Thrift store finds

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Who else likes shopping at thrift stores?

Since I’m on Weight Watchers and losing weight, I didn’t want to pay full price for new jeans (old ones are too big 👍 ). When I reach goal, I plan to buy my favorite jeans - Eddie Bauer.

Today I bought a pair of Lands End jeans for $5 at the thrift store.

What’s your latest thrift store find?
 
i love thrift stores. my kids have suggested i abstain from them for Lent this year. there’s real merit in their suggestion because if i had an addiction, it would be thrift stores.

but just like any junkie, i’ve seen worse than me. i joked to the cashier at one of my favs that she saw me every week. wide eyed, she responded, “oh monica. some of our customers are in here every single day. there are a few women who spend a couple of hours before their work shift here. every single weekday, waiting to see what’s coming off the truck.”

that made me feel better-- like not so much an addict.

“*They tried to make me go to rehab and I said ‘no. no no.’” *

anyway, latest find: a pair of funky mid century arm chairs with upholstered seats for $7 a piece. i already bought the fabric online to re-upholster them.

at another thrift store: a twelve dollar side table just perfect to go between the chairs.

last month: a BIG electric belgian waffle maker. we use it 3 times a week. brand new. five bucks.

i could go on, but i won’t because i’m having too much fun. i don’t want to prove it’s a good lenten pennance.
 
I’ve recently re-discovered thrift stores… I shopped there all the time when I was in high school (as it was usually the only place where I could find long flowey black skirts… this was when I was a “goth”), but stopped for a few years. The latest finds have been some shirts from Express ($3 each), and 5-6 scarves and pieces of fabric that needed to be hemmed to make a scarf (I think altogether, it was $4). I have found some really great skirts (one of the last ones I bought was this lovely color (actually it’s my favorite color). I am looking for a nice purple skirt now to wear during Lent.

I also look through the old vinyls (mostly 33’s, but there are some good 45’s), too. I’ve found some great records, such as Harry Chapin, Lawrence Welk, Andrew Sisters, CCR, and the origional cast 2 LP recording of Jesus Christ, Superstar with the booklet. I would keel over if I found one for Godspell. Who needs an mp3 player when you have vinyl?

Ericka

PS. Hello, I am Ericka, and I’m a thrift store-o-holic.
 
Our Diocese has a thrift store that I’ve fallen in love with. My husband used to work there as an Assistance Coordinator, which he found out that the best time to go was the day before the half-off sale - everything would be stocked to the max for the sale next day, and hardly anyone would be there, as they would be waiting for the sale to begin.

I bought Dr. Sears’ “The Baby Book” for a couple bucks. A calf length Tommy Hilfiger skirt for me for $3. Perfectly new Carter’s one-pieces for Elise for $0.25/each. We’re actually going to go in on Monday to see if anything good has been put out. 😃
 
ericka1701 said:
I also look through the old vinyls (mostly 33’s, but there are some good 45’s), too. I’ve found some great records, such as Harry Chapin, Lawrence Welk, Andrew Sisters, CCR, and the origional cast 2 LP recording of Jesus Christ, Superstar with the booklet. I would keel over if I found one for Godspell.
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I bought the Godspell LP at my local thrift shop. I don’t have a phono, I bought it for the cover art (Art Nouveau revival).

Some of my favourite finds:

an LL Bean overcoat, $5.00, Goodwill
a Hebrew “Monopoly” game, $10.00, Value Village
a somewhat tacky gilt-plastic light-up St Peter’s Basilica, $3.00, Salvation Army
a St Joseph’s Missal from 1956 and a Latin Missal from 1962, about $5.00 each, a Jerusalem Bible, $10.00, as well as sundry prayer books and old Mass cards at various prices, at a psychic used-book store (mysterious ways, indeed)
a Barbarian rugby shirt in my military branch colours (dk blue/grey), $5.00, Stretch thrift store
Parker Brothers “The Inventors” game, with all the parts, including the “Incredible Patent Picker - Move Maker Machine”, $3.00, Stretch

One of Donna’s and my favourite hobbies is “yard sale-ing” in the summer. We’ve scored an IKEA wire set of drawers for $3.00; a brand-new VCR for $5.00; a hand-made wool bedspread* from Greece for $3.00; a set of old rosary beads in a leather case originally from Holt Renfrew, $5.00 (then duly reblessed); an electric typewriter and some photo equipment for free, etc etc.

The yard sales all seem to start Saturday around 8 a.m. and some only run till noon, the latest maybe 2 or 3 in the p.m. A lot of people will leave stuff on the roadside “free to a good home” if they can’t sell it. Yoink! There have been things I would have loved to have taken, but had no way to carry them – basically it’s whatever we can fit in a trundle buggy and two blue IKEA bags and hoist on a streetcar – or had nowhere to put them – an increasingly overcrowded small apartment.

*It’s actually white and an odd shade of orange, and it just so happens to match exactly colourwise a sheet and pillowcase set we got from the “as-is” bin at IKEA.
 
Clue the board game for $3(which I never played)
Some shirts for about $4 each
This most fabulous red scarf for $5(wow, was it worth it)
Some books for $1-2 each
🙂
 
I like to look for DVDs. I got White Heat, Citizen Kane, Mighty Joe Young and The Maltese Falcon for 4.00 each, and the Indiana Jones trilogy for 8.00.
 
I haven’t been to a Thrift Store in a long time… but Macy’s sometimes has incredible bargins on their “markdown” racks.

I once got a beautiful 100% cotton “Bill Blass” blouse… for .89 cents and a $100.00 dollar “Tommy Hilfiger” jacket for $6.00! Really 👍

The Macy’s “mark down” racks are worth digging through! 😃
 
Someone I know got an ankle-long English wool/cashmere ladies coat that looked like it had never been worn for $10 or something. 😛 And I have a collection of silken ties bought for a dollar or two a piece plus shipping. 😛
 
We really like thrift stores and try to check out a local one a few times a month. We also really like “rummage sales” that churches/organizations have in the summer months. Many of them will have a “bag sale” on the last day of the sale where you just pay a set amount per bag instead of per item. We really load up on stuff on those events! It’s amazing what you can find if you take time to look.

We went thrifting yesterday and I found a nice kid’s Catholic bible for my daughter. Our “best” find was a Baby Bjorn infant carrier that we paid $0.75 for. They retail at Target for $75, so that was a GREAT deal.

I just started Weight Watchers about 4 weeks ago, too. Are you doing the online WW or going to the meetings, etc. I’ve really made a lot of progress in weight loss just by doing the online stuff. I’m certainly proud of my achievements, but it’s taken a lot of discipline to learn to eat healthier! What do you think of the program?
 
Gemmaologist said:
W
I just started Weight Watchers about 4 weeks ago, too. Are you doing the online WW or going to the meetings, etc. I’ve really made a lot of progress in weight loss just by doing the online stuff. I’m certainly proud of my achievements, but it’s taken a lot of discipline to learn to eat healthier! What do you think of the program?
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I weigh in at WW every Monday and try to stay for meetings. I go w/ a friend from church 🙂 .

The program is fine. I needed accountability. I haven’t tracked points in months and should go back to it. I’d lost 25 lbs as of last Monday, but have eaten alot of candy and such this past week, so I expect a gain tomorrow.
 
MarieVeronica said:
I haven’t been to a Thrift Store in a long time… but Macy’s sometimes has incredible bargins on their “markdown” racks.
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Same w/ the Lands End shop at Sears. I’ve gotten some good mark downs in recent months.
 
MarieVeronica said:
I haven’t been to a Thrift Store in a long time… but Macy’s sometimes has incredible bargins on their “markdown” racks.

I once got a beautiful 100% cotton “Bill Blass” blouse… for .89 cents and a $100.00 dollar “Tommy Hilfiger” jacket for $6.00! Really 👍

The Macy’s “mark down” racks are worth digging through! 😃
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Yes, macy’s has good deals alot. I got a $90 shirt jacket for less that $40 there once.
👍
 
KCT said:
The program is fine. I needed accountability. I haven’t tracked points in months and should go back to it. I’d lost 25 lbs as of last Monday, but have eaten alot of candy and such this past week, so I expect a gain tomorrow.
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Wow… 25 pound weight loss. That’s excellent. Congrats!
 
Ghoti said:
One of Donna’s and my favourite hobbies is “yard sale-ing” in the summer. We’ve scored an IKEA wire set of drawers for $3.00; a brand-new VCR for $5.00; a hand-made wool bedspread* from Greece for $3.00; a set of old rosary beads in a leather case originally from Holt Renfrew, $5.00 (then duly reblessed); an electric typewriter and some photo equipment for free, etc etc.

The yard sales all seem to start Saturday around 8 a.m. and some only run till noon, the latest maybe 2 or 3 in the p.m. A lot of people will leave stuff on the roadside “free to a good home” if they can’t sell it. Yoink! There have been things I would have loved to have taken, but had no way to carry them – basically it’s whatever we can fit in a trundle buggy and two blue IKEA bags and hoist on a streetcar – or had nowhere to put them – an increasingly overcrowded small apartment.

*It’s actually white and an odd shade of orange, and it just so happens to match exactly colourwise a sheet and pillowcase set we got from the “as-is” bin at IKEA.
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Ooooh I love “Yard Sale-ing”.
I love buying my kids books, I can get some that look new for 10-15 cents a piece.
I have found all sorts of neat stuff. For example, over 20 yrs ago my dad was stationed in a US military base in Europe. Near the town we were at there was an awesome dish etc factory. My mom has two sets from this place. Well, in a yard sale near my home there was a lady that had a 3 tier serving dish from that place, with one of the designs my mom had, I bought it for like $2! I was so excited, but the story has a sad ending. I sent it in a flat rate priority box and put all the padding I could in it, but apparently it wasn’t enough and one of the plates broke. I should have tried to find another box… oh well.
One of my fave finds is a beautiful kid size good quality wooden table with two chairs, both captain chairs (with arms) with pressed caning and beautiful carved design on the back (head) of the chairs. I paid $15.

Anyways, other things I have bought: a beautiful rocking horse (few bucks, can’t remember), baby video monitor ($200 one for $10 I think), 10 cent Leap Frog Toys (I don’t buy toys with fabric or anything I can’t sanitize), $200 new purse for $10 or 15 (loved it), $50 kid car for $3 (my kids love it)… can’t remember anything else, but there have been periods of time where I have gone every Saturday, DH is always scared of what I might come home with. I had to stop because I need to declutter my home, plus I have been stuck at home for the last month+ with morning sickness, but you guys are giving me a bug here.
 
My latest find at St Vincent de Pauls:
Three paperbacks (good mysteries) for 75 cents, plus tax. Yeah
their books are all 25cents.
 
We like our local thirft store too. My husband found a Craftsman-type power tool stand for about $2 there. The store supports a shelter for abused women.
 
I wish there were some way that some of these outfits could pool their resources. Like St Vincent de Paul, Goodwill, and Salvation Army. They all run thrift shops, but Goodwill and Sally Ann are far more widely known than St VdP. It seems they could cut expenses and increase charitable revenues if they “teamed up” with the thrift shops.

Another thing…God, I wish I had a pickup truck. Go to Craigslist, look at all the freebies, “curb alerts”, etc. Just walking in my neighbourhood in the summer, all kinds of old furniture, “free to a good home”, all it needs is a bit of TLC. If I had some way to transport it, I could get it over to one of the thrift shops. But I don’t drive, nor have I a truck, and you can’t fit a big coffee table on TTC. And the charities don’t pick up – different from when I was back east, I was moving from my apartment, called the Archdiocese and told them I had some furniture, they were there the next day with a cube van. Unfortunately, just last year (I think it was) the only St Vincent shop in St John’s shut down. Now the only thrift shops that I know of are Salvation Army and Value Village (which is not a charity per se).

I think my basic point is, I don’t think the charities should be “competing”. I think we as Christians should be able to work together on this, and not work at cross purposes. Cooperation might mean more money into each “pocket”.

Just a thunk, is all.
 
Ghoti said:
I wish there were some way that some of these outfits could pool their resources. Like St Vincent de Paul, Goodwill, and Salvation Army. They all run thrift shops, but Goodwill and Sally Ann are far more widely known than St VdP. It seems they could cut expenses and increase charitable revenues if they “teamed up” with the thrift shops.

Another thing…God, I wish I had a pickup truck. Go to Craigslist, look at all the freebies, “curb alerts”, etc. Just walking in my neighbourhood in the summer, all kinds of old furniture, “free to a good home”, all it needs is a bit of TLC. If I had some way to transport it, I could get it over to one of the thrift shops. But I don’t drive, nor have I a truck, and you can’t fit a big coffee table on TTC. And the charities don’t pick up – different from when I was back east, I was moving from my apartment, called the Archdiocese and told them I had some furniture, they were there the next day with a cube van. Unfortunately, just last year (I think it was) the only St Vincent shop in St John’s shut down. Now the only thrift shops that I know of are Salvation Army and Value Village (which is not a charity per se).

I think my basic point is, I don’t think the charities should be “competing”. I think we as Christians should be able to work together on this, and not work at cross purposes. Cooperation might mean more money into each “pocket”.

Just a thunk, is all.
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Each of the charities has their own goals. I know with Katrina,
all were called on to help. They all pitched in to help, some were
better for some things, and some for others. StVdP is very help-
ful to those needing help with rent, mortgage payments and
works within certain geographical boundaries. Ours does pick up
large items and beds are always set aside,not to sell, but to give
to those burned out of their homes or victims of floods, etc. I
don’t think it would work to combine them as a general rule.
 
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