New Thing #116--Frugal Fun

I love thrift stores, but especially Goodwill (or as it's officially called in our area MERS Goodwill). There's a branch a couple of miles from my house. When I worked in an office a good chunk of my business casual clothing came from there, because I could find the mall brands for much less money. I still check thrift stores for clothes before I go somewhere else. It's exciting, financially prudent, and ecologically sound, because I think reusing second hand items is another form of recycling .

I think it's also important to remember when I spend my money at thrift stores I'm helping other people. For example, Goodwill's mission is to provide job training and career services to people in need so they can enjoy productive lives. I know a couple of people that have benefited from these services; one received their GED and retail training thanks to Goodwill programs.

The Goodwill retail store that's close to us has a great variety of clothes at good prices. Most of them are used, of course, but there is a selection of new things from retail stores. The selection is always changing; you never know what you're going to find. If you go in with expectations of finding a specific thing, you'll be disappointed, because the odds of that are about one in a million.However, today I shopped for, and purchased, an outfit specifically to wear today.

I was completely flexible in what I was looking for. My only requirement was that the outfit needed to be comfortable and appropriate for today's weather. The first group of clothes I took to the dressing room included capris, pants, shirts, and a dress. Unfortunately, none of them was quite right, so I put them all back and tried again. I found a couple of likely items in the skirt aisle; I added some coordinating shirts to my pile and went back to the dressing room. This time I had luck!

Take a look at the wonderful cotton plaid skirt and the white t-shirt with the prestigious designer label still attached to the neckband. I couldn't find any coordinating accessories at the store. so I came home and added my own blue shoes, red bead necklace, and gold hoop earrings.

The total cost of my outfit? A whopping $6.00!