Thrift Shop Thrills

Don't you just love the feeling of a bargain?

Thrift shops do it for me xxx... Its the 'hunt' for something specific or the leisurely browse about and the ZING of a surprise thing you just fell in love with.

Its the picking up and perusing, turning the thing about and looking at how the light bounces off or shines through it.

Its the thrill of the bargain.

Its the getting home and unwrapping of the thing, cleaning it, polishing it, finding a use or a home for it to make your eyes happy.

Once upon a time going into a second hand shop had a yukky connotation / was a dirty little secret poor people had to do. Thrift shops were dingy, stink places, and zombie looking old ladies clutching at your ten cent bits.

However, never so for me (you know how I don't like to listen)...I have always loved them.

Nowdays people run them as viable businesses, in nice premises - goods and clothing all polished and clean. Quite often there is new stuff from surplus places.

It is good economic sense.
Recycling, re-using, re-purposing - good environmental and social sense.

About clothing: people are loathe to buy them because they might come from dead people. Why? Do they think that the dead person went and tried everything on then went to their funeral?

Of course there are certain used things people won't buy...for me its underwear.

For years I have been collecting.....fabric (cloth - swooon!).....certain types.....

Cotton: Over time I have become dismayed about the quality of bed sheets...wash 'em once and they get all pilled up, small bitsy hard ball things...they get thinnnnn and you can see through 'em.

I do so love the feeling of a bed with cotton sheets...especially if they are white. That's a nostalgic thing. I do love the retro cotton sheets too (also nostalgic).

Initially I got them to cut up and make things out of, being a craft freak and all - you see I have too many hobbies and when I'm trying things I don't want to spend too much - unless its for a special project.

Tablecloths: Yep, same - cotton, quality, nostalgia.

Books: sometimes to read, sometimes to craft with.

Props: for photos, lovely dishes etc.

Little kids clothes: to have at mine for grubby play in the garden etc / outer changes for grandkids toilet accidents in the garden etc (if they get too grubby they get tied up in a plastic bag and binned). Why ruin their good stuff?

Little kids toys: I threw out/gave away toys as the kids outgrew them and had to replace after the kids started to have their own kids.