Thursday 23 October 2014

I Do Love A Good Thrifty Trade ...



Hello there ...
Do hope you have escaped the worst of the wind and gales ....
 if you are in this part of the world. 
Its been a tad breezy here ..

It was rather damp and dreary today .. so an ideal day to tackle the Thrifty Trading work....

Earlier in the week a neighbour gave me these lovely duck eggs (there were half a dozen .. I remembered to take a pic halfway through!).


Ideal .. useful ..lots of possibilities for trade ..

Now another lot of lovely .. likely lads .. save me the waste wood from their workplace ....


Just look at this lovely lot .... just what a girl needs to keep her warm through the winter ...

So the very thing to keep the likely lads happy at work .... 
what every man enjoys with his cuppa ...

(please remember I am old enough to be their Mother!)



Scrummy Yummy cake ... made from .. you guessed it ....
 the gifted duck eggs.
So eggs turn into stacks of firewood....
and of course the 'duck egg neighbour' gets some cake too ...
a win win situation.

As you can see ...
Health and Safety is a major concern here ....
 and all is rigorously tested ....
in the form of Hubby P and his taste buds!

Whilst I was working in the kitchen I did a good old stock take and listed on the board all I needed next shopping day ...


I always feel I have got to be well stocked up for the winter ...
I think its years of growing up in the wilds of Lancashire ..
and as often as not getting snowed in and living off our stores.

I will add to this list as the week goes on .. it makes shopping so much easier ..
 I have the memory of a sieve.
I seem to have lists for everything ... is a woman thing?

As for work ... its been hard work in the windy weather ... 
but we are doing our best ... 
seeking out the treasures...


I managed to source more vintage hand knit woollens ... 
so pretty ..

I am busy laundering them ready for sale ....
the place looks like a chinese laundry again ... 

But hopefully they will turn us a penny.

Anyway its late and I've rambled on enough ... 
just had to share the Trading thing with you. 

So do you trade goods ?   what is good to trade ?
any tips are welcome.....

 Bye for now x

9 comments:

  1. Lovely post, I always enjoy what you write & the photos!
    I do not trade, but find myself being given many things, like eggs recently!
    So what I do try to do is pass along things to others that they can use,
    A friend recently cleaned out her closet, she had 8 bags and a box, although i could not use the things,
    I did use my truck to take it to someone else, where it was donated to the church free closet.
    My Mama always called this type of thing, "one hand washing the other" smiles!

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  2. What a lovely, comforting post for me, especially after a difficult couple of days.
    I love trading. I don't have many opportunities but I do it when I can.
    Those knits are gorgeous and unusual (you have such a good eye). They will fetch a decent price for sure.
    Colette xx

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  3. Very nice post, thank you. Always enjoy your news and a peep into your life.
    Best wishes.
    Pam in Texas

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  4. That looks like an excellent system of bartering - all that firewood is brilliant! I also make up jams and chutneys so I always have a jar of something to give as a gift/reciprocate. I am short on jam at present, having given several jars as a thankyou for a trio of wild Mallards from the guys with the shoot next door.

    I don't do vintage clothes on the Unit, but my eldest daughter has a very good eye and supplements her income with those. her best trade-up was a 70s dress which cost her £3.50 from a charity shop. She wore it a few times, then put it up on Fleabay at a time when that particular design was red hot. It made £60! She then invested that in a lovely purples and pinks Welsh tapestry quilt (£60 plus postage) and that is worth £150. That's the way to do it!

    I have sold a few blankets recently, but don't go all-out to get them - they have to come to me, so to speak. I am finding children's chairs are usually sellable around here, and the Militaria goes out a bit at a time, but flies out at the Fleamarkets. Pretty pieces of china too (I have some Shelley to go out).

    Like you, I keep a rolling shopping list - when I am low on something or have just started on the spare, I add it to the list. I have always kept a well-stocked store-cupboard. It wasn't that long ago that snow shut the M4, so a couple of days of that sort of weather (and they are predicting a dire winter again) and folks will be gnawing the breadshelves in Tesco . . .

    I had to smile at your Nasturtiums still flowering away, as are the ones I didn't rip out a couple of weeks ago. Now I have baby Nasturtiums coming through happily in the space where their parents were . . . They will get a shock when it turns cold.

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  5. Great post AA. You'll not be surprised to hear that I love bartering. Recently I re-covered some cushions for some munchings for he garden; our gluts with others gluts; mending for haircuts; hens for honey. Love Annie's mamma's saying of one hand washing the other.
    I make lists all the time. I'm in a particularly listy mood at the moment, with winter (winter stores and jobs) and Christmas looming (cards, presents, food, prep cooking) I presently have a list of the lists.

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  6. We like the look of all those small bits of wood, just right for in between kindling and logs. I have several lists on the go at the mo, with doing Cs jobs as well as my own it's the only way to keep track.
    I do hope you keep posting, Love to see all your vintage finds for your business.

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  7. I don't do direct trades, but I have a couple of neighbours who will pass on any surplus produce from the garden or eggs that they can't use. I always make sure that this gets returned in some way, such as jars of chutney, jam or bottles of home made liqueur. My best friend often offers me bags of clothes that her sisters are getting rid of on the understanding that I take what I want and pass the rest on to charity shops. In return I give her my favourite home-making magazine once I have read it. We also have a neighbour that does a bit of tree surgery and often cuts up logs at home. This can be noisy, so he will often offer us a bag of logs as a peace offering! Tracy x

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  8. My not so well off neighbour who gets a fortnightly box delivery of tinned goods from a local charity often gives me what she feels she doesn`t want to use, so I return the favour with home made jams or some baking. We help each other out that way. I do like a bit of good bartering. I also keep some books for her to read once I`ve finished with them. And in return she often looks after my cat when I`m on holiday.
    I`ve always made lists of items we run out in the home, so it`s much easier each week to write the shopping list as well as you can often forget quite easily what you should replenish. As we get older the old grey cells need a little extra help, lol.

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  9. I love reading your blog , I wish lost more people would trade things , I have to write a list i have continuous brain fog , I even write the list and forget the list lol , then feel very good thinking i have remembered everything only to realise when i set foot inside the door that i have forgot the most important thing on the list xxx

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