“…peace and Goodwill towards men.”
I’m sitting on the Marshmallow as I compose my thoughts. I had my wisdom teeth extracted last week, but my jaw is still killing me. I went to the oral surgeon today for a follow-up, and apparently I have “dry socket” (which I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy). Why am I telling you this? Because I want sympathy!!! Well, OK, there’s another reason why. Today, Florida suddenly remembered that it’s winter and produced some chilly weather. In honor of the gorgeous chill, I wore my “new” black turtleneck tunic (pictured below)!
I recently purchased it—and the adorable blue pants—from Goodwill! Anyway, my nurse loved it. It’s always fun to surprise people with a “Thanks! I bought it at Goodwill!” I could also just as easily say “Behold, the treasure which I snatched from the bowels of cast-off-ugliness!” So, you would like to become a treasure-snatcher? Let me train you, young padawan.
Make sure you complete these vital steps in order:
- Go to Google Maps and search for the nearest Goodwill and Salvation Army stores.
- Download or print a Goodwill Sale CALENDAR like this one! The link I have included here are for Goodwill locations in Minnesota. Keep in mind that not all areas have their sales calendar available online – you may have to get one at the store to learn about the sales cycle in your area.
- Get in your car.
- Drive to one of the locations.
- Get out of your car.
- Enter the store with elegance…as if you were gliding into Saks Fifth Avenue with $5,000 in your purse.
- Commence the hunt!
This is another outfit I purchased from Goodwill. I LOVE these pants!
Here are some random tips:
– Be prepared to spend about two hours in the store.
– If you are looking for jeans, you will have to go through a LOT of jeans to find the perfect pair. Be prepared to try on about 25 pairs.
– Yeah, make sure you wash everything you buy before wearing.
– Go with a friend or your mom—you might need help evaluating tackiness, whether or not an item has too much wear-and-tear, etc.
– Salvation Army stores nationwide mark down most of their clothing to half price every Wednesday!
– Don’t overlook the formal dresses section! Yes, there are lots of 80’s polyester dresses to sort through, but you can occasionally find a gorgeous gown!
I bought this gown for $16 at my local Goodwill. It still had the tags on!
My next post will discuss consignment stores! Oh, and I’d love for you to comment on this post with your Goodwill stories! Go get ‘em!
Yes it’s wonderful! I’ve found a lot of nice profesional clothes and goodwill and consignment stores.
That’s great, Genesis! Keep up the “centsible” shopping!
the gown is very cute and I like the tunic as well. I don’t have a lot of patience to go to lots of places and try on lots of clothes but thankfully don’t buy too much clothes anyway. When I lived in a nice neighborhood there were a few charity shops nearby and they had always very nice, quality stuff, I guess the rich are more likely to get rid of great item they barely wore. Nice job on your findings!
Exactly, Pauline! Scouting out the consignment shops, garage sales and Goodwills near “rich” areas of town is a great idea. You typically can find some pretty nice things…at least, nicer than other parts of town. 🙂
I went to a thrift-store looking for a nice dress to wear to a wedding this summer, but there weren`t much to find; but I did discover that they had a lot of my favourite shoe brand, but only superduper grown up style, so not my kind of shoes, but at least now I know that if I just keep visiting the store, I just might find a nice pair of quality shoes supercheap!:-D