Thinking about thrifting.

Buying needed items second hand fits into my philosophy of living a simple, frugal lifestyle, and I try to do it whenever possible. I am currently in need of fall clothes, so I betook myself yesterday to the biggest Value Village in town. The one I went to is quite huge and I hoped I'd get some great deals.

I hoped I'd get some deals even though, I have noticed over the past couple of years that the prices in thrift stores have been rising alarmingly. Granted, the only stores near me are part of this particular chain. Maybe I need to shop around more. But still, there it is. I did buy myself 3 long sleeved shirts, and they were $8 each. In fact, all of the reasonably decent women's shirts were that price. This seems kind of high to me for someone else's half-worn-out shirts, especially once you add in the 13% sales tax, but it's still a little bit cheaper than getting a new shirt for $12 at Walmart, so I paid it, although not without qualms. (There was one sweater I really liked that was $15, which I refused to pay.)

I also got a few other things: a hairdryer for $5, some pajama pants for $5, and a cake plate for $3, since I am planning on making a pumpkin cake for Thanksgiving and I don't even own a plate large enough to put a cake on! I actually wanted to get one of those ones with a glass dome, and they did have one--but the store wanted $10 for it. That seems silly when they are $15 brand new.

One thing I got which seemed like a good deal was two sewing patterns for 69 cents each. One is for a blouse, and the other is for a long skirt, since I can never find nice, plain long skirts in any store, thrift store or otherwise. The skirt pattern envelope says the original price was $14.95. Is that really how much sewing patterns cost new? That seems outrageous, when the fabric and notions still have to be purchased after that! (I don't feel bad now about charging $5 for vintage patterns in my Etsy shop.)

I am planning on making some quilts for my boys for Christmas, and I picked up a navy blue flat sheet for $5 to use as the backing for at least one of them. But after I bought it I realized that it was 50% polyester and the tag says no ironing. I guess I can't use something in a sewing project that can't be ironed, right? I will have to think of some other use for the sheet then, and keep a lookout for something else I can use for the quilts.

My favourite purchase was a sturdy square basket for $3, which I am using to store Jasper's bedtime story books in. Before, they were scattered all over the boys' room and quite messy. Baskets are good for containing mess, I have learned!

So I did make some decent purchases, but long gone are the days when I could leave Value Village with a bag full of clothes for $20. I was thinking on the drive home, is it really worth it to shop there anymore? Because as a homeschooling mother of four, my time is in high demand. Is it worth it to drive there, and then search through endless racks of shrunken and misshapen (and often bad smelling) clothes to find those few nice looking pieces? The line ups are always long too, and the customer service stinks. Maybe it is just not the best use of my time.

(And by the way, the cynical part of me can't help but wonder if stores like Value Village have doubled their prices in the last couple of years--and yes, they have because I have always shopped there often and I remember what things used to be priced at--I wonder if they have doubled their prices because they know that a large part of the population today is really counting their pennies, and needs to buy things second hand because it's all they can afford? And so the stores are taking advantage of this, and pricing things as high as they can and still be less than retail? Although in many cases, things there are higher than retail at a sale price!)

Coincidentally, yesterday evening I read a blog post about thrifting, and the writer mentioned something called "flea market style." When I looked it up I realized that that is my style...I like comfortably old, mismatched things in my house. Even on my back, for that matter. New, perfectly matched things look glaringly...new to me! Also yesterday, at Homesense (do they have that store in the US?) I bought a brand new set of stainless steel salt and pepper mills. I've wanted some of those for a while, and they're nice, but they look so out of place sitting on my diningroom table, since the table came from a garage sale, the plates are mismatched and second hand, the tablecloth was a handmedown, the silverware is thrifted, we use mason jars for glasses...you get the idea.

So after thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that yes, it is worth it to continue shopping at thrift stores even if sometimes the deals aren't that great. Because sometimes I do find good deals, and it's important for me to use our limited funds wisely.  I like the look of previously used things, and I like owning things that are unique. Getting things secondhand is good for the environment. And lastly, it is rather fun searching through all the junk looking for a treasure. I just think that I need to find other places to buy secondhand things--Value Village is too expensive anymore.

Where do others like to buy secondhand things? Do tell...

Comments

[Natalie]

If I remember correctly you are in Ontario, right? If you have one anywhere near you, it would be worth going to a Goodwill store. They still have their shirts all for the same price (kid's t-shirts are 1.99, long sleeve shirts are 2.99, and adult shirts are just a dollar or two more). I filled a laundry hamper for around $40.00 at back to school time. Our Value Village here has done the same thing...they have doubled their prices from what they were even 4 years ago. The added bonus to the Goodwill store, is that the money goes back into the community with job training and skills development rather than into the pockets of a few individual owners.
Good luck!

[Andrea]

Prices have gone up! I shop at a few different stores, but the one I like best is a large Goodwill store close to work. It's the only store in a large city so not only do they carry a large breadth of merchandise, it's constantly changing and I find that out of the different 'chain' thrift stores around, their prices are the best. Yard sales, I think, still offer the best bang for your buck, despite their seasonality and roving locations!

[sheila]

I agree...Goodwill is the way to go...unless you can find some really great Yard Sales in the summer months. :)
About your sheet......I believe No Iron just means you don't have to iron it....not that you Can't iron it. If it is 50% cotton and 50% poly....go ahead and use it....I would! The only difference would be to make sure you prewash the front of your quilt if it is all cotton or it may shrink a little bit and the 50/50 backing Will Not shrink. :)
I would wash the sheet and try to dry it without it getting too wrinkly....then if you need to iron it, make sure your iron is on medium heat....it will do just fine (test a small corner first to be sure).
By the way....the poly won't wear out....those quilts will be around forever...well...at least the back of them will be! :)
Have a great week!

[Leah]

I noticed that the Value Village in the city did the same thing with their prices here too. But it's over an hour away, and I seldom get there anymore (plus when I learned it wasn't a charity like I'd always assumed, I tried to take my thrifting to other places.) Our local charity shop has the best prices, but poor selection in clothes. I'm at the point now where I'd rather just buy a few good, properly fitting clothes that will last, because I'm always at home and don't require much anyways. -And someday I'll have the time and skill to sew them myself!! ...Good luck with your new patterns. I love that style of skirt- hope you'll show it off when it's finished!

[Laura Jeanne]

Thanks for the suggestion Natalie, but there are no Goodwill stores anywhere near me. There is a Salvation Army store in town though, and a few small St. Vincent de Paul stores--maybe I should try them out.

[Laura Jeanne]

Thanks Sheila...on my sheet it does have a little picture of an iron with an 'X' through it--I thought that meant you shouldn't iron it? I'll have to look that up!

[Rain]

I like our Salvation Army. But, I find tag sales are the best. I can find clothing for $1 or less. I love the 'vintage' second hand look myself. I don't know if there is freecycle or a craiglist in Canada but those are good too, esp. for furniture.
Blessings!

[Erin]

Value Village has totally increasead their prices recently, which is very frustrating for us busy homeschooling mamas, who maybe don't have time to search through racks and racks of stuff without finding much. I was looking for skirts recently for my 8 year old daughter and really couldn't find anything I would be willing to pay $7.99 for. I have learned to be discerning, to use their coupons and to keep looking whenever I find a moment to pop into thrift shops (which isn't super often since we live 1 hour away from any of the bigger ones). The housewares stuff seems to be a tad more reasonable, and I like you, often find wicker baskets and little crafting items for cheap.

However, despite our zest for thrifting, in terms of frugality, you can sometimes find great deals at stores like Reitmans on basics for mama. This summer I found t-shirts for $5 each for me (with their 30% of lowest ticketed price), which is way better value since the clothes are new and will last longer anyhow. Just a thought.

[Anita]

I would suggest checking out Second Time Klothes on Ottawa as well as Priced Green which has two locations (one on Wyandotte in Riverside and one on Wynadotte in the west end near the Uni!)

[marlyn dubay]

I agree with you on the VV store price hike. Vintage is in girl and the stores know it. We have a Salvation Army here and it is the pits, as well as Vinnies ( st Vincent du Paul) which is prices higher then VV. WE have a Y's Buys ( YWCA) which is great but a lot of digging. I get blazers for me at $2.99! Look in your yellow pages. We have a trift shop called "Back of the Closet" No Walmart stuff in this store, all great names and great prices. Shoes like new less then $10. And if you see an issue they lower the prices. VV won't do that! Best of luck on this and by the way you did good on the deals you got, so don't knock yourself out over it.

[Linda]

Not sure if you have them in Ontario, we do in Manitoba but I find the MCC thrift stores have the best prices. Ours is clean, cheap and they have fabulous sales. Like fill a bag for $5.00. etc. The stuff is still, $1.00 or .50 cents. I got a cute set of canisters for $2.00. The stores are run my the Mennite Central Committee. I would look around for something other than Value Villiage which often charges nearly new prices.

[Alex]

I really enjoy shopping at Value Village but I have noticed prices have gone up.
I needed clothes for myself and went looking there. I did find quite a few things but it took me over 2 hours! Luckily my husband was home and I was by myself!