Feeling Thrifty

Today, on a mission to go the record store, my boyfriend and I ended up at Goodwill. How? Well, last weekend we both cleared out a bunch of clothes and an old set of small wine glasses, and put them in my car to take to Goodwill. And then we had a ton of ice and rain in Oxford, and I never felt like going anywhere but work and home (I didn't even feel like going to work, but you know, I had to). So today, when we got in the car to go the record store (The End of All Music, check it out if you are in Oxford!), I decided it was time to take our stuff to Goodwill. And of course, once we dropped off our donations, we had to go inside and look around for cheap treasures.

I was never really one for thrift store shopping, mainly because I've never been one for shopping. I hate shopping trips, I hate waiting on other people, I hate trying on clothes and them not fitting, and having to go back out and find more things to try on, I just hate the whole process and I'm always grumpy by the time it's over. But at Goodwill (and I would imagine, other good thrift stores as well), the pressure is off. I'm not guaranteed to find anything specific, and I never go there trying to find anything specific (except for once on Halloween and it was a disaster), so it doesn't matter if I leave with nothing. And when you don't care about leaving with anything, you just may find one or two little treasures among all the junk.

The last time I went to Goodwill, I came out with a cropped blazer and an orange purse, each for $6.

 

 

The purse may look a little weird in that picture, but it was weighed down with all my stuff. So anyway, these were both great finds, and made me hate shopping a little less. At least, thrift shopping.

 

So today, I went to Goodwill wearing my cropped blazer and carrying my orange purse. I mainly went in because my boyfriend wanted to, so of course I ended up finding treasures of my own. I've been coveting mint purses online that I want but can't afford, and lo and behold, I found one in Goodwill!

 

 

It's perfect! I couldn't believe it. I can't tell why it was given up. The back has a slight bend that makes it sit a little funny, but I think with my stuff weighing down the purse, the bend will straighten itself out. And even if it doesn't, it was a six dollar purse that looks really good; I'm not complaining.

 

Goodwill was pretty busy today; I guess Saturday is a popular thrifty day. There were lots of people and of course, some of those people had kids. Actually, a lot of them had kids. Kids were everywhere. I like kids fine when I know them and they aren't being jerks. But I did not know the children in Goodwill and some of them were definitely being obnoxious jerks. So I had to laugh when someone came over the intercom and said, "Attention shoppers: Please keep your children with you at all times. This is for the safety of your children. Please keep your children with you at all times. This is for the safety of your children and other shoppers." Yeah right lady, I thought. They are annoying the shit out of you and you want it to stop, and I love you for it!

 

Once the children calmed down a little (or the parents got stricter out of embarrassment), I also found a gray stretchy belt, and a young adult fiction book that Amazon recommended to me (note to self: stop buying books from Amazon) but I never felt like spending $8 on. So when I saw it for $2 today, I thought why not?

 

 

 

So, for $12.81, I left Goodwill with a new purse, a new belt, literature, and I was still in a good mood. Perfect Saturday shopping trip. I may not stop shopping online for closet staples, but I think I can handle a little in-person shopping at thrift stores every now and then. Treasure hunting is fun.

 

 

P. S. Can I do a post-script on a blog post? I'm doing it. I also got these boots yesterday. They were not a thrift store purchase but they were half-price from a store on the Oxford Square. The only time I can buy things on the Square is when there are huge sales, so I was very excited. I got them at Lulu's, and I already have my eye on a mint necklace there that I hope will still be around after February payday.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy