When I was growing up, my mom used to love shopping at thrift stores, and still does. I, on the other hand, used to not love it so much. Actually I found it an icky and traumatizing experience. Dreaded it.
Of course now, it’s kind of part of the blogging deal, right? That’s just something we like to do. Treasure hunting and fixing up old, neglected things. I’ve brought home many, many great finds from thrift stores in the last few years and have even had a great time out hunting for cool junk with my mom.
But until recently, I hadn’t been in over a year. They say you should pop in every week so you don’t miss out on a great find, but I find that every time I go, I come back with boat loads of fun stuff. So that’s part of the reason I hadn’t been. I just bring back too much clutter. And spend way too much, even though it’s all relatively cheap.
The other reason is that I’m still a little freaked out by thrift stores sometimes. I know we all do it, but when I go in, I always feel like everyone’s watching me. “What’s she doing here? This isn’t a place for her.” “Why is she pacing up and down the aisles like that?” And what if I run into someone I know in this small town on my way in? How do I explain what I’m doing? “Oh, I know I should be home weeding the garden and mopping the floors or maybe doing something normal like filling up the gas tank, but I really just like to go dig through other peoples old smelly junk. For fun!” I know to you and me, that sounds like the best time ever. But I still feel like “normal” people don’t do that.
So anyway, wanna see what I found?
I found the jackpot is what I found! I’m pretty sure that, in this town, they’ve not yet clued into all the amazing stuff we’re finding in their stores because the prices were dirt cheap compared to what I’m used to in the city.
The top of one of those brass clocks everyone used to have, used as a makeshift cloche here: $1.99
Cake stand (oops, water spots!) and glass dome: $4 and $2.
Blue willow plates 69 cents each.
Blue and white bowls: 99 cents each.
Not too bad for one quick little trip.
Yeah, so maybe I’m not just like all the people in the thrift stores I see around here. And maybe I’m not doing what all the “normal” people are doing all the time. For this, I think I can get over it!
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.