Thrift Story

It has been SUCH a rainy week! The kind of rain where you don’t even want to get out of the car because you’re just gonna’ get soaked. That being said, I was bummed because I was really looking forward to doing some Thrifting while I was in Farmington, but the rain washed out my plans.
I just wanted to get home. However, just down the road from “home” is one of my favorite local thrift stores (having received Honorable Mentions in previous posts) The Economic Ministry.
Now the rain, as I’ve mentioned, was poo-ing on my day since I wanted to shop, but didn’t. I was thinking I could stop at The Ministry, but I ALWAYS go there, and I was feeling kind of BORED with that, and then…THEN, I remembered the adorable boots that the neighbor girl had on….! Where do you think she scored those babies?! Yup. The Ministry. So, I figured, what the hell…Just a QUICK stop…a Quick browse…You never know. Doris and the Girls working there are always putting out new merchandise and I mean, Always. So, I did. And Voila! Instant Mood Enhancement…Rain Clouds over my head- Be Gone!
I was able to find my son a totally cool Tony Hawk t-shirt (.25), my daughter an adorable one shoulder summer t-shirt from Gymboree (.25), and for myself, a great Danskin athletic shirt in bright red (easy to see while riding my horse) Bonus: it had those cool thumb hooks (love those…wonder if they have a name?)($1.50) also, a blue Ralph Lauren t-shirt with orange polo pony applique (another huge equestrian fave) ($1.00) AND a sweater ($2.00) for my current favorite Thrift Craft : Leg Warmers to wear under tall boots.( Note: This can be found on Pinterest. And I will add it here as well. Just as soon as I figure out how to do that..:/ LOL)

OH! Here it is!

http://pinterest.com/pin/355573333050133533/

My total cost = $5.00 AND I was there for maybe, 10-15 minutes tops AND never had to wait in line OR pay for shipping.
Thrifting! Save Time – Save Money
BE HAPPY!

Had to go to Farmington yesterday to take my Kitty to the vet.  He was admitted and had to spend the day, and luckily I brought my computer and about five bucks. Before heading to the library, I decided to get a little thrift fix at the Farmington thrift store on Broadway.  I’ve never much liked this thrift store–it smells like moist dog, its not very organized, and the behind the counter people are not really that friendly, but I was looking for something specific and I thought I had the best chance of finding it here.

Redneck wine glass

I was looking for clear glass candle holders.  My friend Gretchen crafted me up a redneck wine glass for Christmas and man!  Those things are worth recrafting and so simple. Just epoxy the candle stick holder to the bottom of the ball jar, and cheers!

To make a medium-sized story short, I didn’t find the candle stick holders, but I did find these wicked cool blue sneaks. I’m a little leery of potential germs when I thrift shop, but for four bucks, I thought I could figure out how to kill some germs. With a little alcohol and baking soda, they’ll be new to me. Happy thrifting!

I was in a bind.  I waited until the very last minute to put together my outfit for Santarchy Skowhegan.  I had a nose from the Coplin Co-Op and antlers from Reny’s, but I put the rest of the outfit off until the morning of.  I really needed a jacket because, unlike the rest of our Maine winter so far, it was supposed to be cold that day. LB says, “Well, we can stop at the Solon Thrift Store on the way over…”  Brilliant!

I did the best I could with what I had at home, and off we went, putting all our faith in one single stop at one single store.  Not only did I find the perfect jacket, brown, fuzzy collar, warm, I also found ribbons for my reigns.

Beginning of the night...

Merry Christmas!

Went to the Eco Min out in Salem the other day because 1. my friend OneThriftyMomma inspired me to go and 2. I need two Santa suits by December 17, for Santarchy Skowhegan.  I found these–a gift for a new friend in the making and this possible Santarchy suit ingredient. A buck for both.

BUT the craziest thing that happened, and it seems like crazy stuff always happens at the Eco Min, is that this man walked in and his friend told us he was 96!  A 96 year old thrifter!  We smiled across the racks at each other. I would have taken photos, but it came out in his friend’s conversation with the entire store that the old man couldn’t hear a thing so organizing it would have been interrupting the moment.   I hope I’m still alive and thrifting at 96.:)

For a good time, get together with some girlfriends, some wine and cocktails, about 10 loaves of bread, and 10 bags of old clothes. Our second annual swap was again, a success.  Highlights…Tra trying to swap a sex toy, Liz trying on fake boobs, Jenny scoring a good luck job interview outfit, Stiffy’s chocolate wine, and really, 10 loaves of bread…

new jacket for Jenny

Tra in her new fab polka dot skirt

Not quite her style but funny to try on...

Old leather suit top--a must have this season

Liz is very excited about her new work out clothes!

So I collect things from thrift stores that I think could be cool or useful some day.  After a while, this thrift stash builds up, starts to take up space, and proceeds to drive me a little nutzo.  Solution:  time to consign.  My stash was a small collection of vintage finds.  I wanted to take them to my fav consignment store in Portland, Material Objects, but getting stuff into Material Objects is like getting into college. Application, interview, etc.  Okay, so I’m exaggerating a little.  You have to have an appointment and you can call 207-774-1241 to make that happen. I didn’t have an appointment.

Find, Portland, Maine

To Find I went. They are a “clothing exchange and style gallery.”  Now Find is a pretty great place, but it is, to be honest, really expensive for a second hand clothing store–unless you consign there. The deal with Find is that if you want cash on the spot for clothes, they’ll give you 30% of what they think they can make on your stuff. Or, if you want in store credit, they’ll give you 50%.  For my measly little bag of clothes, I earned $70 in store credit. This translates to a couple pairs of really nice jeans,  or a few shirts, or one excellent score (jacket, boots, bag) and I’m psyched.  I’m liking Find more and more.

Steph found this awesome bomber while we waited for my clothes to get sorted.  Find is at 16 Free Street in Portland, Maine.

Hi Friends!

Thanks for your patience with the stupid maintenance on the site!  Fact of the matter is, I’ve been really busy with my real job and I’ve not been able to give the story its time.  I had big plans for a new logo and some other site bells and whistles, but that will just have to happen when it can.  Meanwhile….

What’s going on in the world of thrift?

Prices are going up, friends, and this might be the oxymoron of our time. You heard me, it’s getting expensive to shop at thrift stores. Don’t believe me?  Go to Goodwill.  It’s now trendy to be thrifty and whenever there’s a trend involved, the masses unknowingly create a demand.  In just Farmington, Maine alone (small college town) there are 7 “thrift stores” that I can count. 7!  I mean this is exactly what we thrifters want, but come on.  There is still a Walmart in town and if the prices are cheaper there, then that is where people will go.

What’s new here at Thrift Story?

Organization.  Like every good wardrobe, organization is key.  You’ll see a new menu item, “Maine Thrift Store Reviews.”  Scrolling over this menu item brings a drop down list of Maine towns and clicking on a town will give you a review of every thrift store I’ve been to in that town.  This organization will also allow for adding on other states or other fabulous places around the world.  PLEASE feel free to write a review or a response by commenting at the end of the post.

How can you get involved?

Well, if you want to write a Thrift Story or a review, please email me with your intentions and I’ll set you up! You can subscribe to Thrift Story which means that new posts in Thrift Story will be sent directly to your email or your reader of choice. You can go to Thrift Story’s Facebook page, click the “like” button and become a part of the shorter story there.

What’s in the next chapter of Thrift Story?

Well, there’s that dang logo.  But I want this to be a useful community site for thrifters.  Thrifting is hard work and takes a lot of time.  My goal is to make thrifting easier by offering reviews and stories of crazy thrifting adventures to entice non-thrifters to join the movement.

I’m also going to change my tone a bit. In the past I’ve been shy about posting negative reviews.  Instead I just wouldn’t write anything about a store.  This leaves holes in my claim of “authority” and quite a bit of “amusement” often coincides with a thrift store gone wrong. Plus, my duty is to you, the thrift shoppers.  And you deserve to know about smelly places, annoying pushy proprietors, and outrageous prices, along with all the good stuff.

So, THANK YOU!  Thank you for being patient, thank you for reading, and thank you for thrifting.  You are changing the world, one thrift score at a time!