Then I started getting clothes at Goodwill. The Goodwill in Tacoma was fantastic--huge, full of everything you could possibly want. I got all my dishes there too. I still have them, a mismatched set of retro floral prints.
Then I discovered Bargain World. Oh, the yellow tags or the green tags or whatever color they had chosen for the week--those were all half price. It was incredible! Whenever anyone in my family would visit, we would all take an excursion to Bargain World. I think that's where I got my old red bike for $12. All it needed was air in the tires.
Then there were the free-boxes. A lot of the cities in the Pacific Northwest are great if you like collecting things from free-boxes or even from the side of the road. Corvallis, Portland, Seattle. You can get good clothes and furniture that way. I've got a beautiful old red Woolrich jacket that came from the fabled Free Box at Salmon Beach, Tacoma. I know I have a few things that I found on the sidewalk in Portland, or from a box that said "Free."
This is a beautiful concept. I love the way treasured things appear in my life as if by magic, as if they had been waiting there for me to come along and pick them up. Then later on down the line, I can give them away again happily.
Now I'm shopping at Salvation Army in Sonora again. The rainbow pink wellies came from there a couple weeks ago, and a pair of work jeans. Recently I got a collection of men's work shirts for gardening in. I call them my Lumberjack Collection. Guess what these shirts cost me.
They were $1.20 each. It doesn't get much better than that!
One of the things I find disheartening about living in a poor community is that the thrift stores reflect it. It totally makes sense that in a place where most new clothes come from Dollar General or Walmart the thrift store will not be full of great finds, but it still saddens me.
ReplyDeleteIt's very true--thrift stores definitely reflect the community they're in. I remember being so surprised to see fleece sweaters/jackets in thrift stores up in Washington. It seemed so... luxurious.
ReplyDeleteHere in Sonora the thrift stores still have a huge amount of hideously loud, floral polyester prints from the '70s. I've never seen quite as much anywhere else! Muu-muus anyone?