Thrift Store Treasures

I love our thrift store in town. It is clean, organized, friendly staffed, and inventory changes quickly. I went to a couple other thrift stores in the county to see if there were comparable and walked away A) smelling like incense covered smoke (gross!), B) empty handed, C) appreciating our little store in town all the more.

I haven't always been a thrift store shopper. It took a pregnancy budget and willing friend to hold my hand to get me into my first thrift store. I was amazed that I could buy all my birthing blankets (8-10 baby blankets) for under one dollar. Yep. Under a dollar! I went back after my baby was born and became a regular customer in the children's clothing and books sections.

Once the ice was broken, I sought out thrift stores in the surrounding areas and became an avid shopper of all things thrift. I am very picky about what I purchase at these stores, but I've found that most things can be cleaned. Baby clothes are the best find since they are so gently used and most are brand new. Depending on the store, household items (kitchenware, bedding, pictures, books, etc) are usually a good find too.

My current local thrift store that I love is over the top awesome because they have a bag sale once a month. The last week of the month a bag (grocery store plastic bag) is $3. This applies to clothing, belts, purses, and shoes. It's wonderful and forces the inventory to change quicker. After that, old stuff gets shipped to Denver to a larger store and new stuff is put out.

The bag sale is the whole reason for this post. I went in there yesterday with KB and got my $3 bag full of clothing (2 jeans, 6 shirts for a combo of people). KB picked out a lion king book and we were ready to go. The lady working went in the back and came out with a brown paper bag full of toys. She told me it was a whole Polly Pocket set and if my daughter wanted it, could have it. No charge. I reluctantly took it, thinking I could give it to a friend who has slightly older girls if it turned out to not be age appropriate for KB. (I remember my own P.P. toy when I was young and it was TINY).

We got home and dumped out the bag..... There really was a whole set and I had no idea how it all fit together. After looking it up online I figured out the how and also found out it  retails for $80 brand new. Crazy. Polly Pocket has also gotten bigger and KB does fine with all the pieces. She has nothing like it in her toys and has already played with it for hours. 


This post could get a lot longer if I started listing all the fun, useful things I've found at that store, but it's already much longer than anticipated. Lesson of the post: Give your thrift store a chance. You may have to go to a couple different ones to find one that works for you, but it could be completely worth it.