Lets go Hunting....Goodwill Hunting

IM BACK!! The blogging vacation is over, and I lived through a birthday, a bachelorette and a wedding. Phew! Let the relaxation begin. Anyways, here is my latest confession....

Confession: I am obsessed with thrift stores.

I kid you not. And not just for home items to revamp. I mean for clothes... for me! When I was unemployed a few years ago, shopping for clothes was pretty much out of the picture. Until I figured out my little shopping secret: Thrift stores. Ya huh! Goodwill, Savers, Plato’s Closet, Garage Sales. No place is off limits. Since then I hadn't dabbled in my thrift store shopping too much, until recently (ok since having Colton and realizing nothing fits like it used to) and now I am mildly addicted.

There is something to be said about getting such steals on clothes. Maybe it’s the cheapy inside me or the thrill of the hunt, but I LOVE searching through the racks to find previously owned gems at a fraction of what it would normally cost. I love it!! And the best part is that people never (until now) know that I love to shop there. Think what you will of me, but I have no problem wearing something owned by someone else (especially when it costs $3.99 and looks brand new or even has the tags on it). Just last week I had been on the hunt for some skinny belts to wear over some cardigans. I checked the mall and was VERY bummed to see places wanted 9.99+ for a tiny little belt. Try again! I knew I could do better than that price. Enter Savers (ahhhhh the heavens open and shined upon me bargains galore) Not only did I grab a black skinny belt for a mere buck ninety nine BUT I also snagged a royal blue cardigan (to wear with that lovely purchased belt for $3.99) AND a skinny braided brown belt(1.99). WHAT WHAT?? I love deals like that!

Then last night stumbled into my old friend Goodwill (it had been a while with the new Savers hogging my attention right around the block). Giving myself a $10 challenge I scoured the racks for a good hour and ended up with 3 lovely nuggets: a camel/brown striped scoop neck sweater (Old Navy), a grey and green striped boyfriend cardigan (Mossimo) and a navy/white (Jcrew) striped top (I love me some stripes, especially under jackets!) and the grand total was.....$10.37 HOLLA. I think I made out great!! And since I am VERY selective when I thrift for myself (especially the tops) to made sure they were in good/new condition (FYI -jeans, dress pants, blazers, jackets also make great thrift store buys) I was quite impressed with my purchases!!

One of the things I have found in my close thrifting adventures, is that searching for classic pieces by well made companies are key. I am still kicking myself over this amazing white blazer from Nine West and was under $10 and looked BRAND NEW, but it was a tad bit snug. Knowing I planned to lose more weight I should have bought it cause it would have fit perfectly now. Drat, oh well, lesson learned. I find it also helps to have brands memorized, so I know when I see Mossimo it’s from Target, Faded Glory from Wal-Mart, Apt. 9 from Kohl’s, and so on and it helps to decipher how good of a deal I am actually getting. $7 from a Mossimo item, not a great deal, since I could probably get it brand new for the same price at the store. But $2.99 now that is something I just might snag. As a personal rule, anything under 5.99 is typically a clothing bargain for me, since the majority of retail stores rarely have much below that. The only "problem" I run into is that it makes regular shopping tricky. I have a hard time spending at normal stores cause I know, "well I am sure I can find something similar in my closet Savers or Goodwill for WAY less" although I guess that’s not really a "problem" to have, now is it?? Lol

Oh and did you know they run deals? That’s right, last night at Goodwill was 50%off anything with a purple ticket (mine were all blue... bummer) Savers does a Monday night 25% off AND has a Savers card similar to a shoppers club card like at Wegmans.


Anyone else out there enjoy the thrill of the thrifting hunt? I tell you, once you start, and realize the clothing/home/baby gems to be found, you will be kicking yourself for not trying this sooner :)