Glutted on Goodwill

After months of craving a trip to the Goodwill Clearance Center, I was finally able to glut myself on the incredible, incredible savings.  I'm a thrifty girl (and poor) and to have, at my disposal, a dozen enormous bins full of linens, clothes, shoes, and purses for 75 cents a pound is like giving me a map to buried treasure and then putting me on the island where it's buried -- pointed in the right direction.

I was afraid I'd spend all my money (what little there was of it) because my bag was really, really heavy but it weighed in at 13.5 pounds for a total cost of a little under $9.

NINE DOLLARS.

For:

1 twin bed sheet (khaki)
1 plaid shower curtain
1 striped...something (enormous pillowcase?)
1 pair of pleather pants (for an 8-year-old...SERIOUSLY?!  I'm cutting them up to make hair accessories and doing my duty of protecting children from growing up too fast)
2 pair of flats (one silver, one grey canvas)
1 tie
1 pair of fancy suspenders (for Stu's birthday...sssshhhhh!)
3 sweaters (one from Anne Taylor, one from Old Navy, one from Target)
1 purse (Banana Republic)
1 pair dark jeans (from Target)
3 collared shirts to cut up
3 tee shirts to cut up
1 plaid dress (think Halloween -- it's incredible)
1 pair Old Navy pajama pants
1 awesome hipster tee from Old Navy (it has a Victrola on it)
1 nice work shirt (...I think it's Banana Republic)
1 brown skirt
1 white handkerchief
1 silky, swirly dress to cut up

I bought most of the stuff to alter or use as fabric for craft projects, but all the stuff I bought to actually wear (except the jeans, which need to be taken in) fits perfectly.  I've become better at gauging what's going to fit regardless of what the size tag says since there aren't changing rooms at the Clearance Center.

My friend Abbie was kind enough to take me, and we spent a good hour plowing through the bins.  They also have a random assortment of furniture, books and toys.  You have a big rolly bin that you push around while you pile stuff in...

I can't describe to you how FUN it is.  Discovering buried treasure, thinking up all the things you can use something for...and best of all, it does get a lot of great brands -- my best find to date has been an authentic Coach bag (it even had the "How to Care for Your Coach Bag" brochure in the inside pocket!).  For mere pennies.

If you ever want to go, it does help to have a list of what you're looking for -- that way you can stay on task and not get overwhelmed by the enormity of the piles.  They're open on Sundays 1:30-5:30 and they have a half-off deal -- the 75 cents/lb.  I think it's $1.50 during the week.  (Still not bad, but who can resist a seventy-five cent discount?!)

Anyway -- got some good ideas from Pinterest and I'm aiming to either alter the clothes (like the charcoal grey men's shirt I got -- that's going to be a dress with a red belt and puff sleeves when I'm done with it), make tee shirt yarn (for a rug or trivet or hairbands), or make something else from it entirely (like the khaki sheet and plaid curtain -- I'm using those to make a big sling bag for myself).

I'm hoping to post pictures on here and at the end of the year I'll make a board on Pinterest showing all the stuff I've made that was inspired by stuff I found on Pinterest.

Stay tuned.  :)