One Man's Junk . . .

I have a new favorite pair of pants. I'd wear them every day if I could get away with it. I didn't get them at Gap, or Sears, or JC Penny's. (I know that there are far classier places than those, but those are the stores that came to mind.) No, this was an acquisition care of good ol' Goodwill. Last week our family made a visit there and it reaffirmed my faith in the power of thrift shopping.

During our trip, we got me several pairs of pants; my three-year-old three nice, striped shirts; the same son some heavy-duty hiking shoes that should suit him well in winter; my husband several T-shirts; and my husband several dress shirts that were super great quality. We also made the discovery that Goodwill gives discounts for students. So all of these items were acquired for under forty dollars. I am not sure of exactly what these items would have cost us new, but I suspect that it would have been at least three times what we paid. And almost all of these were about as good as new.

Thrift stores are awesome for more than just clothes. We bought our first couch there. Now, I know this disgusts some people, and I admit that it was not an attractive couch (it was an indescribable purple color), but it was completely usable and cost us only $60.

We've also found books and games by thrift shopping. A friend of mine who grew up shopping thrift took me and another friend on our first serious thrift shopping outing before we headed off to college. She had some great tips and great skills for finding good stuff. While we were shopping, in fact, she found a really nice dish set that she's still using in her family home seven years later. Another friend keeps on the lookout for certain deal days at thrift stores. She's shown me beautiful outfits she's gotten for her five-year-old daughter at thrift. Also, when looking for a Halloween costume (which can be SO expensive), she found a fantastic witch's costume by shopping thrift.

When I was a kid, I think that I would have been a little embarrassed to shop thrift, but the friend who was so excellent at it, and had grown up doing it, was one of the best-dressed girls I knew. I had no idea that her family struggled financially until we got to know each other better as roommates and she told me. As she told me later, "You don't stand out, because looking like you dress thrift is in." In any case, my friend definitely demonstrated that if you shop thrift with skill and practice, you can also shop thrift with style.