My sister is in town, which means a lot more Goodwill trips than normal. (Okay . . . twist my arm!) Yesterday we hit the Goodwill Outlet bins to dig for treasure. My goal as always was to find "things that are drastically underpriced." Here's but a small percentage of how things went. My sister...
Today's Non-Consumer Advocate blog post is going to be a little bit different. Instead of a normal "Five Frugal Things" blog post, please enjoy photos of me posing with various Goodwill items. First off is the glorious day when I thrifted six vintage Cathrine Holm enamel bowls for $9.99. I quickly sold them on eBay...
Today's blog post shines a light on the random things that come along my path as a regular Goodwill shopper. Like this framed "Eddie's a Freak" cross stitch piece. Perhaps Eddie wasn't a fan of this unflattering gift? Is this . . . Eddie? If so, then I agree. This painting caught my eye. Not...
My adult niece began her Portland visit a day ahead of the rest of her family, so of course we went to Goodwill. You know . . . for blog content, not at all for selfish reasons. Follow along to see what the Goodwill had in store! This bronze lamp caught my eye it didn't...
I haven't thrifted much lately, but thought I should stop into the S.E. 82nd Avenue location, as it's directly next door to the Dented Vegetable Store.™ I wasn't looking for anything specific, but you never know what you'll find. Like this craft project. I kind of liked the heavy metal-esque font choice. Or this...
I had a few extra minutes to my day, so I snuck into the Broadway Goodwill to see if I could find anything to justify a Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will blog post. The thrift goddesses were good to me. I was tempted to pick up this Mama Ro brand ceramic and wood kitchen canister, as it...
In the mood to see what I found at my local Goodwill yesterday? Good. Bad. Questionable. Like this tin featuring a bedraggled group of pilgrims. Nobody looks happy, which I'm guessing is historically accurate. Especially this guy (William Bradford?) who should be avoided at all costs! Did not buy. I was momentary tempted by this...
My husband and I had a few errands to run yesterday, which we interspersed with trips to two different Goodwill thrift stores. I always scope out the mugs, as they're easy to sell and certain ones can bring in the Big Bucks.™ I didn't find any worth buying for resale, but I do want to...
I love shining a light on all the amazing valuable treasures from Portland area Goodwill shops. But if it's the weird stuff that gets your juices running, you know . . . the "questionable" stuff? Today's your lucky day, as I'm choosing to aim that light towards the weird, the wonderful, the bizarre. The questionable....
When a person thrifts as much as I do, they start to see patterns. For example, unwanted souvenirs from travels near and far, such as wooden clogs from the Netherlands, double decker busses from London and mugs from each and every gift shop spread across our great green earth. I consider Goodwill to be an...
I love, love, love the Portland area Goodwill stores. And although I'm on a mostly pay-by-the-pound Outlet kick lately, there are still bargains and entertaining oddities to be found at their regular retail stores as well. I don't have a specific list of items I keep an eye out for, although there are general categories...
I made good on my plan to hit up the Goodwill Outlet yesterday with my mom, and boy am I glad that I did! It wasn't because of pay-by-the-pound random diapers. Nor was it because of the opportunity to buy a single adorable left shoe. Look inside the shoe, it reads "Sears: Winnie The Pooh!"...
Goodwill may have a mission to help those with barriers to employment, but to me they're a study in what people declutter from their homes. An anthropologic study of sorts. For example: Pointless souvenirs. The Netherlands have somehow convinced their tourists of the necessity to purchase decorative clogs, clogs and more clogs. Large and small, wooden...
It's time for another Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will blog post, as it's been a couple of months since I've published one of these goodies. Today's items are from a few different visits to my Portland area Goodwills. First off I present to you this framed print showcasing a couple of famous characters from the TV show Portlandia. (Because...
My sister and I ended up making two stops during my week in NYC to the New Rochelle Goodwill, which is conveniently located between The Bronx and her favorite Trader Joe's just north of the city. She had a couple of things to donate, so we walked around the side of the store to the attended donation...
I'm working on a project with Goodwill that requires me to stock up on hundreds of Christmas ball ornaments. Luckily, there seems to be an endless supply of materials at each and every Goodwill location. Of course, it's impossible to visit Goodwill without finding treasures and oddities. For example this Buffalo Bill decorative mug: I...
My mother and I squeezed a couple of Goodwill trips into yesterday's Birthday Day of Adventures, and although the thrift stores had some great pieces, the good stuff had already been sold! Like this groovy midcentury Bassett dresser. I could have flipped this piece on Craigslist in a heartbeat! Although I was driving my Prius, which wouldn't have exactly accommodated the approximate...
My sister and I love nothing more than to spend an an hour or two going from thrift store to thrift store. So when our sons had plans to watch the Portland-Seattle Timbers soccer game, and my niece had a special grandma date, we knew the stars had aligned for an afternoon of thrifting. See how...
My sister and her kids are in town, which for the Wolk-Stanley sisters means Goodwill adventure day! Of course, there were the usual suspects such as the wooden shoes sold to gullible Dutch tourists. Apparently they're not so cherished once they hit American soil, as they inhabit every single thrift store. Always. Exhibit A: Exhibit...
I mentioned the other day that my younger son and I spent some time browsing our local Goodwill in search of hidden treasures. The seventeen year old? He wanted cool stuff to bring home. The forty eight year old? Always in search of the oddest and most wonderful items to photograph for blog posts. It's an excellent...
The following is a reprint of a previously published post. Enjoy! It's time again for Goodwill, Badwill Questionable-will, where I share some of the rather spectacular things I come across during my thrifting adventures. First up is a very special treat for you. Why? Because it combines steampunk with snails, clocks and monkeys. Plus, it's priced at $19.99, which...
My 17-year-old son had a hankering for some Goodwill over the weekend, and since I was still packing a leftover gift card from Christmas, I didn't have to be asked twice. Things looked pretty normal. Lots of coffee carafes. Lots of Greg Oden bobble-heads. It still bothers my son that the Portland Trail Blazers had...
The following is a reprint of a previously published post. Enjoy! It's time again for Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will, where I share some of the perfectly wonderful and perfectly dreadful things that can be found while thrifting. Today's edition is special because: It's from The Goodwill Outlet, where most items are bought by the pound. My camera is broken, so the photos...
It's been awhile since I've spent any time thrifting for pleasure, but yesterday was a rare convergence of nothing on my calendar, (work was over-scheduled so I stayed home) and nothing demanding my attention around the house. My son had an errand to run in North Portland, which was the perfect excuse to visit one of my...
Yesterday was a teachers' planning day in Portland, so all public school students had the day off. I called my mom up and proposed an afternoon of hijinks and camaraderie. We first indulged in some comfort food and pie at the Village Inn and then hit up the nearby Goodwill thrift shop. She's been cramming for...
Because I do The Compact and choose to only buy used, thrift shops are my go-to resource. I hit them up when there's something that my family needs, and I certainly have been known to bring home a few items that I want. And the other day my son needed a new computer mouse, so off...
If there's one category that all Goodwill thrift shops share, it's a wide variety of organizing containers. Whether it's bins, boxes, crates or ceramic canisters, Goodwill is sure to provide. For example the targeted savings bank for a "New Wheels Fund." Sometimes the Goodwill containers are a bit baffling. Like these standard empty beer bottles:...
There's nothing like hosting a garage sale to make me want to steer clear of thrift stores. I worked damned hard to clear my house of excessive and unnecessary stuff, so it would be self destructive to just fill it up again. Right? I schlepped a huge donation to Goodwill after last week's garage sale, so there was...
Portland Goodwill shoppers are very lucky. Not only are our thrift shops fit to burst with bargain treasures, but we also have an awesome Goodwill Club program that tracks our purchases, gives us discounts and then lovingly obligingly spits out a $10 store credit for every $500 we spend. Oh, wait a minute. Portland used to...
One thing I like about going to Goodwill is that you just never know what or who you're going to run into. For example, you might come across our Commander in Chief catching a wave: Or Señor y Señora Maraca. ¡Hola! (Cómo se dice "googly eyes" en Español?) But sometimes you simply come across the "World's Greatest Mom."...
I was feeling a bit housebound yesterday, so I headed over to my local Goodwill "to look for weird stuff to photograph." Oddly, none of my beloved family members took up the offer to accompany me. Oh well, their loss . . . Although I didn't come across any spectacularly bizarre items, I was taken...
I'm trying to decrease the frequency of my thrifting, as I have a hard time turning down the pennies-on-the-dollars merchandise, and I want to sell the stuff I bought for resale before I bring home any additional merchandise. (The days of everything I put on eBay easily selling are sadly long gone.) However . . ....
My friend Lise is working on a project that involves photographing hard liquor in the state of Washington. Seriously. So she roped me into going with her by promising me some tasty Washington state thrifting. First we had to look at booze. And yes, that is a $41.99 jar of moonshine soaked maraschino cherries in...
It's been over a month since I've done a Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will post, and that's due to a couple of factors. I've been trying to not go to Goodwill so often. Somehow the Goodwill stuff I've run across has been has been, meh . . . kind of ordinary. However . . . I had...
Today's Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will post will both delight and horrify. Okay, mostly horrify. Like this one, where I am trying to mirror the facial expression on an unfortunate Goodwill doll. Do you see how one of her eyelids is swollen?! It's molded that way. Someone actually designed a doll this way on purpose! Luckily, I...
Yesterday found me at loose ends away from the house for a few hours, which meant it was time to volunteer for the needy hit up a couple of Goodwills. Although all I bought was a $2.99 box of Marimekko Unikko notecards and a 99¢ holiday gift for my mother, I could not help but...
Herald the trumpeters, because it's time for another installment of Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will! I may be in the midst of a virus sinus fest, but I still convinced my friend Sasha to ferry me to the main Goodwill in search for hidden oddities treasures. She's a good friend that way. Ready yourself fellow non-consumers, because things...
It's time for another Goodwill, Badwill Questionable-will, and boy-oh-boy is it a doozy! It all started with the chore of needing to return a pair of Levi's to The Mall. At this point, you may be questioning my non-consumer cred, as I normally shout far and wide about only buying used. But I've been carting around a...
It's been a few weeks since I've posted a Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will post, but worry not as there will always be fresh inspiration for these popular posts. First off is a targeted savings bank, (apparently an extremely unwanted gift, if the donation rate is any indication) this time for the hitherto unseen Plastic Surgery Fund. Because: "When you...
You may know me as Katy Wolk-Stanley, insane blogger writer and frugality expert, but in my real life I am a licensed Registered Nurse. Working 24 hours per week as high risk hospital labor and delivery nurse, I am always on the lookout for medical emergencies. Even at Goodwill. Just the other day I was browsing through...
It's time again for Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will, where I share some of the perfectly wonderful and perfectly dreadful things that can be found while thrifting. Today's edition is special because: It's from The Goodwill Outlet, where most items are bought by the pound. My camera is broken, so the photos are kind of crappy. (My...
I took my sons on a whirlwind trip to Walla Walla, Washington this week. And of course, no trip would be complete without checking out the local Goodwill. And what a Goodwill it was! Gorgeous refurbished historic building, and prices that put our Portland areas thrift shops to shame. And in case you needed proof...