Posts Tagged ‘Goodwill

I don’t consider myself a goodwill expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I do shop there frequently enough to have learned a few tricks of the trade. Of course, this is all based on my own personal experience with the Goodwills in my area. Your Goodwill may operate a little differently.

If you browse Goodwill frequently you can actually find some pretty great stuff there. You have to be persistent though and hit the store often.

Also, all Goodwills are NOT created equal. Shop all the Goodwills in your area until you learn which ones are better and which ones to avoid. Some have better prices than others, some have better stuff. Some carry more furniture while others tend to have more shoes and clothing. Each Goodwill seems to be it’s own little entity.

You do tend to find better stuff at Goodwills in more expensive areas of town, but not necessarily! A Goodwill employee once told me that just because it’s donated to a specific location does not mean it will hit those shelves. Goodwill likes to mix up their stores and send items all over town. I don’t know if there’s rhyme to their reasoning or if it’s totally random.

Also, this is probably useless information, but Goodwill employees are not allowed to shop at their own store location, even off the clock. This way if they see something awesome they can’t snatch it up before a regular shopper has the opportunity to snag it.

When I first moved back to Austin I visited all the Goodwills in my area at least a few times each so that I could get a feel for each store location. I can pretty much tell you which stores to avoid and which ones are worth the trip. When you are shopping at Goodwill, visit a lot of different ones until you know which ones are worth the effort.

I’ve figured out that there’s one Goodwill near me that purchases all of Target’s “salvage” from them, then re-sells it for pretty cheap.

An employee at that Goodwill told me that Goodwill purchases the Salvage from Target by the container (huge bulk box) at a set price. Sometimes they will have really great stuff in there, other times it’s all junk. No matter what’s in the container, Goodwill pays a set price, and they get a pretty great deal on it allowing for pretty great deals to carry over to the customer.

What is Salvage anyway?

Salvage, at least for Target stuff at Goodwill, is anything that Target deems damaged or unable to sell. Sometimes the item is open or the package is damaged. Most of the time though, it’s all the leftover decor from the previous season that never sold on their own shelves. They have to get rid of it to make way for the new stuff.

I have loads of decor in my home that was purchased at Goodwill as part of Target’s “Salvage” container. I found this lamp and separate shade at Goodwill – brand new “salvage” from Target. I scored the lamp for $10 and the shade for $3!

Then, as luck would have it, I found a 2nd lamp at Goodwill the following week! They were out of shades, but in a rare twist of fate I stumbled upon a 2nd matching shade at my local Target on clearance for $6.

The two matching lamps with shades cost me less than $30 total. For BOTH! And they are BRAND-SPANKIN-NEW!

They have since moved to my bedroom (I’ll show you soon, promise!).

I also was able to grab this large down filled pillow from Goodwill “salvage”. I paid about $3 for it. It was brand-new with the tags still attached.

The reason it was deemed salvage is because the stitching had come undone in one spot on the pillow cover. I was able to stitch it up in just a few minutes. It’s now one of our favorites, and certainly most comfortable pillow on our couch.

Remember that King-Sized white duvet I found for $10 at Goodwill?

Brand-new with tags from Target salvage. The cardboard sleeve around the packaging was torn so it wasn’t worthy to sit on the shelves at Target anymore.

If you want to know if a Goodwill near you receives Salvage from any stores, call them and ask! And if they say yes, find out which store the salvage is from and also what day the salvage arrives each week. For my store, the Target salvage is stocked on Wednesday morning, so I try to hit up Goodwill Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning.

Goodwill also has tons of other great stuff that isn’t salvage – it’s just regular ol’ basic stuff people have donated. You have to dig to find the good stuff.

One suggestion I have for you is to put your cash or credit card in your pocket and leave your purse in the car. That way you aren’t fighting with a purse or bag while you are “digging” through the shelves. *edited to add: a commenter pointed out that this might not be the smartest idea. Maybe you should leave your purse at home instead!

Often the items are stuffed to the brim on the shelves. Get in there and move stuff around! Look under platters and boxes. And especially look behind everything! I’ve known of people “hiding” good stuff so they can come back later to get it, so squat down and look behind all the junk on those bottom shelves!

One of my luckiest and most favorite scores at Goodwill are these two Sand Timers. (These are pictured before I windex’d them. They are both perfectly clear now that they are clean.)

I actually found them together on the same day hidden behind a few large items. They were only $2 each if you can believe it! What makes them an awesome find (besides the price) is that Sand Timers are a popular decorating item right now! Pottery Barn and Ballards think sand timers are hot this season.

My daughter went coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs over this little basket. It is the perfect size Laundry Hamper for her American Girl doll. It rang up at $1. I also found a little rocking chair last week for $1.50.

This cute little green dish was only a few bucks and is chip free! I love the color, that’s why I scooped it up.

This gross looking dish was a diamond in the rough. I almost didn’t even pick it up because it was nasty!

I’m glad I did though! Read what store this dish is from:

Because of the name (Pottery Barn) I knew it was probably real silver and could be cleaned up pretty easily. I paid $5 for it (more than I usually will pay, but because it’s from Pottery Barn I forked over a few extra bucks), took it home, and gave it a good buffing with some silver cleaner.

After about 15 minutes of buffing it now looks almost brand spankin’ new.

These two spice racks had me almost jumping up and down. The jars are heavy and are glass, and the lids are a thick metal. Plus the stands themselves are weighted and excellent quality. Getting the spices out was a huge chore, but for only $6 for both racks (and all the jars) it was worth the hassle.

I’ll give you an update soon with pictures, but the spice racks now sit on my desk and house little beads and crafty supplies. You can actually see them behind my Silhouette machine on the desk (under the hutch) in this picture from our office switch post.

One thing I love about shopping Goodwill is the uniqueness of some of their decor. If you like random quirky stuff, you will probably find a more random selection at Goodwill than at any regular store.

I’m drawn to weird stuff, mainly because I like to be unique and have things that you wouldn’t expect mainstream America to own. They are great conversation pieces and in a world full of trends and popularity, I like to feel like I have my own style.

These either-love-them-or-detest-them Animal Heads are all from Goodwill. I washed them and gave them all a quick coat of spray paint.

As is this adorable little Buda (perched on top of my FIRE stand I made two years ago – I still adore this simple easy DIY stand).

Am I Buddhist? Nope. But this little guy was just too cute not to buy!

You really can’t go wrong with a wine bottle that looks like it got run over by a truck.

I had no idea what I’d use it for, but it was weird and random so I just had to have it. I’ve later learned that people make these and use them as cheese platters. Interesting! I paid $1.50.

This last item is actually not from Goodwill but from a garage sale a neighbor of mine was having. She sold me this cute little Banana dresser for only $7. I was so excited because it looks brand-new. I was even more excited when I saw the same dresser at Target (it’s still there for sale if you want one) for $65! My neighbor could have RETURNED the dresser and received a $65 credit, but instead I was able to snatch it up from her for only $7. What a steal!!

I hope I’ve been able to help give you some good pointers about shopping Goodwill. It really is an experience all on its own.

Oh, one more tip. I’ve never actually done this but my sister SWEARS BY IT. She found a Goodwill Outlet Store. Basically it’s a Goodwill for all the crap that no one wanted at the regular goodwill.

At the Goodwill Outlet they sell stuff by the pound! Isn’t that random? My sister will go down there (with several hours to spare) and will literally spend 3 hours sifting through heaps and heaps of clothes. She always comes home with bags full of almost brand new NAME-BRAND clothing for around 50-65 cents an item.

She’s found Banana Republic, GAP, American Eagle, Aeropostale, Abercrombie, Hollister, etc, some still with the original tags. She brought home a Roxy Quicksilver sheet set a few weeks ago! The only drawback to going to the outlet is that you really have to dig and dig and dig to find the good stuff.

She says the reason there are awesome clothes there is because sometimes the employees at the regular store will overprice something, which causes no one to purchase it. Instead of marking these items down, once an item has sat in a store for a certain amount of time it automatically gets shipped to the Outlet.

One last pointer… I know this is getting really long. Sorry! Some locations will have half-off day. If your location does, go there the night before, just before closing and scout out the store. If there’s something you want to try to score for half-off get there at least 30 minutes before opening the next morning and get in line! Hopefully you’ll get lucky!

So, do you have any tips for shopping Goodwill? What experiences have you had while thrifting at Goodwill? The Good and the Bad! Share ‘em all!

PS – I keep forgetting to tell you this! I’m headed to Blissdom and Haven conferences this year. I hope to see you there!

I seriously scored the best deal at Goodwill last week.

I really want to show you!!

But that would involve showing you my Master Bedroom. Trust me, there’s a reason I’ve been too mortified to show you this room.

Oh hell, let’s just get it over with, shall we?

Here’s my horribly embarrassing, hideous, and completely undecorated Master Bedroom.

See? I told you I had a good reason for avoiding sharing this room at all costs with you.

There are so many things wrong with this room that it’s easier to point out what’s right. Which is pretty much the… um… er… is there anything? Oh, the mirror! I love my mirror. Everything else is hideous.

But, now the room is looking just a teensy tiny bit better, thanks to finding this duvet set at Goodwill last week.

Before you start barfing all over the place at the thought of me buying used linens at Goodwill, let me explain.

They are not used. They are actually brand new. With Tags! They were donated by Target in their “salvage” pile. But honestly, NOTHING is wrong with this bedding set. Except maybe Target discontinued it or something.

The bedding is still looking a bit flat and frumpy though. Here’s why:

I would love nothing more than a thick, fluffy, hotel quality down-filled comforter to shove into my new awesome duvet, but I don’t have an extra hundred bucks laying around at the moment. So I improvised. I just shoved my crappy comforter into the duvet for now.

As for the huge king-sized pillows to go into the shams?

Target has these huge pillows for only $8! Except they were on sale last week so I picked them up for $6 a pop. They work great considering I’m only using them as decoration.

I was a little worried about this orange fabric though:

But surprisingly the orange doesn’t show through at all. Double bonus.

Here’s the bedding in all her ten dollar glory.

I still cannot believe I found brand-new-with-tags bedding at GW for ten dollars. Best GW purchase of the year.

Oh, I totally forgot to mention. I’ve been wanting WHITE bedding for my bedroom for some time now. I’ve decided when I finally give this room some TLC I want all white bedding so I can mix and match throw pillows on it. I absolutely love the look of white crisp hotel bedding.

As for those stools at the foot of the bed… I’ve got big plans for those bad-boyz. They are going to be the bomb when I’m done with them.

This picture above is killing me. I am so cheap. Let’s see, I got the bedding at GW for $10. I got the wicker side table at a garage sale for $6!!! (It’s currently at Target for $60, so I totally scored on that one). And I got the two stools at GW in Los Angeles for only $6 each. The purple polka-dot pillow is from the Target clearance section months ago. I did buy the bed brand-new, but it’s so old I’m embarrassed to even admit to you when we bought it. Let’s just say it’s been through two pregnancies and has more than worn out it’s welcome at our house. It’s days are numbered.

Okay, so I might as well give you a quick tour of this train-wreck of a room while I’m at it…

When you are standing at the doorway looking in, this is what you see (yes, I flip-flopped the bed from the first “before” picture at the top of this post):

Not too bad, right? I can’t wait to do an awesome wall treatment on that big wall with the windows. It’s going to be fab.

If you turn around, this is the entrance to the bedroom on the left. On the far right is the entrance to the closet and the bathroom.

Kinsey has taken it upon herself to make a “Gallery Wall” for me. How thoughtful of her! I don’t have the heart to take it down. It’s been there for months (and she keeps adding to it).

She is very proud of her artwork.

Here’s a better view of the entrance to the closet (on the left) and the bathroom (on the right). I LOVE this little alcove in the bedroom.

The mirror is from IKEA, but I found it on Craig’s List for $50, and the stool is from Target on clearance a few weeks ago marked from $70 down to $17. I’m going to paint it eventually. I’m not diggin’ the flowers.

And in closing, a nice blast-from-the-past. Do you remember when I gave you my Master Bathroom tour last March? I showed you the awesome placement of the toilet in reference to the entrance to our bedroom.

Ya, not the best floor plan design. You can see the commode when you poke your head into the bedroom. Whether you are sitting on the John or not, it’s still gross to see the potty the second you glance into the bedroom.

So, um… ya. On that note…

The moral?

I got a new duvet set. I love it. It was dirt cheap. The End.

Is it just me or do you find the best deals while thrifting too? And, is your entire house purchased from the Target clearance, Craig’s List, Goodwill, or thrift stores?

PS my kids start school today. Summer went by far too quickly for me. I’m going to miss them annoying the heck out of me all day! Have your kids started school yet?

Last October I found these brand new lamps from Target over at my favorite Goodwill.

I’ve been using them as-is, but the reason Target donated them to the GW in the first place is because their shades are all dented and dinged up.

Plus, let’s just be honest here. This teal is not cutting it in my family room.

I’ve been using the lamp on the {ugly} desk in my family room, and the teal is making my favorite art look bad (as is the desk and chair, but I digress).

However, I have no intention in purchasing a new shade for a lamp I bought at GW in the first place, so I just decided to make one myself.

I removed the shade from the lamp.

Then I took some thin white poster board and cut it the width and length of the shade. I used poster board because I already had it on hand.

Once the new poster board was cut to size, I took apart the original shade. All that was left of it were two rings; one for the top of the shade, and one for the bottom.

I glued the rings onto the edges of the poster board.

It was so easy (and free!) and made a perfect new shade base for me to attach fabric to.

Now it’s time for the fabric. I chose to use burlap mainly because I already had it on hand (aka free). Plus I like that it’s such a neutral color.

I cut the fabric the same way I cut the poster board. However, this time I left about a half an inch extra fabric on either side (one inch total). I also cut the fabric about an inch longer than the shade base.

Burlap is a great hearty fabric that can be used for all sorts of crafts. Be forewarned though, this stuff is MESSY. When you cut it you will end up with massive amounts of fibers all over the place.

Attaching the fabric was so easy my 7 year old pretty much did it for me. Just add a line of hot glue along the edge and stick it to the shade.

Then wrap it around and add a line of glue to the other end. Finally, add glue around the top and bottom edges and tuck the extra into the inside of the shade for a finished seam.

I would have given you a few more photos to show the entire process, but this is where my battery died and I cursed at the camera.

And there ya go. I brand new shade for your lamp.

Before and After:

For now I’ve been using the lamp next to my reading chair, but it will be going back to the desk once I get a proper tall lamp to go behind the chair.

It’s amazing how a lack of funds will bring out the creativity in a person. I wanted a new shade, and before I knew it I had a pile of fabric and a plan. All for free!

Happy crafting, my friends!