Right when I doubt that I will ever find any gems in the thrift store, my luck changes…
I was running errands today, while my daughter was at preschool. Those two and half hours that she is at preschool can some times wreck havoc on our balance sheet. But I had a list of things that I needed to accomplish. Besides going to the bank, I also needed to look for some Christmas presents and stop by the office supply store. As I was heading to the next place on my list, I drove past the Salvation Army.
Every Wednesday, our Salvation Army thrift store, promotes an extra 50% off of merchandise except for the color of the week. All the price tickets have colors and every week a different color is excluded from the sale. I venture in occasionally, when I am in the area, but usually I have two kids in tow and my visit is cut short by some sort of disaster that mostly entails a fixture being pulled to the ground. I also end up leaving, feeling like I wasted my time, because I never seem to find anything worthwhile.
Today, I only had one child and I strapped her into her stroller, with snacks and her baby doll to keep her hands occupied.
I was cruising down the first aisle which is home goods when I saw it. I have been looking for it all summer at yard sales. A large blue Tupperware storage container. This container was quite grungy, but nothing that a run through the dishwasher didn’t fix. The price was .99 after the 50% off sale. I was thrilled…I know you are probably saying, “get a life, it’s Tupperware”, but I have been looking for one of these containers.
Filled with excitement, I continued on and headed to children’s clothing, because just this morning it occurred to me that our 4 year old has had a growth spurt and many of her shirts have become belly shirts. She is also heavily into Disney Princess stuff. It seems this year’s theme for her for Christmas is Princess. I am very picky about used clothing. The clothes have to look very new for me to buy and wear them. I know I can wash the clothes, but I can’t get past the ick factor. The first shirt I found was this beauty from the Disney store. It looks brand new and it’s final cost was $1.99.
I then headed to children’s toys. My youngest daughter loves Elmo and Sesame Street. I spotted this Sesame Street toy that also looked brand new, very clean, and the final cost was $1.99. Another Christmas gift for $1.99.
I am thrilled that I found two Christmas gifts for my kids for $4.00. My kids will be thrilled when they open their gifts. I can’t wait to see their smiling faces.
I am going to give thrift stores a second chance. Keeping my eyes open for gems like the ones I found today.
How often do you shop in thrift stores? Are you doing any of your holiday shopping in thrift stores?
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I like shopping at thrift stores. Granted alot of the time you can find the same stuff( usually clothes items) on clearance for the same price or cheaper. Atleast at goodwill because they are getting pricey!
They have a local thrift store named castaways in my town. Its owned by our hospital but only elderly women work there and im pretty sure its on a volunteer basis. They even use a pen and paper to add stuff up.
Anyways they have alot of items, many new. I was able to get some xmas presents there. Also when I take my son they have hot wheels for like 5 cents so hes happy with a few 🙂
I LOVE thrift stores! I often buy my boys T shirts because I’ve had great luck finding either new with tags or new looking shirts with popular graphics on them for $2-4. I always look for jeans for them and have scored a few great pairs though they are harder to come by because boys are so rough! Last year I found a pristine North Face coat that is 1 size bigger than my oldest son wears now for $6. For myself I have found,among other things, a pair of very high end jeans for $5, a velvet blazer for the holidays for $4, a pair of perfect black pants from Banana Republic for $5 and some really cool belts for $2 each just recently. I have also scored some pretty cool furniture like a beautiful Danish sideboard in pristine condition and a really cool mid-century modern bedroom set. I also find a lot of books there for both myself and my boys. I love finding great quality stuff for so little cash and I love that it is reusing so it is being a good steward of resources as well!
Are we the same person!?! Just stumbled on your blog and it seems like everything I’ve read on it so far exactly mirrors my days! Too funny…. 😉
Oh, and now I’m motivated to stop in again at the SA or Goodwill next time I pass…