I've now managed to buy a lot of those little things that technically you can do without, but realistically it's a pain to do without :)
Such as:
- An airer (£30 from Homebase - spotted same one later in Tesco for £22) (I needed somewhere to hang washing) (Not COMPLETELY got the washer/dryer figured yet - took some towels out the other day which had a good hour+thirty mins drying time, and yet were so hot I could barely touch them, but so wet I could wring them out in the sink! Also, looks like if I use the dryer function I may very well actually have to do some ironing - to do: buy ironing board ;) or: wear more jumpers ;) )
- More glasses. I bought four small-medium sized ones (there was a collection of glasses for various spirits when I moved in - no 'normal' glasses) from Asda on the first day or so, but they were too small as I kept having to refill my glass half way through a meal :) So I bought four pint glasses from Tesco. I'll buy a set of proper ones at some point :)
- A bath mat (to stand on when you get out the bath, not one that goes in it) (Still want a rug/mat to go around the basin pedestal and the toilet)
- A toilet brush (Stainless steel, £5 from Tesco)
- A drainer (Stainless steel, £5 from Tesco - BUT, I notice it's missing one rubber foot, and it doesn't have anywhere to put your cutlery!)
- Cutlery. I had been thinking on going for some proper 18/10 stainless steel stuff, but I had trouble meeting my criteria for style, quality, cost and availability. I.e. there was one lot I quite liked in John Lewis, but it was bloody expensive (Roughly £5/item). I also quite liked an Arthur Price set, BUT it was designed by Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen, and I'm not sure I could admit to buying it ;) So in the end I went for the cheaper 18/0 set from Argos :) Oh! To do: Buy cutlery tray thingy for drawer.
- Saucepans (Tefal; 3 saucepans, frying pan, wok - £50 from .. from .. somewhere in town that I forgot the name of. High-street shop, think it was someone's name (Like "John Lewis", but less posh ;)
- LOADS of kitchen utensils, containers for tea/coffee/sugar, biscuit tin. Good value from Wilkinsons - saw some stuff that looked very similar later for 3x the price in Marks & Spencer.
- A Christmas tree! :) Yay! :) 6footer from B&Q, was only like £7.65 or something daft (I happened to go in when it was 20% off all Christmas decorations).
- Lights for Christmas tree (white, multi-function). Also from B&Q, also for £7.65 or something. Might rearrange them again yet, as they're a little uneven. I don't have any tinsel yet. It seems to be in short supply.
- A tape measure. I took the majority of my toolbox contents (screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, hammers), but left behind the tape measure as Mrs M was 'always' measuring things :)
- Coloured Christmas lights. Not worked out where to put them yet. Got one big multi-function set and a small set. They take the same bulbs, so bought several spares at the same time :) (From Wilkinsons)
- Baking trays (Woolworths), and a holey one (advertised for chips, but did a good job with a pizza) (Tescos).
- A set of kitchen knives. Again, I'd been pondering how much I wanted to spend on these (I wanted a 'decent' set, but I don't know enough or make enough use to go spending vast amounts), so got a set of 6 for £20 from Argos.
- A touch lamp from Homebase. Was a right bugger tucking up into bed last night and then going "Oh bollocks! I left the light on!" It's surprisingly tricky getting into and out of a sleeping bag on an airbed. A small wriggle turns into a bigger bounce ;)
I'm dead chuffed that I have a tree up :) And that I got so much kitchen stuff. Most of the kitchen stuff that had been left was a bit manky, and I'd wanted some non-stick pans. I've now filed away the glasses, cutlery, knives, kettle, and general kitchen utensils that came with the place. I'm still using their crockery at the moment, but I can live with that for a bit and concentrate on more important things. Like even a bed perhaps ;)
Now, that WILL take some thinking about ;) Fortunately, I think there are like three... No, four places with a lot of beds nearby.
Hmm, or maybe I should sleep on it... ;)
Sounds like you're settling in really well!
ReplyDeleteI was wondering why you want a mat round the basin base and the loo base?
PLEASE don't tell me you want a knitted dolly toilet roll cover too??
:oP
In case you can't live without the mat thingies, Tesco have got some nice ones that aren't too fluffy and old-lady-ish.
:o)
Zeb
Glad you're getting things up & running.
ReplyDeleteAs a recent mover, I found Tesco/Boyes/Wilkinson's were all good value for those essentials you suddenly realise...
"Ah, where's?"
What gets me about those types of purchases (having moved twice in 9 months) is that you can't do without them and that when you add the cost of them up...it's a small fortune. Despite the fact that most of them are under £5.00.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you're settling in, with Christmas Tree and everything. Nice One.
Zeb: I'm inclined to agree that I don't reeeeally want them, although as it's carpetted in the bathroom rather than something that's easy to maintain, I was just thinking carpet protection.
ReplyDeleteIng: Boyes? Must be Northern :) Yeah, I've got a lot from Asda, Tesco and Wilkinsons :) Oh, and it was Robert Dyas my saucepans came from. They did have more stuff there that I thought about getting (Kitchen knives were my other main concern at the time), but got some of it from Argos instead.
Homebase have a lot of stuff, but for some reason whilst they feel like they should be cheap, seem to be somewhat expensive. But then they are owned by Argos, so that shouldn't be too surprising.
Roses: Yeah, I think after all those bits I bought on Sunday I looked at my receipts (after discussing with my sister which of us had spent most that day ;) and had spent £217 I think :) It was quite a lot of stuff though :)
Now there's a scary thought, maybe I should add up all that I've spent so far :)
Oh wait, I already have done, it's all on the same card. ...
Gosh! Already more than I thought! £1,500, and there are only four things over £100 (New monitor, first shop at Asda which included a lot of 'stuff', microwave, and TV licence)
That does include normal food and stuff atm though too, and some other stuff which ought to be slightly 'one-off'ish :) But as Roses said, there's a lot of those ;)