Op to it and get everything for your home on the cheap
Coffee percolators, hair straighteners and the
Coronation Street 40th anniversary trivia game. Motueka now has six opportunity shops – seven if you count the Motueka Recycle Depot, locally known as the dump shop due to its proximity to the town’s refuse centre.
I don’t know what the per capita average is, but when it comes to op shops, Motueka makes for a pretty satisfying second-hand circuit.
It’s not one that I mind partaking in myself, and during the last loop, I took note of the commonalities. These are the things that are so readily available in op shops that you might never actually need to buy them new.
Kitchen miscellany: You need never again pay full price for a sieve, potato peeler, whisk or fish slice. Every op shop in town stocks this
stuff, for a pittance. In the market for some ice cube trays? You have a dozen options at least, from the standard squares to wintry words of love. The SPCA store had three different styles of toast racks.
There are also lots of slightly weird kitchen items that you never thought you’d need until you set eyes on them. I’m talking to you, melon baller.
Kids’ shoes: I can’t promise that you’ll strike the jackpot at the first op shop you visit, but between the six in Motueka, every single size of kids’ shoes is represented.
Biscuit tins: Nobody actually buys biscuit tins new, right?
Glass dishes, platters and serving bowls: So many choices. So, so many. I don’t know whether these are so unfashionable that they now have a one-way op shop journey, or if it is their persistent popularity that makes them so abundant in every store. If it’s the latter, you’re spoiled for choice.
Wine, champagne and port glasses: The latter in particularly appear to be something that people buy, barely use, and then pass on to their local op shop to continue the cycle. The SPCA store’s display of glasses takes up half a wall.
Flippers, snorkels and kick boards: Maybe not surprising, considering where we live, but most op shops have a nifty range of swimming aids.
Handbags: A handbag purchase is a deeply personal undertaking – it’s a practical task that requires an emotional response. Our town offers dozens and dozens of options. The odds are ever in your favour.
Picture frames: Measure that unenclosed picture before leaving the house – there’s bound to be a frame out there that fits. While you’re at it, make a note of your printer cartridge and vacuum cleaner bag details. You might manage to save yourself a small fortune.
Photo albums: ‘‘Why is the range of photo albums so disappointing in book shops?’’ you ask. You know who has a plethora? Yes. Yes, you do.
Small cane and wicker baskets: Can you even buy these new, or do they just exist in the op shop universe? Either way, you know where to go.
Board games: I tried to buy the children’s version of Monopoly from the Community Store last week, but my sister asked, ‘‘Why do you want your children to hate each other?’’, so I refrained.
Small appliances: We’re talking your Sodastream machines, toasters, bread makers, yoghurt makers, deep fryers, juicers, stand mixers, foot spas and popcorn makers. Habitat for
Op shops are bountiful places if you are suddenly providing for another tiny human.
Humanity and the Hospice Shop had three coffee percolators apiece. Microwaves abound.
Office equipment: For all your printing and shredding needs.
Art and craft supplies: Each store has its own delights – crepe paper, buttons, cellophane, fabric. Every single op shop has many dozens of knitting needles. If you’re not a knitter, perhaps you could use them to fashion a tiny home.
Puzzles: They all have ‘em. And they come with the added challenge that you can’t be entirely sure if all the pieces are there until you’ve placed the 997th. No extra charge.
Baby clothes and paraphernalia: Controversial for people who believe that baby clothes should only be touched by Lux flakes and their parents’ joyful tears. My hatchlings weren’t treated with quite this level of reverence.
Op shops are bountiful places if you are suddenly providing for another tiny human. The smaller the clothes, the more pristine they are. (Around the age of two, children start to destroy their clothing with increasing gusto.) You can also find jolly jumpers, carriers and tummy time mats galore. Use them, wash them and deposit them back into the cycle of op shoppery.
Copies of The Da Vinci Code and the Shades of Grey series: Like Thanos, they are inevitable. And often in the free bins.