Lots of furniture, of course, and I have a love for cotton blankets, and I find them in good shape at the thrift store quite often (A good wash and a long tumble in the dryer at the highest heat and I’ve never seen a bedbug). The main thing I save money on is my son’s clothes. He’s got sensory issues and only likes elastic waist pants. While that’s not a problem with little kids, he’s over five feet and over a hundred pounds now. Track and sweat pants are fine but often a little too casual. But I can find them at the thrift store (and neither of us care that those plain, boring pants are “accidentally” in the women’s section, haha :D). Same with shirts. Button downs and polos and nice tees, I can be picky and find the lowest prices and still come home with good additions to his wardrobe.

Last time, I walked out with twenty or so items for about $45, including a beautiful crocheted over-shirt that gets me compliments every time I wear it. I get a little thrill out of the compliments I get on items that only cost me a few dollars. I also found two great pairs of leather sandals, Brazilian made, that fit me to a T. I wear a women’s size 11, which is why finding any shoes that fit me, anywhere, is always a joy, but even more so when they only cost $4 a pair. :D

My favorite thrift store find, though, was a men’s leather coat, size large, that I found for $20. The only things wrong with it were that it was missing the zip-out lining (not really necessary) and the lining of the coat was starting to go (I replaced the lining for $60). I wore it for about two months, then I met my boyfriend (now husband), and gave it to him for Christmas. To this day, six years later, he still wears it. He loves the darn thing, and it’s still in great shape. Not bad for 80 bucks.

I enjoy the thrill of the search. My biggie? Except for two school shirts, underwear, socks, one sweater and three pair of shoes I have never bought any new clothes for my boy. He’s seven years old and I’d guesstimate that his entire clothes budget has cost less $250. Currently – I’m on a leisurely search for game board pieces – chess, checkers, dominos.

I popped into a thrift store just a couple of weeks ago hoping to score jeans for my DD and they were having a sale on women’s sweaters — $3 each. Since I needed sweaters and they were on my list I bought 3. I will need to buy a couple more, but I can get by if I don’t find any.

One of my DD’s favorite outfits is a denim dress with flowers on it and turtleneck that has stripes in the same colors as the flowers. I paid $1 for the shirt and $3 for the dress and to make it work for the winter I bought a pair of $4 cable knit tights from a chain store.

I’m not great with thrift stores anymore, they seem to be pretty well picked clean where I live (and have been since before the recent depression), but I got some great antique stuff at the Salvation Army in Switzerland when I lived there (“Heils Armee”) – in Europe that stuff is junk from the attic, while here it’s expensive antiques! Woohoo!

#10 Hannah,

Let’s see…I sold Men’s Furnishings at Nordstrom for ten years and I love puzzles. Here are some the types … You missed the entire point of the story. The post is not about shirts, it’s about finding buried treasure.

Hannah copied from Trent’s post:
‘I’ve still got shirts from that batch…I won’t need to buy any more long-sleeved shirts for several years yet’
…
“Flash forward to about a week ago… I stopped at a local thrift store, looking for some long-sleeved shirts’

You may have missed the entire point of her post. She was not looking for a lengthy description of men’s long-sleeved shirts, she was puzzled as to why in one sentence he indicated he wouldn’t need to buy any more for several years (‘I’ve still got’ indicates at present) and in another mentioned how he went to the shop looking to buy more.
At least that’s how I read it.

My happiest find was two dozen baskets for 25-50 cents each. I make gift baskets for our local food pantry to give out at Christmas. The low cost enables me to buy more items to fill the baskets. I sanitize them and they’re often nicer than ones I can get at the hobby store for $5+.

Our small-town thrift store charges a fraction of what I have to pay at Goodwill. I don’t really look at clothes too closely, but I pick up kitchen items, craft supplies, TONS of books, games, etc. for 10 cents to $2. (ALL books are ten cents each. I walk out of there with a box on a regular basis.)

When we went on vacation this year that involved a LOT of driving, I picked up a bunch of books and little things for my 2 year old. I think I spent around $10 total for a huge pile of stuff that kept her cheerful all the way across Wyoming.

This year for Halloween I wanted to make my daughter a care bear costume. I used a 25 cent sleeper from the thrift store, cut off the feet, used bargin bin fabric to make the tummy and a hood, and for less than $5, she’s Funshine Bear.

But about three years ago, something happened.–the management changed, the way they distributed goods, etc. Now, the store is only about 1/3rd full, the stuff is really junk (seriously, it should not have been donated) and though we still donate (because it’s close to our apartment), we’ve rarely if ever found anything.

One of the things that has also changed is that the salvation army workers now pretty much pick off good stuff and, it seems, have been doing their own reselling on craigslist and/or ebay.

It’s not legal, but it’s been happening. It defeats the purpose of the whole giving thing and many people, realizing this, have stopped donating.

In reading other stories, it reminded me of how many times we’d put something on a “wish” list, and stop by the SA on the way to somewhere else and presto, like magic, it appeared. But, alas, no more. (File cabinet, recliner, various books, lamps, including stuff that was often in original packaging and never used.)

What we have found that are great, that we can’t personally use, but our family members in Florida love and swear by, are hospice-run thrift shops. You can find a lot of stuff you might need in terms of medical equipment for really affordable prices, home items for the elderly and/or someone who is ill but you also find lots of other great stuff because not only do those who pass on via hospice donate, but their families, who are truly appreciative of hospice, choose to donate their best stuff to them. (Plus you have people who have moved to Florida from other places and finally declutter when they get to Florida and those who are downsizing for whatever reasons.)

The other “thrift” store we have nearby has great stuff, but really high prices (no real bargains unless you consider high-end furniture at $500 and up and designer clothes at $400 and up a bargain. It’s all relative, but us real folks can’t afford it.) They’re so upscale now that they have online auctions.

There are a few other thrifts in the city, with good stock (if you are lucky) but things go really fast because 1/Donations have decreased and 2/More people of all socio-economic backgrounds are “thrifting.”

We hope all continue to exist and re-evaluate how they are setup for “average” folks and those in dire need as well. Our family has always liked being able to look around and say: Hey, this is good stuff. But we are not using it. Let’s get it out and put it out there for those who can use it. We should not be hanging on to it when others can use it.

It’s great for de-cluttering and it’s great from a giving standpoint. Too many people need stuff and can’t afford it. So we do what we can by donating good stuff and reminding ourselves that “letting go” is the fastest way to put something out there for those who need it.

The problem these days is everybody is trying to sell everything on ebay or craigslist and there really is not as much available in our area, at least, for thrifting.

I also have a hard time paying retail for ANYTHING because if you wait and are patient, it will appear at a thrift shop sooner or later. Our family has joined the Compact, which means always shopping 2nd hand/vintage first…or doing without. We also belong to Freecycle, and got our couch for free. Can’t beat free. Also a wood stove…like others here I could go on and on.

I love the new baby clothing story, what a great gift!

My spouse once thrifted a Brooks Brothers suit for about $10 that fit him with only very minor alterations. He got years of use out of wearing it to the office.