I'm On Craigslist!

If there's one thing this lousy economy has done for me it's that it has encouraged me to get back to my roots.

I think back to when I first fell in love with "thrifting", way, way back to when I was probably 8 or 9 years old. Where some might inherit their father's love of sailing or music, I inherited my father's love for thrifting. For as long as I can remember, my Dad has been a thrift shopper/bargain hunter/junk finder. I remember fondly walking up and down the alley on trash day, looking for good stuff that was being thrown out.

I think of him every time I walk into one store or another and see something I know he would love. Even now he has his favorite haunts, and I am prepared to share my new favorite thrift stores with him when he comes to visit.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Here's some blueberry pancakes for you!
(sorry they're so digital)

In the 1990's, my heroine was Amy Dacyczyn and her Tightwad Gazette, which I subscribed to for so many years. Back then, I was frugal out of necessity. Most people who know me know that I would rarely pay full price for anything- it was a point of pride for me. I would never hesitate to ask a store manager to reduce the price of something because "it has this little rip here" or "it has a little smudge there."

During the last few years, though, I lost my way; clipping coupons became more of a nuisance, and thrift stores couldn't seem to hold my attention; they no longer had what I was looking for.

I was a huge fan of yard/garage sales back in the day. Some of my best memories are the yard sales and rummage sales that were so fulfilling, where I found just the right thing. Lately though, good yard sales have gone the way of MySpace and Trivial Pursuit. There's no there there anymore.

Recently, since I've discovered yarn recycling, I've begun a new-found romance with thrift stores; now I wonder why we ever split up. I realized how much I've been missing the thrill of the hunt...finding that object that you've been searching for, or maybe something totally unexpected, and getting it for cheap!

I'm renewing my vows to live frugally, and I believe that even though the economy is in the toilet, if you are careful you can still have whatever you like

I was reinvigorated when I read this newsclip the other day, and found this cool web site to help search for local thrift stores.

I decided to go on a little reconnaissance mission through my own neighborhood thrift stores.

What I have to show is actually pretty pathetic. I'm obviously not very proficient in the art of kinnearing; it's a real word- go look it up...I'll wait... Technically, it may not be "kinnearing" if you're only taking pictures of things and not people, but I digress. I considered bringing along a hidden camera, but then I decided I'd look pretty silly carrying around a copy of a hollowed out Nancy Drew Mystery and pointing it at things- this might actually call more attention to myself. So, I hid my camera in my purse.

The books at Pick of the Litter....

Goodwill housewares....

Pick of the Litter miscellaneous....

Goodwill small appliances....

Pick of the Litter small appliances....

Here are some of my recent purchases...none of it cost more than a couple of dollars except for the sweaters, which cost $5.49 each:

I bought this Syracuse China at Pick of the Litter

Prep bowls from Goodwill....

Glass apples from Pick of the Litter....

Woven shawl from Pick of the Litter

Alpaca wool sweater from Goodwill....

Another alpaca wool sweater from Goodwill....

...both of which I've already unraveled....

Pretty platter from Pick of the Litter....

Hand painted Japanese serving pieces from Pick of the Litter....

Of course there's all kinds of bargain hunting to be had. I'm a huge fan of Craigslist. We've bought bikes and sewing machines, sold bikes and lamps, and given away everything from drapes to rocks.

Here's the bike we sold on Craigslist....

Here's the bike we bought on Craigslist

I'm on Craigslist! Maybe you are too!