I love my Goodwill store. Just sayin'.
When I was a little kid, my mom (who was raising me by herself), would give me a dollar when we went shopping. I could buy what I wanted with it, wether it was a pair of socks or some pretty pencils or whatever. When I got old enough to go to school, we would always shop at Savers or Goodwill for school clothes because like she said, "you can get a whole wardrobe here for what one pair of Guess or Girbaud (lol remember those) jeans would cost". We would wander around looking through everything with a fine toothed comb, and although it did take longer - I was surprised to find that there were Guess Sweatshirts out there if you looked hard enough! And even a pair of Girbaud jeans with a rip in them on occasion, or a Benetton bag, or a LeSac purse, etc.. etc... I remember one time we bought a generic Members Only looking jacket and took an Adidas patch from something else, and Wallllah! I now had a brand new Adidas jacket that all my friends were jealous of, and nobody knew it was custom made for me. By my mom lol. P.S. I'm pretty sure that is brand infringement by the way Mom. But, shhhhh.... nobody tell, OK? :)
The point is, from the time I was very little I learned that you did not have to spend a lot of money to have nice things. I still live by this today and so I thought I would compile a blog of all my AMAZING DEALS that I get at the Goodwill. I wanted to show people that in this economy, you don't have to spend a lot or rack up credit card debt to furnish your home or dress stylishly. Heck, just last week I bought an unopened box of 100 non-latex gloves for work for $2. That is about a third of what I can get them at the supply company for! So you never know what you will find...
First things first - I have a serious addiction to the Goodwill store by my office.
It is in a more affluent area where even at the Goodwill, most of the cars are BMWs & Range Rovers. So I realize that that is not the typical area or the typical Goodwill store. But, to be fair I do frequent 2 other locations in Maplewood and Stillwater, Mn and they are just as good, but different. The Stillwater store has really cool old antiques and a lot of the shabby chic-ed furniture and household items. The Maplewood store must get more than the typical overstock from Target, because they always have great deals on household cleaners and new stuff from Target. (Oops I forgot about the Woodbury store - that one my friend Sarah told me about and it is a goodie also.)
Things You Should Know About Your Goodwill Store:
1. Make a list. Obviously you never know what they will have, and you will probably find a lot of little treasures you like. But, I always make a list of things I am looking for ie: a white button up shirt, 6 matching napkins, etc... just so I don't spend hours walking around aimlessly. And believe me, it can and will happen.
2. Know which location has more of what you are looking for. (Some are better for furniture, some are better for clothes, etc...)
3. Know what days they have specials. In Minnesota, Sunday & Mondays are 50% off a certain colored tag, and then on Tuesdays any merchandise that color is just $1.49, and Wednesday is Senior Day.
4. Have fun and shop often! (Not as often as I do... but then again I'm addicted... lol)
