Portland, Oregon is the proud home to a huge Goodwill Outlet, which is a warehouse sized store that sells Stuff/crap/treasures/oddities/weird slimy stuff by the pound. (Furniture and a few other items are priced individually.) The Bins, as they are affectionately called is a bargain hunter’s dream, because at $1.59 per pound, (39¢ per pound for glass items) there are some criminally great deals to be scored.
However, it is also intensively cutthroat as dealers are not beyond pushing you aside; and sanitary, it ain’t. In other words, it’s not for the faint of heart.
But I was feeling courageous yesterday, and convinced my mother that before we cleaned her rental cottage, we should pop on over. (Not a hard sell, as my mother love, love loves the bins!)
Here’s what I bought:
Two wrought iron outdoor chairs that will nicely complement the two I already own. The cushions are faded, but I plan on dyeing them back to life. Five bucks apiece.
Because my neighbors and I share garbage service, we were only given a single official "Portland Composts" bucket. Although I already compost at home, the curbside composting program accepts all types of rotten food, as well as animal bones and food soiled paper. The bucket was brand new.
- Eight canning jars. I did so much canning this year, and ended up running out of empty jars. They set me back 39¢ per pound.
An issue of "American Bungalow,"magazine which normally costs $8.99. For me, it was 25¢. And as an added bonus, the magazine featured a long piece about a house in my father's neighborhood that is the mirror of the house I grew up in. Very cool.
My 16-year-old son has recently usurped his father's beloved ski hat. As his hat has been with my 46-year-old husband since high school, he's been worried that it'll get lost. This hat is an almost exact replica, and will roll up nicely into a Christmas stocking. The Iron Giant was my younger son's favorite movie for a very long time. However, there was hardly any merchandising, so this small action figure was a lucky find.
This midcentury lamp will be a "project lamp" for me. I'm thinking about spray painting it something wild like metallic apple green or something similar. Of course I'll rewire it using parts from some future scored-for-free ugly new lamp with perfectly good electrical components.
The soft, muted color of these Pottery Barn quilted velvet pillow shams are the perfect addition to my spare bedroom. Without any stains or extraneous stank, all it took was a quick run through the washer and dryer to put them into their rightful place.
Can you see how the texture of the quilted velvet on these pillow shams is to die for?
So, at this point, you may be wondering how much money I dropped on all these fantastic items. I won’t leave you in suspense any longer, as the grand total for everything, (including two drinking glasses that my mother bought) was:
$20.59
I think I may have to schedule another trip for next week. After all, it will give me something to look forward to.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
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{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
While I’m sad that there’s one less person composting out there, I’m happy that you are able to compost more! That’s a really good haul! (I love a good thrift store trip!)
Good shopping, Katy! I so wish we had an outlet like that here on the east coast!
Yeah, but you have Aldi’s!
Katy
Aldi is over rated.
Agree!
What great finds! I am not the best at digging through the bins, etc. and figuring out how to make things work in my house. That is one thing I want to get better at!
Awesome haul! I’m still working on ‘cultivating my eye’. I get too overwhelmed.
Love the finds! I can only imagine how crazy people would get here if there was a Goodwill Outlet. Goodwill is already insane on 1/2 Saturday, so a whole outlet–I have a feeling pepper spray would be involved 😉
We do have a Last Chance out here which is a Nordstrom’s outlet’s outlet haha! And that place is always ripe with fighting women. It’s crazy how wacky people can get for a bargain!
Katy – I’m sorry, I didnt realize you didn’t get a compost bucket! We dont even use ours from the city, because we had a container for compost that can go in our bin, and we have a smaller container for animal bones that fits better under our sink. You can have ours if you want it?
Definitely an impressive haul. Those chairs are sweet.
Chris
We have a regular compost “bucket,” (actually an old Rubbermaid container) so this one will work in conjunction with it.
Mwah!
Katy
You rule, girl! Way to go!
Very Cool – Goodwill on the east coast is becoming more and more expensive – not a lot of deals to be found – I’d love to check it out but after the airfare it wouldn’t be such a good deal any more – Happy Hunting from Maine 🙂
Our regular Goodwills have become ridiculously expensive too.
Katy
I do rule. Thank you very much for noticing. 😉
Katy
You are so lucky to have a great thirft store to go to. What great deals you found. I wish we had thrift stores here in Ecuador.
Wow you got some great finds! I have never been to the bins, even though I live fairly close. Guess I’m not brave enough.
Don’t you just love the American Bungalow magazines. I have every issue from the very beginning. Lucky you on your 25 cent find!
I would love to know how to rewire lamps. I hope you will write more about this in the near future, and also show us a picture of the finished lamp.
Try finding a YouTube video showing how to do it. I bet there are several.
I saw Martha do this on TV several years ago, and I was stunned at how easy it is. Do check out the videos and you’ll find that you can do this. It’s really easy and cheap, too.
I hate to tell you this, but your cat appears to have a lampshade on its head. 😉
Great haul!
That’s why I chose that photo! Reminds me of a 1950’s Playboy cartoon of a lampshade-wearing tipsy gentleman.
Katy
My Eldest introduced me to the bins. We average about 59 cents a pound, because the more you buy, the cheaper it gets. Also, they let people group up to get a better per pound price. So much fun. And at those prices, you can take a chance on love with new clothes and just toss them back to the GW if they don’t work out. Love thrifting in Indy.
Great finds! Our Goodwill outlet in Austin, the Blue Hanger, is only $1.39 per lb!
Love those pillowcases! *tries to ward off jealousy*
I don’t think it’s a “minimalism fail.” You can use everything. No wait. The pillowcases blew it: send them to me. (Is it working?) 😉
Amazing finds. You scored!
I do love it when your kitty gets included as a prop! 🙂
How to stretch just over $20 to have huge impact. Great finds!
And I just remembered that I also bought two nice wooden hangers that perfectly match the “set” (actually all bought from various Goodwills) in my coat closet.
Katy
I am still laughing to myself…you have ‘hospital corners’ on the bed. My grandmother was a nurse (pre WWI) and we all learned to make beds that way (sheets only though, not the coverlet) and growing up also in a large military family I can still make a bed tight enough to bounce a quarter off the blankets.
I just taught my grandson how to do those corners and he wanted to know why they were called ‘hospital corners’. Nurse Katy! do you have the answer?
Mine was just that was the way they did them in the hospital where my grandmother worked. Didn’t they do corners like that anywhere else?
Wait. Isn’t that the ONLY way to do corners? At least there’s no other RIGHT way!
As an RN, I did actually have an entire hands-on day in nursing school where we did nothing but make beds. And yes, we do hospital corners in hospitals.
I can also make a bed while the person is still in it.
Katy
P.S. This particular blanket is kind of long, so it looks sloppy without the hospital corner. And the sightline from the front door into the house looks right at the end of this bed, so I like to keep it tidy.
Katy
My mother was in the Women’s Army Corps during WWII and taught us to make hospital corners. She was not a nurse, but she was a WAC. We all learned to make beds that way. It just looks sloppy any other way.
It is hard to pass up a good deal sometimes. The balance between a good price and buying too much is challenging. If you are going to get it, it is good to get it for a good price. But, it is so easy to get too much since the prices are so good. Think of all of the other good weeks you have had with minimalism and don’t be hard on yourself for doing such a good job stretching your money if you really wanted the items. Get rid of something else in the house if it helps to feel better!
Katy, I just love the feeling in your house. It feels like each item has been carefully and lovingly chosen. You know how to make a house a home.
I just noticed that your bookcases have a few Nancy Drews. I love it!
And those Pottery Barn shams–outtasight!
All I can say is….Score!
A GW outlet recently opened up about 30 miles from my house. Will have to give it a try.
So jealous! Want a Goodwill Outlet!
Great finds! Everything you selected you got for a reason and had a use for, and it all fits in nicely with everything else you own. One of the myths of shopping second-hand is that it will prevent you from making an attractive and well-coordinated home. Not true at all! You just have to know how to spot things that are “made to go together” even though they weren’t manufactured to go together! (That and a little paint and dye never hurts either.) You clearly have the “eye”!
By the way, I do love that chair in the pic with the cat – it’s been seen in other photos, but it never gets star billing. Someday will you tell us the story of that chair?
I bought that chair from Craigslist and don’t remember what I paid for it. However I think it was around $250.
Katy
Yay! Grand Rapids has a Goodwill outlet, too, which is cheaper than yours (glass is $.10/lb!), but I rarely go because I find it difficult to leave. Just by the time you’re done digging in the nasty bins, they start rolling out new bins, and it’s hard to leave when a fresh bin is about to arrive.
Great shopping success! I landed a job in Portland years ago, but turned it down for the job offer in England. Funny how I ended up with almost the same weather (but probably with less good summers). Strange as it may sound, I have occasionally regretted not going with Portland, but as I found Bill here in England, I can’t be too sad for long. It’s a great place where you live, nevertheless!
love those chairs!!! Wonder if you could re cover them?what great finds……
Our local St Vincent de Paul’s has an outlet for their thrift stores called the “Dig N Save” I bring my yellow kitchen gloves when I go there, but when you find good stuff it is worth the work.
I made my first trip to my nearest “Bins” on my way to my sister’s house, which broke up the two-hour drive nicely. Alas, they were having a ski/snow gear themed event. As I have more of that gear than I’ll ever wear (thank goodness), it was a disappointment. I’d never seen any mention of this type of event before. Can anyone enlighten me? Is there some kind of schedule?
Haven’t been to the Goodwill outlet in about 6 months. Down here in Florida it’s best to wait for ‘the season’ to shop at any thrift store. Best months are Dec/Jan and March/April. So it’s time to go.
What is ‘the season’? Why when the snowbirds come down. And those months are when they redecorate ‘coming and going’ 🙂
Love it! My husband took me on an exciting adventure today – to a brand new Goodwill outlet store that opened up in our neck of the woods! He even held the baby so I could dig around. That’s love…
PS – I got a fall/early winter jacket, a long sleeved shirt for him, and a pair of Converse for my step-daughter. $5.03 – the coat weighed 2 lbs, which pushed the price up. But still…
Love the chairs.
Want to eat those pink cushions.
Give me the lamp! NOW!
Great score on the jars.
Want a Goodwill Outlet near me.
Great finds! We have a similar outlet in Austin and oh boy is it CRAZY!- they actually have security on hand. I’ve only been once (at 40 wks pregnant), I loved it and my husband hated it.
Wow, I cannot believe all of the great stuff you scored in one trip! That is amazing! I am crazy about those quilted shams, what a find!
I used to live very near that GW bin store, man oh man do I miss it. If you’ve got a few free hours, it can be a lot of fun to dig for treasure, but guard that treasure! I had items stolen out of my basket while my back was turned on many occasions. The dealers who are on the hunt there can be incredibly competitive and down right aggressive. I used to prepare – I’d bring protective gloves, water bottle, a protein bar – gotta stay energized for the hunt!
The only problem I had was hauling home too much stuff. I finally had to put the kabash on my GW binges, I realized I had become addicted to the thrill of the hunt so much that I was cluttering my home. It can be a hard habit to break!
Do they have bedbugs there yet? I count myself lucky since I walked thru a local thrift store and considered browsing the clothing but didn’t. The next day the local newspaper ran a feature about the third floor of the same building that had to be heated to a certain temp (& maintained at that temp for a certain period of time), which was a very expensive process, in order to eliminate the bedbugs. I looked at the 2 books that I did buy in suspicion. I guess you can kill them by either setting the item outside in subfreezing weather or putting it in a hot dryer. It definitely is something to consider when buying 2nd hand textiles or clothing.
We do have bedbugs here, although it’s not as big an issue as it is in other cities . . . yet.
I always wash clothing, so I feel perfectly fine about buying used.
Katy
Never heard of Goodwill Outlet. I wonder if there is one nearby. Love the outdoor chairs. Such a good buy!