Lifestyle

Just Some Little Goodwill Miracles

When I was a teenager, I more or less lived at the Salvation Army on West 46th Street. (As an aside, if you’ve never been, you MUST go if you ever find yourself in the city; it’s four entire floors of some of the best thrifting anywhere on the planet – furniture included). In more recent years, I’ve pretty much put my love of thrift stores on ice, largely because one thing thrifting does require is time…and that just so happens to be a thing that small children aren’t hugely interested in letting you have when you are doing something like shopping for things that aren’t toys.

But here’s a fun little factoid about thrift stores: If you find one in a fancy area, you GO. Because fancy people do things like give their old Gucci purses to Goodwill, because they can’t be bothered to list them on TheRealReal (even though they should). So when a friend told me how spectacular the thrifting is over in Thousand Oaks – about twenty minutes away from me in the direction of the water, a.k.a. in the direction of much, much more expensive housing prices per square foot – I suddenly found myself Marie Kondo-ing my kids’ rooms.

You know, because once I had all my bags filled with stuff to donate, I’d have to make my way over to the Thousand Oaks Goodwill. It’s really the only responsible thing to do. And once I was there, I had to just pop in, just for a minute. (And just saying: Goodwill is a great organization that does tons and tons to support local communities; they’re worth both your donations and your shopping dollars.)

All of the below was scored for a grand total of…

Eh, I’ll put it at the end. Anticipation is everything.

the best things to buy at goodwill

The most amazing sneakers EVER, for my daughter.

the best things to buy at goodwill

This oversize clipboard thing, which my son wanted to use either for schoolwork display or as a lap desk.

the best things to buy at goodwill

THIS. What?!

I love it.

His-and-hers boogie boards.

the best things to buy at goodwill

This odd little piece, which seemed necessary.

the best things to buy at goodwill

And this one, which gives seriously good sleeve.

The total?

$36.98.

Yup.

powered by chloédigital