Thriftin’ Finds

I did make it up to the thrift store finally yesterday evening,  once the kids got home from school.  I had better success this time compared to the last.  We hit the basement first.  The wooden item shelves were quite full!  I have a system where I scan over the shelves quickly (they are the entire length of the wall) and grab all the bigger things that look interesting.  Then I check prices (rarely do I find something that is too expensive) and check the item over, and put back what I decide I don’t want.  Then I go back over the shelves, more carefully, and look at every item one at a time.  Most I can tell from just a glance that I don’t want.  A lot of times, I find stuff that I really do like and I just missed it the first time through.  Last night, I had a pile on the floor! I love it when they have that much stuff, but I also hate it.  I can’t hold on to it, and I have to set it aside to be able to look through the rest of the shelves.  All the while, I am keeping an eye on it, trying to see what else I missed,  nervous that someone is going to raid my pile and take it! lol   Tonight I had the boys with me, so I kept asking them to ‘watch my pile while I look at this’ and ‘Calvin, are you watching my stuff?’  and ‘I need to go over there to see if there are any lamps- DON”T walk away from this..” which they were.  Finally, Calvin asked me, “Why don’t you just put it in a cart?’  I told him they don’t have them down there, and he walked over to the other side of the room, which I couldn’t get to b/c I was guarding my pile, and brought one back.  lol  Why didn’t he tell me that in the first place?  I filled it up with my stuff and actually got to relax enough to look around the rest of the room.  Then when I was done, I just had to find an employee to take my cart into the back room and up the elevator for me to meet them upstairs.  It’s amusing.  Here I am, thinking that this stuff I find is a total treasure and that other customers would probably fight me for it, and I’m sure they look at my cart and wonder ‘What the heck is she going to do with all that junk’….or probably more like, “Man!  That chick has some baaaaad taste!” LOL

This was the first thing I grabbed up.  It was $5.  I was wishing it was half off, but it wasn’t.  I loved it anyway and thought I could find a place for it here somewhere.  I’m not sure I am even going to make this over right now.  It has a pretty nice finish on it.

Not exactly sure what this next item was supposed to be.  It has a drawer on the bottom and right above that is a slanted piece…almost like a letter holder, but it’s not that deep.  There are little holes at the top that something else was attached to, a plaque or something?  Maybe it even had hooks screwed into the top for keys?….I have no idea, but I did have an idea of what I could use it for. The little soaps were tucked into the drawer.  I told the cashier they were stuck in there and she told me to just leave them there.  For $1.50, I just could not pass it up.

I found this bench for $2.50.  It’s pretty big and reminded me of a little church pew.

The older boys picked out these items for their room- which will be getting an ‘outdoor’ makeover soon.  The duck ‘peg’ rack was $3.  I thought that was a bit high, but they really wanted it.  I had to remind myself that if I would pay $2.50 for a church pew, lol, then I could pay $3 for something for them :-)  The fish paddle was 90 cents-they are really learning to spot a bargain like their mama :-)

They had several baskets- which surprised me since Easter was just last week.  There were more than usual.  Anyway, I always look for ones that look handmade.  I paid $2 for the one on the left which was my favorite- definitely handmade and it’s dated on the bottom- and the other 2 were $1 each.  I liked the buttocks basket, but not crazy about the handle.  Not sure if I will keep it.

I found this big popcorn ‘barrel’ (with removable liner) and snatched it up right away.  I didn’t see the word on it at first, but I know I can sand it off.  This was $1.50!

This big wooden box with a hinged lid was only 90 cents!

(in case you don’t already know, or can’t tell, I have an extreme weakness for wooden items! lol)

I LOVED this next box.  Not so crazy about the heart on top, but I can fix that if I feel I need to.  It was also $1.50!

And this desk top secretary-type box was something I almost put back.  I wasn’t real sure about what I would use it for, but I really liked it and it was very sturdy.  I turned it over and saw it was also $1.50!  Use it or not, that was a steal!

So, now you can see why I practically run down the shelves grabbing the bigger items.  Most of these were probably considered ‘junk’ to the people pricing, so they just slap $1.50- $3 on them to get rid of them. 

So I know it goes like this…sometimes I am willing to pay $5 for one thing, because I will always get a steal on a few others.  I think I paid right around $22 for all those wooden items and baskets.  Pretty good deal, I think.  Way better than anything I ever find at GW- which is practically nothing.  And it should keep me busy with makeovers for a little while.

  My next stop after the basement is always the glassware/houseware shelves on the back wall, upstairs.  This was my big splurge for the evening.  I saw it and was disappointed that it was not half off, but I had to have it-I loved it too much to pass it up.  I just can’t make out the mark on it though.

Anyone recognize it?  It looks huge in the picture, but it’s 6 inches tall and I paid $8 for it.  Good deal?

This next item was also a surprise.  You probably don’t remember, but the last time I went up to that store (a month ago), I had bought a blue banded crock urn that was missing a lid, for $2.  I mentioned that they also had a blue banded crock behind the counter for $15- someone had painted geese on it.  I regretted not buying it and I told myself that if it is still there the next time, I will get it.  I love the Roseville Pottery items, and have collected a few blue banded pieces already.  I figured $15 was probably an okay price.  The last place I always check is behind the jewelry counter shelves up by the checkout.  That is where they put the pricier stuff, collectables, fancier dish sets and pieces, etc.  That is where I saw the crock the last time.  I was well prepared to buy it for $15 now that my kitchen is done.  I scanned the shelves over…no geese crock.  Bummer.  Then I stood there and scanned them over more carefully, and I saw one…waaaay at the end.   I walked down to the end and saw, not the geese crock, but this smaller one…

Wooo Hooo!   So I had to lean over the counter to see the price….

WHAT???

When I realized it said $5.5o instead of $15.50, I about peed my pants right there.  BETTER YET- it was an orange tag!  Half off!    And I would have gladly paid the whole $5.50.  You can see through the clearance price that it was $12 before!  10 years ago when I was into ‘country’, I would have loved that darn chicken…but tonight, I came right home and took a few cotton balls and nail polish remover to it and scrubbed it right off :-)

And that is how it goes.  Sometimes I will pay $8 for a little jug that I love, only to find a crock that I absolutely adore for $2.50.  I can’t tell you how much I love that store :-)