Sizzling deal on cookware

Until 16 January at Kmart, you can get basically 50% off Tefal frying pans. These are very good quality pans – I got one for Christmas.

For instance, a 20cm So Tasty frypan is $17 (save $17), while a 32cm So Tasty frypan is $28 (save $26).

There's also a So Tasty wok pan for $25 (save $24), and a 30cm Envy frypan for $29 (save $29).

And the hard anodised pans (which is the kind I got for Christmas) are $25 for a 26cm pan (save $24), and $29 for a 30cm pan (save $30).

Missoni-esque beach towels at Dimmeys

Dimmeys does pretty good manchester, I must say – I have a quilt cover and some pillowcases I got there in 1998 that are still in pretty good nick.

So I was very enthused by a tip I got from Daine, a friend of Junk Mail Bargains, that very good quality striped cotton beach towels are on sale at Dimmeys' Coburg store right now for $6. Daine describes them as "Missoni-esque", and she's totally right. Here, for your reference, is a real Missoni beach towel:



And here are the Dimmeys towels that Daine bought:



Certainly very jaunty, and excellent value.

If you ever spot a Junk Mail Bargain, feel free to tip me off about it. You can leave a comment on a post here, contact the JMB Facebook page, or tweet me using the hashtag #junkmailbargains.

Back to school… for adults

Back-to-school season is now in full swing, and let me tell you, I've never felt better about not having to go to school any more. However, we can still take advantage of the bargains! If you like to wear polo shirts, grey, black or navy pants or white ankle socks, this is your time to shine.

Schools have made a massive move towards 'nude food' policies: kids have to bring their lunches in individual plastic containers that eliminate the need for lunch bags and wrap. I'm pretty sure this is because teachers hate having to supervise kids picking up litter in the playground. But you can use them to take your grown-up lunch to work.

At Kmart you can get Smash Nude Food Movers snack boxes and sandwich boxes, triple snack tubes or double snack tubes for $3 each.

Woolworths has all the Smash Nude products at half price. The sandwich box is the same price as at Kmart, but the snack box is only $1.99 and the double and triple snack tubes are only $2.49.

Woolies also has other products in the range, including a cube-shaped salad box for $3.99, a large meal box for $3.49, an "ice melt with chillout socks" for $3.49 and a hilarious "muffin pod" for $1.99.



Kmart has a range of aluminium drink bottles for $6. Good to have on your desk, clip to your bike or slip into your gym bag. Available til 16 January.

Are you a creative type who enjoys sketching or keeping a visual diary? Aldi has A4, 120-page visual diaries with covers in five different colours for $2.99. I'm not sure what quality the paper is, but for $3 I'd be happy to risk it.



Also at Aldi is a 200-sheet pack of coloured copy paper for $3.99. Officeworks probably has it cheaper, but what I like about this one is that each pack has 20 sheets in an assortment of ten different colours. It's perfect for small craft projects, or printing off just a few documents, or even – gasp! – writing a letter to someone.



The good thing about back-to-school footwear bargains is that the stores know parents prefer leather school shoes over synthetics, so you can get some decent shoes really cheaply. Big Dubs has some cool-looking Bata Scouts black leather sneakers, styled a bit like Chuck Taylors in men's sizes 6-12, for $30.

The ladies' ones are styled like hipster plimsolls; they look a bit too much like jazz-ballet shoes for my taste, but they're $30 too.

If you prefer good old Dunlop Volleys, but in a more durable material than canvas so it doesn't make a hole where your big toe sits, Big Dubs has men's and ladies' leather Volleys for $35.

And since 'back to school' clearly means fine literature, Big Dubs also has some hilariously titled books that almost seem to parody themselves – Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus ($27.99); Man Drought by Rachael Johns ($29.99); and The Girl in the Hard Hat by Loretta Hill ($32.95).



I am not especially into 'farm lit', or 'rural romance' as I hear it is more properly called, but I was curious about Snow White Must Die. Turns out it was not based on a fairytale but is a fairly standard-sounding detective novel, whose characters include Pia Kirchhoff, Oliver von Bodenstein and Tobias Sartorius.

More surprising fruit and veg bargains

I feel like I should maybe eat my words regarding Foodworks being the dirt supermarket, because its latest catalogue has some pretty good fruit and veg specials.



First, it has bananas for $1.99 a kilo, which is the same price as Woolworths, and they're $2.50 a kilo at Coles.



And second, Foodworks has four cobs of corn for $3. Admittedly, Coles does sell four cobs for $2, but Woolworths charges 98c per cob, which would work out to $3.92 for four.

Foodworks catalogues are a sorry sight compared to the multi-page Coles and Woolies ones, though. It's one piece of paper, folded into four pages. You can't fit many specials in there.

Thirst-quenching specials

Weather's been hot, huh? I bet you're thirsty. Well, you're in luck. Until Tuesday 8 January, Coles is selling 15 cans of Pepsi, Solo or Schweppes soft drink at half price – $6.49.

A pack of four cans of V Energy Drink is also half price – $4.61. That's excellent value for workaholics and party animals. But from 12 January at Aldi, you can get a 1.2L bottle of V for $4.99. Holy shit. I had no idea they sold it in bottles that large. You will probably have a heart attack if you drink the entire thing.

At Coles you can also get the limited-edition retro slabs of Fanta, Sprite or Mello Yello for half price – $12.44 a slab.




Looking at these old logos makes me realise how much packaging designers these days rely on drop shadows, gradients and illustrative elements which look quite crass and busy compared to the clean, flat colour, simple typefaces and geometric imagery of the original logos. Compare and contrast with the contemporary packaging:



For people who like the taste of Coke Zero and were like, "I wish there were other flavours of Coke Zero!" well your dreams have come true at Woolworths, which has Coke Zero Cherry. It comes in 600ml bottles at 2 for $5 (save $1.15) or in an eight-pack of "mini refreshment" 200ml cans for $5 (save $2.63).

Farmer's Union Iced Coffee is also 2 for $5 at Woolworths. That's one for you and one for your mate down the building site!

But for people who don't like or can't tolerate dairy, Coles has Almond Breeze almond milk for $2 a litre (save $1.29). This is a pretty good deal, since almond milk is the most expensive of the non-dairy milks.  

Turning Japanese at Coles

Coles has a great special until 8 January – Nisshin Panko Bread Crumbs and Kewpie Mayonnaise at 2 for $6. I'm not sure if that means you can get one of each for $6, but anyway, this sets you up for all sorts of delicious Japanese recipes.

You could use your panko bread crumbs to coat chicken or pork schnitzel to make katsu, which you could then serve with your kewpie mayo.

Or you could toss pan-fried vegetables in panko and then drizzle them with mayo. A couple of years ago for a friend's Thanksgiving party I made a 'bean casserole' using a similar recipe.

New year's resolution supplies

Have you vowed to quit smoking in 2013? Woolworths is here to help, with 20% off Nicabate products. Specifically, a 7 pack of CQ patches is $24.99 (save $6.50), a 60 pack of mini lozenges is $23.19 (save $5.80) and a 96 pack of gum is $21.99 (save $6). The deal excludes 24-packs of gum and mini lozenges.

And to clean you up for the new year, Woolies has Metamucil for $14 (save $4) and a pack of 30 Berocca for $10 (save $4).

Do you want to lose weight this year? Coles has assorted packs of five Celebrity Slim "Delicious Meal Replacement Shakes" for $22 (save $5.99). On sale until 15 January.

Other miserable diet products available at Coles include Nature's Way Slim Right Powder Chocolate for $10.50 (save $3.20) and Weight Watchers muesli bars for $3 (save 99c) and Weight Watchers frozen meals for $4 (save $1.79).

Honestly, don't do that to yourself, buddy. Have some carbs instead. Hot cross buns are already instore at both Coles at 2 for $6 and Woolies at 3 for $9. And Aldi has loaves of raisin toast for $2 – it's the toast I like most!