The last time I went to Goodwill I spotted a pretty fabulous reading lamp:
It actually called me by name.
I heard it from admist the clutter. It called out, “HEY YOU! YOU WITH THAT CRANIUM! COME GET ME!” and I did.
And the price was killer. $20 would have been an awesome price all by it’s lonesome. But since it was “Yellow day”, all items labeled with a Y were 50% off. That’s right. Pick up your jaw from the floor. There are germs down there.
Ten smackers and ten minutes later, I was back at home and removing that amazing price sticker. How do I remove price stickers? Well I am so glad that you asked.
First, I wet the sticker to get the papery outter layer off. Then I use an empty spray bottle filled with mineral spirits (paint thinner would work just peachy too!) to spray onto the sticky underlayer. I like the ole spray conditioner bottle because of the misty spray. oh and because it was free. All I did was spray the mineral spirits on and rub the stickiness off with a paper towel. The finishing touch was some stainless steel cleaner applied with a clean paper towel and buffed to a shine.
Right now the new-used lamp found a new home in my dressing room. Looks pretty good right?
Looking for something similar? Here are some options:
IKEA Barometer reading lamp $50
Pottery Barn Hayes Task Floor lamp $279
Target Brookfield Deluxe floor lamp $150
So that’s another reason why I love shopping at Goodwill. And one little way that ten bucks can make my day a little brighter. Gotta love a light pun 🙂 Anyone else scoring a recent thrift store find lately? Bloggers link up if you posted about your latest steal. Or if you have another tip for removing the tacky price stickers, I’d love to hear it. Maybe you use GooGone? Or perhaps we have someone that uses that olive oil trick? Spill…or should I say spray it? 🙂
What an amazing Goodwill find. I’m feeling motivated now to jump in my car and head to my local Goodwill to see what treasures call out to me.
Skin So Soft for removing sticky residues.
Magic eraser takes the stickers right off. Just wet it, squeeze out the excess water and a couple of rubs later, it’s gone. I use it on all the photo frames I find on clearance that the stores must stick the sale price right on the glass. It is so annoying. Congrats on the baby! and the lamp find!
I love lamps just as much as the next girl,
but isn’t there supposed to be the third
installment of a special post about you know
what?
My link http://bananasanddamaskinteriors.blogspot.com/2010/04/project-to-come.html
is for my posting about the tables I just found on Craigslist! So excited!
You have turned me onto goodwill from all of your finds. I went there on a recent dollar days I found some brass candle sticks that I was able to spray paint silver. I now have quite a collection that looks straight out of a Pottery Barn magazine.
Katie it’s beautiful but you are killing me waiting for the rest of your birth story! I hope you and your little family are doing wonderfully!
I found the cutest little porcupine for my son’s nursery. $2.00!!
I was excited.
http://kjoy-joy.blogspot.com/2010/04/nursery-goodwill.html
Ok. I’ve held my tongue long enough and I’m not going to hold it anymore.
LADY! YOU ARE KILLING ME WITH THE BIRTH STORY SUSPENSE!!!
I need Part 3!
Thanks,
Brittany (formerly of Notes From the Grove)
I love it! And your stack of Real Simple magazines on the desk. I have a similar stack in my home office. 🙂
Totally not fair. Your Goodwill always has the best stuff. My Goodwill has the most run down cr@p around.
: /
KB – I hope all is going well with you and your boys.
I cannot get over the awesome finds you’ve found in your Goodwill store.
Our Goodwill stores do not have fun finds such as what you have shared with us. I did find an awesome second hand furniture store in my town and scored two coffee tables for a total of $5. I am going to make two much needed benches out of them. One for my bathroom and one for our foyer. Now I need to find some fabric…
Cheers,
Bon
I am so jealous I don’t have a good will anywhere near me and the thrift stores that are close have nothing but cr@p! 🙁 thanks for the inspiration anyway!!
(Chanting).. Birth story, birth story, birth story… No pressure or anything 😀
I sometimes use fingernail polish remover. But it can take the finish off of wood. I’m inspired to make random trips to goodwill now.
I’m SO jealous! Every word I read it just got worse. $10? Are you kidding me? And it WORKS?! I’ve been looking for a table lamp like that for double the price you paid for a floor version!
My scores aren’t near as exciting:
http://iheartminiblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Thrifty%20Thursday
I just need to go more often and hunt better I guess 🙂
What an awesome find! I need to go to your goodwill.
P.S. I need birth story part 3!!!
Sweeeeet lamp! Lucky you!
Rubbing alcohol always does the trick for me 🙂
I use my hair dryer! Seriously, a little heat and those annoying labels peel right off- all the sticky stuff included 🙂
GooGone is my go-to anti-sticky product! It works on everything! But if it’s an EXTRA sticky job (like getting labels off a wine bottle) it’s better to let it soak in hot water for a while, scrub, and then use GooGone to finish up the job.
Our goodwill in Eastern NC overprice their stuff uggh! good deal btw!
I literally had to pick my jaw up! What good will do you shop at? Mine is the one in Hamilton Mill and there stuff isn’t ever THAT great.
Goo-Gone will totally get rid of any marks – except glitter crayons. I learned that one the hard way from my younger brother’s encounter with my white dresser.
I use Charlie’s Soap All Purpose Spray to remove stickers or sticky residue. Works like a charm.
Also, can you PUH-LEASE post Part 3 to the birth story… Thanks!
Nice find! Love Goodwill treasures!
You keep torturing us with your awesome Goodwill finds. So good for you. I keep trying to give the one by me a chance but I never have any luck. Most of the stuff at my store is stuff I would throw away and never consider donating never mind actually charging someone for it. I know the saying someone’s trash is another’s treasure but it really doesn’t always hold true.
I blogged about thrift store finds here (http://willworkfordecor.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-to-thrift-store-finds-and-sneak.html)and here (http://willworkfordecor.blogspot.com/2010/03/more-thrift-store-finds.html) and even linked to your handy lists! I’m a fan of plain old warm water and dish soap, though I resort to GooGone if I have to.
my latest post is about a $6 end table i snatched up at goodwill: http://sarah-hennesseyhouse.blogspot.com/
and i’m SHOCKED you were able to find such an amazing lamp for CHEEEAPP! the people at my local goodwills sit around, smoke lots of drugs and try to sell crappy old lamps for like $50, no joke. you got yourself a steal there, chica.
You inspired me to go to GW last weekend and I got 5 different awesome trays, 4 new looking board books for my baby, 1 big glass snack container, and a cute file organizing totebag (new looking) for very few dollars! So fun
How the HECK do you keep doing that? Finding awesome in a sea of Goodwill junk!
great find! that would go perfectly in our reading nook! wish i’d found it!
one time in college i got a warning for parking in the wrong spot. the warning came in the form of a giant orange sticker covering most of my driver door’s window! (we’re talking like 8.5″ by 11″, ridiculous!) i was so angry because i couldn’t figure out how to get it off and i NEED that window to be able to drive safely!
eventually i realized that water helped get the sticky stuff to release; so i wetted a few paper towels, let the water soak through the paper front of the sticker and affect the adhesive, then it wiped off like a charm! each adhesive is different though. i’ve also had stickers which are just better to leave on rather than even attempt to clean up the sticky mess they leave behind.
Katie (Congrats on baby Will, BTW!)
You inspired me to start a blog AND to do thrift store shopping. I’ve been blogging a little over a month now.
Here was my first post about thrift store shoppin’.
http://ourlifeinaclick.blogspot.com/2010/03/thrift-store-finds.html
I use Goof Off to get really sticky stuff off. Also scotch tape works well on the back of pictures or bottom of vases. Apply the tape then pull off, it pulls off the price tag. Keep applying the tape, scratch a little, then pull.
I see you just posted a photo of Will.
So gorgeous!!
-heather
I LOVE Goodwill!! I’ve recently started stalking estate sales too and found some great stuff! Here’s a dresser that I found on craigslist and gave a little makeover: http://designalamod.com/?p=340
PS: I use the olive oil trick… I will never pay for GooGone again! 🙂
Love, Love, Love Goodwill!! Ours is always so crowded sometimes you have to wait for a parking spot (apparently the secret is out!). My go-to for a goo fighter is pre-wash spray…Shout, Spray ‘n Wash, etc.
Your “picture of the day”….Precious!!
I’m very jealous of this amazing find – it looks straight out of PB.
I recently found an old brass shelving unit at our local thrift store and updated it for a fun new storage solution in my dining room. check it out here:
http://www.thisfulllife.com/2010/05/dining-room-storage.html
Awww Katie…thanks so much for stopping by my blog AND commenting! I’m holding you responsible for my cloche addiction. 😉
I went to GW for the first time yesterday…I’m looking for little tables but I ended up with a lot of home decor stuff.
Thanks again!! It was a thrill to see your name in my comments!!
-heather
I use GooGone, but used to use peanut butter. Works about the same. Peanut butter smells better!
Great lamp!
I just wrote about my recent thrift store addiction. It’s true you have to go often!
http://www.decoradventures.com/2010/04/my-recent-thrift-store-addiction.html
Such a great find! And it looks great in your dressing room. 🙂
I used WD-40 on a sticker on a plastic vase yesterday, and it worked like a charm! I sprayed it on, let it sit for a minute, then it peeled right off. I washed the oily residue off with Dawn and water, and you couldn’t tell there was ever a sticker there!