Oh the things at Goodwill!

It should be no secret to you that I love all things free and cheap. Preferably free. However, for all my love of the cheap, I have typically steered clear of goodwill stores because, lets face it, they aren't really very attractive. Every other goodwill I have been in has been...dirty, and it is just not some place I would like to spend my time...until I discovered my favorite thrift store* ever!

*Side note: I think the key difference is thrift vs. goodwill. For some reason thrift stores are just a little cleaner, a little nicer, and a lot less crowded than the goodwills I have been in. This could be only my experience, of course, so don't take my word for it!

Anyway, I thought I would share with you a few of the things I have found at my local thrift store!

The first was an idea from my friend (who knows nothing about me) The Non-Consumer Advocate. Katy said that she had bought a set of cheap flatware at goodwill to send with her kid's lunches. This prevents waste, but also saves her good flatware from being accidentally tossed. I thought this was an excellent idea, especially since I have been packing my lunch religiously (being in a carpooling situation where I don't have the car helps that a lot!) and have been going through plastic forks and spoons (snagged from restaurants like Quiznos) like they're going out of style. So, I took a leaf out of Katy's book and snagged a set of flatware when I saw it at Goodwill!

As an aside, do you know how difficult it is to take pictures of shiny silverware? Especially for a photographer amateur! Anyway, I think the set of silverware was $5 and the bucket they are in was from the dollar section at Target!

I have a bad habit of putting things where they don't belong when there is an empty surface. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has this problem! Anyway, we have a 3-drawer surface that holds our to-go containers very nicely, but tends to collect things that have homes elsewhere! At the same time we have a small pantry/closet that I am having trouble keeping clean and organized. One of the issues in that pantry/closet was our boxes of tea. So, I decided to poke through the numerous baskets at my thrift store and found one I thought would hold our tea perfectly!

The best part about this basket is it looks nice, so I can get away with keeping it outside of the pantry/closet, a bonus I didn't anticipate!

Since I tend to have issues with empty surfaces, I also decided that there was one surface in our den that needed help. It is a hope chest that we inherited from Geoff's grandmother, and it's right next to the door heading out to the garage, or into the house from the garage, depending on the time of day. Needless to say, it collects a lot of stuff.

Ah, yes. This is much better. Now I have baskets that are not only taking up space so I don't put other things on it, but it also has baskets that I can put stuff in! Keeps things neat and organized and I'm honestly relieved.
Sadly, I couldn't find such wonderful (matching) baskets at my thrift store, so these came from Michael's. They were 50% off, however, so I got both for $17!

Last, but not least, are my favorite recent thrift store find:

My red shoes! Impractical? Perhaps. Fun and exciting? Definitely! Cheap? Oh yes, these were only $3! I've worn them at least half a dozen times, and I'm pretty sure they've paid for themselves already.

Do you thrift? What have you found lately?