Ending with a Secondhand Bang

     It has been such a privilege to share all my advice, thoughts and passion about the thrifting lifestyle. I hope you found all my posts to be somewhat thought-provoking, intriguing and worthwhile to read, listen to or view.
     I may continue to post on this blog, but for now I'll be saying a simple "See You Later." So for this final post I decided to include something creative and fun. I researched a list of the most unique names for thrift stores throughout the United States. From that list I selected ten names that I thought were the best. Check it out.

1. Angels Attic (Website)

2. Out of the Closet (Website)

3. Rag O Rama (Website)

4. Finders Keepers (Website)

5. reTagit (Website)

6. Second Image (Website)

7. Twice New (Website)

8. Way We Wore (Website)

9. What's Upstairs (Website)

And finally... (drum roll please)

10. From Our Home to Yours (Website)

     Thank you for reading my blog or any of the specific posts included. And now I'll end with a cheesy thrift store joke...
"An old pirate walks into a Salvation Army thrift store and goes up to the guy at the counter. He says, "well, I looked around the store, and there's no replacement right hands!" So the man at the counter says, "Well, I'm quite sorry, sir. This is a second hand shop, not a shop for second hands."

Thrift Store Name List 
Thrift Store Joke Link

Listening to a Thrifting Fashionista

Be sure to check out my podcast below. I worked hard to condense all my endless advice about shopping at thrift stores into ten easy pointers. So if and when you too decide to take up the thrifting lifestyle you'll be prepared as ever!
Image Link

LISTEN HERE!
Download this episode (right click and save)

A Thrifting Interview

As you all know I took up my thrifting lifestyle when I started high school. I was raised to believe that money shouldn’t be splurged on material goods. Saving was the name of the game in my house growing up. My mother was the biggest influence on my decision to save and if I did have to spend, to spend wisely. She spent most of her time shopping at garage sales and thrift stores. However, when she did shop at department stores she would surf the clearance racks and always be armed with coupons. I decided to sit down with my mom and ask her about her reasons behind her saving and budgeting lifestyle. 

Photo taken by Amy Reinhardt

Q: What life experiences did you have that led you to wanting to save money on material items like clothing?

 
A: "I worked at a department store (Jones Store) in high school and part of college. While I worked there I noticed how quickly items were marked down from their original price. Having an employee discount of 25 percent I was able to purchase clothing at very reasonable prices. This caused me to never want to pay full price for anything ever again. I also grew up in a house with four sisters. Once we got jobs at the age of sixteen it was an expectation from our parents that we buy our own clothes, so locating the inexpensive options was essential." 

Q: What are your favorite methods for stretching your dollar?

A: "I like to go to thrift stores to check out what’s available first especially when they’re having a 50 percent off special. I am constantly pulling relevant coupons from advertisements that are for items I know I’ll need whether it’s for clothing stores like Kohl’s or grocery stores like Price Chopper or Hy-Vee. I keep an eye out when I’m driving for neighborhood garage sales or estate sales in the area."    

Q: What’s the best find you’ve ever had at a thrift store?

A: "I was shopping in a thrift store called Savers and I saw the exact model of a yellow vacuum cleaner that I had purchased from Kohl’s and owned for five years before it broke. This thrift store vacuum cleaner was only 15 dollars plus an additional 30 percent off coupon I had. I’ve now owned the Savers edition of this vacuum cleaner for a couple years and it’s still going strong!"   

Q: If you had to choose, what is your favorite thrift store?

A: "My favorite thrift store is Savers. I enjoy the organization and layout of the store as well as the variety of items including clothing, shoes, books, household goods and other miscellaneous accessories. This thrift store also constantly hosts sales and discounts on their already inexpensive merchandise." 

Q: If you could give people advice about thrift shopping what would you say?

A: "I would save to give it a try and treat it like a huge garage sale. You may strike gold and find an item with its original tag that has never been used or worn. With as much luck as I’ve had inside these secondhand stores I would definitely encourage everyone to at least give it a shot!"

The Thrifting Fad is Back

     The recent Great Recession that plagued the US caused most Americans to flock to methods of saving money. Some of the most popular methods of preserving income were auto repair shops, dollar stores and of course, thrift shops. Not surprisingly the quantity of resale stores (thrift, consignment and other secondhand establishments) has increased by seven percent within the past year.
     A very well-known secondhand store, Goodwill has over 2,700 establishments in 15 different countries since it's opening in 1902. Savers is another up and coming thrifting source that is expanding its presence by adding 20 new stores annually to its already existing 270 stores. 

Britt Beemer, founder and chairman of America's Research Group, says that "About 20% of people shop in thrift stores regularly, compared with about 14% in 2008."

     It's an obvious truth that people, especially teenagers, love to create their own trends. They want a style that's unique and all their own. They want to wear items that will receive compliments because a million other people in the world won't be wearing the same thing. Vintage is definitely a style that has resurfaced in a variety of social circles, particularly college campuses and high schools.
     Thrift shopping is an activity and/or lifestyle that will only rise in approval rates because of people's desire to reduce their spending in rough economic times. Soon there will be no embarrassment or shame associated with being a customer at these resale outlets. Instead people will feel proud and excited about buying these distinct, sturdy items at much lower prices.

For more information about this topic visit the link below:
The Thrift Store: Not Just for Penny-Pinching Grandmas Anymore 

    

UUMC Spring Thrift Sale Results

     This morning I went to the Spring Thrift Sale at the University United Methodist Church across the street from Washburn University. I advertised this sale in my blog a while ago. The sale was yesterday on the 27th and ended today on the 28th at noon. The sale items were categorized and divided between different rooms. For example, there was a room for clothing and shoes, a room for holiday items and an area for books, movies and music. 
     I spent the majority of my time sifting through clothing and shoe racks. Today the rule was filling up a bag and paying only four dollars for it! I struck gold with several items as evident from the photos. I purchased nine shirts, two pairs of shoes, a makeup bag, a silver necklace and two belts; and all 15 items only cost me $4.50! All my experience has taught me that church thrift sales and garage sales generally have lower prices than higher quality stores like Plato's Closet. Most items at this thrift sale were less than five dollars which made it hard not to splurge.

Amy's Spring Break Thrifting Adventure

During spring break I had some time to get to my favorite thrift store and do a little shopping. I snagged some great deals like always and am excited for you to take a look! 

Thrift Store Dress Up

     Whether you're designing a costume for Halloween or need a crazy outfit for a party, you'll be able to create a unique look and save a few bucks if you go to a thrift store. I know so many people that buy the ready-made Halloween costumes and shell out an excessive amount of money in the process. Keep in mind that this is usually for an outfit they'll only be wearing for one night! 
     Thrift stores have a variety of apparel and accessories that span through several decades. Due to the wide variety you'll be able to find random items that can form the perfect costume. After all, most winners of costume contests are the ones who've spent the time creating do-it-yourself outfits from scratch rather than the ones who took the easy way out and bought the $80 costume-in-a-bag. 
     A couple of examples of costumes that could be easily assembled in a thrift store would be a cowboy, pirate, gypsy, zombie, hippie, princess and many more. Three pieces of thrift store clothing that you could easily build a costume around would be a prom or wedding dress (bride of Frankenstein, princess, beauty or prom queen or an ex-wife), overalls/coveralls (scarecrow, Super Mario Brothers, redneck or a farmer) and vintage uniforms (military personnel, cheerleader, nurse or stewardess). You could also design an outfit based on a decade like a flapper from the 1920's or a greaser from the 1950's. 

Photo credit to Amy Reinhardt

     Last Halloween I dressed up with a couple friends as the "sexy" three blind mice. My friend Kasey and I visited a thrift store to buy our black outfits and sunglasses. We made the ears ourselves with headbands and black felt material and spray painted some wooden canes. By the end we had stellar costumes that received a ton of compliments! The dress I had bought for less than $10 at Plato's Closet is now my go-to party dress.
     So before you spend a ridiculous amount of money on a costume for Halloween or dress-up party I would recommend that you exercise your creative juices and give your wallet a break by hitting up your local thrift store first. 
Website Link