Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Why I love the thrift store

Having two girls is great. Whenever I need a new size or season, I can find it. 2T sweatshirts? No problem. Size 8 shoes, no problem!

But when Oceana grows, we are stuck, stuck, stuck.

Maybe you have a cousin or close friend whose child is 1 year older than you, but not us. Oceana has one hand-me-down friend whose older but she's built like a piece of pipe and wears all slims and longs. Doesn't work on my average-sized 5 year old. :) We keep the shirts, *thanks Deb*, but the pants dont' really work for us at this point.

So when I pulled out the winter clothes last week as the temps finally dipped low enough for a sweatshirt and jeans, I realized Oceana had gone through another growth spurt. All her jeans from 5 months ago were not only too small, but about 3 inches too short. Wow, I guess she did grow!

Like many of you, the idea of running and buying a bunch of new clothes is not fun at all. But I thought I might try to thrift a bit and see if I could find "enough" to get her through til Christmas. Ha. "Enough".

My friend Christina and I took four of our five chilluns to the Goodwill Bargain Bin on Lincoln Hwy in Lancaster. If you don't like chaos and disorganization, this is not your place. But if you are willing to dig for a bargain, baby this is your spot. It works best in pairs. I watch for all the boys stuff, she watches for girls stuff. I watch for her size (which is certifiably tiny) and she watches for more "generous" proportions. Hello 20lbs from last year that I hate....

Two pairs of eyes plus a play area in the corner for kids. It's a cheap-o's dream come true!

Here's what we came away with. Plus a Christmas tree skirt, a white cardigan for me, a pair of brown leggings for Oceana, and ringer bearer's pillow for dress up that didn't go through the wash yet. For .... Wait for it..... $20. All of this. $0.85 for clothes, $1.00 for blankets/sheets/etc, $1.50 for shoes. $0.50 for stuff - toys, bags, knick knacks. It's amazing! Love it!

Tshirt, sweater, corduroy pants, snow pants, and a corduroy jumper.

Pumpkin, sequined top, fleece cape, turtleneck, swim shirt (for next year), turtleneck

Dance leotard, tunic/jumper, button down floral shirt, jeans, plaid jumper, turtleneck sweater

And leggings for Naomi, a new makeup bag for me, and a silver cardigan for me.

One of the things I love about this is, there are no stains (that we've seen yet), no rips, and there's brands I recognize! (Old Navy, Gymboree, etc).


2 comments:

  1. I am not sure where you are located but I would also check Craigslist. There are a lot of posts for little girls clothes in fairly big lots. I am in Tonawanda so I am constantly looking at the Buffalo adds.

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  2. how great that you've found so many good things there! i hope you continue to have good luck finding stuff even when she gets bigger! i adore your blog. i feel that not many people in our world today believe there is a god. it's wonderful when you find people who know there is!

    i love your blog. coming by more often!

    tanandmeg.blogspot.com

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