Oooooo, so yesterday morning…..
There has been a disturbance in the forces….and you get this spiritual moment where somehow you just know that there is a deal silently waiting to be discovered at your local Goodwill. And when you have the call….
you.
must.
answer.
Now lets take a time out here - I will be the first to say that I NEVER, ever, EVER thought I would shop at Goodwill. I turned up my nose at such a thought years ago - thinking I was somehow “too good” to shop there - anyway homeless people shop there…and for some reason I thought if I shopped there I would be thought less of….heaven forbid, homeless…… And then there is that moment where I contemplate if anything has contagious bugs on them…that would jump on me….But that was years ago - I’m much more mature now, I’m an adult, that owns a home, that pays bills (well Josh does most of them) and I now see the value in spending less to save and get more!
The “before” of our hutch. The most time-consuming project I’ve EVER done!
Ok - so I may have swung the pendulum…a little bit far when I first moved to our new home. This home has been my dream home - and I am blessed in so many more ways than I ever thought to get to live in such a pretty place! So when we first moved in - I quickly found out - haha - I needed more stuff…and there are a crazy number of Goodwill stores right along my drive to and from work.
After- Annie Sloan paint - Paris Grey with clear wax seal
Before- because if I posted this photo first would you keep scrolling?
“Free” nightstands...from the Randall Barn Store;-)
Josh and I never lived together before we were married - and I lived at home - so we had nada when we first got married. Our first purchases before the scales fell off my eyes and Goodwill was part of my vocabulary, was a queen bed, a sofa, a rug, and this blue chair I got at Homegoods. The blue chair is the most comfortable, glorious chair you ever lay eyes on and sit in - and was quite a source of contention…but thats a story for another day….So yeah….4 items, that’s all we brought into our home! But with my ultra savvy mother’s help - we literally built a home off of Goodwill.
The infamous blue chair at our MI apartment ...whom I love:)
Now those who know me know I have two very obvious problems, character flaws….
My mum and I
1) I love to shop. Girl, I could shop with the best of them - I can shop in the morning, I can shop at night… I can even shop when the store closes in 15 min - that is what we call a challenge, I accept. The only thing I can’t do well is shop on a budget…but I digress…And I can pretty much forget about all other human needs - now my mom and I are a force to be reckoned with. We’re like the energizer bunny, meets 5-hr-energy - just keep going, going, going - we have spent a day shopping - and only lived off a a coke and fries - we split….all. day. long. Now before you pass judgement, our power-shopping may have come out of semi-necessity, as we didn’t live in a town that had “good shopping”, so when we went shopping - into the Chicago suburbs - it was to get a list of goals and items accomplished. Ok so moving on…
Pumpkin that somehow spoke to me for only $0.69. (The table I bought years ago, and refinished before I was savvy with old furniture $25-ouch!)
2) I am a sucker for a good deal. Not a great deal, but a really, really amazingly good, good deal! Now, prior to my Goodwill-ing days, I would frequent Target and Marshalls. I read all the Pintrest posts on how to read tags and know if the item will get marked down… and then come back as soon as it hits that day. But that is less fufilling since you never are going to walk out of Target spending less than $100, and nothing is ever $0.69 there.
PRO-TIP - If you want to get an item thats always sold out, talk to the employees - find out when their shipments come in and what days mark-downs are on…. You will score the best items at Marshalls on these days - since they often only get a few of one item in each size.
So these two problems can be exponentially worsened by visiting Goodwill!
At least my Goodwill.
We live on the edge of a very “comfortable” neighborhood, which I have found out people donate items, because they got something better. Not because the stuff they have is worn, or broken or forgot to remove the tags, or even not in style - but because they just don’t want it. Now I don’t quite understand that train of thought, and may never - however - I will gladly enjoy the result of it!
So what does a good Goodwill-ing trip look like to me? Well a few things:
1) I spent under $25 - yep, my husband is most happy when I spend less money than he makes….and while he makes more than $25, I’ve found it to be the most palatable of price ranges - not too much, not too little that you couldn’t score a cart full of goodies… yep.
Italian wool blazer $6, Ralph Lauren cashmere sweater for my nephew $3
“Oh hi honey, did you have fun? Find anything good?”
“Oh yes babe! Lots of goodies!” gage his attentiveness and look on his face…if happy proceed… if not, tell him the total and go on your merry way.
“Yeah, I got his pillow from Pottery Barn, and a Ralph Lauren sweater for our nephew, and a few other things.”
“That’s great!”
Ladies its just that simple…. this formula works well in most situations. However, I did run into my neighbor’s husband the other day - jokingly he told me I can’t hang out with his wife anymore. Now, I love my neighbor friend, she’s the best and we love the same things, appreciate each other’s humor, and we both like fancy things…so, I was a little concerned (you know, behind every joke they say, there is a little bit of truth). I was like…hmmm why’s that? He proceeded to tell me he used to to always be scared when she would go to Target, for reasons discussed above, but now he gets worried about Goodwill runs. I was like - oh it’s not that bad - we only spend like $25 each trip! (can you sense my pride here?) Oh he agreed, that wasn’t bad….it was how frequently we went….hahaha… I had no comeback..
Authentic Lonchamp purse-$5. I sent it in to be repaired for $6. $11 purse- brand new retails for $110!!!!
2) I can resell some of the items I found for profit. I feel like this goes back to my roots of loving a good deal! Whats better than scoring a good deal… scoring a good deal and then selling it to make a profit! Now this comes with a great amount of risk. If you buy an item hoping to sell it, but it never does…nothing takes the wind out of your sails like that….and now I just consider it mine. But the risks are super high when you score a great deal hoping to resell but it’s not in your size…..you just spent $3, and nothing to show for - and it doesn’t fit (imagine me trying to squeeze into a Frozen costume for an XL girl - don’t rip it, don’t rip it, don’t rip it). I do realize in our current economic state you may struggle to actually buy ANYTHING for under $3, so really it’s less than a coffee….and that’s what I tell myself when I go to bed at night and I sleep just fine…
3) Theres something old. Oh, I’m a romantic at heart… it’s so bad…so anything that is a nod to yesteryears I love. On my trip yesterday I scored this gorgeous cross stitch that looks kinda old to me. Now in reality, it’s prob not 100 years old more like 50, but I love needlework, and can appreciate the time and dedication. And it’s framed! Ha - you think that doing the cross stitch is the hardest part…nope - framing it…. Anyway - anything old - doilies, paintings, mirrors, frames…. Oh, it’s bad - I have a little part of my basement where I have “planned” projects. I just need time to do them….someday…because you never know how gorgeous a old frame looks re-painted and turned into a chalk bored.
Ok so I found the Pottery Barn table (with the tag still on for $200-something) at Goodwill. I was so excited I was giddy going to the checkout! Turns out items were 1/2 price that day...so my steal-of-a-deal table for $16 was only $8!!!!!! Ps: My couch- Pottery Barn- $250...Facebook Marketplace
4) I negotiated something. Now this is more of a recent love of mine. I HATE confrontation, but you know what tastes like sweet victory when you’re at a check-out - getting to nock just a little bit off of a price - because - you asked! I will say I do this much more with traditional retailers, you’ld be surprised! It first came out of necessity - I was buying a necklace but it was missing some of the beads, I wanted the price to be decreased so I could buy the beads to fix it. Now rejection is something none of us like - so I just remind myself - they don’t hate me, they’re just saying no, you have a 50/50 chance of them saying yes - so I’ll gamble on a + $0.50:-)
Ok, so I hope I have inspired some of you to hit your Goodwill up - go on Friday nights guys - peak time, stuff gets placed on the floor in anticipation of busy Sat mornings….and next time you enter through those sliding doors and the “goodwill" scent hits you, grab that blue cart, itch your nose (because not everything there you want to buy;-), and let your eyes rest on the old and rejected…. think - this is going to be the best scavenger hunt!
My dad and brother “delivered” the much awaited Salvation Army rescue piano! Check out all that swag;-)
Before
After