January has got to be one of my favorite months for thrift store shopping. That is because many of the donations that were made at the end of the year by folks looking to get their tax deductions. Ideally, it would be wonderful to visit the thrift store practically every day to see what new thing are available. In fact, when we lived in in our old neighborhood, there was a decent thrift store within walking distance. When the weather was nice, I could pack a kid or two in the stroller and take a nice walk. And, the Goodwill was a shirt drive away, so I could check there as well.
These days it is a little harder to get to a thrift store, so we have to limit our trips. We also only have a Goodwill close enough, although there are a couple of other stores I have heard about and will explore soon.
The Goodwill is an industry, a company, so things are a little different shopping there than in a smaller, less company-oriented thrift store. The prices tend to be higher on average, but much more consistent. A pair of jeans will always be the same price, unless it is the “color” that is on sale.
Clothing at the Goodwill is color coded by tag. The colors rotate through in order. For example, last week the color was purple. This means that all purple items are 50% off. If they don;t sell, they are then moved out of the store. This week, the color is orange, so those are the items that are 50% off. Meanwhile any new clothing gets tagged with a purple tag, which won’t come back up for discount until all of the other colors have come through.
Even with higher prices, there are some bargains to be had.
Check back tomorrow when I’ll give you details of our trip.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.
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