Last week, you guys went bananas for the Goodwill tips that I had stuffed up my sleeve. And it looks like I am not the only avid thrift shopper out there…you had a bunch of great tips too!
So I thought that since you are amped about getting out there, I wouldn’t send you without a little secret weapon. That’s right. A very Bower Powerful tool to make sure you aren’t on the front line of thrifting without protection.
It’s called a THRIFTING CHEAT SHEET. Consider it your AK47 of picking apart the enemy…aka: cheap crap. (sorry mom…I know you hate the c-word). But this is important to make sure you don’t feel alone out there. Feel free to print it out and take it with you the next time you go into Goodwill. And as you look at your goodwill wares, go through the list and check each item that applies. Take into consideration what each item means. And let me know any questions you might have.
Here you go folks (it’s a pdf)- the Bower Power Thrifty Cheat Sheet.
Happy Shopping!
Love this! I always forget to check items that make me gasp – they usually go straight in the cart. This will be very helpful – thanks!
-Emily
Thanks for the great tips, Katie! And you are SO right about the location thing: We just moved from a tiny town in Virginia to a larger town in the suburbs of Philly. There is a LOT more selection at the Goodwill stores here (i.e. Coach handbags! wow) but the prices are much higher. It really is all about weighing the items available against the costs. Thanks again! 🙂
I feel compelled to tell you that my newborn daughter just passed gas and laughed after she did it! I blame her crude sense of humor on me reading your blog while I was pregnant!
What a great tool! You rock for putting this together :).
Hmm- maybe it is my mac but the pdf works are all in wingdings or something of the sort. I don’t know how to read wingdings . . .
totally awesome checklist! i’m going to print out a copy for myself and then email it to my mother and hope that she’ll try to reduce the amount of crap –uh, i mean stuff, yeah, stuff — that she manages to bring home from her trips to goodwill. (she now owns at least 2 copies of every disney movie i saw as a kid, probably 3 copies of her favorite: lady and the tramp. oh did i mention they’re ALL VHS?!?!)
Girl, you are too funny. I love how ‘smell’ is under almost every category. I’m headed to my local thrift stores tonight. Would you believe there are about 10 different thrift stores on one street here? Everything from United CP to AmVets to Goodwill and Salvation Army… and everything in between. I don’t think any of them have stuff as good as your but I’m on a hunt for tons of vases to use for wedding centerpieces. Thank God I won’t have to worry too much about the ‘smell’ factor.
Good things to remember! I LOVE thrifting and get way too much enjoyment from looking for bargains : )
Thanks, that’s genius!
Awesome list! You are seriously amazing! Thank you!
After your post about Goodwill dragged husband
kicking and screaming into G.W.last Sunday.
Lo and behold he found a complete set of the
Story of Civilization for $19.69. We went home
immediately and checked it on Amazon. Cheapest
set was over $150! Now he’s a convert..and we
signed up for Club Goodwill so we got a dis-
count! What a hoot!
Hey Katie,
Yes, Goodwill is a great place to pick up affordables. But with everyone making an effort to organize their homes, it’s also a great place to donate items you don’t need anymore. And they have an on-line method of keeping track of your donations for tax deductions.
Katie-
Thank you for speaking so loudly and emphatically about your local Goodwill! As an employee of one, it is great to see some one tout their local Goodwill so well and to give great shopping tips to boot! If any one wants to find your local Goodwill, go to http://www.goodwill.org.
My only tip to those of you who are new to shopping thrift. Know the company you are shopping with and if they are a non-profit or not. If you are unsure, ask and ask how thier funds help your local community. Also, donate wisely. Make sure you know how your donations are helping your community or not. Some agencies pose as non-profits helping thier community, but are actually for profits and send their “donations” overseas or out of the community.
After reading this all I can imagine is you walking through goodwill smelling everything, and making either a “not so bad smelling” face or a “smells worse that I imagine Richard Simmons smelling”.
Just had to say thanks for all the Goodwill posts. We have donated stuff to our local Goodwill for years, but I went shopping there for the first time this week because of your posts. I came away with a great pair of crystal candle holders and a white ceramic one for dirt cheap! They inspired me to pull out the ones in our cabinets and make a “candlescape” centerpiece on our table. It looks great! Thanks for the inspiration! I’ll be visiting Goodwill regularly from now on!