Five Favorites: Thrifting Edition

Linking up with Hallie for yet another round of Five Favorites.

I have never been one of those people who enjoyed going around to thrift stores.  If I needed something for the house, I would just go to Homegoods, TJ Maxx, or Target and buy it.  This worked well when I was working and was high on money (ha--I was a teacher.  High on money.  That is so funny.) and low on time.  Now that I'm a stay-at-home-mom, our situation is just the opposite.  We don't have tons of money to be spending on home decor and toys for Max.  I've embraced thrifting and I actually find it very fun!  It's like a treasure hunt and when I see the finished products, they mean more to me because of the time, effort, and craftiness I've put into them.  Here are five of my favorite finds:

One

I found this mirror for $5.00 at the Durham Rescue Mission thrift store.  As soon as I saw it, I had a vision.  Probably the first creative vision of my entire life.  After an evening with a can of spray paint and a naptime with chalkboard paint, the mirror transformed into this:

I am so proud of myself!  People ask if I found the idea on Pinterest, and while I'm sure you can find a similar pin, the answer is "No!"  This baby is my own brain child.  It now hangs above the toilet in Max's bathroom and bears the quote, "Every year you grow, you will find me bigger," from Aslan of CS Lewis fame.

TWO

This little truck is from Dorcas ministries thrift store in Cary.  I picked it up for $3.00 and spray painted it blue.  Max's favorite book is Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle.  Now, he has a little blue truck of his own!

THREE

I've mentioned this tool set on a previous five favorites, but I'm going to do it again.  It is a Melissa and Doug set, also from Dorcas ministries for $7.00.  I am a huge Melissa and Doug fan.  I think the toys are so well made and they have a Montessori feel to them.  (Part of the Montessori philosophy includes using beautiful, simple toys made from natural materials).  Max really enjoys his tool set and so do I!  If not for this tool set, I would still be in my pajamas with no make-up on today.

FOUR

A cozy coupe and matching gas station are my latest thrift store finds from yesterday.  I go to the Durham Rescue Mission thrift store once per week.  I hardly ever look for toys anymore, because I feel Max has enough.  However, I saw a cozy coupe in surprisingly good condition.  It didn't have the price listed, so I wandered around a bit debating it in my head.  I decided that I would spend no more than $10.00 and asked a worker how much it cost.  He told me that the cozy coupe was $10.00 and the gas station was $5.00.  I answered that I didn't want the gas station, just the cozy coupe and he said he would let me have them both for $10.00!  Major score!  Max is so excited about his new "car car" and now we need to get a three car garage and Max needs to find a job to pay for the insurance.

FIVE

One of my favorite things about thrifting for household decor is how I'll have a general vision of how I want something, but then I'll see an item at a thrift store and my vision will change.  For example, I bought some closet maid cubes to act as bookshelves for our basement.   I was going to buy letters from Michaels to spell out "READ" above the bookshelves.  However, one week while thrifting I found a bulletin board that looked a little like this:

Whew.  Thank goodness I found a bulletin board image so you know what one looks like.

I covered the border with blue striped washi tape to add some color and hide the slightly nasty metal.  I'm going to put it above the closet maid cubes instead of the word "READ."  I like this even better as Max can tack artwork to it and I already have the idea to put sticky notes on it during the month of November stating things we are thankful for.  We can use red sticky notes in February to list things we love to celebrate Valentine's Day.  January is Max's birth month, so I can cover it with sticky notes of qualities I love about Max, we can do Andres in August, etc. It is much more versatile than just having letters spell out "READ."  I love it!

There you have it-- my five favorite thrifted items.  I've learned a few things along the way. The most important is to be patient.  You will leave empty handed much more often than you will leave with a treasure.  Another important thing to remember is that you can't debate the purchase of an item in your head.  If you find something you like, buy it.  It is a thrift store and there will not be "something better" that comes along.  I still regret not purchasing this beautiful white wooden cross with curlicues to spray paint blue for our bathroom.  I thought something better would come along.  Now it's three months later, and nothing has.  

Happy Treasure Hunting!