Admittedly that’s me in a nutshell; pondering too long and hard over purchasing a £3 chair or buying a book shelf I’ve been eyeing up for a long while but I’m still not entirely sure I need.

The glorious answer to all us thrift seekers out there (apart from charity shopping which is a delight which goes without saying) is upcycling. It’s all over the place, twitter and Facebook are booming with talk over the upcycle revolution and for all the right reasons. For anyone yet to hack into this diamond, I recommend you do it pronto.

Working above and collaborating with a charity shop is both a help and a hindrance (depending on which way you look at it). To a thrifty, upcycling mind a charity shop is a gold mine; candle sticks and plates could be cake stands, old fashioned tables could be transformed with just a lick of paint so it's similar to the one you found in Next, but totally unique at the same time.

The pride and delight at your final product is worth all the money you would have spent originally, not to mention the actually saving made, so it’s a no brainer really. It’s about time we all started responding to where’s it from queries with; “well actually I made it” as opposed to “it cost a fortune from Debenhams”.

A lot of this I have to thank Cheryl Lumley for, a fellow Converge member (Copper Blue Creative). Together we held an upcycling class in June and it truly was a delight, learning what products to use for what, and what you can do with items you may have previously thought useless.

The one problem I have found with upcycling is the whole getting around to it part. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that I visit countless craft fairs, walking round not spending a penny and telling myself I can make all the lovely things myself. I just never quite get round to it. That’s why upcycling classes are perfect, because sometimes we all need a little bit of help to get things done!