It's for charidee, mate

I feel like I'm sitting on a big green secret.

What saves stuff going to landfill, raises money for good causes, and lets you shop at rock-bottom prices?

Answer - charity shops.

But, I hear you groan, they're always full of tat and just for old ladies. But no! There are five charity shops within walking distance of my house and I use them for all sorts of stuff.

The trick is to change your expectations of what you buy. So shiny and new is best, right? Why? After you've used something a few times, it'll look just the same as if you'd bought it from the local Oxfam. And if you break / lose/ spill red wine all over you expensive new purchase, you'll be kicking yourself, right? Not if you bought it for 40p from Save the Children. I just think of it as a donation and go back and buy something else. Or of I get something home and don't like it, again it's a donation, and I take the offending item back to the same shop (or another one if I'm too embarrassed) for them to sell to someone else who might like it better.

Some of the best things to buy from charity shops are:

• jeans. They've already done all their stretching/shrinking, so you know that if they fit now, they'll always fit. The shops check what they're given and won't sell on a pair that are worn or torn in places you don't want them to be.
  
• books. Do you need your books to be shiny and unthumbed? Try your local charity shop and you may pick up something you'd never have spotted in Waterstones. I found a fascinating book about Napoleon's imprisonment on St Helena - something I never would have found in a 'proper' book shop.
  
• games and toys. Brightly coloured plastic easily outlives its useful life with one child. And if you buy it secondhand, you don't have to feel quite so bad about the oil that went into its production.
  
• basics. Let's face it, you'll never find high-fashion items here. But basics like T-shirts, sweaters and trousers don't go out of style and by buying these at rock-bottom prices, you get to save money for your next purchase of break-the-bank organic fairtrade shoes.
  

Try it. Teach yourself to rummage (it's just like the sales) and who knows, you could be like my friend Tansy who found a wedding dress (worn just once) for 99p in Oxfam (see it here).

To read more about cheap ethical fashion, see my article for myvillage.com

To find your nearest charity shop, visit the Association of Charity Shops