Me too! And most everyone probably. Fortunately, there are lots of cheap options for us. Yard saling is one of Brad, Joseph, and my favorite pastimes. Sometimes we go all out; find them listed on craigslist, MapQuest ‘em, head over at opening and FIND TREASURES! Town-wide sales are fun and annual fundraisers are great. I am a little sad about the end of yard sale season, but realized we have enough thrifty options to make up for it. So I decided to make a list!
Thrifty shopping favorites:
1) Yard sales
2) Craigslist: We are always checking this. Great for buying and selling.
3) HOPE: Used to be ACCAG, housed in a complex of local non-profits, just one part of which is a resale shop. You can donate ANYTHING and find lots of treasure for really cheap. My primary source for books (I love used book stores as well, but am almost too cheap for them. HOPE is cheaper.) And the money goes to the charities and it is staffed by participants in the programs.
4) Junebug: Local children’s store, same idea as Once Upon a Child, but cheaper, friendlier, in Middlebury, accept more items, and proceeds go to charity.
5) Neat Repeats, Your Turn, and Sweet Charity: More awesome local non-profit thrift shops.
6) Ebay: I have just started using this myself. My first score was 22 Berenstein Bear books for $7 plus $5 shipping. I’ve been coveting a collection such as this since, well, since I was a child. Joseph’s xmas present!
7) Friends: We trade and hand stuff down all the time! Sadly Joseph has outgrown Wyatt, our best source of hand-me-downs. But now we are getting them from my cousins.
