Goodwill Goodies and 7 Tips for Shopping at Goodwill

First things first...the Goodies!

 

I found this pretty pink skirt and I later paired it with black and white stripes and zebra print.

I was really excited when I found this red and white stripe skirt.  It reminded me of a circus tent.

I'm crazy about stripes so I also took home this navy and white stripe knit top.

I combined these two items to try the mixing stripes trend and I love how it turned out.

My local Goodwill store has a uniform pricing policy.  Tops are $2.50, bottoms and this includes jeans are $3, purses and shoes are $3, belts and scarves are $1, dresses are $5, jackets and coats are $5.  There is also a rack of better items that are priced as marked and these run a little higher.  I've picked up a few tricks that work well for me when shopping Goodwill and I'd like to share them with you.

7 Tips for Shopping Goodwill

1.  Have a game plan.  Sometimes I check out all the skirts, other times the pants.  But, I always check out all the tops and purses.  Make your own plan.  Is your closet lacking shorts?  Do you need some new shoes? Breaking it up into segments makes for a calmer shopping trip unless you really have the time to go over the whole store.

2.  Shop off season.  I learned this secret one summer when I stumbled upon some beautiful sweaters and cardigans.  It was hot and humid and no one was looking through the sweater aisle...but me, which led to some great finds.

3.  Shop by color.  Sometimes if I want to cruise the whole store, I go quickly down the aisles just pulling out items that catch my eye.  I tend to lean towards whites, blacks, reds, pinks and pretty lemon yellows.  Which colors would you be looking for?

4.  Match outfits as you shop.  Take that pretty striped skirt you bought over to the top aisle and match it to a cute blouse.  Grab a purse and head to the shoe racks for a pair to match.  I had an amazing find when I found this matching set on one trip to Goodwill.

5.  Wear an outfit that's easy to slip in and out of.  This can go for any shopping experience, but I tend to try on mass quantities of clothes when I'm shopping at Goodwill so it's more important than ever.  I always get aggravated with myself when I forget and wear shoes that lace or necklaces that get tangled up in my shirt. 

6.  Don't believe the lies!  A lot of people think shopping Goodwill is okay for browsing but if you need a specific item you should head to a retail store.  This is just not true.  I've gone in looking for a green skirt and found a green skirt.  I've went in with a specific need and been able to meet it on many occasions.  Any store could fail to produce the right item at the needed time and Goodwill is no different, but they stock so many items that you should be able to find something similar to what you need at any given time.

7.  Have fun!  If you're standing in the middle of your local Goodwill you need to realize that you are standing in the middle of a store completely filled with one of a kind items.  How many boutiques can say that?! 

If you have some other tips on shopping Goodwill I would love to hear them.  Sharing our tricks and tips is one way we can help each other.  Now get out there and start helping the planet by shopping Goodwill and shopping green!