Thrifty Finds

Females by nature love to nest and continue fluffing our nest. We like to decorate our homes and surround ourselves with things that make us feel good and add beauty to our lives. During the last few years, due to my husbands career in the declining RV industry, resulting in three job losses in four years, the finances have been very tight and I haven't been able to buy many things for my home. It's really sad to say but at some point I even stopped loving and caring for my home and garden. Most of it was due to the fear that we might lose it, The thought of that was so painful and I needed to detach myself from it...just in case. (Thankfully that fear has subsided, and we are not in danger of losing our home .)

This summer a good friend and I started going to garage sales together again, (I hadn't been to any in about two years), and we also frequented the Goodwill stores in our area. She rents a small space in an antique shop and is always looking for things to sell.

I have been thrilled with the wonderful things I've found that have been perfect for my home allowing me to spruce it up and freshen things up a bit without spending much money at all. I wanted to show you some of the things I've found recently, especially last weekend at Goodwill. They had their half-off sale on Saturday and I found some fun things.


The green leaf plates were found at Goodwill Saturday, the plate in the middle I found a few weeks ago at a garage sale. I thought they went well together. The pretty lamp shade was bought at a garage sale for $1.00, actually there were two of them for $1.00 each and the other one was put on a floor lamp in the living room.

I made the autumn centerpiece; the base was bought at Goodwill, ($1.00), the pumpkin on top was bought at a garage sale, ($1.00), I had purchased the fall picks several years ago at the end of the season for 75% off.

I found the plate holder a few weeks ago at a garage sale for $1.00 and the two Waverly plates at Goodwill for 50 cents each. The white platter is a Johnson Brothers ironstone that I got for
50 cents at Goodwill! (It was about 5:00 PM after an all day half-price sale, I can't believe these three items were still there!)

I couldn't pass up this desk with the glass top, well I did pass it up, but couldn't stop thinking about it, so I went back and got it. I couldn't believe that it was still there! I think it would be beautiful painted, but for now I like it just the way it is.

Are you ready for this? It was only $25.00! It is the perfect spot in my kitchen to pay bills and plan menus and hide junk mail. Oh, and the lamp I found at a garage sale last Saturday along with the pretty candle holder.

I have a large home, (about 4000 s.f.) with quite a bit of wall space to fill. I'm still holding out for a picture for the other side of the china cabinet. I know it's only a matter of time before I find exactly what I want at a garage sale or moving sale, so I will patiently wait.

See this drop-leaf table? I found it at Goodwill several weeks ago for $25.00! I loved it! It matched my Duncan Phyfe dining room table perfectly! Look at the picture of my dining room table feet again, perfect match I tell you! The Victorian sofa also has the same legs. Both the living room and dining room are open to each other and it helps to tie the two rooms together.


It has been so amazing to me how God has provided for even our most basic needs during this time while finances have been tight. Several months ago a corbel on the dining room drapes broke. I looked everywhere I could think of and couldn't find a replacement. I have a matching set in the living room and I couldn't afford to replace them all. The drapes hung across the dining room chair for over two months. How discouraging to see that day after day! One Saturday while coming home from the nursing home, I passed a garage sale; on impulse I stopped. I could not believe it! They had corbels that were almost an exact match! I was one very happy gal!

A lot of people think that there is only junk at garage sales, but that just isn't the case, at least it isn't the case where I live. I like nice things and I don't like clutter and junkie stuff. It amazes me what people sale. This weekend I went to a few garage sales with my friend and I couldn't believe the things I found. The above picture shows the Longaberger Pottery that I got for $6.50.

At the same sale I got three Fiestaware pitchers for $2.00 each. Can you believe it?

This is only part of the loot, there was also a Singer sewing machine that was free at the end of a church sale, (I haven't checked to see if it works), a picture, two pairs of dress boots, ($2.00 ea.) that looked like new, books and some other things that I can't remember right now.

I've had so much fun fluffing my nest with these great finds. Just getting a few new, (to me), things and making these few inexpensive changes in my home has been an enormous encouragement to me. I'm starting to love my home again, and I actually enjoy keeping it clean, well ... enjoy is a bit strong, but there is definitely more enthusiasm than before. I'm overflowing with gratitude and thankfulness to God that we have been blessed to still have our home when so many people have lost theirs during these tough economic times.

I wanted to join in and link with Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality and share my thrifty treasures.