Jackpot! $12.50 for $125 worth of Clothes :)

OMG....OMG....OMG.....You know you've hit the jackpot when you find $125 worth of NEW clothes plus some beautiful slightly used summer dresses, 2 shirts for Amber (our daughter), 2 more shirt for Abigail (our dog), and several more pieces of clothing for $12.50.

I kid you not.

We arrived at the Community Clothes Closet thrift store before 9 am this morning only to find they didn't open until 10. Thankfully, we live close by so we went home and waited until 9:45. When we returned, the line outside the door was long. We grabbed a parking place in front of the apostolic church while people gave us the evil eye because they wanted our spot. Or maybe it was because of the "Born Again Pagan" bumper sticker on Jamie's car. Anyway, once we joined the crowd, the women waiting with us told us that come hell or high water, that door wouldn't open until 10 or even 10:05am. 

Inside, they teased us coming near the door and then walking away. It was torturous. We looked through the window scoping out the clothes making a plan of action in our minds. The door opened and we were sucked in by a vacuum of people. It was wonderful.

This is the fun of thrift store shopping. Its a treasure hunt.

Neither Jamie or I buy new clothes at big box or clothing stores unless we absolutely cannot find it anywhere else. If you've been reading our blog, you know that we found awesome deals of new clothes at TJ Maxx and Ross on items we hadn't been able to find in thrift stores.

But today was THRIFT STORE DAY. We were giddy.

Generally undergarments are an item that we always buy new. However, today at the Community Clothes Closet,  I found three new pieces of Cupid compression "foundation wear" (as I like to call undergarments).  These normally sell for about $15 each. I paid 50 cents each!  (And no, I'm not showing pictures of my undies).

Probably our most exciting finds included a new one piece Kathy Ireland bathing suit for $1 that is selling for $32 on Ebay. Next was the Liz Claiborne overalls with a MSRP on the tag of $49,  for only 50 cents.

We added these wonderful pieces to the mix for a total was $12.50!! Summer dresses, hippy wear, camisoles, workout gear, two shirts for Amber as I mentioned, and a Miami Ink t-shirt for Jamie.

Jamie's favorite score was an autographed copy of June Carter Cash's book Among My Klediments for 25 cents.

I needed to try on some of the clothes and went to the dressing room...that had no mirror. So I asked the ladies in nearby dressing rooms if they had a mirror. They did, so I decided to wait for one of those to open. Once one came open, I went inside. Apparently, no one realized I was there because a conversation ensued between the women on either side of me.  "I don't need no mirror to know how I look in my clothes cause I'm fat. But my husband doesn't call me fat. He calls me fluffy." The other woman answered, "Me either. That girl wouldn't try her clothes on without a mirror. Have mercy." 

Anyway, I walked away with a treasure trove that fit my unfluffy body just fine.

Thrift stores, consignment stores, and yard sales are very popular here in East Tennessee. While some people look down on purchasing used items, what they don't realize is that new items can be found there too. 

Thrift stores differ from consignment stores in one important way. Thrift stores generally raise money for charities with donated items. Consignment stores sell items on behalf of others and pocket a percentage of the profit for their troubles. They can be more selective in what they sell, but their items are more expensive. Here is an example of an item sold at a local consignment store:

                                                                                                              

   

In case you can't read the price, the original price of these Ed Hardy jeans was $240. (I know, I can't believe it either). The consignment store's price was $39.99. I don't know about you, but I would (and could) buy a closet full of clothes for that price. However, there is a customer for every type of store. 

Thrift stores often have awesome sales in addition to their already low prices. The selection changes often because they ask very reasonable prices. The Community Clothes Closet has a half-price sale the first Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of the month. That's how we hit the jackpot. Plus we met some nice, fluffy folks.

So shop smart. Shop thrifty.