There is a brand new Goodwill store in my town, and I love it!
First let me tell you about my breadmaker. It came from Brian's family's basement and was purchased over 20 years ago. It hadn't been used in about 17 years until I got it. I used it almost every day for a few months. Then, mysteriously, the little mixing paddle started going backwards. Hmm, not sure how to fix that and it doesn't mix the dough that way. Oh well, after 20 years it owes us nothing. I found this one that I like on Amazon.com but it out of stock and expensive. Brian told me to buy it, that I would use it more than anyone else he knows. I put it off... and put it off.
So now you will understand why I snatched the $6.99 breadmaker off the shelf at Goodwill so quickly that a couple of people gave me weird looks! After plugging it in, watching it go, and being informed of the 7 day return policy, I took it. It isn't fancy but will get us by until I can justify the new one. What a deal.
Next find: 2 very large (king?) sheets for $1.99 each. They just happen to match our bedding set almost exactly. I'm not sure that I would want to sleep on thrift store sheets, but I could never find fabric that cheap at Jo-Ann's. I used the blue sheet to make 2 curtains for our bedroom. They are much cuter than our old blinds. They aren't super functional but could be let down to block the window if needed. That will be very handy this year when there are beer drinking farmers in my backyard!
I used 1/2 of the second sheet to make a new cover for the dog bed. I sewed it like a pillow case with the opening in the middle of the bottom.
So...
Breadmaker $6.99
Curtains $1/each
Dog bed cover $1
Can't beat it! Want to share any of your great finds?
5 comments:
You sure did found some very good deals! I have way too many "good finds" to list all here. I've been toying with idea of starting new thread in my blog on frugal finds.
Jean, that sounds like a good idea. I'd read it.
Hi Jena! I am Jennifer and found your blog a few days ago - and have been enjoying it! :) Oh man, I love the thrift stores! The closest actual town is small, so it can be a challenge to find a treasure. But we recently were in a larger city and stopped in a DAV thrift store. They had a ton of skirts, but no dressing room, so they said we could go in the back corner by the bedding section and hubby could hold a blanket as a curtain. So we did and it was hilarious! Granted, since I am a skirt wearer and it is winter, I did have on long johns too- only undies would have made it even funnier. Anyway, I found three skirts for under $10 and one denim skirt I fell in love with so much that I have literally worn it probably 18 out of the last 20 days (washed regularly, of course). Sounds silly, I know, but it just works that well for me. The other great find is oil lamps -I have bought several in thrift stores. I like what you did with the matching sheets you found! Have fun with that bread machine! :)
Aren't you clever? Does Brian know how fortunate he is to have you?
I never thought of shopping at thrift stores until my daughter, Abbie, suggested it last year. One of her students (who did an independent study class with Abbie) was putting on an environmentally-conscious fashion show and we were going. It seemed the only thing appropriate to wear was something re-used or re-purposed. I found the cutest "little black dress" for next to nothing at a thrift store! It was perfectly stylish (tags till attached) and I could never have justified paying full/new price for that! The eco-fashion show was so much fun and I learned so much, as I do from you and Abbie, all the time!
Jennifer - Welcome to my blog! I'm so glad you're enjoying it. Your shopping trip sounds like a lot of fun. I can relate, I have some favorite clothes that I hate to take off too. I never thought of looking for oil lamps there. I'm not sure that my husband would let me use them, he doesn't like candles at all. Can't say I blame him, I'm just scatterbrained enough to leave them burning. If nothing else it would be good to have some oil lamps around for power outages. Thanks for the tip - hope to see you visiting again!
Ruth - Of course Brian knows he's lucky, I tell him all the time! ;) Just kidding! I'm pretty lucky too I say - a lot of men would have put me in the loony bin by now for doing all this crazy self-sufficiency stuff. An eco-friendly fashion show sounds great, I've never heard of such a thing before!
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