Hello and welcome to the National Op Shop week festivities! National Op Shop Week is 27 August to 2 September 2017. The aim of the third ‘National Op Shop Week’ is boosting donations to charity op shops. An initiative of the Do Something charity in partnership with the National Association of Charitable Recycling Organisations (NACRO). “Living clothes is a great way to help the community,” said Jon Dee, the Managing Director of Do Something and founder of ‘National Op Shop Week’. We need the Australian public to dig deep into their wardrobes and donate good quality clothing directly to their nearest charity op shops.”
I have planned three posts in celebration of National Op Shop Week – Yay! This has everything you need to know about planning your very own Op Shop Tour! My last was all about tips for shopping and donating to Op Shops. Next up, a post on with a Lookbook of my Op Shopped Outfits.
I love a good jazz around the op shop. It’s always an adventure and you never know what you might find. Finding a unique garment or piece of fabric is so exciting. Plus I feel good about saving something from landfill and supporting charity by shopping. An Op Shop Tour multiplies your chance of finding treasure. There are structured Op Shop tours in most states of Australia. I’ve been on two of the Adelaide one (You, Us and a Bus full review) and they are great! It’s an excellent way to hit a maximum number of op shops in a day and meet a bunch of other ladies (& guys!) who are out for a bargain. There is often a morning or afternoon tea included to help keep you from flagging. It’s especially great if you choose a tour that goes to places you don’t normally visit. I think the pros provide a wonderful, all round experience and I’d definitely do it again. If you fancy giving one a try, I’ve got a list of contacts below for operators I know are still current. If your state isn’t there, please click on the first link, I Love To Op Shop. They keep on top of upcoming listings, including ‘one off’ tours and charity events. You can even book and buy tickets. And they are the best place to enquire.
- Everywhere – I Love To Op Shop
- Adelaide – You Us and A Bus
- Melbourne – Op Shop Till You Get Enough
- Sydney – Sydney Op Shop Tours
While a pro tour is very nice, sometimes you just want to hit a few shops and have a bit of a look. Mum and I have been on a huge round of the Op Shops further South when we went on a full on frisk with Mums friends M. If you want to see where we went and what we bought, you can check it out here. Mum is the ultimate Op Shop partner in crime! We always split up but look out for things the other might appreciate, as well as looking for things my sister might want. We give honest changing room opinions and egg each other on. The best part is we are different sizes and have different style. Exactly what you want in a picking partner. No jelly moments, no fights!
I know many readers are here in Adelaide, so I created a Google Map with all our favourite haunts! Yes, I’m giving you my insider info on where to snag a bargain. If you want to use the map, just CLICK HERE and you can see them as pins on the map. I’ve organised them by charity with suburb after and then for the Indies, I’ve put the suburb first. It was no mean feat to put together because I started looking for our most visited ones. That meant I had a billion tabs of various charities up! But then I realised that I Love To Op Shop had a directory and that was probably easier! So if you are not Adelaide based, you can find out where to shop locally using the I Love To Op Shop map.
Mum and I are often on a general prowl, just seeing what’s new and interesting. Sometimes we are on the hunt for a certain kind of item for a DIY project. You can really build some relationships with volunteer staff that way! There was a lady called Steph who worked at a local Salvos who would come and see me when I came in and show me vintage things that had come in, that I might like. She was so helpful when I called for weird things. Like, ‘Do you have many big glass bowls?’ or ‘Do you have any cake stands?’ or ‘Do you have any red shoes in a size 8?’. Which means we have three fave routes. We call them The Run, The Spritz and The Hit . Here’s how they go…
The Run
This is a nice straight run down South Road! We hit this strip a lot because there is a Pet Stock in the middle and we get out pet food there. The first three shops are pretty close together so it’s nicely condensed. The Run starts near Castle Plaza and finishing up near the Flagstaff. Hotel.
- Salvos St Marys – Big Shop, loads of choices and the plus size pickings can be pretty rad. Loads of furniture
- Vinnies St Marys – More like a boutique than a thrift store. very high end stuff
- Red Cross Superstore St Marys – Huge, big variety and we always get best shoes, bags and accessories. Plus some new merch too
- Salvos Darlington – Again quite big. Interesting bric a brac, good vintage finds, decent plus size selection. Some furniture.
The Spritz
The Spritz sometimes starts at number 4 on The Run. Who knew that there was so much to check out near Marion shops? There is loads of potential! Most of the stores here are smaller, so it’s easy to hit them one after the other and not be too fatigued.
- Salvos Marion – Small store but they do furniture processing and I always find a treasure here. Just nice things.
- Save The Children Brighton – Really small but worth a look on your way past. I have found vintage joy here
- RSPCA Brighton – Bigger than the others, I always find craft supplies here. Mum usually has joy – plus you can bring your dog in!
- Salvos Brighton – Quite large store. I have bought 3 designer bags here, great shoes too. Nicely boujee for an op shop.
The Hit
These shops are smaller but don’t let that fool you! We have had shopping wins and much joy from these little shops. These aren’t a run as such but the little stops we make in day of errands. Each one has it’s charms but I have to say the RSPCA has so much cool stuff! It might be small but it has great turnover and super good merchandising. Plus you can bring your dog in! Win.
- RSPCA Oaklands Park – Enough said!
- Second Chances – Awesomely cheap and they will help like crazy! They support people and families affected by crime and if you need stuff and have tiny budget, this is your place! Very grass roots and community. Sometimes they have preserves for sale, which have been delicious. Got shoes of a lifetime here.
- Sunflower Shop – Best tit and tat joint around! Smallish but old school cool all the way.
See how you can totally tour yourself around and see what you can uncover? There is Op Shopping to be done! Use my map or check out the one I Love To Op Shop has going and get the on an op shop run! I hope you are suitably inspired to plan a day of bargain hunting with the girls. If you fancy something more…fancy, I suggest you visit Pixi’s shop Junktion which is newly relocated to 72 Candy Rd, O’Halloran Hill SA 5158 and is all set to reopen after the move. If you have visited the old shop, this little video gives great directions to the new spot. As well as being a finely curated but very low price op shop, Junktion has a great community buzz and refreshments. Yes! Pix has tea, coffee and cakes (sometimes she even has gorgeously decorated cookies from My Cookies Crumbled) so it’s well worth heading up the hill for some refreshment while you shop. Most Op Shops are cool with a few people descending at once but if you have more than 6 people, you should definitely call ahead and check that they are okay with that. And I highly recommend morning or afternoon tea at Junktion! If you have a group and plan ahead, I’m sure Pixi will accommodate you.
Stay tuned for more Op Shop fun to come! Check out my previous post on Op Shopping tips and stay tuned for my Lookbook of Op Shopped Outfits. If you have any awesome op shopping haunts, please share them in the comments xxx
2 Comments
Hey Sarah, you op-shop in my hood, plus you’ve listed a few I haven’t been to yet. I love the tea-cosies! Happy op-shopping.
Oooh I love your blog! The tea cozies are a Junktion special! Mum has a chicken one, here’s the instagram post xxx