Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Come shop with me!

My mother had an unexpected day off work. She drove up for a whirlwind morning of thrift shopping. We spent about $28 in two hours--more than the $20 I usually budget for the entire month! Let me tell you about our trip:
Store #1 -- Goodwill --Luli smocked dress; Little Me sleeper, both half price TOTAL: 1.50
Store #2 -- Southern Thrift -- Little Giraffe fleece blanket, $1.99; Rothschild coat, half price at $3; silk sweater for husband, $2.50; beribboned pearl bracelet for little girl cousin's birthday, $1. TOTAL: $8.50.
Store #3 -- Bustling independent thrift shop -- two Kitestrings sweaters, .50 each, watercolor set, .35 cents; 12 new Auto-B-Good DVDs, $3.50; designer silk wrap for sister's birthday, $1; 12 more coathangers, free. TOTAL: $6
Store #4 -- Tiny thrift shop -- 4 new pairs of boys' sweatpants, $2 apiece; 2 new Lands' End sweatshirts, $1 apiece; rolls of yellow and white ribbon, 25 cents apiece; Sweet Potatoes sleeper, $1; Hot Wheels toy, .25; handmade heart-shaped soap for Valentine's gift, 10 cents; Feb. '07 Martha Stewart Living, 5 cents. TOTAL: $ 11.80

Quite a haul, even though we raced through each store before the kids wore out. I usually sell one treasure to pay for my shopping. The complete set of Auto-B-Good DVDs should fetch at least $30--I'm so thankful for all our finds!

19 comments:

Heather @ Marine Corps Nomads said...

Wow! What great finds! I love it when you have a great day like that.

DonnaB said...

That's some pretty impressive shopping. I find good deals at garage sales, but I've yet to had much luck at thrift shops where I live :-(

Heather said...

Can I ask the name of the independent thrift store you mentioned in the post?

Laura Talbert said...

What a haul! I am envious as our Goodwill doesn't have sales.

Meredith said...

Heather, it's This 'N That on 51st, one block north of Charlotte and the Southern Thrift. It's run by volunteers, mostly from the Episcopal church, and profits donated to the St. Luke's community center.

I love that store! The volunteers are SO nice.

Meredith said...

Heather, I tried to find you the link to Ms. Cheap's guide to local thrift stores. Unfortunately, the Tennessean is now making you PAY for archived stories!

Anonymous said...

Meredith-
What a fun morning!! Don't you just love it when God sends such an unplanned blessing your way? I think your finds are awesome. Days like this are what thrifting is all about! Enjoy the satisfaction that comes from such wonderful finds! :-)

Susan

Jenn @ Frugal Upstate said...

Meridith-I haven't been thrift shopping in months, but stopped by the Salvation Army yesterday specifically to check out their coats, and found a Jones of New York black wool Pea Coat in Black, in MY SIZE, small tear on the inside lining, one button missing but the spare button still sewn inside. It cost $10, but I found it online and the orignial cost is $366, plus I've always wanted a black pea coat. So I'm thrilled.

ohh, here's a link to the exact coat:

http://www.aidandtrade.com/preview/america_dropshippers/Famous_ny_maker_pea_coat-red_t/dropshipping-11412.html

had to share cause none of my IRL friends "get" it.

Granny said...

Okay, that smocked dress made me teary-eyed that all my little girls are grown up (or at least too grown for precious little dresses like that!) GREAT finds!

Molly said...

Your thrift shop and goodwill prices are SO much better than mine. I guess things really are more expensive up here in the great northeast! Great finds!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I love thrift shopping, garage saling, etc. I am going this friday-weather permitting- as I grocery shop...hope I find some good finds also

Indie Pereira said...

I'm obviously thrift store shopping on the wrong side of town. I've had much better luck in the NE and the West than I have in the South. I got an entire spring wardrobe for my toddler from Hanna Andersson, Gymboree, and the Gap for less than $15 in a California Salvation Army thrift store. It was all 2006 stuff and in like new condition. I never, ever have finds like that in Nashville.

Heather said...

Meredith - thanks for the name of the store! I had heard there were some good ones around Charlotte but wasn't sure exactly where they were. I clipped the story for this past Sunday's Tennessean about some more stores and will be making some trips soon. Thanks again!

Meredith said...

Indie, nice to meet another local! This was an exceptional trip for me--often I come home empty-handed or with only one small item. I really try to buy just what we need.

Still, I believe there is a hidden treasure at every store, no matter what part of town. This stretch just happens to be the area where I learned to thrift shop.

Alexandra said...

Another thrift store junkie here. I loved reading about all your finds. Nice blog!

Emily (Laundry and Lullabies) said...

Wow, that is impressive. When you go thrift store shopping, do you go with a mental (or written) list? Or do you just pick up things that catch your eye? I think I'm just not very good at it (perhaps from lack of experience)...if I go with specific ideas in mind I always end up frustrated, and if I just pick up whatever looks good I find I'm usually just adding clutter to my house. Do you have any ideas as to how to avoid those problems?

Anonymous said...

what a great load! I've got a cousin in Charlotte who will love hearing about this thift shop. I'm particulaluy jealous that you got a little giraffe blanket for 2 bucks.

Stuart and Beth said...

Your thrift store finds are inspiring me to go to thrift stores except I will have to wait until I visit. We don't have thrift stores here but we do have street vendors and I found some great deals there last week.

It's a Mom Thing said...

TOOT TOOT! Meredith, I'm tooting your horn. You are such an awesome thrift-store shopper. I feel the same as some others, I hardly ever find stuff like this at my local stores. And I never find them for these prices. I'm gonna call each one tomorrow and ask when their half-price days are. The one item you find to sell, you sell on Ebay, right? That's a great tip.