There is more to thrift stores than you think Tue, Aug 22, 2017

What is your first thought when it comes to thrift stores? For some of you, it might be the image of old, outdated, looks-like-it-has-been-worn-50-times musty clothes. For others, it might be the image of rundown, hardly works, broken, miscellaneous house items. 

Now, if you were to ask me, "What is your first thought when it comes to thrift stores?" I would tell you it's the image of my father. He is the reason I occasionally visit my local thrift store. As a kid, my father would take my little sister and me to our local thrift store almost every other weekend. There, my father would purchase anything he felt we needed or anything he knew he could easily restore...my father enjoyed the craft of making something new again and still very much enjoys it till this day. I've come to realize that it's my inner dad in me that keeps me coming back. 

And fortunate for me, today's thrift stores are much different from what they use to be. Today's thrift stores carry dozens of hardly been used items, making my restoration projects that much easier to find. For instance, not too long ago, in an effort to spice up my bedroom, I found three comic paintings that were each equal in dimension, each with only minor worn out corner areas. While examining them, I knew instantly that I could easily paint over them and make my own three-parted painting. And that's exactly what I did! And it only cost me $4.47 to do (minus the cost of spray paint, which I already had). That same day, I purchased a 2 pack of Silicone Ice Sphere Molds that were still in their original package and that were the fraction of the retail price!

Overall, I like to think there's something for everyone in a thrift store. Even if you simply need a bit of a laugh, thrift stores have some pretty funky items — granted, most of them are more of an enigma than anything else (just look at the picture of the book I found below) — but nonetheless, they still have plenty to offer. Oh and if you're not in the shopping mood, you can always donate clothing or items you no longer utilize!

Happy shopping/donating everyone!