4 March 2014

Random Desk Crap

My work decided to implement a mass desk move yesterday (don't worry- I've stayed put by my window!) and someone decided it was time to sort out the pile of Random Desk Crap left behind by our floor's predecessors. I really do mean Random Crap too. The desk behind me heralded a 2ft-high model of Mr Burns, which turned out to be the most "ordinary" object of the lot! We found a snow-globe of Lands End, a glass bottle containing a torn-out page from a naked ladies magazine, and a plastic panda with a flip-top head and a smaller panda where its brain should be. It was like the world's creepiest novelty tombola. 

Of course, that didn't stop me having a good rummage; because other people's old rubbish is one of my favourite things. Especially when it's free. 

I ended up nabbing a whole carrier bag of mystery fridge magnets, and two models of Bender from Futurama. I thought they were just dolls until I got home and saw the boxes said WIND UP ROBOT. Even more awesomely, I've just checked Ebay and I think they might be worth a bit of money!

When I opened the bag of fridge magnets I was over the moon to discover these totally amazeballs letterpress magnets. I absolutely love them, and I think they go perfectly with the fabric on my DIY magnetic Scrabble board



I decided to use the fancy alphabet magnets to decorate the gas fire in our dining room, which has been looking rather sad since I decided it was too much hassle to remove 100+ magnetic Scrabble tiles from it whenever I wanted to play Bananagrams




I love how these magnets look like curly handwriting

The final set of magnets was themed around the weather. They're towards the low-quality end of the novelty scale, so I've just put them on the fridge like a normal person. 



Finally, and nothing to do with magnets - I promised Emma Kate a photo of my new dress, which apparently makes me look like a Willowpattern Plate.




I really need to buy a full-length mirror if I'm going to start posting outfit photos...

What's the best thing you've ever found for free? 

Katie xxx

11 comments:

  1. Love love love those letterpress magnets - fab! And love the fire place decoration - oh my!!
    As you (probably) know, the mister finds lots of thing 'on't bins' which are free - we've had all sorts of things - a flatscreen TV (that works), tins of paint, loads of books, bookcases, even a massive wall canvas that is now in Zoe's room - it's beautiful and probably my fave freebie find ever!
    Anna xxx

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    1. I didn't know that- and it actually makes me want to be a bin-lady! Free flat screen TVs must make up for having to get up so early! xxx

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  2. HHello! Great post! How much lovely stuff you did blag! Those letters are coooool!!!
    One of the best free things I got was a white silk dress with a peach flower on it. I was at Spitalfields market and it was reduced to £30 on this stallholder's stall. I had nipped over during the break of a tea dance (for old poeple) that I was attending to have a look. She/we couldn't get the zip down for me to try on and she said to come back in 10 minutes once she'd got the zip down. I came back duly and she said she'd put it in a carrier bag for me as the zip had broken and she now couldn't sell it and I could have it as a gift from her- I just needed to get the zip mended! I did so and it's such a pretty, nice, different dress!!x
    Oh and the other nice free thing was a builder's hard hat I somehow acquired in the city of London after leaving a uni night out drunkenly. We went to go and get the night bus home and somehow, I had found this hard hat which I clung onto for dear life. It was a good thing because it stopped me being perved on by random drunken friend of my friend Stu!x

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    1. That free dress sounds amazing! What a nice lady :) And I like the idea of a builder's hard hat that protects the holder from being letched at. Quite ironic, really- given the cliché of catcalling builders! xxx

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  3. GOOD FIND! I miss not being able to rifle through the lost property box at work now i'm not AT work. never found anything as good as magnets though!

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    1. What kind of stuff did people tend to leave in your hotel? xxx

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  4. What great finds!! Can't believe you didn't bring home the snowglobe or the pandas though haha :)
    I have always wanted to find something on the side of the road (watch too many Kirstie Allsop programmes) but all I have ever found is an old galvanised pail bucket which I planted up and put in my garden :) xx

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    1. Haha I know what you mean about Kirstie's programmes. Where do all those people live who throw out amazing Victorian doors and fireplaces?!? Round here people practically guard their recycling!! The bucket sounds lovely :) xxx

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  5. Oooh gorgeous dress and awesome fridge magnets! xxx

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  6. Where on earth do you work!? If we cleared out our place, we'd probably just find old student coursework and invoices dating back 20 years and maybe a pen or two. :-)
    Loving those letters though, it makes your fireplace look so much fun! (and the dress is pretty gorgeous too)

    We've collected a lot of free things in our time, when we go to the Great Dorset Steam Fair, on the last day most of the market traders just leave their stock all over the field. My father in law collected half a dozen vintage radios one year and we've got lots of glass dishes and ornaments. Ooh and we do have a vintage 40s/50s wardrobe which was left in a skip a couple of streets away - we offered the owner some money for it but she said to take it away for free. The only thing is it was out in the rain for a week so the other half had to do quite a lot of repair work! :-) xxx

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    1. I work for the NHS - but I think the people who previously worked in my office must have been a bit weird :p

      The leftovers from the Steam Fair sound INCREDIBLE!! I love that about fairs and festivals. The first time I went to a festival I couldn't believe how much stuff was left behind. It got nicknamed "pillaging day" in my group, because we got to go from tent to abandoned tent, gathering up all the cool stuff left behind. xxx

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