Thrift Stores and Consignment Shops

Tweet I love thrift stores and consignment shops. It's all my Mom's fault. When I was growing up we were poor. Very poor. We never had much money but my Mom always knew how to stretch a buck. One way she did that was by shopping at second hand stores. I grew up with it. It was normal. Never was ashamed and never felt like I missed out on anything. I had no idea people even thought that way until I met my husband. Nick said he felt weird shopping at these kinds of stores. That they were for poor people. I suppose they are but they are also for frugal people. Often times when you shop at a thrift store the funds go to a charity and with consignment shops they seem to be largely run by Mom's who turned their love of finding bargains into a business. These are both things I gladly support. Today I got some stellar deals while out and about. First we stopped at the Blue Ridge Hospice Thrift Store where I got these:



Converse baby shoes! These cost 19.99 at Toys-R-Us. They were marked for 2$ but they were having a half off sale on shoes today so I scored them for 1$. I am washing them now and I am sure they will come out good as new :D I also got these at the Blue Ridge Hospice Thrift Store:



I paid $2.25 for all this. The little toys were .25 each and the box was 1.25. I am going to put my secret sister's gift at church in this lovely box. I just love pretty boxes! Finally the creme de la creme:



All this for THREE BUCKS! It was in a bag shoved under a table and filled with brand name toys! WooT! From there we headed to a consignment shop I love, Wear It Again Kid. They were running a half off summer clearance sale on toys today. Of course you pay a little more at a consignment shop but the variety is bigger. I got these for 10.99 with tax. Not to shabby!



I wipe all the hard toys down with Clorox wipes and I wash any soft toys or clothes I get from these establishments. I have run across a few things that didn't work or were torn but for the most part I have great success. Do you thrift? Do you love it or dread it? Happy deal hunting!