Thrift Store Shopping - Open Your Mind to Bargains & Adventure!

Back when I was a little girl my mother constantly took me thrift store shopping. I don't know whether it was due to economic need or because my mother, having grown up desperately poor, never gave up the habit but for a little girl like me places such as the DAV, Salvation Army and Goodwill were like giant toy boxes. That was back in the day when I'd rummage through an open basket of ladies compacts and cigarette cases, gold and silver toned, some with rhinestones and engraving, enthralled with their shiny elegance. We would tour the used furniture area together at these stores, my mom pointing out the signs of good construction and, in the glasswares, how to differentiate colored glass from its wannabe cousin, painted glass. Of course we would always leave with a nice little armload of used books because we were a house of readers and as my mother would always say, "The words never go bad."

Consequently, thrift store shopping is a part of me. When I was a young married woman, unfettered with children and making a nice living, thrift store shopping was an adventure I'd indulge in on Saturdays once a month or so; sometimes coming back empty-handed and other times with some little something-or-other for the house - a planter, a picture frame, a wine rack or even better, vintage jewelry pieces for my collection. When I became a slightly older divorced single mom, thrift store shopping was less the adventure and more the necessity. Where else would I be able to obtain a back-to-work wardrobe for less than $100? If you feel there's a bit of social stigma attached with shopping second hand I urge you to let the idea go. You'd buy a used house, used car, used boat, wouldn't you? If you've ever taken out a library book you've read a used book. You go to a restaurant and dine off dishes used by previous patrons. No matter. My point is this: Thrift stores, second-hand stores, consignment stores and the like have always been outstanding sources for the great buy, the unusual buy and the practical buy. I'm here to encourage you to join in the adventure. And here's what you can find: