to choose from, including cook books and non-fiction if you want to learn a new skill over the winter.
Soup Mugs
Sure soup mugs are supposed to hold soup but they can also hold large quantities of other warm beverages like tea, coffee and hot chocolate – perfect for winter! Thrift stores always have a large selection of mugs and other crockery to have a browse through for your perfect winter cuppa.
Cozy Blankets
While you read your secondhand book in your secondhand trackies and sip a tea from your secondhand mug, you’ll need a secondhand blanket to keep you cozy on the couch! Often overlooked, the linen section of the thrift store can be a gold mine of funky and chic blankets, throws and other soft furnishings to make your home extra cozy over winter. Just make sure to wash well on a higher temp setting if you can to sanitise before use.
Craft Supplies
If you can’t find a blanket you like at the op shop, crotchet or knit your own with secondhand yarn, or make a quilt with secondhand fabric. The craft section or bins are often another overlooked area of the charity shop, but they often have really useful items and sometimes very expensive needlework kits going for cheap to keep you occupied on a cold winters night.
Board Games and Puzzles
Stuck inside because of the weather? Run out of things to do? Pop around to the op shop and see if they have any puzzles or board games to keep yourself and the kids occupied!
Slow Cooker
You’ve bought the soup mug, and now you need to make the soup! Slow cookers are essential if you are time poor, just dump everything in and wait 4-8 hours. You can even buy pre-mixed casserole seasoning packets now which make everything even easier. When buying electrical items secondhand, ask shop staff that it has been recently tested and is working. Use your common sense and buy at your own risk from facebook marketplace where they may not have been tested for safety.
Those are our top tips for winter essentials, but please let us know if you have any others that you recommend.
