Welcome to my monthly pre-loved bargain post – one of my favourite things to write because it gives me an excuse to share the second-hand treasures I’ve brought home lately. 😀
In 2026, I really want to take my love of pre-loved shopping to the next level. I’ll still be picking up the usual charity shop gems, but I’m also planning to expand what I buy — not just things for our home, but pieces I can resell for a profit and items that could do with a bit of love so I can try my hand at thrift flips. I love the idea of taking something that’s seen better days and transforming it into something genuinely beautiful (and hopefully saving it from landfill in the process).
So each month, I’ll be sharing a mix of the things I’ve bought second-hand, the bargains I couldn’t leave behind, what I’ve flipped, what I’ve resold, and of course… the pieces I’ve kept because they were just too pretty to part with!
The start of my 2026 pre-loved journey has been a bit bumpy though if I’m honest as I’ve not been well and not had the energy or the motivation to do much in the way of re-selling or flipping so that’s on hold for now – not for much longer I hope!
What I have had plenty of time to do though, is to walk into our little village every day to get some fresh air and get some exercise in. And while I’m in the village, it would be rude not to have a little look around the charity shops, wouldn’t it? 😁
This month’s pre-loved post is probably going to be a bit random as I’m going to share more than normal as I’ve bought more than normal on my little walks but I promise they’ve all been bargains!
A Jam Making Kit
While I’ve been off work, I watched a lot of Kirsty and Phil. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot. We’re talking reruns of Location Location Location and when I’d run out of those, I started on Love it or List it! Honestly, I think I’ve seen the inside of more houses than you can find on good old Right Move and one thing I’ve learned is that I want a pantry stocked with jars filled with every ingredient I could ever need, all neatly labelled.
This means that I’ve made it my life’s mission is to collect glass jars and as I do, I’ve been gradually emptying some of my ingredients into jars and using my shiny new little label maker to label them and although I don’t yet have an actual pantry, I do have a shelf of jars which is starting to resemble the beginnings of a pantry..
My partner wants me to just buy a set of jars so they all look nice and matchy matchy but I want something a bit more random than that and have a vision of lots of jars in different sizes and shapes so I’ve been really enjoying collecting my jars (sad I know).
I found this bundle last week in one of the shops in our village for £6.00.
It’s a jam making set and includes 13 jars, labels, lids, some cloth and some kind of strainer as well as quite possibly the biggest wooden spoon I’ve ever seen. It also includes a huge pan so presumably everything that I need to make jam.
Not that I will ever make jam as the sugar content is too high for me and no-one else in our house is a fan of jam but I bought it anyway as I wanted the jars and the giant pan and spoons.
Storage Jars
I found this set of three storage jars for £2 and seeing as we need a new tea, coffee and sugar set, I thought they would be great for that although it will no doubt take me forever to get the hang of which is which.
They look new to me and since we bought them, we’ve found a set of mugs that match exactly in Home Bargains…
Even though they look new, they’ve still had a good steam clean with my steam cleaner just to be on the safe side and they’re not packed up in our lock up ready for when we move house.
Photo frames for my (planned) photo wall
I bought these seven frames for £2.50 with a plan to use them for a photo wall when we move.
I’m a bit torn about this as they are obviously all matching and look nice but I was going to paint them all black so they would match the rest of the frames I’ve been collecting for a photo wall up the stairs but actually, they do look nice as they are and I’m now thinking of a smaller photo display elsewhere.
I’d be lying if I said I carried all of these on my walk home the day I bought them. I cheated and asked one of my new friends in the shop if they would hang on to them until the next day when I collected them in my car.
Nao Lladro Ornament
I spotted this little guy from the other side of the shop and instantly recognised it as a Nao Lladro ornament. They’re the ornaments that my Mam used to collect when I was younger and every year when we came home from holidays in Spain, she would bring three or four back with her so I’m presuming they were cheaper in Spain. 😁
This isn’t one that she owned but the style of it instantly reminded me of her.
It was £5 and I realised that I could probbably sell it on and make a bit of profit so I handed over my cash and took him home with the full intention of listing him on eBay. I popped him on my sideboard until I got chance to list him but actually, I quite liked the little reminder on my sideboard and when I did get chance to take some photos to list him, I changed my mind.
He’s staying right where he is for now although I don’t know if he’ll be a permanent fixture as we’re usually not ornament people. For now though, he’s home.
Ringtons Planter
I definitely have a Ringtons obsession as this is the third monthly post in a row that features Ringtons in one way or another.
This month it’s a Ringtons Planter that we found boxed for £3.99 which we’re actually using to keep tealights in. It’s got a mix of randomly scented tealights in so they’re all in one place rather than randomly scattered as they were before.
I thought it said £5.99 on the label but the lady in the shop said it was definitely £3.99 and I’m not going to argue with someone who wants to charge me less. She even checked with someone out the back and they both decided it was a 3 and not a 5 in the price. I’m not seeing it myself but I’m pleased they were seeing a 3. 😁
If you want to find out more about how I find bargains on Vinted then this how to buy on Vinted post is perfect for you – it’s the perfect place to start if you want to start finding some pre-loved bargains of your own.
Also, I know that money is tight for many of us right now so I did just want to say that usually when I buy anything pre-loved, I try and only use money that I’ve made from things that I’ve sold on Vinted so I rarely pay actual money for anything you see that I’ve bought from there. Here’s a post about how much I made in a weekend selling on Vinted a little while ago to give you an idea!
If you do decide to sign up to Vinted, I’d be super grateful if you use my refer a friend link. 😁
So that’s what I’ve bought pre-loved this month. I’d love to see your bargains so feel free to tag me in any Instagram posts and I’ll pop over and see what you’ve been buying!
And don’t forget, you might like to read my post sharing all my top tips for getting a bargain buying clothes in a charity shop here and if you can’t get out to wander around your local charity shops then have a look at my favourite online charity shops!
I’d love you follow me on Twitter and it would be amazing to see you over on my Facebook page and on Instagram. If you’re interested, you can find out more about me here and while I’ve got your attention, if you’re wondering why some of my posts lately are a little bit less frugal then have a read of this post. 😉
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