Goodwill, Badwill, Questionable-will -- Back at The Goodwill Bins!
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 was first to find something to buy. She's a knitter/crocheter, so she quickly recognized that this hand knit shawl was made with high quality yarn. Her plan is to wash and unravel it to make her own creation.
I asked her whether it was wool and her response was "I didn't feel like removing my gloves to feel the yarn." Smart.
Here's a detail shot:
I then pulled this pair of "Ansley" Ugg slippers from a bin. Sure, they're a bit grubby, but it's all superficial. I could tell by the still plush sheepskin that they were only lightly used. Keep in mind that they sell new for $120!
Looking much better after a quick wipe down with a micro fiber cloth!
I listed them on eBay for $35 maybe half an hour ago and they sold almost immediately. I sign that I might have underpriced them, but I'll take a quick sale any day of the week!
Click HERE to see the listing.
My next find was a black Brooks Brothers Supima T-shirt. This logo is what caught my eye:
It's hard to see the logo in this photo, as it's black-on-black, but these high quality shirts sell for big bucks. It might be a bit too large for them, but I'll offer it to my youngest before listing it on eBay.
My next purchase was this nice thick cotton dish towel. Looked pretty new and at $2.79/pound, worth adding to my bag.
I also grabbed this cat food lid, as I'd been meaning to pick up an extra one to keep on hand. Again, the perfect price when paying by the pound.
It might seem odd to buy car manuals for a car I don't own, but they actually sell well on eBay. I had to dig through this bin as they'd been separated from one another, but I'm pretty sure I got all of them. Sadly, it didn't occur to me to look from the velcro pouch they came in, but that's okay. The cashier charged them as magazines, which means I spent $2.45 for the lot of them.
I already have them up on eBay for $50.
My last purchase was this vintage faux-tortoiseshell lucite purse, even though the clasp button was damaged. I figured it would be a fun repair project and it was simply too cute to leave behind.
What didn't I buy?
This Shrek "World's Greatest Farter Father" t-shirt, which oddly looked as if it hadn't been worn. What a welcome gift that must've been to open.
I also didn't grab this wallet, even though it contained a counterfeit $100 bill. I gotta admit that that I got briefly excited when I first spied it. The different is subtle, but I think you can spy the differences if you look long enough.
Life is full of disappointments.
Someone not familiar with the medical/nursing school student store might've freaked out when they found this novelty syringe ball point pen, but I recognized it the moment it met my gaze.
It's not usually a funny moment to find a syringe in a Goodwill bin!
In all I spent $9.50 for everything. Two items to keep, (the dish towel and the cat food lid) two items to sell, (the Subaru manuals and Ugg slippers) one item to gift, (the Brooks Brothers T-shirt) and one item to rehab, (the vintage lucite purse.)
Not too shabby of a haul for under ten bucks!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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I have that same dish towel and can testify that it wears like iron. Mine is 14 years old and just now is needing some mending.
What a fun outing that must have been! It does amaze me that these items made it to the bins.
I had a very typical outing this morning -- a train ride to the library, where I returned two books and picked up one on hold. "How to Read a Book" -- highly recommended by a friend whose taste I trust. Then a walk to Target, where I bought eggs, powdered sugar, and yogurt. Less than 6 lbs. I'm really watching my weight, haha. Spent $8. And I picked up a bunch of receipts. Maybe one of them will take me over the 32,000 point mark I'm aiming for.
Love that tortoise shell purse!!!
We are back from our trip to San Diego! It was nice to see a different part of the country and chow down on great food, but it is good to be home. I packed all of our snacks, drinks, and most of our lunches for the drive out and back. We stayed in an air b&b with my folks while out there. We used the kitchen to cook breakfast and lunch while there. There was an event each evening to attend that went along with my brother's wedding at Balboa Park Sunday. We visited the ocean and had a nice time. Drank coffee with my Dad on the porch as the sun rose, good stuff!
DH discovered he had forgotten all of his shirts and his dress pants while we were in Kansas... ugh! We hit the thrift and bought him replacements, plus swim trunks for $50. His wardrobe should be set for a while! I received several nice compliments on my thrifted pantsuits at the rehearsal dinner and wedding. I think that each outfit with shoes was $16 my new purse was $7.
I froze our milk prior to leaving and it is now defrosting. Same with the loaf of bread. Most of the laundry from the trip is washed and hung. It's back to chores and humidity. After a while of puttering on vacation, I really get discontented and need something tangible to accomplish. Farming checks that box! We brought home all the odds and ends from the Cali fridge in our handy cooler and now have a plethora of condiments.
Wow Laura - a wedding at Balboa Park! We were in San Diego this last Christmas and spent an entire day there - visiting all the museums, shops and galleries plus the zoo. Just a beautiful place - was their wedding outdoors?
Yes, outdoors! Near the Prada. We had our family pic taken near the pipe organ. I would have loved to hear a concert there. With all the family stuff going on, we didn't have much time to wander the park but it was delightful seeing the girls taking pictures for their sweet 16's. ( My high-school Spanish is pitiful!)
My son loved the succulent sycamores 🙂
We have bought 2 different car manuals on ebay over the years! Very useful when you buy a used car and it's missing.
Always love to see your finds at the bins!
There's got to be a fun quotient in shopping the bins, especially when one finds a very vampy $100 bill of Amy Winehouse? I like the wallet though.
I picked more apples and plums.
Picked up some close dated whole milk to make yogurt. Made a batch of cookie dough for the freezer. On hot days I bake them outside in the old toaster oven, plugged into my solar inverter.
Picked up 5 cans on the road when I went to meet the littlest neighbors for their trek from their property, thru our property to my back door neighbor for their riding lessons. It's a 10 mile round trip via car, but only 1 mile hike via their trail, gate, my driveway, gate, field, gate, barn.
It's Jessie Murph.
I always like your combination of quick flips & clean up items, the latter of which I imagine really helps keep things in circulation longer.
Nothing too exciting on my front:
-Listed more items on eBay
-Continue to clean out DS19's room, now that he's in college. (He wants to upgrade to a bigger bed, so this is all done with his approval.)
-Made lunch with DS20, using things we hand on hand, and heavily featuring the garden produce a coworker gave me yesterday.
-Made a big BN post
-Had dinner last night featuring a lot of "use it up" items, plus the garden produce
Katy, I love the goodwill, badwill, questionable will finds!
Today my bff hauled a pair of computer monitors off of her neighbor’s curb (with cables! Before the rain! While walking her elder dog!) for my son who is hoping to squeeze a little bit more life out of a broken laptop. It takes a village!
Today I found myself in the consignment store trying to unload two pairs of shoes, one pair being Danskos. The lady who works there likes to throw her weight around a bit. She worked at a store I consigned items at in the past. When I saw her at this store I said Uh-oh. Today she told me she can only take one pair of shoes due to space issues. I had nothing else with me but the two pairs of shoes! Oh well, I'll try again soon with the other pair.
1. While there, I purchased a Thanksgiving flag for the wrought holder in my front yard. $2.50 using credit I have there from previous sales.
2. We received our monthly report on the status of our electric usage from National Grid. I was happy to see we were even more efficient than our efficient neighbors. I feel as proud as a kid bringing home schoolwork with an A+.
3. I went to the library to drop off a book and picked up one I had on hold while there.
4. I made a pan of lasagna yesterday. DH and I had it for supper last night and tonight. Guess what we're having tomorrow night too? One pan goes along long way with two of us.
5. I found sweet corn on sale at Market Basket 5/$1.99. It tasted so good. Like summer.
Re: your #2, Christine, it always used to make DH very happy whenever we got those "more efficient than your efficient neighbors" reports from National Grid. And the efficient neighbors would kid us (and still kid me) that we were the ones throwing off the curve.
Also, just to let everyone know: JASNA BFF has arrived for her annual visit, and I may not be commenting here again till next Wednesday. If I don't, just assume that we're out painting the town.
Have a great time with JASNA BFF!
1) BIG frugal win- a brand new Carhartt jacket (with embroidery) for my son for $40! Inspired by your successes, I removed the design. Totally looks brand new!
2) I found a secret blackberry spot and picked a half flat.
3) Shared garden flowers with fitness class instructor as today was the last day of the session.
4) I made 18 quarts of applesauce from Buy Nothing apples
5) Not frugal but incredibly grateful! After I bought the coat (see #1 above), I learned from the woman that her husband is on the Lincoln, the ship in the Middle East that has run out of many provisions on its 265-day deployment. That breaks my heart, BUT just about an hour ago, it was announced that the Lincoln is on the way back to America!
I'm very happy the ship with its many service people aboard is heading home. It's about time!
Frugal Thursday:
1. Made coffee, iced tea, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks at home.
2. Batched my errands to save gas.
3. Visited the library to return books and request more.
4. Washed sheets/towels and put them back on my bed-no maid. 😉
5. Frugal-Temporarily fixed our plugged toilet in my teen son’s bathroom. IYKYK. We have done all that we can, but ongoing issues mean a plumber will be visiting soon, which is a fail.
Not frugal - but necessary - I replaced my a/c compressor on my 15 year old car. Wrote a check to save a credit card service fee. I squirrel away $$ every month so a major car repair is pre-funded.
A friend picked me up after my volunteer gardening shift and we hung out for the afternoon while my car was repaired at a local neighborhood auto repair shop. Since I was already grubby I weeded and trimmed her flower beds and bushes. She gave me some excess produce from her CSA box and some peaches. I made a delicious peach cobbler from an easy recipe she also gave me.
I packed up some glassware and other items to donate when I do my weekly volunteer shift at a thrift shop.
I planted a perennial I was given.
I reorganized cosmetics and toiletries and re-stocked my “to go” bag.
Oh, I love the bins, and a cat food can cover is on my list of things to look for.
We are dealing with an estate, so I’m far less inclined to head to the bins these days. I used to go for the oddball things, like cat food can covers, but now we have a whole house (and some barns) full of STUFF. Anything I need I can probably find.
Except a cat food can cover.
Maybe I’ll visit the bins!
Li,
I use the plastic lids that come on ice cream "Dixie cups" as covers for Snuggles' canned dog food.They might work as cat food covers as well, depending on the size of the can.
A friend from So Cal is visiting her sister in Texas. So we’re meeting 1/2 way between the Dallas area and Norman, OK for lunch. She helped her sister dejunk and I am the recipient of some clothes and decor.
A friend treated me to breakfast this am
I sold an item on Depop which I’ll mail tomorrow
Hey, you may be near me--Lawton, OK. It feels rare to find non-consumerist types in my area so that location jumped off the page at me, lol.
My niece uses depop and is very proud of her bargains! She is still a little shy about thrifting but has started to be more conscious with her money. 🙂
I had read this blog years ago, then somehow forgot about it. Found it again (and then realized I had it saved from many years ago) through seeing your (Katy) comment on another blog and have been reading again for a few months now. Just introducing myself and wanting to say that this blog and it's comments are a highlight of my day. So many kindred spirits!
Love reading the thrifting columns, stories, etc. Some people make nice paychecks each week! Congrats!
Many of you fellow members of the Commentariat share the same low opinion of the 34 time convicted felon who is now occupying the White House, and I would like to ask your help. The Orange Ogre has hit a new low, even for him: he wants to name an aircraft carrier CVN81 after himself. CVN81 was originally supposed to be named the USS Doris Miller, after the World War II hero from my hometown of Waco, Texas. Doris Miller (sometimes called Dorrie Miller) was a black man who served on a ship in Pearl Harbor that fateful Sunday morning when the Japanese attacked. Because he was black, he was a kitchen helper and not trained in weaponry. When the attack occurred, he pulled people to safety and manned a gun, figured out how to use it, and shot down some Japanese planes. He was an incredible hero! He deserves to be honored! Instead, it appears this CVN81 aircraft carrier will be named the Donald Trump, after the coward who faked a bone spur to keep himself out of Vietnam. Those of you in America, if you are as outraged as I am about this, please phone your U.S. Senators and Congressional representatives and ask them to stop this horrible action! I'm sure all the personnel aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln would agree, no Naval vessel should be named after Trump. (A garbage scowl, however, named after Trump would be more appropriate IMHO.)
Katy, I'm sorry to have hijacked your blog for something that is not non-consumer related, but I am doing everything I can to fight this and we need more people from around the country to protest it. If you all want more information, the KWTX TV news website has the story. (BTW, if anyone saw the movie Pearl Harbor, Cuba Gooding Jr. portrayed Doris Miller.)
Anyway, you all agree with me, please phone your elected officials in Washington today, and tell them that aircraft carrier CVN81 should be named for Doris Miller, not Trump! Thank you.
I will do that, Lisa. Just read that story in the news before your comment and was horrified about the name change. That orange dude is bat shite crazy! ‘Shite’ - I love Irish swear words:)
Thank you, Beth K. I used to work with Miller's great niece and my dad served in the Navy during World War II, so this makes this all the more personal to me. Plus the fact I had relatives serving in Vietnam, and my friend's 19 y.o. brother was killed there -- no fake bone spurs for us! How dare that coward Trump think he is somehow better than all these patriotic Americans who risked their lives for our country! Please call, write, email and speak out all you can, everyone,,
I know it isn’t frugal stuff but just have to add how this affects so many people. My father also served in the navy in WWII on the battleship, the Wisconsin. He was only 17 but so wanted to help that he may have fudged his age a bit. A great uncle was killed on the Bataan death march in WWII in the Pacific. Both of my grandfathers were on the front lines in France during WWI and my one grandfather was shot in the leg, laid in the mud all day and, later, had a limp the rest of his life. I had an uncle who was killed in the Korean War. I am not trying to brag about them but am just so offended by Dumph considering putting his own name on that ship.
This should infuriate everyone ( but am certain on this blog it does ). Thank you, Lisa
Yes, Beth K., your relatives were and are the real heroes, just ordinary people who did their best to save our country and the world. Putting Trump's name on the USS Doris Miller is an affront to every family whose relative(s) served in WW2, and to every family who has or had someone in the military.
BTW, don't you think Trump's kids ought to be enlisting to fight in the war their daddy started?
Love that little faux tortoise lucite purse. Please share after you work your magic on it.