<p>Oh glad someone posted the Macklemore video! Of course I am used to hearing it on radio - the explicit version is quite different from the radio version :D</p>
<p>^I would like to quote my favorite lines, but none of them are family-friendly! :D</p>
<p>When I was in high school in the 70’s, the cool thing to do was to find our clothes in Santa Barbara thrift stores- great high end clothing and lots of hand knit and crocheted sweaters. We could afford to shop in regular stores but loved having the one of a kind stuff we found. My older D loves a deal and shopped in thrift stores a lot in high school but not so much the younger one. I love them and have no problem buying furniture, d</p>
<p>I love Macklemore, and I love shopping at thrift stores. Though, I haven’t had a good experience with my local Goodwill. The price on the items did not reflect the quality there. For instance, there was an old bridesmaid dress with runs in the fabric and “SAMPLE” written across the back in big letters in white fabric paint for $30. </p>
<p>I buy almost all of my jeans in thrift stores now. I blow out the thighs of my jeans constantly so I just can’t afford to replace them new. I also garage sale all summer long every year. My entire apartment aside from the couch, the beds, and one desk is furnished entirely with garage sale finds. </p>
<p>I just don’t see the point in buying new when I can have something similar that is gently loved for a fraction of the point. It’s not good for the environment and generally the sales at these stores benefit good causes. It’s win for everybody. Plus I’m a graduate student so I’m not exactly rolling in money either. </p>
<p>I also think there’s something to be said for people who are afford to have more and better in other areas of their lives by saving in another. I could probably manage to buy my clothes new, but because I don’t I am able to afford other things like going out to dinner every so often. I’d much rather enjoy a night out every couple of weeks than have the satisfaction that nobody has ever worn my pants before me.</p>
<p>We shop at thrift stores. There are many “for profit” thrift stores as well as non-profit (Goodwill, Catholic Charities, etc) near us. I prefer the non-profits because I know that all of the income goes to support the charity. But, I’m not above a trip to Thrift Town every now and then. I can find name brand, barely used items for pennies on the dollar. Most of our furniture is second hand, a considerable amount of our clothes and almost all books, DVDs, toys, sports equipment, etc. My 75 yr. old mother, and my brother and sister-in-law are also avid thrift store shoppers (and they are very high income folks). I also give plenty away. It’s kind of a nice cycle - I shop, use the item until I no longer enjoy it, give it away, someone else can enjoy its use! It’s win-win, IMO.</p>
<p>The #1 thing charities need is CASH! If rich people buy donated goods at charity thrift stores…great, more cash to help those in need of rent money, money for medicine, money for electric bills, money for food, etc. Well-heeled thrift store customers should consider making an extra CASH donation too while shopping at charity thrift stores.</p>
<p>I love thrift stores!</p>
<p>The number one thing I buy there is towels! Towels are a great bedding for a great variety of critters (one of the best beddings for guinea pigs is fleece over a double layer of towels). I know lots of guinea pig people who get their towels that way! I personally don’t, just because I already have a piggy bedspread, but I DO use the towels as bedding for my bird. In fact, I am going to get some more this weekend!</p>
<p>The same bird needed a nest when she started laying eggs. Guess where I got the bowl for the nest?</p>
<p>I also buy things for myself occasionally, mostly shoes that I need but know won’t use more than a few times. Oh, and old t-shirts for fabric for crafts projects - they have such an amazing variety of colors!</p>
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<p>Nope. Not a “double-barrel” gift. Either the gift benefits the poor person, or it benefits the charity. It may help the charity help the poor person, the but the benefit goes to the poor person.</p>
<p>The charities that run thrift stores get more goods than they need to give away to the poor people. The rest they sell to more well off people. The proceeds of the sale goes to help the charity run their programs.</p>
<p>Note: Many thrift stores have arrangements with social service organizations where the organization screens the needy person and determines their need. They then give the needy person “coupons” that the needy person can use to “purchase” things at the thrift store. Basically, giving to that person whatever they need.</p>
<p>So, by shopping at a thrift store, you are helping the charity raise cash they need to run the charity. You are not taking things away from the needy person.</p>
<p>Goodwill is my home away from home. LOVE IT. I usually stop in once a week. Most of the clothes in my closet came from GW. Most of DH’s clothes come from GW too. Have bought tons of shirts there for our sons. Have several handbags fr. Goodwill.
Every trip to GW is like a treasure hunt for me. I rarely leave empty handed.</p>
<p>D shops at Goodwill a lot. I think you have to have a good eye though. If you’re adept at spotting the gems, as she is, you can get unbelievable deals on good clothes.</p>
<p>We also went to Goodwill for a solo dance costume, and got the whole thing including prop for under $25.</p>
<p>Actually, many do give away merchandise to the needy. At the shelter where I work, we give the women and children certificates to go get clothing at the local SVCC’s thrift shop. They are vouchers given to us by St. Vincent’s and are not paid for by us or them. The clothes are given for free. They survive on donations and those who buy clothes there.</p>
<p>I forgot costumes! D has taken dance for years and whenever she needed something (this was hip hop, so “regular” clothes in themed colors) for a performance, we’d go there, or for school “live action” reports that needed costumes. My S likes to look for old tools or machinery that he can dismantle, and he bought a 1st-gen XBox that he reprogrammed somehow to do more than it was supposed to. </p>
<p>I like yard sales for finding interesting home goods, but they don’t seem to be as good out here as in New England. Though D did find a beautiful church hat last summer that had to have cost $100 new, and I got a handmade quilt for about $25 that I use every day.</p>
<p>My DD started buying jeans to make shorts out of. First time I went was a big turn off. Then a GW that look like a Mall store opened and I found the most amazing blouses and blazers, some that looked new. If you have a good eye you can find amazing things if you happened to find a good thrift shop. Some things are too personal for me to even try on. I stick mainly to things I can laundry really well.</p>
<p>I am in the process of buying a small mid century modern house in Palm Springs. The great 50’s and 60’s furniture is harder and harder to find here in California without spending an arm and a leg. H and I are contemplating a little cross country jaunt (with his pickup) just to scour thrift stores and junk shops for light fixtures and furniture. Do any of you still see this stuff in your neck of the woods?</p>
<p>After “Thrift Shop” came out, I remarked that I could now classify myself as a hipster because I’ve been shopping at thrift stores for as long as I can remember. My family recently went through our closets and found that around half of our clothes were bought at thrift stores, mainly Goodwill.</p>
<p>As soon as I saw the video for “Thrift Shop,” I immediately recognized which of the Seattle Goodwill stores (which have a different logo than other Goodwill stores) the video was filmed in.</p>
<p>I get a lot of my shorts from Goodwill on $1.29 Mondays and also have quite a few nice shirts from there also. The Goodwill outlet is pay by the pound and is not for the faint of heart. I’ve bought a North Face jacket for $2.00 there, a $300-500 wool overcoat for $4.50. They also have VHS movies for $0.10, which is a great price for movies one just wants to watch once or twice.</p>
<p>Musica–this is off topic, but you have to google “will Mid-Century Modern Houses Kill your Kids?” It’s pretty funny.</p>
<p>I’d put in the link but it might be considered a blog.</p>
<p>Edit: using: “15 Mid-Century Modern Dream Homes that will Kill Your Children”</p>
<p>will get you to the right website with more pictures.</p>
<p>I cannot bring myself to buy secondhand clothing. After surviving a bed bug infestation, I know I never will. Garage Sales, Goodwill, and Salvation Army send shivers down my spine. I can only spend a few minutes inside, just long enough to drop off my bags and get a reciept. (No donations during the bb era. Everything went in the trash with a warning to the sanitation workers.)</p>
<p>We haven’t had that, Toledo, but we’ve had dealings with family and friends who did, which is why I stopped buying garage sale furniture, sadly.</p>
<p>OMG…Garland…that is so funny. When we were in Palm Springs last weekend, we were at an event at the park and I mentioned to H that one of the reasons I liked it there was there WERE HARDLY ANY ANNOYING KIDS. Now I know what killed 'em off. God Bless Donald Wexler.</p>
<p>I like thrift stores. I miss Hadassah, which shut nearly all its stores. The thin Jewish guys with nice taste who got fat provided me with Armani coats.</p>
<p>Thrift stores don’t generally locate in real poverty. They’re trying to make money. Savers, for example, is run by the Epilepsy Foundation to make money for their work. They locate in mid-scale strip centers because they want to sell merchandise. The American Cancer Society ran a shop near me in an upscale neighborhood for years. </p>
<p>As to the poor and their needs, I find it patronizing to think, “We should set this aside for the poor.” They’re entirely capable of deciding what they want to buy and where they want to buy from. The savings versus Target, for example, aren’t much; it’s more what you might find in a thrift store, not cost. You can buy new clothes at WalMart or on big sales at department stores for not much more than you’d pay at Goodwill. They can allocate their funds as they see fit.</p>