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View Full Version : The Thrill of Thrifting...



SiouzQ.
11-7-12, 4:47pm
Eee-yikes, even as I posted last week about how I would like to save at least an extra $100 per month, I find myself hitting the thrift stores on my days off while running other errands, because you just never know what treasures you are going to find...at least I have a lot of ground rules I have made up for myself, such as getting rid of an old and functionally useless thing to make room for a new item, is it worth my life energy to drag this item home and let it live in my space, and is it under $5.00? Yes, yes and yes.

Today I scored at Recycle Ann Arbor, which is THE cheapest place to find all sorts of weird stuff. Being that Ann Arbor is a college town rife with rich (?) students depositing all sorts of perfectly good items by the curbside, Recyle Ann Arbor is a place that will pick up said stuff from the curb and let anyone drop off any sort of household goods, construction material, reclaimed lumber, sinks, toilets, doors, cabinet, furniture, dishes, books, toys, games, garden stuff, etc, etc. I had decided that I will purchase nothing new for the house but have been coveting some coffee mugs (one recently broke and the other is cracked and stained). While perusing the funky aisles of this place, I found two coffee mugs in the same colors but with different patterns that go with my existing kitchen stuff for a total of 70 cents. Moving further into the bowels of this warehouse, I found two really cool couch-type pillows that EXACTLY matched my living room decor in color. I didn't really need them, but they were in excellent condition and were only $1 each.. Fluffed them in the hot dryer for awhile and now they are sitting on the futon couch, looking cool! Lastly, I purchased a home made checkerboard game as well; not sure what I am going to do with it but is just really cool in all of its folky glory. All in all, I spent a total of $3.71 and got just the kind of cheap thrill of the hunt I've been looking for without going overboard with it (though there were a couple of cool old board games with wooden pieces at $2.00 each I kind of stashed way back in the game corner just in case I wanted to go back for them...;)

awakenedsoul
11-7-12, 5:36pm
I love thrift store shopping, too. I just bought a beautiful antique chest of drawers this morning at the Salvation Army. It's really charming. I love how it looks in my 1940's cottage. I keep walking by it and smiling at it. They had furniture at 40% off today, so I got this one for $40.00. The lady who works there helped my strap it on to the top of my car. I live just a mile away...and it's all flat driving. I've gotten most of my antique furnishings there for really cheap, and I just love them!

SteveinMN
11-7-12, 8:32pm
I can't tell you how much in our house is from thrift stores -- furniture, electronics, CDs, cookware, clothing, even items like tools and our shower head. I really used to love shopping thrift stores.

But now, not so much. I'll still cruise through a thrift store if I have time and I'm in the area. But, more and more, I'm seeing less-valuable items. The Recession seems to have cut off the stream of goods created by people "trading up" -- or else they're selling items of any value on craigslist and ebay instead of donating. The stores have become better at pricing goods, too, so screamin' deals are much harder to come by. Ah, well. Cheaper not to go, I suppose. ;)

awakenedsoul
11-7-12, 10:25pm
I know what you mean. Most of the time I just scan. I have a good eye for quality, so I zero in on the items of value. I also look at it as a form of tithing. The two places I find most of my things are The Salvation Army and a local church thrift store. The furniture I've bought there has been ideal. It's smaller, which I need for my cottage. It also fits in my car most of the time. And, I can lift it and move it myself. I'm still kicking myself for not buying this gorgeous antique couch. It was very 1920's. It had a curve, and looked like a chaise lounge. It was gone the first day...
My parents inherited a large houseful of gorgeous antiques from the 1800's. When my mom saw what I had found at thrift stores, she was blown away. "That house looks a hundred times better with all your nice furniture," she told me. It's amazing what furnishings do for a home. I also learned from her to keep things put away. That way you see the pieces, not all the stuff...

Gardenarian
11-8-12, 4:31pm
Hey, it's cheaper than a movie, and you even get to take something home with you when you're done! Thrift store shopping is the only "retail therapy" I indulge in.