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great thrift store bargains.

by Allison on September 17, 2009 in Home, home_decorating · 23 comments

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{Stack of melamine strawberry plates for a cousin of mine who’s obsessed with all things strawberry? .50 cents each}

I’m a thrift store junkie. I blame it on a childhood deprived of the finer things in life. I learned early on to find things on the cheap, led my my father, the King of D.I.

D.I. {short for Deseret Industries} is a thrift store operated by the church I belong to, and it. is. enormous. And as far as thrift stores go, it’s also very organized and very clean. I used to go thrifting with my father way back before it was cool. In fact, it was pretty uncool. I was always a little bit {completely} horrified when my dad would point out to everyone/anyone who would listen:

*This shirt I’m wearing? Three dollars at the D.I. Perfect condition {running his fingers along the hem}, $65 department store price tag. Which is still. on. it.*.

If he found something with the department store tag still on it, listing just how expensive it really was right next to the D.I. tag for $3? Well. Doesn’t get better than that.

What used to be my dying shame is now one of my best assets. I can find a gem in a pile of dirt on the front curb of someone’s house. It’s amazing what happens when you don’t have a choice but to be thrifty.

After talking to Kami last week at the Startup Princess event about the vintage typewriter she picked up at D.I. for $5, I felt compelled to make a trip. And I found some gems. Happy, happy day.

this glass dish? .50 cents. oh yes.

The tablecloth on which the dish is sitting, Williams Sonoma, 90″x90″ {an impossible size to find for our huge square table} $4.

This old school, orange, melamine tray that I don’t know what to do with, but couldn’t part with, and will surely be directed by Melissa with which to do something amazing? $1.

And la creme de la creme? A vintage breadbox for $3. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for just the right breadbox? Any idea? Do you? It’s been a long time. And this little beauty made it worth the wait.

It’s happy in its new home.

Article by Allison Czarnecki

I'm Allison, founder and editor of Petit Elefant. I run the gamut from granola to glamour and love everything in between. I think the beach is always a good idea, as is Diet Dr. Pepper; on ice. Sometimes I put out the fires and sometimes I start them. Sometimes I really do have it all together. Sometimes my children say otherwise. We just like to keep it real around here.

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{ 22 comments }

1 Erin September 17, 2009 at 9:15 am: fantastic finds! the breadbox is blowing my mind! i love it!
sadly, i don't live anywhere near D.I. so i have make do with salvation army and the like. but i can't complain. i still am able to find some great stuff.
2 Shimmy Shake September 17, 2009 at 9:27 am: Fantastic finds – I love the melamine strawberry plates. So fabulous! Always great to find a great find at the right price – more bang for your buck!
3 ellen September 17, 2009 at 9:30 am: That is some nifty thrifting! You've gotten some cool stuff. I love antiquing (I live in New England) and have recently started looking at thrift stores.
4 KIM September 17, 2009 at 10:35 am: I too remember having to go with my mother to the thrift store, hoe embarassing it was and I hoped no one would ever find out!! Now I tell everyone exactly where and how much my lil treasures are!!
5 Tiffany September 17, 2009 at 10:58 am: Those are amazing. The bread box especially! I really miss D.I.!
6 Lindsey Johnson September 17, 2009 at 11:12 am: I'm actually headed to DI today. You and I should go scrounging sometime together. We'd be a force to be reckoned with. My husband says I have "the eye". And I do. And I'm proud to admit it!
GREAT FINDS. That tablecloth and bread box are amazing.
7 Melissa September 17, 2009 at 11:17 am: Those are some great finds. I haven't been thrifting for a little bit. I need to get out there!
8 MostlyFlumxd September 17, 2009 at 11:31 am: I LOVE that tablecloth and breadbox! What great finds!
9 ALC September 17, 2009 at 12:13 pm: Girl – you have some talent! I always hated going to D.I. when I was little with Dad because it meant we would be there for HOURS! And that was back when D.I. was more of a mess and not as clean. BTW I want the breadbox so be on the lookout when I come over to visit! P.S. I LOVE the tablecloth.
10 Jen September 17, 2009 at 2:26 pm: I am blue with envy on the bread box.
11 Azúcar September 17, 2009 at 2:39 pm: Love.
12 Whimsical Creations September 17, 2009 at 6:41 pm: Fantastic finds!
13 Naomi September 17, 2009 at 8:47 pm: Thrifting is pretty sad here, especially compared to the wonders of the west coast.
And, uh, we have a huge square table, too. So if you happen to come across another tablecloth…
14 The Breeder's Digest September 17, 2009 at 9:31 pm: I LOVELOVELOVE the thrift store. I just went today. I adore your bread box and the tablecloth AND the orange plate. I'm searching desperately for the perfect cake stand. Someday….someday.
I envy the size of of DI!
15 Kami September 17, 2009 at 11:17 pm: Wow! You scored! Doesn't it give you a bit of a high to find so many cool finds for so cheap?! I am a bit of a junkie lately. I love that Tablecloth!
ps. thanks for the link!
16 Marie {Make and Takes} September 18, 2009 at 9:54 am: oh, I've got to get into this. Let's go together and you can show me the ropes on thrift store "good finds". I just don't know what I could be finding as a diamond in the rough!!
17 Petit Elefant September 18, 2009 at 10:35 am: Erin,
The breadbox, ah the breadbox. It was one of those things I had to dig to find. Literally.
Shimmy Shake,
Aren't they cute? Especially at 4/$2. Love!
ellen,
you know, I used to think antiquing and thrifting were two different things, but not really. and they're both awesome.
KIM,
I know I was the same way! I would DIE when my dad pointed out the price and now I do the very same thing. I love telling people about my *finds*!
18 Petit Elefant September 18, 2009 at 10:40 am: Tiffany,
Isn't the bread box awesome? That baby has been looking for me for the last 10 years.
Cafe Johnsonia,
Me too, me too! I have the eye. I met someone at D.I. yesterday who told me I have *shopping angels*. Not bad angels to have, right?
Melissa,
The thing about it is I feel like I'm missing out if I'm not there every day. There are new treasures every time I turn around!
19 KJ September 20, 2009 at 8:47 am: I am never the person that finds the great finds at thrift stores. I always come away frustrated. perhaps because I always go with something specific in mind…
20 MarySquare September 20, 2009 at 8:13 pm: Your mom is also an excellent thrifter. When she comes out here she stops by the Goodwill and always finds something classy. I personally am fan of the garage sale. I love going to yard and garage sales to look for fun things, "treasures" as I call them, and I go for entertainment.
And garage saleing is a lesson in why buying every little thing with a polar bear, teddy bear, penguin, etc. is a bad idea — it just ends up in your future garage sale.
21 Anonymous September 23, 2009 at 4:41 am: Just stumbled on your blog – and this story of "thrift store finds" was just fun to read. So this is my "thrift store adventure" story. One day during the summer, my 7 yr old grand-daughter was with me running errands (she ha spent the night); she was starting to get tired, and I said I needed to make just one more quick stop. As I pulled up to a parking space she spotted the word "army" on the side of the building. She crossed her arms across her chest and put the pout on her face – such a look; I told her we would only be 5 minutes – and so she came along. Once inside (a large space), her eyes got big, and then bigger when she didn't see any "army" stuff. I told her I wanted her to find something for the dress-up box – which she gladly did. We were there for more than 5 minutes – and I had to "drag" her out. It was 25% off day – woo-hoo! The up-shot: later in the summer she called to ask if she could spend the night, because the next day would be 25% off day at Salvation Army. Aha – another convert!!
22 Valerie @ Frugal Family Fun Blog September 26, 2009 at 8:45 am: Love all of it! What a great shopping day you had! The last time I went to the thrift store was a bittersweet experience. Everything was 70% off!! but… they were closing for good. So sad, but I did get some really nice things for dirt cheap….