I <3 Goodwill

Over the last few months, I've been trying to stay cheap when it comes to clothing. At first, I tried only shopping Clearance. I don't know if you've gone through a Clearance section lately, but it ain't what it used to be. A couple months ago Bear puked while we were out. It got on my shirt...a lot. I had a change of clothes for her, but not me. I tried going with just my undershirt, but felt naked. I quickly went to Old Navy and straight to Clearance. The cheapest thing I could find was a plain green t-shirt for $10! TEN BUCKS! On Clearance!

I thought, "There HAS to be a cheaper way to get clothes."

There was. That's when I discovered the bounty that is Goodwill. I often hear from people, "I can never find anything at Goodwill." I used to say the same thing. The reason people think that is due to our instant gratification culture. We think we should be able to walk in and out in minutes or click on it and we're done. Shopping at Goodwill, or any other second-hand store takes time. When I go, it's at least for an hour, if it's only clothes I'm looking for. If I'm looking at more, it could take up to 2 hours. But I can ALWAYS find something. Kids clothes are especially good because kids grow out of them so fast. Why spend $12 on a shirt she'll grow out of when I can get one just as adorable for $.99 at Goodwill?

So how do I find cute stuff at Goodwill? It's not skill; it's patience. Pure and simple.