Running out of clothes

Thrifty tips, ideas, news & experiences on anything around the home to shopping to re-cycling etc.
maja1991
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Running out of clothes

Post by maja1991 »

Hi!

I am 22 and try to live as frugal as possible for the last 3 years, since I left home staying on my own. I did manage living on a very low income, yet having fun and being happy. :-D

That said I have some problems. :? Many things I own died in the last months (dvd player, television, microwave, and so on). I got along with that, I can watch DVDs on my notebook, watch streamed content on my notebook, use the old fashioned oven to cook ...

But the most urgent problem is I'm running out of clothes. I have one pair of jeans (falling apart), 2 t-shirts (with holes in them), 1 pair of ballet flats (falling apart, too) and flip-flops. Let alone undies and socks that is all I have to wear. :oops: Not nice, considering we will have fall and winter in a few month. {cry}

I have very little money at the moment, so regular shopping for clothing is no option.

Do you have some ideas or hints? I would be very grateful ...
Totally Scrambled
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Re: Running out of clothes

Post by Totally Scrambled »

Guten Tag Maja,
Greetings and welcome to The Lane )wav(
Don't knowif they have charity shops in Germany but it might be worthwhile having a look. Only for outer clothing though as I wouldn't fancy buying secondhand undies.
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saint-spoon
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Re: Running out of clothes

Post by saint-spoon »

Welcome to the lane Maja. I spend very little on clothing, preferring to channel my income to more important things ( )hic( ). I try and repair as much as I can and tend to cycle my clothes throughout their lifetime. a new pair of jeans goes form best to second best and then to gardening/odd-jobbing and then they become shorts at the very end. T-shirs go from wearing out to stuff I wear to the gym or do gardening in etc. Small repairs can also extend the life of clothing no end, an odd button or tear can be easily replaced or repaired.
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Mo
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Re: Running out of clothes

Post by Mo »

Welcome.
Here in England there are charity shops and jumble sales, all sorts of bargain clothes (and books and maybe things like plates etc) to be found.
I suppose if some of your clothes are tatty you could wear those under the better layer for extra warmth.
Hope you find a source of income soon.
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maja1991
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Re: Running out of clothes

Post by maja1991 »

Totally Scrambled wrote:Guten Tag Maja,


Guten Tag Dom! :)

Totally Scrambled wrote:Greetings and welcome to The Lane )wav(


Thanks!

Totally Scrambled wrote:Don't knowif they have charity shops in Germany but it might be worthwhile having a look. Only for outer clothing though as I wouldn't fancy buying secondhand undies.
Dom


Yes, there are charity shops. But there is a lot of bureaucracy, you have to proof eligibility ...
I can't do that right now.
No, I would not buy secondhand undies too. I have enough undies. They may be threadbare, but I have enough for a week ...
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Re: Running out of clothes

Post by maja1991 »

saint-spoon wrote:Welcome to the lane Maja. I spend very little on clothing, preferring to channel my income to more important things ( )hic( ).


Thanks for the welcome. :)

saint-spoon wrote:I try and repair as much as I can and tend to cycle my clothes throughout their lifetime. a new pair of jeans goes form best to second best and then to gardening/odd-jobbing and then they become shorts at the very end.


Okay, sounds good. But my problem is my only pair of jeans is falling apart, literally.
maja1991
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Re: Running out of clothes

Post by maja1991 »

Hi!

Mo wrote:I suppose if some of your clothes are tatty you could wear those under the better layer for extra warmth.
Hope you find a source of income soon.


Thanks!

Yes, my clothes are tatty to say the least. Problem is, there is no better layer. As said, I only have a pair of jeans and two tshirts.
Totally Scrambled
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Re: Running out of clothes

Post by Totally Scrambled »

maja1991 wrote:
Yes, there are charity shops. But there is a lot of bureaucracy, you have to proof eligibility ...

The charity shops we have here are shops run by charities to raise funds for their cause, such as Cancer, old people etc.
People donate clothes, furniture etc. to the charity who then sell it on to anyone who wants to buy it.
They sell things at a fraction of their original price and are open to anyone, rich or poor, with no need to prove your level of income.
Are there any such places where you are?
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maja1991
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Re: Running out of clothes

Post by maja1991 »

Hi!

Totally Scrambled wrote:The charity shops we have here are shops run by charities to raise funds for their cause, such as Cancer, old people etc.
People donate clothes, furniture etc. to the charity who then sell it on to anyone who wants to buy it.
They sell things at a fraction of their original price and are open to anyone, rich or poor, with no need to prove your level of income.


I don't know if there are such shops in my area. I only know about so called "kleiderkammern" where you get clothes for free. But there you have to proof eligibility. And I can't do that at the moment, because formally I am not eligible ...

Totally Scrambled wrote:Are there any such places where you are?


I really don't know. I will search for it. But when it comes to selling I wonder if I could possibly pay for it. You see, for the last four days I had no money. Today I had only a bread with chease. Fortunately tomorrow I will have money again. But it is not much money.
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HensAloud
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Re: Running out of clothes

Post by HensAloud »

Car boot sales have loads of clothes as cheap as 50p.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Running out of clothes

Post by lancashire lass »

maja1991 wrote:You see, for the last four days I had no money. Today I had only a bread with chease. Fortunately tomorrow I will have money again. But it is not much money.


{hug} sounds like you are on the bread-line and barely making ends meet so whatever anyone suggests would not be ideal. How about putting a small amount of money on one side (a few coins - an amount that you might not miss) every time you get some money and let it build up (try not to use it except in an emergency - pretend it doesn't "exist" so you are not tempted ... just a bit of psychology thinking) Meanwhile, you could have a see about the charity shops, open markets, boot sales or whatever there is. Some of the big supermarkets here sell clothes very cheap - unfortunately, one has to consider who makes those garments and if they ever get a living wage out of it, but that really is up to how you feel about that. T-shirts tend to be really cheap in the supermarket.

I could suggest you making your own clothes but if it is anything like here, the materials alone cost more than what you can buy off the peg and not always worth it unless you know of a good market stall that sells fabric and patterns cheap. But you could try and revitalise some of the tattier clothes - maybe stitch in a bit of ribbon, or sacrifice something that has gone well past its best and use the fabric to tart up something else (call it quilting and make it fashionable)

I hope you are able to find something in the meantime and best of luck
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HedgeHugger
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Re: Running out of clothes

Post by HedgeHugger »

How about signing up to ebay.de
Clothes can be bought very cheaply on ebay.
Maybe you have something you could sell? giving more money for clothes.

What happened to last years autumn/winter clothes?

Oxfam have charity shops in Germany
http://www.oxfam.de/shops
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Re: Running out of clothes

Post by p.penn »

Thanks for researching that Hedgehugger - very helpful. )t'
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maja1991
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Re: Running out of clothes

Post by maja1991 »

Hi!

First of all thanks for your answers. You make me feel not so alone anymore. :)

lancashire lass wrote:How about putting a small amount of money on one side (a few coins - an amount that you might not miss) every time you get some money and let it build up (try not to use it except in an emergency - pretend it doesn't "exist" so you are not tempted ... just a bit of psychology thinking)


Good idea. I just prepared a glass bin where I can collect coins. I put in all my "little" coins (up to 20 cent) there. I counted it, it is about 1 euro. Perhaps I really can build up some money that way. I have a bit of money now at the beginning of the month but I have to pay bills and the rent. And I have to buy groceries, that is the most important thing for me right now.

lancashire lass wrote:Meanwhile, you could have a see about the charity shops, open markets, boot sales or whatever there is.


I will do.

lancashire lass wrote:Some of the big supermarkets here sell clothes very cheap - unfortunately, one has to consider who makes those garments and if they ever get a living wage out of it, but that really is up to how you feel about that.


I feel about that the same way. So I would like to go for used stuff instead of cheap supermarket clothes.

lancashire lass wrote:T-shirts tend to be really cheap in the supermarket.


Tshirts are not my main problem at the moment. Jeans and shoes are ...

lancashire lass wrote:I could suggest you making your own clothes but if it is anything like here, the materials alone cost more than what you can buy off the peg and not always worth it unless you know of a good market stall that sells fabric and patterns cheap.


I would like to make my own clothes. But unfortunately I never learned to sew. I would like to know how to do that but on the other hand I am not so gifted regarding handwork. So that is no option, I think.

lancashire lass wrote:But you could try and revitalise some of the tattier clothes - maybe stitch in a bit of ribbon, or sacrifice something that has gone well past its best and use the fabric to tart up something else (call it quilting and make it fashionable)


There are not some tattier clothes. I am in frugal living but I am also in simple living. I was not always, in the past my room was a mess. But now I throw away things I can't use anymore. So let alone undies, socks and shoes I have one jeans and two tshirts. Nothing else.

lancashire lass wrote:I hope you are able to find something in the meantime and best of luck


Thank you! I think your hint concerning collecting coins is really a good point. :)
maja1991
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Re: Running out of clothes

Post by maja1991 »

Hi!

HedgeHugger wrote:How about signing up to ebay.de
Clothes can be bought very cheaply on ebay.


Yes, i know. There are jeans for an euro. But when you add postal charges, you end up between 7 and 10 euro. Not much better than new clothes at a discounter. But I can't spend 10 euros now.

HedgeHugger wrote:Maybe you have something you could sell? giving more money for clothes.


No, let alone my diamonds I have nothing to sell. ;) Just kidding. No, I have nothing, I could sell.

HedgeHugger wrote:What happened to last years autumn/winter clothes?


My last winter clothes where a denim jacket, a sweater and ugg lookalikes. I don't really know when I got the jacket but it was my only one for the last two jears or so. Last winter it began to rip at the back, at the shoulders and at the wristbands. I wore it until spring this year but then it was not really useful anymore, so I threw it away. The sweater I lost, I have to admit. I was travelling by bus and it was quite warm so I took off the sweater. I think it fell down and I didn't care about it. As I left the bus I noticed it, but it was too late. The fake uggs I wore for two winters, but then they fell apart. The soles were coming off and the upper material was ripped in many places. So I threw them away too, because I couldn't really walk in them anymore.

HedgeHugger wrote:Oxfam have charity shops in Germany


Thanks, I know Oxfam, there is a shop just a few minutes away. But too expensive for me at the moment.
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