View Full Version : Furniture from the Salvation Army
awakenedsoul
5-24-14, 3:28pm
I just bought a couch, (well loveseat for my tiny cottage,) at the Salvation Army. I've been watching what they have there for several months. The couch I have now really needs to be replaced. I found a cute little one today for $119. They were offering 50% off everything today, so it was more like $60.00. I've gotten most of my furniture there. They have such good prices. This piece looks brand new. It matches an antique chair I bought there a couple of years ago. I would have reupholstered my old couch, but it's super expensive. I'll just set it out on the street. We have people who drive by and pick up stuff like that.
Also found a framed Norman Rockwell print that is really cute. It goes well with the style of my old fashioned cottage and the antiques. It was only $4.00. I love those kind of finds!
You are probably savvy about identifying signs of bed bugs.
I 've had used furniture for years, but no more.
That sounds perfect. I still buy used things, but after seeing that Big Bang Theory episode with the red chair, I will probably think twice before buying upholstered stuff again, even though you can bring critters home in anything, even books and scrapbook papers.
awakenedsoul
5-24-14, 9:22pm
It looks good. I did all the things they say to do. It looks brand new. I've gotten all my antiques there: two upholstered chairs, two antique sewing machines in cabinets, and a crystal and brass lamp. I also have a vintage night stand. So far, so good...
My neighbor drove us there in her truck, and helped me move it. I gave her $20.00 cash and some nectarines. She didn't want the money, but I insisted. This was labor! We were done door to door in 25 mins. Feels good to thrift!
Congratulations on your purchase. I love shopping at Salvation Army too and have gotten some nice small wood furniture a few times. I've used the "let's putt it in the shed where it deep freezes and hopefully kills any potential bugs" method but then I'm in Canada so as long as you buy the piece in fall or winter you are guaranteed these conditions. Then a few days/weeks later you sand everything and repaint a bright color and you've gotten yourself a brand new piece of furniture that will last forever.
gimmethesimplelife
5-30-14, 12:04pm
A good half of the furniture at my house that I co-own with my cousin comes from the Salvation Army. Before the economic meltdown I had some KILLER finds there - almost new gas stove, $25, new Lazy Boy Recliner $20, very nice large office desk $25.....they have since went much heavier on the pricing pen but I'm glad I found these goodies when I did. They used to be down the street from me literally ty two blocks and before the laws in Arizona changed, I would buy furniture at the Salvation Army and then place it in a supermarket cart from the Hispanic grocery across the street from the Salvation Army and push whatever it was home. I miss those days! Between 2000 - 2006 or so. Rob
....before the laws in Arizona changed, I would buy furniture at the Salvation Army and then place it in a supermarket cart from the Hispanic grocery across the street from the Salvation Army and push whatever it was home. I miss those days! Between 2000 - 2006 or so. Rob
Prior to 2006 or so, was it legal to take shopping carts from Hispanic grocery stores?
gimmethesimplelife
5-30-14, 12:39pm
Prior to 2006 or so, was it legal to take shopping carts from Hispanic grocery stores?It was technically legal to take carts from grocery stores period until I believe 2006 - when the law changed and made this illegal. Trucks would scour the neighborhoods around lower-income grocery stores and pick up the carts and bring them back to the particular store. All you had to do was to leave the cart outside your house on the sidewalk. I sure miss those days, made not having a car easier! Rob
It was technically legal to take carts from grocery stores period until I believe 2006 - when the law changed and made this illegal. Trucks would scour the neighborhoods around lower-income grocery stores and pick up the carts and bring them back to the particular store. All you had to do was to leave the cart outside your house on the sidewalk. I sure miss those days, made not having a car easier! Rob
That's the oddest thing I've ever heard. Technically legal to take someone else's property as long as you left it outside your house where the owner could pay someone to find it and return it. Did that also apply to cars, trucks, bikes, etc?
That's the oddest thing I've ever heard. Technically legal to take someone else's property as long as you left it outside your house where the owner could pay someone to find it and return it. Did that also apply to cars, trucks, bikes, etc?
That is strange - those carts are expensive.
awakenedsoul
5-30-14, 1:25pm
Sorry, I didn't see these posts until today. Back to the furniture...nobody picked up my old couch. So, I swept the porch, and moved the wicker chair with flowered cushions under the fruitless mulberry tree. The floral couch is now on my porch, surrounded by flowers, conifers, and shade trees. It fits in really well with my cottage garden. I just sat out there this morning and wrote in my journal. Had a delicious cup of coffee. I covered the old cushions with a Ralph Lauren sheet, and the arm rests with some crocheted pastel covers. I made them a few years ago.
Thanks Squirrel. This new couch feels like I'm the first owner. It must have been stored well, or it just wasn't used. It's such good quality!
Rob, It sounds like you've found some great furniture deals there, too. I tied my wicker and antiques chairs to the roof of my Kia Rio with a clothesline and dog leashes! I drove the mile home very slowly and carefully, with my hazard lights flashing. I also moved a 1920's sewing machine cabinet, a 1950's dresser, and a nightstand the same way. It saved me the money of renting a truck!
It also feels good to pay The Salvation Army. I like what they're doing. Anyone else have stories of furniture they bought at the Salvation Army or thrift stores?
... Anyone else have stories of furniture they bought at the Salvation Army or thrift stores?
With the wealth of free sofas in our alley ways here, I never bought one from a thrift store. My favorite alley find ever was incredibly conformable. It had loose back pillows and I could sleep on it by removing them. Gads I loved that sofa. It was light yellow and so was dingy when we pulled it in from the alley but it was in otherwise very nice condition. Several years and much dog damage later, I had to get rid of it. And beside, by then, our living room was "finished" and so deserved a real sofa, a new one from a store.
Our new one is stiff and not especially comfortable, but it is fashionable.
About 15 years ago we found a perfect sectional sofa from 1965 in the alley. I had a lot of fun with that sofa, it was so Mad Men.
Sad Eyed Lady
5-30-14, 3:28pm
I love our Salvation Army stores, and lately they have been getting a lot of NEW stuff donated to them by places like Fruit of the Loom. I am guessing these are seconds. Joe Boxer men's underwear, $2.49 per pack, and some days if you bought 2 packs you got a third pack free. Also, Joe Boxer men's undershirts, and yesterday I was in one of the stores and noticed they had Russell athletic wear (new). So good bargains if that is what you need. I know this isn't furniture related, but still related to good finds in Salvation Army stores.
gimmethesimplelife
5-30-14, 3:40pm
That's the oddest thing I've ever heard. Technically legal to take someone else's property as long as you left it outside your house where the owner could pay someone to find it and return it. Did that also apply to cars, trucks, bikes, etc?Alan, this was during a time of very high illegal immigration to keep wages down overall and I happen to have lived in neighborhood where there were a lot of illegals, most of which did not have cars. Due to this, the grocery stores kind of looked the other way and let people take carts home and payed for entrepreneurs to go out with trucks and pick up the carts and re-deliver them to the appropriate owners. I'm sure the margins the grocery stores were making at the time justified this, and I was personally ever so grateful as it helped me furnish the house very economically.
Say what you will about illegal immigration, I for one miss the illegals as this neighborhood was once so alive and so lively. Now it is very boring and very quiet and very much sterile and without life. The whole tone of life here in very central Phoenix has become much more American and I for one miss how things once were, all legal issues - and I realize there are legal issues at play here - put aside for the moment. Rob
gimmethesimplelife
5-30-14, 3:44pm
That is strange - those carts are expensive.As I responded to Alan, things were different during this era of high illegal immigration to keep wages down and I'm sure the margins the grocery stores were making at the time justified the cost of entrepreneurs going out at night with trucks and rounding up the carts and delivering them to the appropriate owners. I so miss this era as it was so much more lively and energetic and in some ways, easier where I live in Central Phoenix. Rob
awakenedsoul
5-30-14, 4:27pm
Hi Guys,
Can you please start your own thread if you want to debate illegal immigration or change the subject? It's frustrating to start a thread and have a few people turn it into an argument about an unrelated subject. This thread is about shopping at the Salvation Army for simple living. Thank you.
Sad Eyed Lady, I've found the same thing. Many of the businesses in town that closed have donated their clothing to our Salvation Army. I look there first for clothes. I've found nice things at low prices, with the original tags.
iris lily, Cool couch story, thanks.
I bought 6 pieces of maple Ethan Allen custom room units from our local Thrifty Threads. The delivered it for $40. I would have bought a brand new leather sofa from them but just could not justify another piece of furniture. Earlier I got 7 pieces of Ethan Allen maple from an auction for $200. It just is not popular but it is so well made that I will have it for the rest of my life. I even shared some of my pieces with my minlaw when she moved here.
I dont usually go to Salvation Army or Goodwill. I like the smaller thrifts we have around here. Mominlaw wanted a raincoat with hood that I just could not find in any retail store. Got her one at the thrift and she is thrilled. It cost all of $7.
awakenedsoul
5-30-14, 7:12pm
sweetana, Wow! You got seven pieces of Ethan Allen for $200.00!!! That is so cool! That's great that they deliver. Sometimes that's my problem...I don't have a truck. How nice that you found a $7.00 raincoat for your minlaw. I love getting clothes at thrift store prices.
rosarugosa
5-30-14, 7:52pm
We only ever got one piece of furniture from SA, but it's a great one and we still have it. It's a cool little table made from what I believe is a very old wooden packing crate that says "Chinese Ceramics." I remember DH pointing it out to me as something interesting, and I grabbed it up and said this is going home with us! I think we paid about $50.00 for it about 10 years ago, so it certainly wasn't cheap by thrift store prices, but I honestly think it was worth every penny. I'll try to get around to taking/posting a picture this weekend.
awakenedsoul
5-30-14, 9:23pm
I'd love to see it, rosarugosa. If you've had it for ten years, it sounds like you've enjoyed it. I plan to keep the furniture and antique lamps I bought there for the rest of my life.
It sounds like it was worth the $50.00. What's that old saying, "You get what you pay for..."
iris lily
5-31-14, 12:17am
A few years ago I bought 6 large pictures with frames in glass for $10 each. They came from some hotel or motel, they were very generic art, but I knew I could turn them into something decent.
I painted the matting a green color, matching one of the painted colors in our living room. I looked at the online art print places until I found prints I liked and bought them.I have 3 of them hanging, a lot of art for about $70.00.
ApatheticNoMore
5-31-14, 2:23am
I have two end tables that I thrifted, I don't think they were SA though, as I've found SA has the poorest quality thrift stuff generally (probably why I don't go to it even when I thrift) Even GW is better so I do go to it sometimes, and I think it was a better independent thrift I got this stuff at. One is a fake wood that matches a fake wood table I "inherited" (it's worth nothing :)) from my parents. I do like how it matches that way, it's unusual to just have a match like that, and not bad looking, very modest, so a keeper. The other is a chintzy 70s style that I'm not sure why I ever got (though it is somewhere to put a lamp :) ). It's very sturdy though, and if I ever find anything nicer looking to replace it with thrifting, it itself will happily get donated back.
The thrift I love supports the local domestic violence shelter. It helps that it is next door to Half Price Books in a great area. I needed a travel coat and found an almost new one with a zip in liner for $11. Across the store was a Travelsmith raincoat for another $11. So I just bought both of them. The Travelsmith would have been over $150 online. My money goes farther and helps more people shopping at such a thrift store.
Note: I do not enjoy trying to find something in a store with too many choices. I simply shut down. With a thrift, it is usually one choice yes or no. I can deal with that. Strange in our consumer society.
sweetana, Wow! You got seven pieces of Ethan Allen for $200.00!!! That is so cool! That's great that they deliver. Sometimes that's my problem...I don't have a truck. How nice that you found a $7.00 raincoat for your minlaw. I love getting clothes at thrift store prices.
I had to leave my husband to bid on the furniture and told him $700 was our maximum bid. When I got there, he was so happy that he only had to pay $200. We have the EA in five rooms of our house and it moves when we do. Since it is modular, it can be reworked to fit anywhere.
Gardenarian
5-31-14, 9:52am
My bedroom set is from Salvation Army - beautiful Art Deco dresser and nightstands, gorgeous inlays and all the original hardware. The tops are a bit banged up, but I still love them. Great craftsmanship - you couldn't get the same new at any price, I think.
I think it was $60 for the set.
Nearly all our furniture is used - we got a lot from an estate sale around the corner. Older furniture fits better in the small rooms in our 1946 house.
awakenedsoul
5-31-14, 10:21am
That's great, Gardenarian. Same with mine. It was built in 1944. The new pieces are way too big for a 567 square foot cottage. Even the lawn furniture has gotten bigger! I have an old wooden double swing hanging from my porch.
Let's see if this works.
http://s1193.photobucket.com/user/rosa_rugosa/media/table011_zpsafb5d312.jpg.html
ETA: So this is sort of annoying, but if you click link, it will take you to a Photobucket album and if you click through, I posted some different views. Then there are some old Lady's Slippers photos, but I can't spend the time and energy figuring out how to separate them. At least I think you'll be able to see the table though. It's very rustic and certainly wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but I really like it!
awakenedsoul
6-2-14, 10:32pm
I like it, too, rosarugosa. I also shop at a church thrift store in our area. They use the money to feed the hungry. I've been able to find most of what I need at their shop or the Salvation Army.
Let's see if this works.
http://s1193.photobucket.com/user/rosa_rugosa/media/table011_zpsafb5d312.jpg.html
ETA: So this is sort of annoying, but if you click link, it will take you to a Photobucket album and if you click through, I posted some different views. Then there are some old Lady's Slippers photos, but I can't spend the time and energy figuring out how to separate them. At least I think you'll be able to see the table though. It's very rustic and certainly wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but I really like it!
That is really nice! I love the look of that room you have there.
I have found great pieces, at fantastic prices, at a local auction house - mostly stuff they get from estate sales. They have auctions once a month, with a preview night the day before. It's a lot of fun to go to their events.
I have some lovely home furnishings from second hand stores.
But I am allergic to dust mites and they are in every piece of upholstered furniture that has not been wrapped against them.
I have found mattress covers to fight dust mites but never any other kind of cover. Makes sense as that would make the furniture look ugly.
awakenedsoul
6-6-14, 11:10am
Our Salvation Army gets some real finds. I think it's because if things don't sell at their antique store in Pasadena, they move them up here. Pasadena is "old money." I've been amazed at the beautiful pieces I've gotten. They sell quickly, though. I check in regularly just to see what they have.
Store bought new furniture soon becomes populated with dust mites.
I have some lovely home furnishings from second hand stores.
But I am allergic to dust mites and they are in every piece of upholstered furniture that has not been wrapped against them.
I have found mattress covers to fight dust mites but never any other kind of cover. Makes sense as that would make the furniture look ugly.
ApatheticNoMore
6-25-14, 1:24am
I wrote: I have two end tables that I thrifted, I don't think they were SA though. One is a fake wood that matches a fake wood table I "inherited" (it's worth nothing ) from my parents. I do like how it matches that way, it's unusual to just have a match like that, and not bad looking, very modest, so a keeper. The other is a chintzy 70s style that I'm not sure why I ever got (though it is somewhere to put a lamp ). It's very sturdy though, and if I ever find anything nicer looking to replace it with thrifting, it itself will happily get donated back.
I found a replacement for that chinzy 70s end table I hated at the Goodwill for $10. So out with the old 70s looking coffee table with the gold trim which are always in vast supply at thrift stores (I'll probably take it to the Goodwill!) and in with a much nicer coffee table. Both are in decent condition (not too many scratches etc.) it was just the style I hated. And well $10 .... seems such an incredible bargain for a much nicer chest style hexagon wooden end table, if it was more I may have waited, but such a steal.
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