“Thrift is not an affair of the pocket, but an affair of character.” ~ S. W. Strauss

I was raised on thrift stores, I’m raising my kids on thrift stores. Thrift stores. Consignment shops. Garage sales. Craigslist. Freecycle.

Not that we don’t also shop off-the-rack for new items, but there are some awesome deals to be found at a fraction of the price. The saying, ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure’? Couldn’t be more true.

While I fail epically at having success in shopping garage sales, one daughter is a whiz bang at finding things. Another daughter always scores big at consignment shops for name brand clothing for her boys. I’m more of a thrift shop success story. Antique shops – especially if they are full of things and needing to move items out — have been a success for me as well.

I don’t go in blindly. In the back of my mind, I always have an idea of certain items for which I’m looking, or inspiration I want to create whether with my clothing or in my home decor.

Here are a few of the finds from yesterday’s outing:

A plate with brightly colored flowers, a resting place for a potted plant.

A book on organic gardening published in 1961. Fifty-nine years of knowledge, wisdom and interesting reading.

A trunk just perfect for creating the base of a TV stand. A nice change from the empty Keurig box that had been serving that purpose.

An old suitcase from the 50’s which will also contribute to the eclectic TV stand.

In the past I’ve found:

• a replacement pot and lid for my 5 quart crockpot (after inadvertently setting it on a hot stove burner and cracking it) – $3.00
• a small dish to replace the broken top to a wax burner – $0.25
• a book on investing – $0.50
• a full-size cast iron bed frame – $129
• an antique wooden chest of drawers – $35
• a treadle sewing machine in excellent shape with attachments and the original instructions (delivered to my home) – $50
• a fireplace surround, mantel, and gas insert – $35
• a 5-panel wooden door – $30
• a handmade wooden table with folding legs – $50
• enough ceramic floor tile to do four bathrooms – $35
• a complete underfloor heating system – $200
• an apartment size stacking washer/dryer – $300

Growing up, we didn’t have much money, and I remember there were two thrift shops we frequented with our mother. One was rather clean, the other was dingy and dirty and quite honestly, you wanted to bathe when you got home. At that time there was an upscale store called ‘Chasnoff’s’ and we laughingly referred to that dingy thrift shop as our own Chasnoff’s because my mother would buy dresses, undo the seams and flatten out the material to make dresses for my sister and (eventually) myself when they were handed down.

Thrift shopping is like a treasure hunt – and who doesn’t like a treasure hunt?