Wednesday, May 20, 2009

I'm all thrifty and stuff.

One of my favorite things to do is to flip through the pages of Home Decor magazines and dream. I love this magazine. Everything in it is pretty, pretty, pretty.


I'm also obsessed with reading Home Decor Blogs.
This chick is so gifted it's not even funny. I want a house like hers when I grow up.

Another fun blog to read is Thrifty Decor Chick. Sarah is so funny and - for lack of a better word - thrifty. She seems to have lots of luck finding hidden gems at garage sales and Goodwill and transforming them into something lovely for her home. So, with Sarah and her amazing good luck in mind, I decided to go for it.

I went to Goodwill last week.

I'll be honest with you, it kinda creeped me out.
From the minute I walked in, I felt like my skin was crawling with cooties.

I didn't have any luck finding something cute to paint, repurpose or decoupage. I did, however, find not one, not two, but THREE of these creepy things:

YIKES.

Just remembering it gives me the willies.
Sincerely.

There was also an unexplainable...odor.
Just a random odor.
A Random, freaky odor.

As I forced myself to feign nonchalant perusal, the thought crossed my mind, "Whoa. Glad I'm not pregnant. This could be ugly."

And it almost did when I saw the BRAS for sale.
What the What?!?

I struggled internally with my snobbery for a little bit, but eventually came to the realization that Goodwill just isn't my thing.
If I wasn't sure about it before, I definitely am now.
Definitely.

After my Goodwill...experience... I decided to try another route: Estate Sales.

My friend Maribeth is an Estate Sale veteran. She's been going to Estate Sales since she was a little girl with her thrifty Momma. She introduced me to a website you can go to called www.estatesales.net that lists Estate Sales in your area with pictures.

The pictures are - in my estimation- completely vital.

I've found that Estate Sales can be a little icky too, so looking at the pictures ahead of time helps in determining if a particular one will be a little too icky.

Estate Sales have turned out to be much kinder to me than Goodwill.

Last month I found this:

and this for Avery's room:

I also found this:

and decided to do this:

and hope to make it look like this:

or this:

I also scored a fun Ball jar at an antique store and added some vintage spools of thread that I found at an Estate Sale this month:

And who can resist the sweetest little milk glass lamp for Avery's room? Not me.

My favorite find is this adorable antique rocking chair that I got for $30.
Shut it.

Now I just have to decide to paint or not to paint. What do you think?

My feelings about Estate Sales are mixed. I find them completely fascinating but a little sad as well. It's weird to wander through a stranger's house and dig through their worldly possessions.

You can learn a lot about someone by looking at the stuff they left behind.
I've seen old photographs, wedding dresses, love notes and report cards for sale at Estate Sales.
Personal stuff.
Stuff that once upon a time, someone really cared about.
Stuff that was treasured and saved for years before being sold to strangers for pennies.

I find myself wanting to buy all the old photographs just to rescue them...'cause somebody needs to care about little Suzy's first haircut.

If you're a Christian, it's impossible to go to an Estate Sale and not consider the finality of life. It reminds you that all the stuff you treasure is just...stuff. It's not what really matters and it won't go with you when you leave this earth. One day, someone's going to be haggling over all that stuff that you valued.

And you won't even care.

Just a thought, though: you might want to have somebody trash the medical seats for you before you go, cause evidently, even Goodwill doesn't need any more of those.

Here's the Rundown -
Estate Sales: yes
Garage Sales: maybe
Consignment Sales: sure
Ebay: absolutely
Goodwill: Nope. No way. No how.

17 comments:

kris said...

aw the slipcover looks way cute glued under like that!

what's gonna work, teamwork, lol. ;)

Southern Mama said...

I have that exact rocking chair! It was my great grandmother's. I love it! I have it in my front/living room. My mother calls my decorating "early attic" because most of my "stuff" has come from her/or someone else's attic. I call it wonderful and full of memories. I cherish having all the "cast-offs" from all my relatives.

Kodi said...

I love the rocking chair, and I think it would be REALLY cute if you distressed it like your frame. White/distressed. Aw. I love your taste in decor.

jennifer said...

ok. that's one vote for painting. check.

The Perkins Trio said...

very cute stuff! i, too, vote for painting and distressing white :)

Jen @ tatertotsandjello.com said...

I totally get what you're saying about Goodwill. I went into one of those stores this week and seriously spent like an hour trying to find something to buy. Now, garage sales are a completely different story -- loooove them!

I love those picture frames you posted. So cute! And that glass jar is adorable!

Now - I need more information about the molten lava cakes that are 100 calories. I REALLY need some of those ASAP! Where do I find them????

XOXO
Jen

Colored With Memories said...

love the milk glass lamp! i haven't seen any of that in years.

rocker? paint it!

Housewife Savant said...

I can handle thriftstores and estates sales (Love 'em actually.), but I struggle with garage sales. A girl can do a LOT of driving/stopping before finding anything good.

I like all my used crap piled up in one slightly stinky locale so I can dig in right up to the armpits.
Hand sanitizer works all the way up to the shoulder Jennifer.

Estate sale nightmare #1: the man had been in a nursing home. The wife died. Someone in the fam had the bright idea to bring him out for the sale. He sat weeping in his wheelchair as folks picked through the minutia of their 50+ years together.

Estate sale nightmare #2: a family sold their granny's stuff without blinking an eye. A dresser was still full of her undies and such. Had they bothered to save granny some posthumous shame they would have found a diamond ring in that same dresser.
My friend who purchased it, complete with stockings, bras and girdles, decided the fam wasn't too interested in the contents and never bothered.

Paint the rocker J. Cool stuff. You're so doggone creative.

Kelli said...

You make me laugh. I've never been to a Goodwill and now, after reading this, I may never go. Who would buy someone else's pot????? There's not enough bleach in the world bc you know the person using it missed one time too many! UGH. Anyway, I also love your point about how it's just stuff...so true.

Anonymous said...

They have a goodwill now in Powell. It is actually really nice and I have gotten tons of books both for me and the kids for $1 apiece. It actually is set up right between kroger and hallmark and has a really nice display area with all their home items. So I think it depends on the Goodwill you go to. They have worked really hard up here to make it a nice store!

peri

Liz said...

I agree - I'm not down with the goodwill stores. I've never been to an estate sale but it sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the link!

Paisleyand Polka Dot Patterns said...

That's too funny! I feel the same, not to be rude, but the smell is weird and I never find anything! I found a lovely little estate sale store a while back and got a stack of vintage books for my kids, some clssics. I love searching thru treasures, wondering who used them, and what I can use them for. Happy Shopping! :)

misty said...

i am so there with you on the smell at goodwill places - just gross!

i have never been to an estates sell.

garage sells - sure!

ebay - just a couple of times

cute stuff you have bought & changed up. you're good like that. i wish i was!

Candace said...

Don't give up on Goodwill until you try one in Colorado. As my neice says, "It's nicer than the Wal-Mart."

As for Estate Sales, I wish I had as good of luck as you. Love the rocker.

Thrifty Decor Chick said...

Awwww come on!! Just wear a mask and gloves next time you go in and I'm sure you'll find something!! Wus.
Oh well, I kind of understand. I'm lucky cause I have realllly nice ones near me. They do have a scent though.
I love your finds, YES YOU MUST PAINT THAT CHAIR! Ohhhh it would be GORG in white!

Funky Junk Interiors said...

LOL!! I could hear you talk about Goodwill all day. We don't have them in Canada (as far as I know) but they sound similar to our Value Village.

Gorgeous chair! And I agree with Sarah, I thought white right away.

Donna

Tiffany said...

LOVE that Ball jar with spools of thread in it. I have a small cracker jar with old spools of thread but mine are empty. Looks cute with the thread actually on them! : )

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