Most mums are familiar with the NCT (National Childbirth Trust), but how many are aware of the nearly-new sales that take place locally to them every 6 months or so?

Down our way, in the London mummy-ghetto that is East Dulwich, the NCT nearly-new sale is a hotly anticipated date that finds its way into the diary weeks in advance. I had been warned by a couple of friends that I should turn up early to bag the good stuff. I can’t usually be bothered to queue for anything, but when it comes to shopping for The Noodle, I’m a willing slave.

The queues were long and the morning so cold that I regretted my sweater dress and boots and wished for a ‘duvet’ coat - the kind you see Spanish tourists wearing in London whatever the weather. I froze for 40 minutes, whiling away the time on Google reader and surreptitiously sharpening my elbows.

At 11am sharp, the doors opened and the hordes rushed in. It was organised chaos, with mums just about managing to be polite to each other as they scrabbled over jumpers, coats, trousers, toys and even bigger items like a brand new Bugaboo. There really was some great schwag to be had.

I had set myself a budget of £40 and hoped to find some warm clothes and new toys for The Noodle. I’m pretty pleased with what I came out with:

1 pure wool Benetton cardigan (£4.50)

3 pairs of tights (£1.50)

1 wooden shape sorter (£3.50)

1 bag of duplo including a bendy caterpillar (£4.50)

1 pair of pompom slippers (£4)

1 pair of dungarees (£4.50)

1 sleeping bag (£2.50)

1 wooden bead puzzle (£2.50)

Total: £27.50

When I got home, I took real pleasure in hunting for the same articles online to find out how much money I’d saved. I discovered that the overall value when new is £174.00. Bargain! And I came out unscathed - all in all, a good morning’s bargain hunting.

Here’s a video of a slightly more spacious NCT sale than the one I went to:

To find out where the next NCT sale near you is, go to their Nearly New Sale Finder and put in your postcode. The added bonus is that most of the money goes to the charity to support new parents, so you can feel warm and fuzzy as well as a little bit smug.